Jumping Off the Rocks

 

South of Sorento it's hard to get lost among the green and lose your way beyond that one little bay you're looking for. In our case we drove south looking for a place we had seen the day before from the boat. From that vantage point it looked like a great place... just high enough on the rocks to make is difficult to get to but accessible enough that we could jump in if we'd want. And so it was that we made our way to Bagni Regina Giovanna. 

Parking was a nightmare but when daddy dropped off the girls to make their way into the trail to the ancient Roman villa ruins (the view would have been, and still is, absolutely amazing!) he needed over 35 minutes to find a parking space that was within walking distance. Still, after some looking around, he found the girls happy as can be, sitting on the rocks overlooking the sea below and Sorento to the right in the distance. There were spots to jump - some higher than others - and the girls decided to give it a shot. Irini took a shorter outcrop to jump in and Amalia followed. But later Amalia decided she needed to challenge herself a bit more, and so she did. 

We must have stayed a couple hours and it was just what the doctor needed. Just a low frills opportunity to be in nature, and in water. As we left the smiles were pretty broad and, still in bathing suits, we made our way to a hotel with a view just down from where we were staying. As luck would have it we'd have a delightfully traditional Italian dinner overlooking the sunset (with the addition of a couple of family celebrations for children coming of age - why not?) 

Amalfi Coast

 

So there we were. Amalfi Coast. We opted to avoid road transport and, instead, got a round-trip ticket on a boat to Amalfi and Positano before returning to Sorento where our car awaited for the trek back up our mountain. 

It was early June but that didn't stop the tourist trade from going strong. The place was beautiful but we found it packed with people, like us, roaming between streets trying to find that perfect spot to get a drink (it was pretty hot too) or a meal. We found ourselves somewhere between the masses and the side alleys (much quieter) and doing our best to keep up with the boat schedules. From time to time we'd find a glimpse of 'normal' life and watch for a bit. Perhaps it was a chat between friends or, as in the last piture here, an elderly man looking out his window to the crowds below. What might he be thinking?

We liked Postinano much more for its ambiance though it was even more packed than Amalfi. The crowds filled the small alleys and walk ways and as we made our way across a narrow beachfront, thankfully, we found a table to sit at with a view to the beautiful, but overpriced beach, lined with umbrellas across the expanse of sand. We sat and chatted and ate and made our plans to keep moving, upward. As we made our way through the town it became apparent that it is quite steep which, in some ways, was a good thing... up, up and away from the big crowds and into a more calm (though still very touristy) area with a wonderful view below. Here we stopped for while to take it all in. 

Our return, by boat, brought us back to Sorento, a majestic city sitting on cliffs below. We had enjoed the beach there the day before but on this day we'd make our way back up to the room.  Tomorrow we'd love for a place to jump in the sea, perhaps with fewer people (is that possible?). Still, what a beautiful part of the world!

Verano Italiano

 

One always has to love summer, right?  In our case, this year, we headed to Italy. Mommy had a course to take in Rome for five days so we decided it might be a good chance to head over there straight from Dubai and make our way down the coast toward the Amalfi Coast. The Coast had been identified by Amalia as a 'go to' destination for the summer so we used the time we had between the end-of-school and beginning of mommy's class to roam just south of Naples. We found our way to a small Airbnb up the slopes of a hill/mountain village just outside Sorento and got used to having Waze force us into inhospitable little-and-shrinking streets that would barely fit a Vespa. But up and down the hills we went and finally worked our way around the place. 

Our spot was a cute one even if it seemed like a vertical climb from the parking lot at the foot of the hill. It didn't seem to get in the way of the girls, though, who without effort made their way back and forth between car and room (with a nice view over the Gulf of Naples). 

Between runs to town and down time in our spot we were able to unwind from the run-run-run that one feels sometimes with work. The year had been a long one, but it was finally time to re-connect with a world that had nothing to do with deadlines. Aaaahhhh, Italia!