Perfect Positano

After a 600 km drive, we finally reached the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast.  This was an absolutely breathtaking drive, full of twists and turns and roads that hang precariously on cliffs edge.  Would highly reccommend driving standard! We finally got to Positano and made our way up the twisting one way main road Vialle Pasitea to our hotel.  Positano is absolutely beautiful, and feels like the elegant, older, more refined sister of Cinque Terre.  Lots of colorful houses, pretty purple flowers everywhere you turn, and little restaurants and patios scattered along the winding roads.  Positano is known for its gingantic, fragrant lemons (and lemoncello!) and the scent is intoxicating.  You feel out of place here if you don't have gauzy white linen dresses, pants, and fabulously large hats!  We met a family that returns year after year and they gave us a little tip about the beach: if you go past the main public beach (red umbrellas), you will find little private section with blue umbrellas.  You have to pay for this section, but it is well worth it for the privacy! You can decend down the cliff to practically your own little private cove with glimmering sapphire water and the most amazing view.  We spent days in Positano just sipping persecco and eating caprese in our little perfect posi cliffside heaven. 

We decided to take a day trip to Amalfi town one of the days...we were there for an hour before we turned right back and assumed our regular spot in Positano! Not that Amalfi wasn't pretty...it just wasn't Posi! ;)  I have heard, though, that if you can pull yourself away, Ravello is a short trip from Amalfi and is breathtaking.

We also took a wonderful day trip to Capri through Lucibello boat tours.  On the way to Capri, we stopped in a few different grottos.  We wanted to visit the infamous Blue Grotto, but unfortunately the water was too choppy so they would not allow any tourists to enter the grotto.  Capri town wasn't very impressive - lots of tourists, lots of high end shops, and not much else.  Our main reason for going to Capri was to do the chair lift (Seggiovia) in Ana Capri.  We took a bus from Capri town to Ana Capri and took a rickety chair lift to the highest point. What an amazing view of the Amalfi Coast!

Well, the end of our road trip honeymoon is near.  Positano has probably been our favorite place so far, maybe in all of Italy.  Definitely somewhere I can see myself returning one day!  Final leg of our journey starts tomorrow - we are heading to Roma and then back home to Canada! Ciao guidos and guidettes!

Driving in Italia

Note to self: do not speed while driving in Italy!  Driving is awesome - the signage is clear, the toll highways feel like you are driving on 407, and the Ristops boast amazing expresso bars and gelato...but if the Polizia don't get you for speeding, the traffic cameras will!! 

Sunflower Fields Forever

Driving through Tuscany has been such an amazing experience...I wouldn't want to see it any other way!

We started off in Firenze, which was exactly the way I remembered it - terracotta roofs and dusty dry heat. I love that city. Our hotel was steps from the Duomo, and we felt like we were in a Jason Bourne movie trying to drive through the crazy Firenze streets. One evening, we walked to Piazza Michelangelo to catch the sunset. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a street busker had set up shop at the base of the piazza, singing folksy Damien Rice type songs (only my FAVORITE artist!). Piazza Michelangelo also has the best gelato place in all of Italy in my opinion - theres a little shop just to the left of the Piazza that everyone visiting Florence must try!


Another place of gastronomical euphoria - La Giostra.  We were guided to this place by some friends, and it was likely the best restaurant I have been to in all of Italy, with the most amazing service.  It has a Sotto Sotto feel, with pictures of celebrities from all over the world posing with the owner, who looks like he escaped off of a ship from Pirates of the Carribean.  Even Sharukh Khan has dined there! If you do go to this place, make reservations at least 3 days in advance as they having limited seatings. We spent the rest of our time in Firenze eating at a little restaurant called Donninis in Piazza della Repubblica - great staff and great wine!

Our next stop in Tuscany was driving through the province of Sienna to see the city of Sienna and San Gimignano.  Sienna is known for the Palio, which is a horse race that is held twice a year.  We weren't there during the race, but still enjoyed the town.  No cars are allowed in the main portion of Sienna, so we parked somewhere randomly and set off on foot in that little maze of a town.  Thankfully we entered our car's location into GPS which helped us find our car once we were ready to leave Sienna!   

