Amalfi Coast 2010 - take 4

I wish I could come up with something more clever to describe my time on the Amalfi Coast but "La Dolce Vita" which in English translates to “the sweet life” pretty much sums it up. This is my forth time on the coast sharing it with my dear friend Dina and it just keeps getting better.

After a long overnight journey to Roma which we were very glad to be served a sundae we were ready for phase one of our vacation. We were being picked up at Fumicano airport by a local, Mario, who turned out to be the husband of the woman we rent our apartment from in Praiano. It was a little tricky at first since Mario didn't speak a word of English but thanks to a fellow Italian and Dina's Italian we found each other.

As we approached the coast with each twist and turn there were memories hidden in the sun drenched mountain tops and new ones were awaiting us. Exciting!

It was even better when we stepped out of the car and arrived at our favorite hotel “Le Sirenuse” as soon as we walked into the lobby the sweet smell of Eau D’Italie their own scent filled the air.... ahh, it was good to be back!

And so we checked into room 29 for the forth time.

Dina really enjoyed it when Robert said to us “welcome home”. Since our first trip in 2005 the staff treated us like family and so they continue. There is something to be said for consistencies.

I never get tired of looking at the views. One of my favorite is looking out at the sea towards the Li Galli islands. Check out the legend of the the Sirens at www.positano.com/en/positano-li-galli

And Dina's favorite view the town of Positano.

Our first night we had dinner at Max. We had discovered Max on our first and second trips and last year we didn't make it back so we thought why not. We learned last year from our friend Roberto aka Agent Bread about eating in Italy that there is a difference between him (a local) and us and as he put it “that is good for you” and now we are saying “that is good for others” don’t get me wrong our dinner was very nice and I would recommend Max but after eating where the locals go and after having your Italian friends cook for you one becomes spoiled.


We have discovered that getting a massage after flying is a must do it helps one acclimate right into the Italy way. After our massages, spaghetti alle vongole and a couple of rossinis (a puree of fresh strawberries with prosseco) we were off to Praiano for due setteimane (2-weeks). Le Sirenuse we will back at the end of our trip to say farewell.

Last year we stayed in the delighted apartment Zaffiro and so we return again this year. We were were excited to go back and eat this amazing homemade torte as well as drink the limoncello that the family leaves for you upon arrival. This year we were invited over to the family’s home for cafe & tiramisu. What a treat! I was lucky enough to get a lesson in making cafe from Mario, finally Dina will drink my cafe!

Praiano is where most of the locals live so if you are looking for local flavor this is the place but I highly recommend learning some Italian unless you are lucky like me to have a friend who speaks the language. In town, Bar Sole is the place where the locals go for either cafe or an aperitif after a long working day. Some days we go there for our morning cafe or a prosseco before dinner. As our friend Angelo likes to say about Praiano “tranquillo”

Some days we just hang at La Praia beach among the fishing boats and take a nap because we think it is the best place to nap and other days we hop over via boat to One Fire Beach to visit our friends Piccolino and Constable. One Fire beach is the best place to watch the 4 o’clock shimmers you know that special time of day when the sun gives you a firework show on the sea.

Off to One Fire Beach.....to relax by the sea. Pino likes to drive the boat with his feet.

Now you don’t come to Italy if you are on a diet, you go with it as the locals say “it is natural don’t worry about your belly” and so you don’t worry. Below are a bunch of restaurants both old & new favorites that I would like to share with you.

One of our favorite spots in Praiano for dinner is Il Pino. Tucked away down a few steps from town you will find a charming little place with not only a beautiful view of Positano but food that is very pleasing to your taste buds. Our friend Agent Bread took us there last year a couple of times and this year we, of course, went back a couple more times. I guess it is our place with Bread.

A favorite spot down at La Praia beach is Da Armandino. Armandino does a lot of things really well but his Spaghetti alle vongole (Spaghetti with clams) is the BEST! Both his wife and daughter are busy in the kitchen cooking from the early morning hours as Armandino takes care of his guests.

