Postcard from the Amalfi Coast

When on a hot summer day the temperature reaches more than 40 degrees C (104 F) one of the best places to be is on the Amalfi Coast in  the Campania region in the south of Italy. It's the stretch of coastline that lies between Salerno and Positano in the Salerno Gulf, and which covers a distance of 40-50 kilometres. Along this stretch you'll find small, picturesque villages (with approx. 2500 to 5500 inhabitants), including Positano, Amalfi, Vietri sul Mare, Maiori and Minori. And not to mention Ravello which is located high on the cliffs off the coast where you have a stunning sea view. In 1997 the Amalfi Coast was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage. 
  
If you move inwards and upwards in this beautiful landscape you'll find hills covered in terraces and dry walls to keep the landscape "in place" and here they grow lemons and other kinds of fruits; olives, grapes and vegetables of all kinds. The Amalfi Coast (and Sorrento), along with Capri and Sicily are probably the places that are most famous for their Limoncello liqueur. If you continue even further into the countryside you can find farms that keep sheeps, goats, cows and even buffaloes (from where you get the absolute best mozzarella cheese).

The hillside up to Ravello

 
The entire landscape is criss-crossed by old cattle trails, or rather, earlier trade routes that ran between the different cities. I myself have walked from Minori that is situated by the sea and up to Ravello which lies at about 400 meters above sea level. The walk includes 1247 steps in addition to the normal path - so you get a good work-out along the way. You pass through olive groves and vineyards where farmers are working and they are greeting you with a  "ciao" or  a "buongiorno". Several times I thought I was lost because I was passing through what I thought was private property with cats and chickens running everywhere, but I wasn't. Lost, that is.... You have a fantastic view while you walk, both to the sea and the hills that stretch upwards and I strongly recommended that you take this walk if you happen to visit the Amalfi Coast. Although I must admit that when I was about halfway through it I regretted it because the thermometer showed  a whopping 42 degrees Celsius. The wisest thing though would have been to take the bus from Minori to Ravello and then walk back again ... Oh well, next time! 

Some of the 1247 steps from Minori to Ravello

The hillside between Minori and Ravello  as seen from Ravello

Minori- which was my starting point - is situated about 4 km from the town of Amalfi. It has about 2800 inhabitants and is the birthplace of Jamie Oliver's  "Italian mentor" Gennaro Cortaldo who has also written a cookbook called "Passione" with recipes from the Amalfi Coast. Since Minori is so small it is a perfect place if you want to relax. You'll find small restaurants or tavernas for almost every taste and the beach isn't too big or too crowded. The beach is actually divided into two parts where in one part you'll find sun beds and umbrellas - and the the other part is for people like me that is happy to lie down on my beach towel with a book in one hand and my toes in the sea... Minori is the perfect starting point for boat trips to the various towns along the coast - I wouldn't recommend the bus because the road is narrow and full of hairpin bends and the bus driver is driving like a maniac.... 

Minori

Minori

View over Minori. This is almost the entire town.....

Ravello, as I said earlier, lies high above sea level and has about 2500 inhabitants. Over the years it has been a popular destination for artists, writers, musicians and artists such as the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, Leonard Bernstein and Greta Garbo and they say it was here that Richard Wagner found the inspiration for the scenography of the opera Parsifal. The city has since 1953 celebrated a music festival in honour of Wagner. At first it was just an opera festival, but has now changed into a 2 months long festival of jazz, dance shows, photo exhibitions, discussion groups and also the opportunity to meet and talk to the various participating artists who in many cases is world famous. A part of the festival takes place at Villa Rufolo which has an unbeatable view of the sea. 

The main piazza in Ravello

The view from Villa Rufolo

The garden at Villa Rufolo

The view from where the concerts take place at Villa Rufolo

Some sort of a postcard from Terracina

A while ago I promised to tell you why I spent Ferragosto (in agony) on a sunbed under an umbrella at the beach. So here it comes...

We were going to spend Ferragosto in Terracina, a seaside town midway between Rome and Naples. Before Italy became united this town belonged to the Vatican State. At the moment it has approximately 40.000 inhabitants, but during the summer months thousands and thousands of tourists come to savour the sun and the sea here.

