Amalfi was our destination for today. We boarded a ferry for Amalfi this morning and sailed east down the coast to Amalfi. Chris reported to me that Amalfi once was a rival of Venice and Genoa for influence in this area of the world. That is somewhat hard to believe since it is such a small town located in a unprotected area of the coast. They were once famous for their paper mills. When I think of paper mills I think of Chillicothe, Ohio. Sorry but the reference does not compare. There is scant trace of their paper heritage save the paper mill museum we saw signs for today.
Our ride down the coast was very enjoyable and gave us a nice view of the coast line during the half hour journey. We explored the side streets, few as they were and had lunch overlooking the gravel beach. The weather was exceptionally pleasant and made the day a relaxing interlude in our somewhat busy schedule. We caught the 3:00 boat back to Positano where we later had dinner overlooking the bay. It was a very nice day as our last on the Amalfi coast. Tomorrow we visit Pompeii on our way to the Rome airport.
Chris - What a relaxing way to say goodbye to the Amalfi Coast! Our day, like all our days in Positano, started with a great, full breakfast eaten while overlooking the town of Positano from our hotel's patio restaurant. With all the rainy, cold weather we experienced earlier, we have been very blessed with gorgeous weather here on the Amalfi Coast!!! It was sunny and between 70 and 76 degrees since we've been here. It has really been wonderful to be able to eat all our meals outside overlooking either water or the Coastline. It was a fun and interesting morning, starting with sitting down by the water waiting for our ferry and watching all the privately hired or owned yachts take off for Capri. We enjoyed a relaxing day on the water and walking through the town of Amalfi. The Duomo there is impressive and was named in honor of St. Andrew, whose remains are said to be buried inside the Crypt. Reached by climbing steep steps, the cathedral is characterized by its black-and-white facade and mosaics. We were touring the cathedral when there was a wedding getting ready to start. I don't want to say it was informal, but Paul was able to wish the groom luck while he was standing at the alter waiting for the music to start. We waited about 5 minutes and we watched the bride come down the aisle and greet her groom. There were no attendants or music until the bride's traditional music when she walked down the aisle with her Dad. We then saw the small wedding party having their reception at an outdoor restaurant we walked by. This was the 4th bride and groom we witnessed on our trip. The most interesting one was actually on a turn of the road leading to the Amalfi Coast. We were delayed in a tunnel for about 15 minutes, and when we came out of the tunnel right above the bay on a small pullout on a turn, was a bride, groom , minister and a few people actually having the wedding.
Tonight for dinner I chose a restaurant, il Capitano, that hangs over the town of Positano near our hotel. It was a beautiful night and it was fabulous watching the twilight settle in over the water and hillside. The incredibly pretty setting made for a very special last dinner here in such a magical place.
On a side note- I just found "Castle" on our TV here, it's in Italian....but it's good to at least see them!
Tomorrow - Pompeii, with a whole different look than here!
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