Neither one of us slept very well in our new apartment, although we aren’t quite sure why. The air conditioning gets cold, the comforters are cozy, but even still-we both slept bad. It could have also been that we knew we had to be up and at the hotel up the hill by 9am.
Mom made me some cheese toast in the toaster oven for breakfast and she had her coffee. She had also gotten some energy drinks from the grocery store she went to last night while I was gone to the gym. Praise her! Just the pep I need! (I know, I’ve got to quit drinking them, they are so bad for me.. I just can’t drink hot coffee while it’s 9000 degrees outside).
We headed up the hill and waited for our ride. One man came to see if we were his passengers, I showed him the info I was given, and he laughed a little and said, “no no, your driver will be here in a bit, I’m picking up 8:45.. we Italians are never really on time..” hahaha
When our guy did get there, only a couple minutes later, he seemed so frazzled about the traffic. He said tourist season has started early this year, but like, it’s June now.. sooo. Hmmm. Anyway, he drove to another spot to pick more people up, but they weren’t there yet, so while we waited, mom went into a tourist store and found out that we can take a shuttle bus to the Naples airport when we leave. She got all the details and the little booklet. Awesome! No sketchy train while lugging around everything we own!
Our new people never showed, so our driver got the ok from the tour company to leave without them. Then he was weaving and breaking and skirting through the tiny one lane streets that make up the roadways between cities on this coast. He was telling us how much it frustrates him that people that live in this area won’t just drive a scooter with all this traffic when they’re driving alone.. he would point out cars of solo people and say, “you see! Look at him, clogging up our roads!”
He even told us of a story where in bumper to bumper traffic he got out and went to ask someone why they chose to drive a car and not a scooter or bike.. wow, I pray he never does that in the United States.. not sure what it says about our country, but I don’t think many sane people get out of their vehicles to approach someone else’s without a slight fear for their life. It was pretty hysterical listening to his story while he’s driving like a lunatic, though.
We got to the bigger marina (not the one we’re currently staying at, that would be WAY too convenient), and they must have been waiting on us.. the second we walked down the stairs they were escorting us to our boat. Mom and I got lucky enough to get to sit at the very front of the boat with an Italian couple here from London, celebrating their 3rd wedding anniversary.
The boat ride alone was incredible. Being up front meant we could see absolutely everything! And it felt a little like a roller coaster at times, going over the waves with the sudden drop. I was like a little kid at Disney, having the BEST time.
Our captain stopped at a little outcropping of a round island, protected from the wind, and let us swim! The island is privately owned, has 2 villas and a little chapel on it, and the owner allows tour boat guests swim in the middle where the water is calm (and crystal clear blue).. before he owned the island, tour boats weren’t even allowed to pass through. Of course I swam. The second the Italian couple stood up and started taking off their coverups and t shirts, I did the same and followed right behind them. At first, we were the only 3 in the water! Slowly, others started to join.
It was so much warmer than in Greece and Northern Italy, but it had also been over a week since being at any of those places, so maybe they’ve warmed up some now too.. plus we’re a bit farther south. We swam, laughed and mingled.. all having the best time bobbing around, floating without any effort. When it was time to come back on the boat it was mixed emotions, I could have stayed right here all day long, but I knew better things were to come!
A short boat ride later, we were being let out in Amalfi. We were told to be back in an hour and a half.. and.. that was it! No lectures, no repeating 4 times and not moving-we were set free to explore and do as we chose! Wow! What a concept! Ha! We walked around, picked up 2 beach towels to have for our beach day in Sorrento.. our apartment only has the white bath towels and we were afraid we’d ruin them. Plus, now it’s a souvenir!
We took pictures and walked through the busy streets filled with tourists like us. We got drinks at a cute little restaurant on the water with great views, and later got ice cream to eat while sitting near the pier so we wouldn’t miss our boat. Back on board, I had a beer and enjoyed every second of being at the front of the boat, laughing every time the waves made my stomach drop.
Maybe 30 ish minutes later, we arrived in Positano, another gorgeous little city built into the sides of the cliffs, known for their tiny streets and many many steps. I knew I wanted to visit these cities by boat because everywhere online has people complaining about the winding roads and traffic jams and all the stairs to get down to the beach front-this has been perfect!
