The Surreal World of Positano

This past weekend, I went to Positano and Capri from Friday to Sunday. It’s one of those places that you see in magazines and say, “Well... there’s a place I could only see in my dreams.” And I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about where my honeymoon would be, but Positano is it. And I even have my hotel in my mind:

But, “let’s start from the very beginning.. a very good place to start,” (Sorry, random Sound of Music lyrics). There’s a confusing and way too long of a story of how we got to stay where we ended up staying in Positano, but it was too frustrating due to a mixture of waiting too late (Thursday to be exact) and having a rather large group travelling together. Long story short, we did not sleep on the streets of Positano (although would it really be that bad if your in possibly the most beautiful place in the world?

http://www.ilsanpietro.it/main_eng.html

It almost blends in with the cliffs... it's gorgeous!

Other than that, the only other frustration was travelling to Positano. Now, I am going to tell you the details because if you ever go, you might want to know about the difficulty of getting to this paradise, but keep in mind – it is completely worth it. I’m not going to sugar coat anything, but do not get discouraged my friends. First, take a train to Naples (Firenze to Naples was three hours) – easy enough. Second, take a “train” (but I like to think of it as a subway) to Sorrento. Do not buy a 6 euro Naples city bus ticket and expect to get to Sorrento. No, no, no… Sorrento is a miserable, sticky hour-long subway ride to the last point of transportation to your final destination, Positano. When you get to Sorrento, buy yet another bus ticket to Positano. The only problem here – the bus comes every hour to hour and a half. And it is one long, windy road to Positano, but what did I say? Completely worth it. Because once your on that bus, it’s nothing but clear blue waters and a city towering over the cliffs ahead of you!

View from the bus

*By the way, I need to add that bus tickets are sold at tobacchi stores in Italy. I found that out the hard way the first day I was here.

So when we FINALLY arrived in Positano – correction, seven of us stayed at a hotel just a 15-minute bus ride away called Le Fiore. It ended up being a great place to stay, the hotel was 39 euros a night (which is as much as a hostel), it was family owned (so the environment was friendly and warm), and it wasn’t too shabby if I do say so myself. Did I mention free breakfast?To eat for dinner, we went to a restaurant down the street and I had the world’s best seafood pasta. After a glass or two of wine and a few giggles later, we passed out after a long a rough day.

Mmmm - there was what looked like a prawn, clams, scallops and the most tender

calamari all with a light tomato sauce!

And that's not the biggest lemon you'll see

I have been given permission to tell this story, just try to picture this. My friend Kelly and Barton (one of the sweetest guys out there, we all think of him as a little brother) decided instead of going to Capri, that they wanted to stay in Positano and rent vespa’s for the day – Hey, when in Italy! So, those who decided to stay behind and visit the Blue Grotto in Capri – Alanna, Kristen, Courtney and me – were sitting around the breakfast table enjoying our chocolate croissants and cappuccino when Barton walks in, “No, no, not happening.” Turns out, both had to ride the vespa a few circles around a graveled “parking lot” that was so tiny that’s it’s really no wonder this didn’t work out. Barton started the vespa, drove two feet and just kind of toppled over (from what I hear). Kelly on the other hand was able to make it around one circle, tried to stop the vespa with the break handle bar, skids on a turn and runs into a car. The man renting the vespa – which I also hear are more like motorcycles – said to Kelly, “Vespa no problem, you problem!” And ripped up their credit card and license information and send them on their sad way home. Poor Kelly now has a huge scrape on her leg with black and blue bruises, however she can still proudly say, “I’ve ridden a vespa!”

So, the Blue Grotto’s is amazing. It’s somewhat of a tourist trap, but for a good reason- it’s mysteriously enchanting. If you don’t know what the Blue Grotto is, it’s a opening just above the ocean that leads to a cave where the water is said to look like it’s glowing. To get there, you take a boat from Capri to the Blue Grotto. Then you have to wait in line with a bunch of other boats with a bunch of other tourists. And all the while your trying to figure out what the boat drivers are yelling to one another. Our guy (who looks like a more gorgeous Pierce Brosnan) sounded as if he was arguing with all the other Italians about who’s first and this and that while they’re waving their hands around like they’re praying (I swear just think of Italian men from Sopranos or The Godfather), but then the next minute they would all be laughing and saying “OOO, mio fratello!” (Oh, my brother)? Finally, our boat’s turn came, and what do we do? We hop on another very small wooden boat with a man paddling it around. We fit all four girls on there, one in the front, and three in the back. It was already hard enough to sit with that many girls stuffed in a corner of a boat, but before we go in, we have to lay all the way down because the hole to get into the cave is so small and the waves are thrusting against the rocks violently, that the only “safe” way to get in is to duck down. After one quick minute, we got in safely looked up and I saw the small opening of the cave to the outside world illumintating the now bright icey-blue waters. Although there are many other tourists surrounding your boat, all the chauffers are singing opera musicals and whistling into the dark to hear a brilliant captivating echo throughout the cave. It was a beautiful well worth five minutes, as our day came quickly to an end.

James Bond anyone?

Capri!

Although we left Sunday, we did have a few hours to spend lounging on the beach and doing a little shopping. But, in all honesty I felt like a little kid again because I couldn’t wait to jump in the Mediterranean Ocean on the Positano Beaches! I have never felt so free and relaxed before. I could literally float effortlessly in the waters and swim out to as far as I wanted, all the while I had a view of the quaint Positano town hanging on to the cliffs towering above me. I don’t know if it could have gotten better. And as it was time to leave on the hectic ride home – since we have to leave so early in order to get back within 6-7 hours, my thoughts were still in shock that I was lucky enough to be able to do something as surreal as this. Not that many people get this opportunity in their lives. But if you do, you will not regret it, I can promise you that.

It is sad there do seem to be a number of dogs roaming around, but they are the sweetest dogs just looking for a little company! They'll play with you a little and stick around like they love ya and then someone else walks along and they found a new playmate! I really wanted to take him home though =(