Italy: The Amalfi Coast

It’s been a while since we’ve been on a really good holiday. Such is life when you have two little kids in tow. So what do I do? I reminisce.

Today, I’m going to be blogging about one of my favourite countries to visit, Italy. I truly love this country for its rich history, art, colourful sites and people, and of course, the amazing food. It is the “land of the ideal cuisine” for me, as DD calls it, and he’s right because I can really eat Italian food all day and not get tired of it! It is also on a trip to Italy when we were undergraduates that the husband and I fell in love, so, as you can imagine, it has a special place in my heart.

I’m not going to be talking about the cities of Rome, Florence, Venice or Milan, which are more popular with Singaporeans this time though. Instead, I’ll be showing you some of the sights around the Amalfi Coast, including the island of Capri, in the south of Italy.

The Amalfi Coast 

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) is a stretch of about 50km of coastline along the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Most famous for the town of Sorrento, which is also the biggest town in the area, the Amalfi Coast is touted as one of Europe’s most breathtaking stretches of coastline. It has also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for cultural landscape since 1997. Having visited, I would agree that it is truly one of a kind.

We didn’t fancy Sorrento so much. It is big and bustling with tour buses and organised groups and generally everything we try to avoid while being on holiday. But its location really can’t be beat. Straddling cliffs that look directly over the Bay of Naples to Mt Vesuvius, it’s ideally situated for exploring the surrounding area: to the west is the rest of the Amalfi Coast, to the north is Pompeii and the archaeological sites and off-shore, the beautiful island of Capri.

A view of Mt Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples, from up in the town of Sorrento.

Walking the streets of Sorrento.

Local produce. Check out the giant lemons, which are a speciality of the region. You see lemon trees everywhere in the Amalfi Coast.

When in Italy, gelato is a must! We had one practically everyday.

The town of Sorrento from across the water. Taken while on the boat to Capri.

Capri
We started our holiday spending a few nights on the island of Capri. Capri is an enchanting and picturesque island made of limestone rock which sits amidst some amazingly blue water. Everywhere you turn, you are greeted with amazing views! A favourite for generations, first with Roman emperors and now with the rich and famous, artists, and writers, it’s still one of the Mediterranean’s must-see places. It is a short 20-30 min ferry ride away from Sorrento, but you can also catch a longer ride by ferry from Naples.

Things to do in Capri:

1. Visit the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra)

Definitely the top tourist site on Capri, and it’s not hard to see why. The Blue Grotto is a sea cave off the coast of Capri that derives its name from an astonishingly blue light that illuminates the cave. This is caused by sunlight coming in from a tiny entrance point and a larger underwater cavity. The blue light is really bright and quite magical. You can only enter the cave on small row boats, and the opening is so small, you have to lie flat on your backs to enter! When inside, chances are you’ll be serenaded by the dude rowing the boat. I’m sure it’ll be quite a treat if you were the only boat there. Unfortunately, since there are always a ton of boats jostling to enter the grotto, a whole bunch of voices singing their own tunes can get a little noisy. Haha.

Noise aside, the grotto really is beautiful and should not be missed.

A line of boats waiting to enter the grotto. The entrance is an opening in the rock in the distance.

The magical blue light of the grotto. It really does seem to glow!

2. Visit Giardini di Augusto (Gardens of Augustus)

This is a public garden built in the 1930s on the ruins of a roman villa. Beautifully maintained, the gardens are filled with colourful flowers and there are plenty of benches as well as shade for you to sit and relax.

The colourful flowers in the garden are a real crowd pleaser.

Simply amazing views. The water really is that blue in real life. And that’s the Faraglioni in the background of the photo on the right.

The ruins of Villa Jovis. The photo of the right was taken at the top of Mount Solaro in Anacapri.

Of course, being so high up, the view was spectacular.

You can see all the way to the mainland.

And say hello to the occasional goat too!

That’s me in the distance, making my way precariously up to the top!

Had to put myself in there with the spectacular view!

The town of Capri spread out before us, with the Faraglioni off the coast to the right.

Close-up of the Faraglioni.

It was a bit hard to resist being silly!

More views!

Limoncello products

We had quite a few such meals but this was quite memorable. They had an antipasti buffet spread which we happily helped ourselves to. Seafood risotto is DD’s standard dish and he went round trying the different versions at different restaurants. Just look at all that seafood on the plate!

St Andrew facing the church named after him.

The arched architecture, with its distinctive stripes.

Inside the richly decorated church, you’ll find plenty of frescos and statues.

Part of the Cloister of Paradise (Chiostro de Paradiso), which was used as a burial ground by the noble families of Amalfi.

The old Arsenal

Don’t you just love the look of whitewashed buildings clinging to cliffs against blue water? In case you’re wondering, that little short building on the right is now a restaurant. We ate there and it’s pretty good!

The town of Amalfi from over the water.

View of Positano from along the road from Amalfi

Positano, from over the water.

Coming up tomorrow is Adora.

Adora is mum to Poppy, 4, and Calla, 5 months. She tackles meal-time mayhem, kitchen disasters and playground politics on a daily basis. In between breaths, she writes for parenting magazines on a freelance basis and runs a crafts-for-kids business. She enjoys cheap chocolate, smelling her baby’s neck, and would really like a good night’s sleep. Adora blogs at http://www.gingerbreadmum.com/ and will share on the tranquil city of Hanoi, Vietnam