Sentiero degli Dei - God's pathway

Just a few minutes walk from Assunta's place is the piazza of Bomerano, and this is the start of the beautiful Degli Dei. It's a three hour walk from the top of the mountains and ends in Positano. The first part of the walk is along an old mule track, the views of terraced lemon groves, vineyards and the deep gorges that land in the Gulf of Salerno are more than spectacular!
 

From the hill-top town of Bomerano, Agerola......this way

Calvino and Lawrence liked it too!

Imagine tending these terraces?  The views literally stopped me
 in my tracks all along the section that I walked.

The old mule path winds its way through Grotto del Biscotto.

 

"The sea is just a wetter version of the skies"

Ancient stone dwellings.

In Italy, Madonna is never far away.
 

 

At the start of the walk I met an Agerolan who shared his
harvest of wild blackberries collected from the Degli Dei.

 

Costiera Amalfitana

Allora.... to the beautiful Amalfi coast.

We stayed with Assunta in one of her garden apartments situated around her small organic plot, in Agerola, high above Amalfi and Positano. To stay with Assunta is to experience all of the goodness of la dolce vita -  Assunta's organic tomatoes, cherries, lemons, oranges; Assunta's pancetta, porcetta, mozzerella; Assunta's homemade jams, lemon cakes and pastries. Everything home grown and home made, and for Assunta this is 'importante'.

Each day after Assunta's breakfast spread we took the thrilling bus ride through the villages that tumble down to Amalfi. The bus ride couldn't have been more exciting if it had been a zip-line straight down! Crazy drivers and motoriders overtaking anywhere on a two-lane road that is not quite wide enough for two vehicles. On blind corners and hairpin bends drivers need to listen for the blasting horn of oncoming buses. Oncoming buses engage in a tango as one inches forward while the other backs up to a spot where both can pass. Mamma mia!

But the view is breathtaking, the sea and the sky and the clouds get mixed up, the lemon groves cling to the mountainside - their fragrance is everywhere - and houses are built on top of houses.

From sweet Amalfi we took a different journey each day...Positano, Capri, Praiano, Furore and Conca dei Marini, Nocelle......



From Agerola, so high the sea and sky get mixed up.
 

Piazza and Duomo di Amalfi

The day's planning began here with espresso and a map.

And each afternoon ended here, perched on the steps of the
fountain with a limoncello gelati!

Sweet Amalfi (I think it may be our favourite).

Welcome to Positano.

From Positano, jump on the little boat with the red fish.
You won't be disappointed.  It will deliver you to paradise -
San Laurito beach and da Adolfo restaurant.  Not only will
Sergio Bella cook you a fine lunch, he will lend you a sunbed
for the day, and as the sun goes down the little boat with the
red fish will take you back to Positano.....and reality.

.....this little boat with the red fish will take you to da Adolfo.

Spiaggia Positano, and the majolica roof of Santa Maria Assunta.

Lemon groves on cliffs. Amalfi lemons are beautiful, as big as
a hand, thick skinned and juicy.  Perfect for limoncello!
 

The Amalfi Coast - rocks and towns and bays and coves.

Secluded ittle beach of S Laurito, nestled between the rocks.

da Adolfo restaurant is the little shack on the right.
 

When I notice signore spending time on a wharf, talking to people attached to boats generally I know that he's considering hiring one!  And so, after we spent days sightseeing along the coast and eating, swimming and sunning on Laurito I was curious as to what signore had in mind....

My very own capitaine......taking a boat across to the island of Capri.

Marina Grande, Capri.

Lunch at Da Gioia, Marina Piccolo, Capri. Helpfully, one of the
restaurant staff will row out, moor your boat and row
you to his restaurant in his little white wooden tender.

Beautiful Capri

We circumnavigated Capri, swam at the Green Grotto and
Signore drove right through the gap in one of these impressive
 sea stacks, il faraglioni.

