The Amalfi Coast | not to be mistaken for Heaven
Where: Amalfi Coast (Capri, Sorrento, Amalfi + Positano)
When: August 21-25
Hotel: Hilton Sorrento Palace 3/5 stars
One hour drive from Pompeii and we had arrived in beautiful Sorrento. The views driving in along the miniscule roads on the cliffs were something else y’all. We checked into the Hilton Sorrento, and had about 45 min to swim because their pool closes at 7 pm. Odd. But the way our systems were shutting down from the heat and the chaos that was Pompeii, we needed to submerge in any body of water.
Our view from the hotel room was unreal. We were set back quite a bit, but this way, we were able to see the cliffs, ocean and a good portion of the city below.
We had dinner right at the hotel there because we were all starving and it was getting late. We ate at the lemon grove restaurant which was beautiful- a little buggy, but aside, the food and drinks and company were stunning. The hotel made olive oil was so good, I had to have it. If you saw, or worse, HEARD me leaving the hotel restaurant with a glugging purse, no you didn’t.
Day 9
We had a viatour that took us along the Amalfi coast. Holy moley this felt like a dream. We had our own private boat, with an Italian captain and a sweet little man named Salvatore as our tour guide. He was awesome, I cannot say enough good things. Our first stop was Amalfi. You guys, when I tell you that all of our jaws dropped when we rolled up on the port of Amalfi... You could just see windows on top of each other starting from the bottom to the top of the cliffs, bright colored umbrellas crowding the beach and numerous men in speedos. Our guide told us the one thing we HAD to try on our 2 hour visit was this delectable little lemon dessert and WOW he was not lying. All things lemon, I loved it right away. I had a lemon sorbet inside of a lemon, a lemon slushy and that tasty little lemon treat that Sal recommended. I officially got my first pair of handmade Italian sandals and they are serving. They’re chic af and I will be wearing them from here on out. I also bought a lemon Christmas ornament because I’m a unique quirky girlie and I have to get one wherever I travel.
Fun fact- did you know that the Italians in the Amalfi region believe that every home MUST have atleast ONE window in their house that faces the sea, hence why all of the houses are built upwards.
The next stop on our group tour was Positano so we hopped back on the boat and Sal dropped us at the next port in Positano. Holy shit it was super hectic and the crowds were insane but we pushed through and started walking up towards the restaurants and shops. We stopped quickly at Blu Bar for a drink and to use the restroom because they were private and we were desperate. We grabbed a drink then made our way up the steps to see all the little shops. Tons of gorgeous linens, beautiful leather sandals and loafers, more delicious lemon goodies and seashell jewelry everywhere. I loved this for me, I felt safe, I felt seen. We spent about an hour and a half in Positano popping in and out of shops before we got back on the boat to SWIM!
Sal and our captain parked us in the middle of the sea by the cliffs for some epic swimming, that I quite frankly don’t think I will ever recover from. We had champagne in the sea and bobbed in the water while Sal played ABBA and YMCA (for some reason) and we all loved it. We truly gave it our all when Mamma Mia came on. It was one of the best moments of my life and I was in fact giving main character energy, or that’s how it felt.
Dinner reservations were in downtown Sorrento at the Foreigners Club. The views were absolutely incredible, the food and service was just meh. We watched the sunset at a table for 12 and talked about our day on the Tyrhenian Sea. After dinner, some went back to the hotel and some stayed out shopping down the narrow streets filled with shops (mainly jewelry, lemon aprons and sandals). I could’ve spent all night stumbling in and out of these stores but my husband reminded me that I had already bought Italian shoes and a wallet so it was time to storm home with an attitude.
Day 10
Another tour day! This time we were going to the Blue Grotto and Capri. We had another private boat because of our group size, which was nice. Meeting point was at the pier in Sorrento. We had a captain and a guide named Frederica. She was a doll. She def was our hype girl throughout the trip and was very supportive of our animalistic behavior when we were drinking white wine in the sea at 9 am. We first took the boat over to the Blue Grotto where at least 10 other boats were hanging out. We paid a pretty penny to go in, on a separate tiny boat. It all went very fast (3 minutes) and was quite terrifying. My most accurate way to describe this was like the scene in Willy Wonka when they’re in that creepy boat and everythings moving and all the oompa loompas are singing crazy shit and you’re tripping balls and sweating heavily. Our grotto driver was rude af and mentioned tipping 10 euro per person at least 7 times mid tune. Bob had only 4 euro left and gave it to our man- he grabbed and and shook his head, then boated to his next group of tourists. It was gorgeous to see the blue water but in my opinion, not worth the chaos nor the money.
