Siren Song

Sorrento: Day 2 4/7/10

On this day we were up early for a quick breakfast at 7am before being picked up by a tour bus to take us along the Amalfi Coast. Our driver’s nickname was Casanova, what else? Our guide was Bene, a crack up, what else? His tour was given in French & English. His English was very amusing! We set out up into the hills for 1.5 hours until we reached a rest stop-aka: tourist trap. Bene pointed out some primitive houses that were carved out of the side of the cliff that the Italians call Trogolydite houses. We drove by Positano & viewed it from the road. Then it was on to Amalfi where we disembarked for a short walking tour around the town after which we boarded a boat for a tour of the Amalfi coastline. It was such fun! It was kind of like a Hollywood stars’ homes tour mixed in with a history lesson. Bene pointed out homes owned or rented by celebrities back in the day. Heck, he could have told us anything for all I know. But, it was fun to imagine the heyday of the 50’s & 60’s when this area was a big playground for celebrities of my mother’s era. After the boat ride we had some free time to wander & shop for fun touristy stuff. Also grabbed a couple calzones to bring back for dinner on the balcony.
Next stop, Ravello. Throughout the drive, the bus pulled over so we could get better views of the spectacular scenery. The sheer cliffs diving down to the beautiful, azure sea are breathtaking. What’s more breathtaking is watching the poetry in motion as these buses wend their way down the coast on a very narrow road filled with cars, motor scooters & people. It’s just amazing how it all works.

At Ravello we got another little tour as we walked up the cliff to Ristorante Benadies where we all had lunch. The scoop is that Bill & Hilary stole the chef de cuisine for their very own. It was a lovely place in a hotel that apparently does a brisk business with the bus tour companies. Can you spell kickback?! After lunch Steve & I took a walk around the back streets to get a more relaxed feel of the town away from the tourist area. The terraced gardens and orchards of lemon & olive trees were impressive. The terraces are dug out of the face of the cliffs & tended the same as gardens everywhere. These go far up onto the sides of the cliffs. They’re quite beautiful. We look many pictures but of course few of them give justice to the beauty of the place. They’ll remain in the iPhoto album to be viewed nostalgically over the coming years.

The trip back was nearly as spectacular as the ride out. We traveled through the Milky Mountains (Monti Lattari) past tiny towns with stone bridges spanning deep ravines & a fjord. The engineering feats performed out of necessity make me marvel at human ingenuity. All the while, Bene was telling us so many interesting tidbits that my head was swimming in facts. By the time we returned to the hotel it was just after 5:30pm. It was 10 hours of nonstop enjoyment. We chilled, read email, watched the sunset, I stayed up late to read “The Roman Way” by Edith Hamilton & then collapsed.