Amalfi Coast

Oh, it was hot. So hot. But the Amalfi Coast was beautiful and Dave and I had a great time, cruising along the cliffs on a boat and wandering the streets of the village of Amalfi.

Above is the village of Atrani, next to Amalfi, seen from the water. On the right side of the picture, atop the church, you may see a brightly tiled dome. This is a thing along the Amalfi Coast -- each village has a colorful majolica tiled dome atop their church, mostly in different colors of yellow and green.

We boarded a double-decker boat at the cruise terminal in Salerno along with a large number of our fellow passengers, and as I said, we cruised along the coast as our guide, Alessandro, told us about the region and life in the villages. (He grew up and lives in Amalfi.) It's a coast of very steep cliffs that come right down to the water. If you stood atop any of those mountains and threw a rock, it would fall right down into the sea.

Our boat docked in Amalfi itself, and we were left to wander on our own for a couple of hours, which is what Dave and I wanted -- time to do our own thing.

This is the municipal fountain in Amalfi's central piazza. Someone had a sense of humor.

Amalfi is touristy, but there are also signs of real life on the tiny backstreets, like grocery stores and laundry hanging on a line. It's not a tourist museum. Plenty of people clearly live there.

And some cats, too!

Near the Arco della Faenza, an arch over the town's main street, I found this miniature model of an Amalfi town, built into the recesses of a building. Can you see it above the van and behind the fence? It looked in disrepair and I wondered what the story is.

Turns out it's a nativity scene and it's been there for many years -- since at least 2011, when it was captured by Google Street View. (The image from 2014 is the best one, I think.) Let's hope its current condition is temporary and it is eventually restored. There's more information and images here, but no mention of who made it in the first place.

Dave and I settled into a nearby cafe and had some bruschetta, and I had a Messina beer. We browsed a few shops, then gradually made our way back to the boat.

On the waterfront I was photographing the large Mediterranean mosaic with a bright red Vespa parked beneath it, when this police officer showed up and began checking out the motorbike.

Next thing we knew, it was being towed! Oops!

After waiting near the waterfront to board our boat back to Salerno, and then sitting on the top deck in the sun hoping to take advantage of the sea breezes, I was quite overheated and so thankful to get back on the ship. Dave and I had entertained thoughts of exploring in Salerno but that didn't happen. I took a shower and stayed in the air conditioning for the rest of the afternoon.

I hear you saying, "But wait! What about the Isle of Capri?! Surely you can't come to the Amalfi Coast and not visit its most famous destination?" Well, this video shows the closest we got to Capri. I took it from the balcony in our cabin as we sailed past last night. So yes, we saw it, but we didn't stop there. (That didn't stop me from humming Frank Sinatra's song "Isle of Capri" all day!)

Today we're at sea, headed north to Liguria. Tomorrow we'll be in Portofino.