Italy - Wednesday 6th June

Another beautiful day, another cruise ship docking in the habour. Breakfast was pretty reasonable, we got some fried eggs, loads of bread, and more cake. The Italians seem to think it's appropriate to eat cake at all mealtimes, something Lou could very easily get used to.

We drove around the coastal round of the Amalfi coast, another treacherous road where Italians believed it was acceptable to pass on blind corners and scooters have free reign of the road. Mental. We passed through Positano (where we were staying) to have a look round Amalfi which is the biggest village on the coast. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we were stinking hot so we couldn't wait to get down to the beach and into the water.

You dont want to know whats on the ground...

We had a look round the town first, basically lots of flash hotels and a massive church, both were nice though. We stocked up on lunch supplies for a picnic and hit the beach. It's quite European for there to be sun loungers & umbrellas for rent at every beach you go to, but Bandits don't pay for no shade. It was quite uncomfortable though cos it wasn't a nice sandy beach, more of a hot black pebbles beach. But regardless we took turns having a dip, it was surprisingly cold but refreshing anyway. We hung out at the beach a bit more, Lou was feeling pretty comfortable in her bikini after seeing what old Italian women wear to the beach, they are really not afraid to let it all hang out!

Yummy lunch of hams, tomatoes, cheese and salad and then we packed up and went in search of our home for the next 2 nights. Although the B&B address was in Positano, it was actually in the little village above Positano which meant for a very perilous drive, and again parking issues. We had to climb over 150 steps (we counted them) each time we left the hotel but it was worth it for the views. Our hosts were so nice, the main guy Salvatore helped us with our bags from the car and then he gave us iced tea and sfogliatelli, a classic Italian pastry with ricotta filling which were really well received!

Our room had a great balcony, so we spent the afternoon chilling out in the sun. Unfortunately Lou had thought this was self-catering accommodation but in reality that meant that there was a kettle….not going to cook much with that! So with our budget in mind we wandered down to the local shop and bought more snacking supplies and had antipasto on the balcony before going to every restaurant in walking distance trying to find the cheapest meal (it seemed we picked a very exclusive village to stay in, each restaurant had its own shuttles that people were getting on in Positano specifically to go to their restaurants! and so it was all really pricey). 

We found the cheapest one and Lou had (you guessed it!) salad and Hamish had pasta. All was fine but nothing amazing.

Highlight: The first sights of the brightly coloured towns on the Amalfi coast were like nothing we had seen before, and the weather was perfect.
Lowlight: Having a car was both a blessing and a curse, parking was a continual hassle and it was quite stressful dealing with other drivers.
Interesting Fact: Lou had just finished her holiday reading and was really pleased when she found there was a Mills & Boon book in English left behind in our room. The interesting part of this fact is that the main character in this book was called Theresa Weller of the Weller House, who is (and I quote) "she is precisely the sort of lady to spark Bartholmew's desire…a most improper lady". Just fantastic.