The real gem of Tuscany though was San Gimignano.  We climbed up to the top of the main tower to take in the views of the rolling chianti hills...it was incredible.   The province of Sienna looks literally how it sounds; a palette of burnt sienna combined with lush green rolling hills with a rich undertone of sangiovese grapes...well at least thats what I picture in my mind's eye.  ;)

Everywhere you go in Italy you are inundated with the yumminess of gelato stores in every nook and cranny. So naturally, I have to try the gelato in every single town that I stop in! I learned a pretty neat little trick to finding the best gelato shop from one of my guide books! So here it is: take a look at the pistachio flavour. If it is a bright green, its probably not a very good gelato place. It should be a murky dusky light green... a pistachio green if you will ;) Hope that helps my fellow gelato lovers!

The best part about road tripping around Italy is the random things we see along the way.  Driving back to Firenze, we passed an amazing field of sunflowers! I thought this stuff only existed in my dreams - sunflowers are my favorite flower! We pulled over at a nearby gas station and trekked through the field - what a precious moment that will be engrained in my memories forever!  Starting the 600 km journey to the Amalfi Coast tomorrow - Ciao Tuscany!

Exploring Valpolicella

There are two major wine areas in the Verona region - Valpolicella for red and Soave for white. We were sooo excited to do the Valpolicella wine tour!  We used a company called Verona Around which was fantastic. I would highly recommend booking a tour in advance as sometimes they can get booked up quite quickly.  It was quite quick to get to the wine region around Verona as there are dozens of wineries in the region. Valpolicella actually means "Valley of many Cellers".  The drive was absolutely beautiful with winding roads and picturesque views of villas nestled in lush green hills.  We were able to visit a few wineries, and taste different types of wine from the area like Ripasso and Amarone.  We also had a chance to taste different types of olive oil and vinegar which was divine! Originally we wanted to visit a Masi winery, but then we found out that Masi acutally just buys wine from the smaller family owned wineries and then sells them under the Masi brand so we decided to skip it.  If we had more time I would have loved to do a Soave tour as well - maybe next time!    Off to Tuscany tomorrow!



Romeo e Giulietta's Italia

This morning we drove from Venice to Verona - our second stop on our little Italian roadtrip.  This is the city that Shakespeare set his scene between the star crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet.  Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's house) was built in the 14th century, and it is one of the places that we visited today in Verona.  It was once the home of the Cappello family (legend has it that it inspired the Capulet family in the play), and romantics flock from all places to tour this house and leave their letters of love behind.  The fabled balcony over looks a courtyard with a golden statue of Juliet. The grafitti covered courtyard has thousands of colorful hearts drawn with names of lovers that hope to have better luck than the age old tale of Romeo and Juliet.  Of course we had to leave our mark!

We also visited the Roman Arena - this is a pink marble Roman amphitheatre that was built in the 1st century AD and is currently Verona's legendary open air opera house.  Unfortunately we couldn't catch a show as it is a Sunday, but it would have been neat to sit in the restored section of the Roman Arena to witness the grandness and authenticity of it all. 

There are two main wine regions here - the Valpolicella region (Red) and the Soave region (White).  We have arranged a tour through the Valpolicella region tomorrow - pretty excited!

Bonjourno Venezia

First stop on our Italian Roadtrip was Venice.  We stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky which was a beautiful choice that I would highly recommend   It had an amazing rooftop pool that was perfect at sunset.  Definitely better than travelling as a backpacker!  We did the typical gondola ride (how cliche) but couldn't leave Venezia without it! Loved all the masks in the windows and wish we could have caught a show.

They say this place is enchanting...I didn't see it the first time around, but I felt a dusting of it this time.  The trick is to skip Venice in the day and explore it at night.  Get lost in the canals, and let the city lead you.  Maybe it was the fact that we discovered a little jazz bar with an amazing singer crooning Amy Winehouse.  Maybe it was buying an umbrella from a stranger to shelter us from the light rain.  Or maybe it was the fact that I was back with the love of my life.  For one reason or another, I now realize why they say Venice is amore!