Ferragosto is also my brother-in-law's birthday so we were invited to spend the weekend with my in-law's (which also means staying at the beach...). I have to admit that I'm kind of "allergic" to the kind of beaches where sunbeds are lined up almost like soldiers and where there are so little space between the umbrellas that you can't even see the sky from under it... This however, doesn't seem to ruin the Italian's holiday. After having spent the whole month of August almost under the same umbrella they seem to be "one big, happy family".

I however, was planning to leave the beach to itself and go for a walk. Not a "round-the-corner-walk", but a real, long, nice walk. Just outside the town there is a temple that I was planning to visit. It's called "Temple of Jupiter" or "Tempio di Giove Anxur" in Italian. It's situated on the top of Mount Sant Angelo. I went for this walk alone because no Italian will ever come with you if it involves walking for a long time and under the burning, hot sun.

Here you can see the mountain where it's situated. I've taken the picture from the centre of town

So, the day before Ferragosto I put on my brand new sneakers, grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and off I went - away from sunbeds and umbrellas. That is, at first I had to walk 4 km along the beach to get to the centre of town and the only thing that changed as I was walking was the colour and the shape of those umbrellas at the beach.....

 

My feet started hurting immediately after I left the house, because of my new shoes, but since I had decided to do this I couldn't let a stupid thing like my shoes stop me...

I went through the old town of Terracina....

Imagine - living two feet from a historic site.....

Here I met someone who really enjoyed life....

The top of the mountain is a bit closer than before. However, still a long way to go. And my feet are still hurting because of the shoes...........

I didn't meet many people on my way to the top. And I'm pretty sure that those few I did meet where tourists. They're the only ones out walking when it's 40 degrees.... I also met some horses, but they didn't even look at me....

A strange town up in the mountains. It resembled a kind of a "Disney-town". I still don't know what town it is....

This picture shows the temple from the outside. And why is my only picture of the temple from the outside? Well, from the simple reason that I had only a few euros in my pocket and when finally arrived on the site I had to decide whether to buy the entrance ticket and then "die of thirst" or to buy me something to eat and drink and skip entering the site. I can tell you that it was an easy decision. After walking 10 km in the heat I chose the bar over the temple. I even had to pay to get into the bar so I could buy a bottle of water.... On my way to the top it occurred to me that this would be the perfect place if someone wanted to "rip off" tourists dying of thirst, but I didn't immagine that it would really be the case....

Having bought something to eat and drink I sat down looking at the sea and the city from above. Nice, isn't it?

I've put an X at the point from where I started out. It's really far away, or what...?

Having finished my really expensive lunch there was nothing else to do than starting on my way back - my feet still hurting and also bleeding.....

Stumbling over the doorstep some hours later my husband had to help me taking of my shoes and socks that where soaked in blood. And I'm not lying. The last 5 kilometres I kept walking just because I'm really stubborn and I didn't want to call my husband asking him to come and pick me up with the car...

And the galls? Well, it took 4 weeks to get rid of them. And it was because of the galls and my hurting limbs that I spent Ferragosto at the beach - unable to move.....

Too bad I didn't get to see the temple from the inside,though, but I've found a video on Youtube that you can watch. It's really nice. Click here to see the video. I was really impressed so I will go back some time, but I will definitely bring both my car and sufficient money.... and shoes that doesn't hurt!

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio in Florence has to be one of the most photographed in the whole world and after living there for a year I have to confess that I love this place and I have a "ridiculous" amount of pictures of this bridge. And one of the best things to do in Florence is relaxing in the sun by the bridge, just enjoying the view - and a gelato (ice cream) and watching all the tourists going by.....

Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge that was built in wood and stone. After being destroyed by a flood it was reconstructed and made entirely out of stones. Since that time (around 1345) it has been destroyed and reconstructed several times.

The bridge has shops built along it as once was common. The shops were initially inhabited by butchers, but since the 1500s it has been inhabited by jewellers (and lately also art dealers and souvenir sellers). The butchers were kicked out of the shops all those years ago, because they used to throw the meat that were gone off into the river and this was not appreciated by the people who lived along the river...

In 1939 the bridge was visited by Hitler, Mussolini and other high ranking nazists and fascists. Because of this the three big "windows" right at the middle of the bridge was removed so that they could have a better view from it....

During the German retreat after the second world war they blew up all the other bridges along the river Arno. It is said that they didn't blow up Ponte Vecchio due to historical reasons. (Don't know if it's true, though...)

After the war they reconstructed all the other bridges over the river, so they are fairly new in comparison to Ponte Vecchio that dates back from 1345 and really deserves to be called Ponte Vecchio which in Italian means "the old bridge".

