2 ~ The Amalfi Coast of Italy

April 26, 2015

Hello From The Amalfi Coast of Italy,

As I mentioned previously, Carol is writing a story for Virtuoso Life magazine, which caters to the “rich and famous.” So, while researching here on the Amalfi coast, they put us up in five star hotels that are part of the Virtuoso network. As luxurious and comfortable as these hotels are, we are really “out of our element” here. The rack rate for these hotels is 6 or 7 times what we would normally pay for our standard “budget” accommodations. So, as we moved from the fabulous La Sirenuse (the mythical mermaid) Hotel in Positano, to the wonderful Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi, we are trying to figure out the rules.

First, no guest is ever allowed to touch luggage outside their room. From the moment the bellman sees you approach the front door, your luggage disappears and magically shows up in your room when you get there. Personally, I’m never comfortable when my one rolling carry-on suitcase (containing some of my valuables) is out of my sight. When we are ready to leave, we check the hallway to make sure there are no bellmen lurking, before we make a beeline to the lobby door, lest we lose sight of our luggage to a bellman again.

Second, even at a breakfast buffet, you are not allowed to carry your loaded plate to your table. A waiter is standing by with a silver tray, covered with a cloth, to grab your plate and follow you to your table. When I, at first, tried to refuse their help they explained that they were “very strong and eager to carry my plate”, so, I finally had to acquiesce.

Third, no prices are allowed on the “female” menu. Only the man can see the price and is given a different menu than the woman. Jokingly, Carol would always ask if her food was free since it had no prices. They would smile and reply that they have their procedures to follow.

Fourth, we have no idea how much and when to “tip” for service in hotels like these. Next time we stay in one of them, I’m going to have to do some research on this subject ahead of time.

Amalfi is the central and dominant city in the chain of towns up and down what is known as The Amalfi Coast. None of the cities are really very large. They typically consist of a Main Street that follows the valley between two hills, next to or covering the river that flows down that valley to the ocean. The larger cities, like Amalfi, have secondary “walking only” streets that twist and turn up the hillsides through tunnels and up steep stairways. Incredibly, the faces of the cliffs above and bellow the narrow highway that follows the coast from Sorrento to Salerno, are covered with narrow houses clinging to the sides of the stone hills. This is what looks so interesting as you pass through, either in a vehicle or on a boat. Many houses are just one room deep, hanging on the cliff.

Amalfi is famous for high quality paper production from centuries ago to the present day. Most of the paper is made from cotton, not wood pulp. There is an interesting Paper Museum here that was a paper factory until 1969 and dates back to the 16th century. A lot of old antique equipment is still operational there and you can try your hand at making paper yourself. I put a couple of pix of it in the photo gallery. Until 1916 they made the paper from used cotton clothing. After that they switched to virgin Egyptian cotton.

Lemons grow literally everywhere here, from the steep hillsides to everyone’s backyard. And there is a huge lemon industry, from Limoncello to lemon cakes. A specialty of the area is “Delizie al Limone”, a lemon cream filled half sphere covered with frothy icing and often a tiny strawberry on top. The locals affectionately call them “nuns’ breasts”, and you can probably guess why (see the photo gallery). The lemons come in all sizes and some are as large as cantaloups. When they get that big there is no longer much juice in them but they are good for eating the white pulp between the skin and the center. Spaghetti Pie is another favorite. It looks like spaghetti pressed into a shallow pan and cooked with cheese and tomato sauce, then cut like a pie.

We spent one day in the small city of Ravello, which is about 1200 feet above Amalfi (not on the coast). It’s a popular spot with tourists and locals alike. They offer regular performing arts at two of the old villas. One of the Virtuoso hotels that Carol is checking out is there. It was a steep and winding bus ride to get up there, but we decided to walk back down along a three mile stairs and path route to another of the Amalfi towns called Minori. It’s a lot easier going down than up, of course, but it still took us over an hour because the steps were so tall and long.

Well, that’s about it for the Amalfi Coast. Next stop is Rome, for a couple of days before we fly over to Riga, Latvia. We’ve never been to this part of the world, so new and mysterious encounters must await us. From this point on we’ll be living like regular people in the usual budget accommodations, big sigh…… 🙁

I’ve added a bunch of new pics to the photo gallery (look for Amalfi and Ravello) and Carol is putting the finishing touches on her next blog, to be released soon.

Tom’s photos are at the side: Currently showing Amalfi, Ravelo and Rome

Carol’s Travel Blog:

https://carolapucci-tips.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-amalfi-coast-it-made-for-walking.html

Later….. your Favorite Travelers, Tom & Carol