Honeymoon Day 6: Bus Ride to Amalfi and Positanio

I don't remember the first time I learned it existed or saw pictures of its beauty but for years I have dreamed of visiting the Amalfi Coast.  Saturday morning we woke up and headed to town early so we could get a start on our day.  Positano was about 45 minutes from Sorrento and Amalfi was another half hour past there.  We bought our passes at the train station for the SITA bus and decided to head out to Amalfi first.  There are day passes that can be bought for about six Euros so we decided to purchase those since we knew we wanted to do four trips total.  

From the tour books, I knew we wanted to sit on the right side.  Fortunately it was the off season so the bus only had a few passengers and we had our choice of seats.  I had read about how the trip isn't for the faint of heart since the road hugs the side of a cliff over the water but I had forgotten to tell the husband ahead of time about it.  That was probably for the best since he isn't a fan of heights... and he really wasn't a fan of the fact that a short barrier was the only thing between us and plunging to out deaths.  The other unnerving part was some of the curves the driver would honk his horn and just go around blind.  The road wasn't that crowded fortunately, I can't imagine what it's like in July.  In 2005 my family went to Ireland on a bus tour and the experience was definitely similar to riding around the Ring of Kerry.

Barrier wall

The road along the Amalfi Coast

View of a garden below the road from the bus window

Amalfi is the last stop on the bus from Sorrento so at least we knew we were going to get off at the right stop.  There are two stops in Positano and we noted that it looked like we wanted to get off at the one further from Sorrento.  

When we got to Amalfi it was raining and we were starting to get hungry so we decided to scope out a place for lunch while exploring the town.  The first thing we came across was a square which had a charming church with the hills in the background.  From the square we started heading up the streets of the town and found little covered alleyways and stairs, which we assume were built to protect the residents from the weather but we still don't know for sure.

Amalfi square

Main road through Amalfi

Covered walkways

 After walking up and down the main road we started exploring a little and found a restaurant that was just opening for the day.  We were glad we decided to eat there, the food was delicious.  Since we were on the coast we had to get more of the fresh seafood as an appetizer.  For lunch I had pasta with a lemon sauce since that area is known for lemons, the husband has homemade pasta with seafood.  For people who love seafood as much as we do, visiting the Amalfi Coast was heaven.

Mussels

Pasta with a lemon sauce

Seafood Pasta

After lunch we browsed the shops and bought a few things, but the city was getting ready to close for the afternoon siesta.  Italy shuts down between about 2-4 in the afternoons for a siesta.  It's part of their culture but it can be a pain when sightseeing.  When we realized Amalfi was shutting we decided to move on, but first got some delicious gelato before getting back on the bus.

Chocolate and lemon... I know I'm weird

We got back on the bus and got off at the first stop in Positanio coming from Amalfi which drops you at the top of the town.  We had a little bit of trouble finding the right road to get us down to the beach but once we did, we decided to take our shoes off so we could say we put our feet in the Tyrrhenian Sea.  The sun had come out by then so we sat on the beach for a while soaking in the scenery.  I had read a lot about the beauty of Positanio before we left on our trip and we were not disappointed.  The town was still shut down for their siesta so we got drinks at a beach bar and some pizza as an afternoon snack.

View of Positanio from the bus stop

Church on the sea

Town built into a hill

Tyrrheanian Sea

Looking back from the water

While making our way back up the hill to the bus stop, we did some shopping since the shops had opened back up.  Our feelings about visiting the Amalfi Coast in November were similar to visiting Rome.  When you go in the off-season certain restaurants and shops aren't open, but everything is cheaper and not crowded!  I have heard that during the summer the towns along the coast, like Rome, are swarmed with tourists both staying in town and coming off the cruise ships but we just about had the place to ourselves.  By the time we finished our trek up the hill the moon had come out over the water and we got to enjoy the town at nighttime before the bus arrived.  The ride back was possibly more terrifying then the ride out since it was dark, but we managed to make it back to Sorrento without plunging to our deaths.