Below you will find some of my pictures of the bridge. However, I don't have a picture of the bridge with snow on top. So this means that one day I just have to go back....

You can make the pictures bigger by clicking on them







Dreamhost Review

Postcard from Capri, Campania

 
Unfortunately, I chose the hottest day of August to visit Capri. And in August Capri is packed with tourists from all over the world - as well as Italians...

This might not sound too tempting, but I think that if you visit the island outside the peak season you will find the island quite delightful.

Capri is situated just outside the Sorrento peninsula in the region of Campania. In ancient times, the island was in fact connected to the mainland by a small strip of land that (obviously) now has sunk into the sea and separated it from mainland Italy.

The coastline of Capri is full of cliffs and caves, the most noted being "La grotta azzurra" (The Blue Grotto) which is one of several  sea caves worldwide that is flooded with a brilliant blue or emerald light. It is said that the Roman Emperors used this cave as their private "bathroom".

The island has been a place for intellectuals from all over Europe as well as politcal refugees. Pablo Neruda, the poet, lived here several years in the 1950s and when king Farouk of Egypt was expelled from his country in 1952 he seeked refuge on the island. In the 1950s you could also bump into people like Onassis, Maria Callas and Brigitte Bardot on the island. 

The island still attracts the rich and famous people and you really need to have your pockets filled with euros if you intend to stay here for more than just one day. The rich comes here mostly to spend lazy days in luxurious hotels or to stay in one of Europe's most famous spa - "Capri Beauty Farm". In the evenings you will find them sitting around in the upper class restaurants. (The kind of restaurants that I can't afford...)

Capri is full of expensive designer shops and in addition to the world known brands such as Gucci, Prada etc, the island also has its own succesfull designers. One of them, the designer Emilip Pucci opened his first shop here in 1949 and he is the one that invented the Capri pants (or Capris). If you have brought a suitcase full of euros you can shop till you drop on Capri...

Arriving in Capri you will sail into the Marina Grande which is the largest harbour on the island. From here there is a kind of "funicular" that brings you to Anacapri. In Greek "ana" means "up" or "above", signifying that Anacapri is higher up than the town Capri. You have an excellent view over a part of the island from here. Not knowing about the funicular I started my walk upwards through some narrow streets and a good 800 steps. Only to see the funicular passing me by when I was halfway up the steps....

At Anacapri you will find the famous villa "San Michele" which belonged to the Swedish doctor, Axel Munthe, and this is a very popular place for most tourists.


On Capri the climate is perfect for growing exotic fruits like bananas and figs. And lemons are grown in abundance. It is said that this is the place where they make the best Limoncello in Italy, thanks to the wonderful lemons.

Capri is really worth a visit or two, but the next time I will plan my trip more carefully than the first time when one morning I just hopped on the ferry from the Amalfi coast where I spent my holidays. I imagine that an island in full bloom in April or May will be a sight "for sore eyes"; there won't be too many tourists and the temperature will probably be just perfect.

Here are some pictures from my daytrip to Capri..




 "A piece of Paradise" (written in dialect) states this sign I found on a garden wall

 

Untreated lemons - perfect for making Limoncello...

 

One of the narrow streets that took me from Marina Grande...

Here you can buy refreshments as well as the popular Italian Granita. (A kind of ice/slush). I just love lemon Granita. It saved my life after walking up 800 steps from the Marina Grande...

Capri's "designer-street"

Map of the island of Capri

Here you can buy the most wonderful fruit and vegetables

The view from "Villa San Michele".

Pictures from Positano

Positano, with its 4.000 inhabitants, is situated on the Amalfi Coast in the region of Campania. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was just a poor village, inhabited mostly by fishermen, but in the 1950s it began attracting large numbers of tourists, thanks to the fact that John Steinbeck had published his poem about the place in the American fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. Today, tourism is the main industry in the area and the village attracts wealthy Italians and Hollywood stars.

The picturesque houses, with their tiny alleys and narrow streets are clinging to the mountain side. The town is full of designer shops, souvenir stalls, hotels and restaurants; everything to cater for the tourists. I have to admit that I think there were just too many tourists for such a small place, at least in August when all the Italians also take their holiday. (And they don't go abroad, they remain in their beautiful country....) Anyhow, the sun, the sea and of course the view was all very captivating - as you can see from the pictures below...