Roving Pic: Vintage Positano

Vintage Shop with a View
 Positano, Italy
July 2011

The Amalfi Coast treasures in front of us couldn't compete with the one behind us. 

Roving Pic: Day on the Bay

Bay
July 2011
Photo: Scott Clark

On the surface, it appeared to be a dreary, drizzly day in Positano. But, as the hours slipped by, I realized it was right as rain.

Roving Pic: Positano From Above

A Positano Evening
July 2011
Photo: Scott Clark

Below us, a twinkling gem was tucked neatly into the hillside. In front of us, the gray sea stretched out, engulfing the horizon. Above us, night slipped in, one delicate shade of darkness at a time.  

Roving Pic: Hide & Seek

Hide & Seek
Positano, Italy
July 2011
Photo: Scott Clark

The Amalfi Coast air was warm on July 5th. A fingernail moon floated above us and on the waves as we walked, gelato in hand, toward the water. A group of children were already there, dodging each other in the darkness, taking turns counting to "dieci." As they stealthily ducked out of site, cloaked by vacant lounge chairs and closed umbrellas, I realized that a summer night at the beach in Italy was a lot like a summer night at the beach in the States. 

Roving Pic: Santa Maria Assunta and the Sea

Santa Maria Assunta and the Sea
July 2011
Photo: Scott Clark

The clouds had cleared leaving behind blue skies and bluer seas. Positano was positively in bloom as we made our way down the steep cobblestone street to the seaside. To our right were shops with hand-crafted ceramics painted by hand, limoncello vendors vending their legendary liqueurs and balconies with the locals' laundry billowing in the lemon-scented breeze. To our left was this view. Heads sufficiently turned, we continued our descent, eagerly awaiting the next discovery Positano had planned for us. 

Roving Pic: Lone Boat in Positano

Lone Boat in Positano
July 2011
Photo: Scott Clark

The boat didn't go out that day. It, along with the other Positano residents, stayed safely on shore. Gray skies reflected in grayer seas as drizzle soon turned to drops. Tourists and Italians alike retreated to covered cafes while we wandered ever closer to the white-capped water. Wooden, worn and beautiful, the boat met us where the surf surrendered to the sand and welcomed our brief companionship. As we made our way back from the seaside, we left the boat just as we found it, proud and pure in the pouring rain.

Roving I Recap: Italy Itinerary

Us, in Siena

I'm kicking off a series of Roving I Recaps about our Italy trip with a brief overview of where we went and how long we stayed in each location. While the recap posts ahead will focus more on specific aspects of each location and the unique moments we experienced throughout Italy, today's post is a big picture look at our travel plan.

June 26-27: 2 Planes, 2 Trains and a Very Small Automobile
After zipping up the luggage, obsessively checking and rechecking appliances, doors and windows and catching our first flight from St. Louis to Chicago, we boarded our 9 hour flight to Rome. Upon arrival, we shifted into true transportation mode, taking the Leonardo Express local train to Rome Termini where we caught a second train to Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. In Florence, we took a cab to the airport to pick up our beyond tiny and extremely under powered Fiat 500 (more to come on its vices and virtues later in the week). One painfully expensive wrong turn on the Autostrada A1 later, we were finally on the last leg of our lengthy journey to Greve in Chianti, Tuscany. Despite being drowsy, hungry and frustrated with the Italian highway system, the Tuscan view out the window as we sped away from Florence was the perfect reward to our almost 24 hours straight of travel. 


June 27-July 2: Chianti Country Charm 
I've never been so in love with a vacation location. Seriously. I knew it would be good but never expected this level of sheer admiration. Days were spent enjoying time with family (we stayed in a fantastic villa with my cousins from New Jersey), driving the Chiantigana, visiting nearby hill towns (more to come about specific locales), eating extraordinary local food and drinking famous Chianti Classico wine every chance I got. (I could devote a week's worth of posts to this beautiful burgundy beverage.)


July 2- July 4: Roving About Rome
We were typical tourists, but active ones. After being pushed, shoved and stepped on by the flag/flower/ridiculous hat following tour groups at the Vatican Museums, we ventured out on foot for day 2. Walking from the Vatican area to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, back up to the Spanish Steps, down Via Condotti, we made it back over to Ponte Sant'Angelo area in time for dinner. Legs thoroughly stretched, we left Rome by car for southern Italy on the 4th of July.

And one more of us, in Rome

July 4-7: Pompeii, Positano and Amalfi Coast Amazingness
Pompeii wowed us, an accidental drive through Naples shocked us and Positano welcomed us with warm Italian arms. A world away from Rome, we settled into a leisurely lifestyle amongst the steep hills, hidden beaches and stellar views of the Amalfi Coast. 

July 7-9: Celebrating on Capri
After hauling our growing luggage collection through Sorrento, and arriving by Hydrofoil to the island of Capri, Casa Mariontonia appeared as a stylish, lemon-scented paradise. A private boat ride, some shopping and a very special ceremony capped off our Capri time.


July 9: Rome, Again
Arriving by train from Naples for our last day in Italy was beyond bittersweet. Walking shoes reinstated, we wandered from our hotel near Termini to Galleria Borghese to Trevi Fountain, proving that the coin toss tradition really does work. 


July 10: Home, Again
A wonderful whirlwind came to an end, until the next trip. 


Another Italy trip recap next week. More tomorrow and thanks for reading!