I T A L I A 2 0 0 6
THE AMALFI COAST
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Tuesday, 25 April: After a leisurely morning, we drove to Sorrento. We wandered a bit of the town and then did some serious shopping. We returned back to the lodge for the afternoon siesta. In early evening, we strolled the streets of Sant’Agnello and did some more shopping. We learned many stores would remain closed due to the celebration of Italy’s Independence Day (witness the fireworks and church bells at midnight).
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Lindy under
one of the |
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Typical street in Sorrento |
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Paul and Flo in the Sorrento shopping district
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The Gang takes a break |
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As we return to Sant'Agnello, a view of the cathedral |
Wednesday, 26 April: As suggested by the wife of the owner of the hotel, we took a train to visit Pompei. The ruins there are spectacular. Since the town was buried under volcanic ash, its buildings and their contents were kept intact until being excavated. Despite a drizzling rain, we all enjoyed walking these ancient streets and seeing the mosaics and frescoes still remaining on the ancient walls. We returned home via the train and relaxed until we had a family-style dinner at the hotel. It was excellent and a great way to end our time at this beautiful location.
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A view of a
main road, Via Abbondanza. The |
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Columns from a temple |
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A fresco on an interior wall |
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An outdoor statute and mosaic |
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The Gang at Pompei with Mt. Vesuvio in the background |
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Tile mosaic of doves |
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A vendor's store (You wanna buy something??) |
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A bakery |
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Another wall painting |
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A small side street in Pompei |
Thursday, 27 April: We left Sorrento at approximately 9:30A to begin our drive on the Amalfi coast. This windy road hangs from the rugged and beautiful Italian coast. It takes a great driver (Thank’s Ed!) to handle the sharp turns and the Italian drivers who choose their lane down the center of the road. Our destination was the town of Amalfi, about half-way along the coast. We arrived at our hotel (again, using the scenic route (i.e., getting lost a couple of times) near noon. It was set high on the cliff with incredible views, including those from our own balconies. It was the perfect place to relax and watch the sea (and the cars winding on the road). Paul and Flo elected to relax for the afternoon. Ken, Catherine, Lindy and Ed took the hotel shuttle down into the town. The towns of the Amalfi Coast are known for their wonderful ceramics. We walked around the various shops and into the town square. We returned back to the hotel via the shuttle. Later, we enjoyed dinner in the hotel and then a limoncello in the hotel bar.
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The Gang on
the balcony of our |
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A view of the town of Positano from the coast road |
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Our hotel, The Grand
Excelsior, perched above the town of Amalfi |
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A view of Amalfi from our hotel |
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Sant'Andrea, where St. Andrew, the Apostle, is entombed |
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A wall fountain |
Friday, 28 April: After a leisurely breakfast, we all took the shuttle into Amalfi for shopping and wandering. We returned on an early afternoon shuttle. We took advantage of our hotel and its beautiful setting and relaxed there during siesta. We had another delicious dinner followed by cocktails and then we were off to bed.
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Paul and Flo on the pier at Amalfi |
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Ed and Lindy on the pier at Amalfi |
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A view of Amalfi from the water |
Saturday, 29 April: The weather was pretty nasty today. Initially, we had light showers but they began to grow stronger. We decided to brave the rain and travel to Ravello, a beautiful mountain town with many Moorish influences located above the coast. We took the hotel shuttle into town and then caught a local bus to Ravello. While waiting for the bus, it began to really pour. This kept up as we arrived into Ravello. We decided to stop for lunch to dry off a bit and sit out the weather. It worked! After lunch, the rain slowed and we were able to walk around the town piazza. We also found some great ceramic shops and made some purchases. We took the local bus back into Amalfi and again hit the stores there since we had an hour wait for our hotel shuttle. When we arrived back at the hotel, we all sorted out our treasures and began figuring out how we would get them home safely.
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Piazza in Ravello |
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The Duomo
and Bell Tower |
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A street scene in Ravello |
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Our final photo! All of
us with the Italian countryside in the background on a rainy day |
Sunday, 30 April: This was our day to return to Roma in anticipation of flights home on Monday morning. We once again drown the Amalfi coast road – this time from Amalfi to Vietri sul Mare and then took the autostrade to Casino where we exited and drove to the seaside town of Formia. There, Ken and Catherine have a friend who has a cousin who owns a restaurant, Il Corralo. As luck would have it, we were able to locate the restaurant. We had a wonderful lunch (despite being stuffed from breakfast) and the owner was very gracious and would not let us pay for the meal. True Italian hospitality! We continued along the coast road until arriving in Roma. We then went to the town or Torrempieta near the Leonardo da Vinci Airport. We stayed at Motel Corsi and walked across the street for a final taste of Italy – a pizza cooked on a wood-fire oven. Delicious and the way to end this Italian adventure!