After that experience, it was time for the main attraction- CAPRI! From photos, I knew this place would be a doozy but the views blew me out of the water. Literally. Once we got to the dock, we followed signs to Capri Center. Wrong choice. We hiked uphill for a straight 40 minutes in the hot sun, with heavy backpacks and wearing bathing suits. T’was not enjoyable considering we could have just taken the funicular up for like 2 euro, but alas, Bob said it was for the memories. And also to work off the prior 10 days of pasta and wine gorging. The view from the top was absolutely incredible. I enjoyed another lemon sorbet inside le limone because I deserve nice things. It was even better than the last one, thank you for asking. I got a cameo charm- which is carved from shells. I did not purchase anything else because all of the stores on Capri are designer and I am poor.
We had lunch reservations at La Fontellina. Oh my god. Not to blow my Florence carbonara out of the water but MY MUSSELLS AND POTATOE WHITE WINE DISH WAS LIKE GREETING JESUS. I cannot wait to try and mimic that dish. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant, just be aware that the only two ways to get there are by private boat or by scaling a cliff. We scaled the cliff and I now have large blisters and less dignity for crying in front of strangers.
On our way back from Capri and the most divine lunch, Frederica let us swim again right by the cliffs and it was the time of our lives. Again. She kept serving us all white wine while we were floating and that was a core memory created for me. Then the Italian captain that didn’t speak English thought it would be so silly to huck pieces of bread right by where we were swimming so that the thousands of fishes would come from the depths and jump out of the water to get a piece of this bread. I thought my cousin Molly was going to die of an aneurism. In that moment, I wasn’t sure if I would survive.
That night, Bob and I did a solo dinner in downtown Sorrento where we shared a pizza (very good), a bottle of chianti classic, ravioli.
Day 11
Our last day, we took it pretty chill. A few of us walked downtown Sorrento to get some last minute shopping in. I gave in and bought a gold pendant of the cornicella, because it is supposed to bring fertility and fortune and honestly I’ll take it wherever I can get it. Bob got a pair of fancy little loafers that make him look like a fancy little man. I was finally able to cross off a restaurant on my bucket list- O’parachuchio (the lemon grove restaurant) They were booked for weeks and had not one reservation available for dinner, but their dining room was wide open at lunch time. We got rose wine, gnocchi, mozzarella and bread.
On our last night, we had booked a traditional cooking class with Peninsula Experiences- Learn to Cook like a Local. And that we did! I am so glad we did this the last night because it was so much fun, our ginger chef named Christiano was so energetic and hilarious- he made the experience a blast. We made gnocchi with tomato sauce, eggplant parmesan and tiramisu. (Not me immediately going to sign up for chef school because this was the best meal I’ve ever had. No cap.) We were right in their home too, which was a cool experience. They let us try their family made limoncello after dinner and no joke, this was the best one I’ve tried. I bought one to take home because I usually gag at even the sight of limoncello but with Christiano’s… uh uh honey. All hits, no misses.
We got back to the hotel to drink all the leftover wine we had since ya can’t travel with the Lord’s juice (we had the Tears of Christ and it’s made from the vines on Mount Vesuvio). My family had surprised me with a local bakery made birthday cake and they all learned how to sing happy birthday in Italian. I die. It was the perfect ending to an even more perfect 2 week Italian vacation.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to travel this summer to such a beautiful part of the world, and to do it with people I love so much. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome when you actually like your family. Arrivderci!
INTERESTING TIDBIT- downtown Sorrento is filled literally FILLED with Irish/English bars. I found that odd.
PROS
The views, obv
Swimming in the most gorgeous water I’ve ever seen
Lemons everywhere
Very kind people
CONS
Not enough time to explore all around Amalfi in just 4 days
Honestly.. our hotel did not wow me esp. for the cost