The restaurant is nestled between the rocks at La Praia beach. It is a delightful little place to sit and have a leisurely lunch or dinner. Both Dina and I are in love with the vongole in fact we have decided that we just don’t do clams in the U.S. so if anyone has a spot that you think it worthy please let us know.

Another oldie but a goodie, La Gavitella. We discovered La Gavitella on our second trip. I love just sitting out looking out a Capri watching the sun melt into the mountains while eating vongole with zucchini and of course, sipping a glass of vino.

New on our list, Da Adolfo. The day we went to Da Adolfo our whole day was revolved around lunch. It was another hot day on the coast as we walked down the many steps to La Praia beach for our morning cafe, freshly made super yummy chocolate croissant and fresh fruit with Armandino.

Around noon I heard the words “your boat is ready” and we were off to Da Adolfo for lunch. We had a fabulous day at this little restaurant located at Laurito beach and have decided that this is the fish place.

We always like to stop at La Cambusa located right on the beach in Positano and visit our friend Andy. We met Andy and now his wife Annalise back in 2005 and we enjoy visiting with them while we are in town. Andy is the sushi chef and is super talented. If you like raw fish this is a MUST. After dinner you can walk over to Buca di Bacco for a gelato, we think it is the best place for gelato and our local friends would agree. A little secret if you go make sure you ask for panna (cream) on the top -- super yummy!

There are so many hidden treasures to discover and each year we seem to uncover something new. This year we were lucky enough to visit Meta, Maiori and Conca with our Italian friends.

We didn’t get to see much of the town in Meta but we went to a fun restaurant called Bamboo. It is Italy’s version of a place you may find in SouthHampton. We had some delightful grilled seafood. It was good to just sit and relax with our friends.

Going to Maiori was a fun evening. Agent Bread and Slivia picked us up via Vespa and we were off. First stop, Amalfi for an aperitif at the lovely Hotel Santa Caterina. We enjoyed a rossini as well as a tasty assortment of appetizers as we looked out toward the town of Amalfi. The vote is -- Hotel Santa Caterina - best rossini!

Back on the vespa and off to Maiori for dinner at Matinee located right on the beach. Maiori reminded me of a little seaside beach resort. We listen to live jazz, ate more yummy food and just chilled out with our friends.

Next stop, Conca. Now the great part about going to Conca is that the best way to get there is by boat, of course, you can walk down like 200 steps as well but why? With the shimmer of the moon behind us we arrived to the sleepy town, Conca for dinner.

Now when we are out with our friends especially Agent Bread we don’t seem to see a menu. And the menu goes something like this, a seafood antipasto, pizza followed by a local fish with pasta. Delicious!

A very special treat was dinner at Agent Bread’s place. He made a scrumptious meal with octopus, shrimps, clams and mussels and if you can believe spaghetti with clams as well.

It was a feast -- super yummy! Thanks, Agent Bread.

And the surprise was Tirmisu -- OUTSTANDING!

We discovered Ravello on our second trip and it has become one of our favorite spots not only for the magnificent views and the arts but we think it is one of the the best places to buy pottery. If you are looking for pottery Cosmolena is the place to go just be sure to ask for Margerita you will get a special demonstration on how well the pottery is made as well as the history of the family run shop.

Now we may go back to the same places but we do try something new each time. Last year we went to a concert at the thirteenth-century Villa Ruffalo which was a lovely experience. This year we decided we would check out the 5-star Hotel Caruso for cocktails and dinner. After visiting and making a few purchases with Margerita we were off to the classic Hotel Caruso. While relaxing over a few rossinis the sun dipped out of sight and we were left with pale shades of purples to look at as we ate dinner.

Now the views are spectacular but the food not so great. At Hotel Caruso you go for drinks and the amazing views. You won’t be disappointed.

One of our all time favorite things to do is being out at on the Tyrrhenian Sea. This year we were fortunate to boat to Capri, Li Galli as well as down south with our friends.

There is something truly magical about boating over and around Capri. Since there seems to be oodles of laughter as we head toward the Faraglioni we think there are fumes coming off the island. I suppose it could be the gentle breeze, the stillness of the sea or the the warm touch of the sun on our bodies that cause this but who knows.

