Day 8 - the Amalfi coast

12,202 steps, 5.43 miles, 61 floors 

Typing this up during a sunny, snow-capped bus ride from the Slovenian border town of Sezana to the Capitol city, Ljubljana. 

Enjoying the drive from Salerno to Amalfi

We woke up fairly early to catch the train to Salerno, with a 5-minute stop in Naples. We were told that Naples was dangerous, was "the armpit of Europe" and some other sage advice, so we were happy to be able to get into the Amalfi coast early. The downside was a forecast of 90% rain. 

When we arrived, we bought cheap tickets for the 1 1/4-hr bus ride to Amalfi, and were told to run to catch it. We got there in the nick of time...saving us from a 45-minute wait. The ride was beautiful, as it meandered along a tiny, cliff-side road the entire way. We often had to slow down to 5 miles per hour--or even back up a bit--to get past another massive bus or truck. Sierra and I would watch wide-eyed as our bus would be 2" from the rock face on the right, and the mirror on the left would be less than an inch from another 50-person bus. So we enjoyed the twists and turns, checked out all of the cliffside towns and beautiful churches, and watched Italian teenage boys kiss each other in extra-friendly ways (by American standards) to say hello and goodbye. It seemed that everyone who got on the bus knew most of the people on the bus. The joys of avoiding the tourist season, I suppose. 

Walking to our hotel from the Amalfi bus stop

We arrive in Amalfi and encounter probably the 30th or 40th Italian man to stare at Sierra for an uncomfortable amount of time. We get a tiny bit lost but it's a tiny town, and find the hotel in five minutes.  In the case of Amalfi and Atrani, Air B&B was both expensive and sparse, and several hotels were closed for winter. But we found a decent hotel with a view for a not-too-expensive price. We were so happy to see a somewhat cozy bed, an nice shower, a fridge, a decent heating system...and a very helpful and nice front desk staff. 

The duomo is about 50 yards from our hotel, in the main square of Amalfi. 

The rain starts to pick up as we head out, and we stop in for a quick bite. We just share a pizza and I don't get anything since it is still outrageously priced for a town so devoid of tourists. They charged €2 per person just to sit in the restaurant, while places in Sienna and Florence and Rome hadnt charged that much even if you were outside in the main piazza. This enraged a really arrogant man who called the waiter a liar and just made a huge scene the whole time. I originally thought they might be Taiwanese, but I'm not sure.  Whoever he was, he reminded me of arrogant Americans I'd see often a decade ago.  Now it seems Americans have chilled and others are causing more of a stir. Nevertheless, the waiter brought out that passive-aggressiveness I wrote about yesterday and spoke audibly to me and other patrons about the guests from the Far East. Ahh culture. 

We decide to go to Atrani (because my friend Roy said its a cool town with a cool little bar we need to visit), but the trail will be muddy and the highway is dangerous. So we just go through the houses. It turned out to be pretty cool...

Sierra overlooking the Med in front of Amalfi, at the base of our hike. 

We cruise up, down and around houses and through tunnels, and somehow find our way to Atrani. 

Unfortunately we can't upload the time lapse I took of the hike but maybe I'll put it on FB. We hiked our way to Atrani and then made three loops looking for the place Roy recommended. With each loop, the rain picked up, the wind strengthened, and we wound ip in the exact same piazza somehow. Then we see "La Risacca" on this awning and head in. The place is a divy cigarette shop with video poker. I have a beer and take a picture or two to show Roy, but it really was the bridge-and-tunnel crowd of the Amalfi coast. I would find out in a few hours from Roy that this was not the same La Risacca, and it must have closed. Oh well...at least we had a cool hike, got drenched and our umbrellas turned to mush. 

We head back, and basically use the umbrellas like a shield against wind and rain.  We're soaked, cold...and I'm wishing a fireplace or comfort food existed in Italy. The rain lets up a little, and the way back was faster. 

A quick photo stop during the walk back to Amalfi. 

We get back and search high and low for a restaurant that's up the hill from the main part of town, and everything is closed either for winter or until dinner starts at 7pm. We stop at a little grocery and then head to the room for some dry clothes. 

This is what the produce stores look like in Italy. :)

We have a really nice dinner, which was actually surprisingly rare in Italy--we haven't been that impressed with the food--and then head back to rest up for our early-morning departure. The young regazza at the front desk had a lunch made for us for tomorrow and left it on our bed, since we're leaving so early that we'll miss the free breakfast. 

It was nice to have a solid hotel stay after the debacle in Rome. ...now off to Venice!