We walk around and shop some. I find a man painting with watercolors and pen, and of course have to have one. I picked one he made with an orange Vespa in the foreground, and then he showed it to me-it’s actually his Vespa! Lol he was super cute and wrote out a “dedication” to me on the back of the artwork. He put it in a cardboard roll for me to travel with and we carried on..
Then I found a man making sandals (Positano and the Amalfi Coast in general is known for handmade shoes), and I picked out a style and let him make them for me. He measured my feet (which I felt bad for the poor guy.. yikes) and went to work. Within 20 minutes, I had a perfect pair of brown leather sandals! I tried to get mom to get some too, as she has the worst luck with shoes fitting correctly, but she swore there were none she liked.
I loved this little city, we walked and wandered all the way up until it was time to leave.. and I almost didn’t want to. Knowing more swimming was in store ended up being good motivation though. Before no time at all, I was back in the water, continuing to love every second! Mom wouldn’t get in, no matter how much anyone tried to get her to. Our captain threw us pool noodles, so we swam, floated, played, and laughed a whole lot. It was a blast! We all made a pact to not make eye contact with the captain so he couldn’t make us get out.. and it worked! For maybe an extra 5-10 minutes of swimming.. lol
When we got back to the marina we had to wait for a driver. It was quite a long wait, and the waitress at the cafe we were told to wait at told us the bathrooms were closed. So, we ended up getting pretty irritated after 30 minutes of sitting and needing to pee. Around 40 minutes of uncomfortable sitting and waiting, mom asked the man with the tour group if he had an ETA because we needed to use a restroom. He seemed mortified after finding out the bathrooms were closed, went to look and then showed us where to go.. the lady had lied I guess. How rude.
Once those issues were taken care of, we were much more content to sit and wait. Our driver finally appeared.. he had been stuck behind an accident on the tiny road to get to and from downtown Sorrento. Before we knew it, we were being dropped off and walking to our little apartment! We showered and got dressed, and went in search of a dinner place.
There were several places I had read about online, the famous restaurant where you sit under the lemon trees called O’Parrucchiano La Favorita, and then a restaurant known for very good food in the heart of the city, called Donna Sofia. We didn’t make reservations, but set out for the second one since it was a closer walk. Sadly, they were fully booked for today and the next day too. We made our reservation for Friday night.
Knowing this one was full, we assumed the lemon tree one would be too. We just walked down little alley ways until we found something. We haven’t had bad food yet, so we weren’t really concerned.
We get to this place that seats us immediately. But then they don’t really come back for awhile, we watch as people get their food, from an older lady, maybe in her 70s.. that’s a good sign, it’s a family business! The other waitress looks very overwhelmed, a table of 11 sat down right as we did. We get our drinks, and when mom asked the older lady about the lasagna, just making sure it was available, because we didn’t see it on the menu, she just took our whole order. Okie dokie.
As we’re waiting for our main course, they bring a basket of bread and olive oil.. and then witness the group of 11 get up and leave-they never even got to give their drink order yet.. and then 3-4 other tables end up leaving too, all before we get our food. We’re starting to get concerned. The couple at the table nearest us has pizza, and it looks fantastic.. eh, whatever, we can wait.
I get my fettuccine bolognese and mom gets her lasagna. I don’t say anything, but my noodles are gross and the sauce tastes a little like ketchup.. I pick and eat what I can, until mom makes me laugh so hard I cry.. her lasagna had green peas and a hard boiled egg fall out of one of the layers. Regardless if that’s how it’s done here or not, her face was priceless! I’m laughing again as I type this.. oh my god. Anyway, her noodles were too hard to chew, I tried, and mine were just.. bad. We ended up not eating much of anything.
We still paid the bill, without complaint, after watching these ladies run around and have patron after patron leave unexpectedly. It’s funny to me that I had the best meal of my life yesterday and the worst of my life today (and trust me, after hiking the AT, I ate some shitty food) all in the same city.. ha, all you really can do is laugh, and know you won’t ever try this place again.
We left and were even too grossed out to try to revive our evening with something else, somewhere else. We were also just tired from the long day of boat riding, exploring, and sunshine. So we walked home, relaxed on the couch, and then tore the furniture apart to make sure we could sleep a little better tonight. Goodnight!