February 27-March 1, 2018 - Welcome to Italy! The Amalfi Coast

We flew from Marseille to Rome, only to find Italy blanketed in a very rare layer of snow!  We rented a car and immediately drove south to the Amalfi Coast (south of Naples).  


We soon discovered that driving on the Amalfi Coast is nothing short of treacherous!  The roads are incredibly windy, narrow, steep, and busy!  We were extremely grateful it was not summer, when the crowds are oppressive and the traffic surely is too.  Despite the hair-raising driving, the views were spectacular!


In the little switch-back towns, everything is narrow, there are no wide places, for things like turning around, unloading, or even parking! We have read that in the summer, parking is just not an option, and you had better be ready to walk, to get anywhere, or hire a taxi or bus. This is the small market in one little town. The first picture is looking out over the water from the door, and the second is looking in.



This is the front door of our Airbnb apartment.  It was up on the terraces among other homes, looking out on the sea, like everything does here.  We thought it was beautiful and serene!


Notice how gardens fill every space here!


If you look closely, you can see the island of Capri in the far distance.


The three little points sticking out of the water are part of Capri.

The apartment was nice and cozy, although it was hard to warm up the downstairs (Cold is an unusual problem to have in this part of the country).



Heather was feeling like death with the flu.




The abundant, terraced agriculture was impressive.  It seemed to fill every hillside, no matter how steep.


We drove to Pompeii (see upcoming post).  The views of Mt. Vesuvius and Naples were great!


A typical intersection.  Despite the lack of signs and lights, which looks like complete chaos, drivers seem quite willing to work with each other and are able to make it function well most of the time.  



Many of the roads/highways are cantilevered overhangs (and still far too narrow for American standards)!



Overlooking the town of Sorrento, on a peninsula south of Naples.






The walkway to our apartment.


Here are a couple of short videos to give you a flavor of the area and the driving.





Comments

  1. LisaMarch 4, 2018 at 10:02 AM

    What an adventure! Thank you for sharing it with everyone.

    ReplyDelete

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