Capri was stunningly beautiful considering that it is really just one huge rock.  The best way to see it is surely by boat so you can explore the coves, beaches and grottos at the base of the cliffs and rock faces.

After a swim through Capri's green grotto I popped by skirt and top back on to have lunch on the terrace at Da Gioia.  After lunch we swam again at the fine pebbly beach at Marina Piccolo and I placed my skirt on a rock to dry in the hot sun.  We were half way back across the stretch of sea between Capri and Positano when I realised my skirt was still sunbaking on the rock.  Never mind, said the boat hirer, he would collect it from Capri the next day and would have it back in Positano by evening.  Sure enough, next evening we drove ourselves along the winding roads between Agerola and Positano, parked in the carpark at the Chiesa, walked down through Positano's pretty lanes and recovered blue skirt from it's overnight stay on Capri!  Grazie mille.

On the terrace at da Gioia with the sea lapping under your feet.

Amalfi lemons

Veal with lemoni, Capri-style.



Seafood salad and baked mozzarella.  Seriously good.

Love seaside artist....anywhere in the world really.
 

 

PompeiViva!

On a warm summer's day in 79 AD Mount Vesuvius exploded spewing a cloud of ash, rock and toxic gas many kilometers into the air, which then rained down on Pompeii and entombed the city and 2,000 of its inhabitants.

On a warm summer's day almost 2,000 years later signore and I walked around the excavated streets and buildings of this once grand and prosperous Roman trading city.

Casts of the bodies of Pompeiians make it easy to be moved at the tragedy that resulted from the great shift of the tectonic plates, however I was also impressed by the slogan "PompeiViva". Pompeii Lives because we can walk around it and see and understand Roman life as it was. Pompeii Lives because vineyards and vegetable gardens have been planted throughout parts of this archialogical site, and Pompeii Lives because the huge amphitheatre is being restored so that it can be used again.  PompeiViva!

Pictures tell the tragic story of Pompeii better than words.

Pompeii street

The necropolis - many of the tombs along the street have Latin
inscriptions still visible.

The Garden of the Fugitives - tragic sight of victims overcome by
Vesuvio's fury.  These casts lie in an area that is now cultivated
as a vineyard.

One of the many thermopolia - an open space on the
roadside with a stone bench and spaces where terracotta  jars
would have been placed to store food in.  Food and drinks
were served to passers-by.  Pompeii café really.

Stucco ceiling and sculptures of the baths.

One of the frescoes at the Lupanare (the brothel).

The Forum I

The Forum II - these are the monumental bases for large
commemorative statues.  The statues have never been found.

Roman road signs.....two stones means one-way traffic.

Four stones means two-way traffic. Very clever because the stones
also served so that pedestrians could cross the road without getting wet.

Porta Nocera dates from the 4th century BC.  It stands at the
 beginning of the road that leads to the city



Cave Canem - beware of the dog! The beautiful mosaic at
The House of the Tragic Poet.

Another of the thermopolia -  'snack bars' or cafes of Pompeii.

The columns of the large atrium villas.

Pompeii Lives!

Our day at Pompeii was fascinating - such a special place and amazing to see the current excavations. Mount Vesuvius didn't reveal itself that day, its active cone was shrouded in cloud.  Funny, because the destruction it caused thousands of years ago was clear to see. PompeiViva!

Introducing.....Sophia Lorenzo

We left Rome on a train from Termini heading for the Citroen dealer on the city's outskirts, near Fumicino airport. Ready and waiting for us was little DS3 Sport, Sophia Lorenzo. She's a bit of a siren....red and fast. Here she is.....

We still believe that the red number plates are to warn local
drivers as we negotiate Italian roads and villages.

"She's a good little car, that one."
 

She's small so parking is no problem....well not for anyone
in Italy really!

Sophia's very first kilometers were consumed down the autostrada, around Napoli and to Pompeii where we stayed at the lovely family-run Amleto Hotel. We chose this hotel as it is only a short walk to one of the gates to the Pompeii archaeological site.