The Faraglioni are three blocks of rock which have survived coastal landslides, erosion by the sea and all manner of atmospheric corrosion. The rocks have each been given a name: the first, still attached to the land, is called Stella, the second, separated from the first block by a stretch of sea; Faraglione di Mezzo and the third, Faraglione di Fuori or Scopolo, in other words the head or promontory stretching into the sea.

We had picked up lunch from the Tutto per Tutti which is the best deli in Praiano and were off to Capri with Bread and Slivia,

It was like 100 degrees so we had stopped for many swims before finding a little cove where the sun wasn’t welcomed to enjoy a few panino’s with mozzarella & prosiutto crudo and of course, prosecco.

Oh, if you go to the Green Grotto make sure you swim in it because that is what you do there.

Being out on a boat is really a great experience. I guess when your entire day is spent discovering grottos, swimming and simply relaxing on the sea.....is anyone missing work...Dina ?

Now if you want to get off the boat and have lunch we highly recommend Il Cantucci.
Il Cantucci is a lovely restaurant to sit and have lunch and the zucchini pasta is OMG!




After lunch we recommend heading over to this little beach in Nerano for an afternoon swim. I love swimming in the sea it is like having a silk blanket caress your body. Simply divine!

Another special treat was lunch with our friend Angelo and bunch of other boat captains. During lunch hour when all the tourists are off on land the boat captains get together and have lunch. Everyone brings something from their home. We had an amazing tuna dish made with corn, tomatoes, bread, & rice which was delicious. There was eggplant, vino with peaches and many other heavenly treats. Oh, I can’t forget about the local dolce -- Sfogliatella -- many layers of flakey dough stuffed with ricotta.

One day we went out with a local man, I say man because he is 80 years old. A few things about Giuseppe aka “The Dietch” he speaks with a very heavy neapolitan accent, and his English consists of “hello okay, okay” “I love you baby” “Positano Shut Up” and "bye,bye". Last year we would see him at La Praia every day but never spoke to him. This year he became our friend and wanted to take us out on his boat and who are we to turn down a boat offer. We were scheduled to go out to the Li Galli Islands with “The Dietch” on venerdi alle dieci or as he would say “venerdi alle dietch”

Dina asks the Dietch "Perche, Positano Shut Up?

Here's to Capri! We heart you!

Ciao Praiano it has been great fun!

We were originally scheduled to say one night at the hotel but we made the decision over a few rossinis at Hotel Caruso that we needed an extra night to “chillax” before heading back to NYC. We were lucky enough to get an upgrade on the first night and so we checked into room 83. It was our second best vacation decision, the first was checking into the hotel five years ago.

We have stayed at this hotel a few times and we were just amazed by the views from the room. Not too shabby!

After breakfast we spent the entire day chillaxing at the pool at Le Sirenuse.

It was so hot we couldn’t get out of the pool. Dina tell us how hot was it ?

And as the old English Proverb goes “all good things must come to an end” but why I ask ?


Before heading to dinner at Il San Pietro we stopped at the champagne bar to have a toast with Robert.

Last year for Dina’s birthday her parents treated us to Il San Pietro for dinner. I know what I surprise for us going back to the same place. We knew from last year not to eat lunch. So when you are going to Il San Pietro this is what you do -- you skip lunch! They give you this amazing pizza as a welcome dish - it is to die for delicious as well as the meal itself and the views are divine.

When night falls, Positano, turns into a little slice of heaven. As the calm sea sweetly sings a lullaby to the charming little village of Positano and the air sprinkles a little magic you are suddenly in a fairly tale. The best place to experience the sleepy town of Positano is the champagne bar at Le Sirenuse.

Our final stop before heading off to bed for our 5:45am wake up call.

Buona Notte Positano, we will miss you!

The one thing I love about our experiences is that even though there is a language barrier at the end of the day we all just want to enjoy life. And in Italy they call it “La Dolce Vita” which to me is all about sharing and enjoying the things we love with special friends.

I toast to the beautiful country of Italy, for its love of living!