Day 17 Positano

Today we hired a taxi / guide to take us back along the Amalfi coast toward Solerno.  The idea was to give me an opportunity to actually get a look at the scenery rather than focusing solely on the perils of driving.  It was a lovely serene experience for me and worth the expense.  We had the driver for four hours.  Honestly he was not much of a guide since he only pointed out a few points of interest.  One of the places he identified is Sophia Loren's villa.  Chris and I think we saw her yesterday walking along the street.  At least that's our story and we are sticking to it.  We had the driver drop us off in the town of Praiano which is the next town down the coast from Positano.  We figured it would be easy to get back home from there.  We took the steps down to the beach quite a distance below.  By now it was about 12:30 and our early breakfast had worn off.  Fortunately, there was a small restaurant at the bottom where we were the only customers to have lunch.  Thinking better of the walk back up the steps we decided to take a water taxi back to Positano.  It was quite different to approach the town from the water.  Looking at the rugged coast line I wondered why anyone would choose to make this place their home.  Certainly there are more inviting costal areas that are more sheltered from the sea.  As you can see from the pictures the town is built on the steep side of the hill.  Beautiful but not practical.  There are so many rock and brick walls that support everything from the roads to the houses that a small earthquake would send this place tumbling into the ocean.   It was a very nice place to visit but I would not want to live here.

Chris - It was nice to ride up the coast with a driver who was born in Positano and knew the roads. Whereas he didn't narrate much along the way, really only pointing out the towns which I did the day before, he did provide a couple facts and a sure hand in driving....and, most importantly, Paul could enjoy the coast.  I did have him take us back to Vietri Sul Mare, where they are known for their ceramics, to see a large stairs area made of ceramic tiles. I had seen it yesterday briefly and I wanted to see where it lead...really only to a small gathering area they use for concerts. I was thrilled that he understood that I wanted us dropped in Praiano to look around and then make our way back to Positano by bus, taxi ... or water taxi.
We didn't see a whole lot of Praiano as I wanted to see the beach area below and try and eat down there first. After walking down for about 15-20 minutes, 99% of it steps, we found a restaurant, an oasis...a God sent!!! No joke we walked down forever! I wasn't even sure there was anything down there but water, but I was banking on the fact if you walked that far down there's gotta be SOMETHING there. The restaurant & bar, La Gavitella, really services a hotel that has an elevator down to the beach. The beach is a loose term for water, gravel and rocks. It was a beautiful view and really nice seafood restaurant. I knew I need something before I climbed up ALL those stairs. The waiter asked if we were with the hotel and I said "no" but knew I was desperate enough that I'd buy a room if need be to eat there! He asked how we got there, and I said "the stairs" and he made a face like yikes...all those stairs. He became my best friend when he said we could hire a water taxi back to Positano from there, if we wanted....we wanted!!!  So much for seeing Praiano, I traded seeing the town square and shops in for the water taxi! It was a calm and gorgeous ride, and I loved seeing the coast from the water. If I lived here I'd be thinner from all the walking....assuming I laid off the gelato. HUGE assumption!

Tomorrow - Ferry to Amalfi and on to another adventure!