Amalfi, Atrani, and Ravello

Sue woke me up just before 9, and we got ready and went down for breakfast at about 9.40. We bolted a very nice espresso-style coffee with boiling milk, some thin, cold, crunchy toast and a delicious croissant filled with chocolate. Yum! We ran down many stairs to get to the boat and managed to buy tickets and get on in time. It cost us €6 and took about 20 minutes to get to Amalfi. The town looked lovely, but we didn’t really have a plan, so we just walked off to the right, and by accident found ourselves on the way to Atrani, including through the narrow, scary tunnel with the cars and buses etc. At the end of the tunnel, we were directed to some steps going down to the beach, then walked through an arch into the village itself. There was a beautiful piazza with some lovely cafes.
We sat at one and Sue and I had a wonderful coffee mousse thing in a dessert cup – Sue called this a granita. It was truly delicious, though I didn’t eat the coffee beans floating in it. We got a fantastic biscuit with it too.

We’d read in the oracle that there was a way to walk back to Amalfi through the back alleys, so went in search of the way. I went in one direction and a nice man called out, telling me to keep walking the way I was going. I asked if you could get to Amalfi that way, and he said yes. I called Sue and Camillo and we set off through a wonderful maze of steps and corners and alleys, following the few signs and asking a few people as well. People’s front doors were hidden in the wall. Imagine living there! There was one lovely open section right up above the road, and then we went back through more alleys, encountering a sea breeze, and Amalfi itself soon after.

We had a walk through the shops, Sue and I each bought some shoes, and went into the Sant’Andrea Cathedral, at the top of its amazing steps. It was fascinating, and very beautiful. Some stupid people were taking photos with the flash, but there were not really any signs. We only knew you weren’t supposed to because Sue had asked. We met Camillo again and headed back to the harbour. I went to buy something to eat, when Willy of Willy’s Information stopped me and asked if I was a backpacker. We got talking and it turned out he was from near Manchester and had spent 2 ½ months in Australia. He was trying to drum up business for his pension but gave us some good advice on buses. He was quite attractive, and wearing a good Aussie hat. I got a mozzarella and ham pidda thing with chocolate gelato which was very good.

We found the bus to Ravello, with Willy’s help, and got on it. The trip was winding but pleasant. We walked into the square and I just took photos in all directions. It was stunning. We got some gelato – pistachio for me – and had a wander. There were a lot of ceramics shops that were lovely and I bought an alabaster egg, but couldn’t find a stand for it.

We walked up some steps (majority ruled – Sue didn’t want to, but Camillo and I did), saw some grapevines, and a weird church/museum thing at the top that Sue went into. I could hear piano music, but it turned out to be piped.

Sue and I paid €5 to go in something I thought was Villa Cimbrone, but was in fact Villa Rufolo, which was an interesting house with nice gardens and a brilliant view, but certainly not worth the €5. We caught the bus back down, standing all the way, and got back at about 4.30. I went to put my feet in the water (no time for a swim) and we went to the boat wharf. The company we had come with didn’t have a box office on that wharf, so we asked at a ferry ticket office across the road. The woman there directed us ‘behind the blue bus’ and we finally found it. The boat back to Positano had been cancelled due to heavy swell. We looked at other companies and found that they didn’t leave until 6pm.

We headed for the bus timetable and found one to Positano at 5.30. I went to get a strawberry icy cup thingo (which Sue called a granita, though it was nothing like the coffee thing), and came across Willy again. He asked why I was still there and I said that we were stranded. He made for the bus timetable and confirmed the 5.30 we’d already found. He found a man he was supposed to be buying a computer from and told me he’d be right back. The bus arrived before he got back, so we got on.

The trip was much less scary, and I took a lot of photos. We got off at the top of Positano and took the little bus to the villa, and chilled out with a beer or two on the balcony and sent Matt a text to make him jealous.

After a shower, we walked to the harbour and found a place to eat around to the right, placed our order and then the storm started. We went inside and Sue and Camillo had pizza and I had ravioli with just oil which is just exactly what I wanted and extremely good. There wasn’t enough of it though so I had a piece each of the others’ pizza. Half a bottle of red went with it very well. On the way back up, now that the rain had stopped, I ate the yummy chocolate meringue I’d bought on the way down. We spoke to Juliana before we went upstairs, and she showed me that the last Sorrento bus left for Napoli airport at 4.30 the next day. We were planning to go to Capri, and so thought that it would be better for me to get a boat from there straight to Sorrento or even to Napoli. Bed at 11.45.