Amalfi Coast

When you google search “Italy” you are greeted with thousands of images of Rome, Venice, and a stretch of coastline called the Amalfi Coast. Just seeing the photos made my travelers itch grow intensely strong, and I knew we wouldn’t be going to Italy without visiting this paradise. It was a love at first sight sort of experience, and the pictures just don’t do it justice.

In this beautiful landscape mountains plunge straight down into crystal clear bright blue waters, pastel houses hang onto the sides of sheer cliffs, and a sweet lemon fragrance follows your every footstep. The beaches are filled with rows of brightly colored chairs that so beautifully compliment the warm waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The cobblestone streets lined with small boutiques, secret hidden stairwells, and constant chatter of voices gave me an immediate sense of belonging… like this was where I was meant to be.

Because of time constraints, we opted for a day tour of the four major cities along the coastline, Ravello, Amalfi, Positano, and Sorrento. We left Pompeii early in the morning, and weren’t home till late that evening, and it was incredible how much we were able to see that day. It was quite a bit of driving on winding, sides of cliffs types of roads, but the views were well worth it. We stopped several times along the way and between towns to get photos and our driver was very eager to slow down for us to really enjoy the scenery.

Our first stop was Ravello, a small town perched on a cliff overlooking the Amalfi Coast. The town was essentially just a few streets centered around a cathedral and a large open square to wander. It was the only town we visited that was perched on the top of the mountains and it felt as though we were on our own beautiful planet.

We then visited Amalfi, the main town on the coast. We spent the majority of our time on the piers that jutted out into the water, looking back at the gorgeous town. It was such an incredible day, and we managed to sneak in a impromptu photoshoot before wandering into a very mediterranean cafe and ordering frozen lemonades (an absolute must if you are ever in the area). We only had an hour or so in the town, so we didn’t manage to make our way into the center, but the views from the water were just to good to pass up.

As we travelled on to the next town, we stopped along the way to see the Emerald Grotto, a beautiful cave named for the color reflected in the water through a small opening to the sea. I couldn’t manage to get any decent photos of the light, but it was quite magical, and the commentary after we explained that we were American was hilarious.

 

After our short boat ride around the cave came to an end, we stopped for lunch at one of the most gorgeous restaurants I have ever been to. Clinging to the side of the cliffs, we had a front row seat to the beautiful coastline.

After a bit more driving, we found our way into Positano which much like the other towns on the Amalfi coast clings tightly onto the side of the cliff and falls straight into the turquoise waters below. A healthy set of stairs and narrow paths lined with boutiques led us to the seaside where we sat on the pebble beach and soaked up the sun. I stuck my feet in the water (not wanting to be wet and salty for the rest of the afternoon) and searched for sea glass while my siblings escaped to the water.

The last stop on our day trip to the Amalfi Coast was Sorrento, the birthplace of Limoncello liqueur. At this point in the day, we were all worn out, and I didn’t manage to take any photos of the town despite carrying my camera around my neck the entire time. We wandered the streets of the town, stopped in a few shops to try Limoncello and other fruit flavored liqueurs, and saw lemons on practically everything in sight. It was a lovely town, but we were all wishing that we would have been able to spend more time in Amalfi or Positano. Maybe it was because we had already seen so much, but Sorrento didn’t really impress me.

As the day came to an end, we headed back to Pompeii where we would stay one last night before heading off to Venice. We didn’t plan appropriately, or anticipate how much we would all fall in love with the Amalfi Coast, and quickly realized that a one day tour was far too short. Since the rest of our trip was already booked, we could not extend our stay, but it would be safe to say that we will be back soon. I’m already looking forward to spending more time exploring and hiking the quaint Italian towns on this coastline.

I made a short video documenting our tour through Italy that you can watch here.

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Pompeii, Italy

When Italy was mentioned as a potential country to visit, it was my brother who suggested we visit Pompeii. It hadn’t really crossed my mind as a option, but once he brought it to my attention, I was obsessed with the idea. I’ve always been fascinated history and I think it stems back to my love for Magic Tree House books as I was growing up. Visiting Pompeii definitely made me feel like I was going on an adventure with Jack and Annie and their magic tree house.

We got to the city of Pompeii, found our AirBnB for the night, and then started walking around the town a bit. We were almost immediately approached by a tour company, and as the bunch of polite southerners we all are, we stopped and let them give us their spiel. We usually aren’t the type of travelers that explore with a tour group, but it became apparent that the cheapest and easiest way to get to the top of Mount Vesuvius would be to go with them. So we got in their van and they drove us to the top of the volcano. This is where I discovered that I could in fact get car sick and after the 20 painful minutes of being whipped around the tight curves of the Italian roads I was so grateful to be on solid ground for a minute.

Unfortunately, when we got to the top of the mountain, a big cloud rolled in and we completely lost all visibility. I felt a bit disappointed that we had gone through all the trouble to get to the top of Mount Vesuvius and couldn’t actually see anything. But the cloud did lend itself to an other-worldly experience of the top of the volcano and it felt a bit like we were on Mars! And anyway, I don’t know many people who can say that they’ve been to the top of Mount Vesuvius! … an active volcano just waiting to erupt! (after discovering that Mount Vesuvius is in fact an active volcano, I immediately felt more bad ass and just want everyone to know that I live life on the edge. haha)

After another tummy-turning ride back to the bottom of Vesuvius, we headed to a recommended restaurant I Matti and had our first real Italian pizza. And let me tell you, you have not had pizza until you have had an authentic Italian pizza. I have never tasted something so delicious and fresh.

The next day, after a relaxing morning, we headed to the entrance of the Pompeii ruins. It was so surreal to see the city and walk the streets that I had read about in history books. It didn’t feel real! When we walked in and just started exploring. There was nothing that was off limits, and we soon found ourselves lost in the ruins of a house on a small road. It was kind of fun that within this very touristic site, you can create your own experience of the place without a large crowd constantly around every turn. We only had a small map of the site with very little detail but we managed to find our way to all the major sites within the ruins.

After walking around for several hours, we finally found the casts of the preserved bodies that make Pompeii so famous. It was crazy to think that those people lived in the houses we had been exploring all day and walked on the very same cobblestone streets that we had walked. We finished our self guided tour around Pompeii, and finished by visiting the amphitheater that looked almost perfectly preserved. It is also the oldest surviving Roman amphitheater, older than the Colosseum in Rome by over a century!

After a long day of walking, we were all exhausted and headed back to the AirBnB. We walked to the grocery store and picked up a few snacks, then called it an early night and watched Shrek until we fell asleep. Pompeii was such an experience, and I couldn’t wait for the next few days in Italy and all the pizza and pasta that we were sure to consume.

I made a short video documenting our tour through Italy that you can watch here.