Amalfi Take Two

We made a second attempt getting to Amalfi, and this time we made it. But it was definitely a mixed bag.

On the plus side: the Amalfi coast is pretty cool.

On the negative side: spending a majority of the day in an automobile with a crazy Italian driver is not.

I knew making the trip via car as opposed to by boat was probably a mistake. We aren’t really car people. And when I saw how peaked Chris was at dinner, I realized he had been car sick most of the day stuck in the backseat of a van.

However, we are beach people, and we desperately wanted to get to a beach on Amalfi.

Part of the problem that day was probably the language barrier. While the driver spoke English, I don’t think we completely understood the options he was giving us or if there was even a question from him we needed to answer.

He started off the day by saying “I’m just your driver. You tell me where you want to go. I want you to be happy.”

Then he said “You could do [this], or you could do [that], or you could do [this].” And then he explained why each of those options was a poor choice. I got the sense that he wanted to race to somewhere in the proximity of the Amalfi Coast and then race back. But I thought that couldn’t be right.

The trip was also suppose to include a tour of Pompeii, but we blew right by that on the way to Amalfi. He said we would stop on the way back.

Our first stop (not counting our stop for a rushed coffee and toilet visit at a gas station) was a picturesque overhang where we could see the town of Amalfi in the distance.

After spending a few minutes there, the driver said something along the lines of “Okay, we can start heading back now.”

Once again I thought, “That can’t be right.”

So I said, “We want to go down to Amalfi.”

Which seemed to visibly upset him even though he said “I’m just your driver. You tell me where you want to go. I want you to be happy,” as he shooed us back into the van.

When he dropped us off, we arranged a time to be back, and he said he would postpone the tour of Pompeii until later in the afternoon.

As we started walking around the town of Amalfi, Nicole got a phone call from the tour company saying postponing the tour was not an option. We had to choose between relaxing in Amalfi or going to Pompeii.

We chose Amalfi.

Where we explored the streets and shops (and tasted and bought some limoncello).

And had a very pleasant lunch.

And went to the beach.

After swimming, we headed back to meet up with our driver. He seemed to have a different attitude. A little less rushed. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe someone at the tour agency talked to him. Or maybe he was afraid of our TripAdvisor review. Or maybe he also had a pleasant lunch. In any case, he took us along the coast and headed to Sorrento.

Of course, the drive along the narrow, winding roads of the coast was not without incident. There was quite a bit of traffic, and in one spot, a couple of cars passed us, which I found incredible. But not as incredible as when our driver passed them back.

We stopped at a fruit stand for fresh squeezed fruit juice where the driver insisted Meagan pose for a photo because he liked her dress.

We only stopped briefly in Sorrento. But long enough to try a bunch of free samples at this cookie/candy store where we made a couple purchases.

From there, it was a three hour ride back to Rome. Along the way, the driver assured us our safety was his priority. Again, I think he was thinking about that TripAdvisor review.

On the way back, Dave picked out a pizza place for dinner (yes, we had dinner). One that was a 55 minute walk from the hotel. We didn’t go there.

At dinner, where Chris was a little green around the gills, we once again all agreed that the family dinners were the best. Though Meagan had to put her foot down and tell us, “It’s time to leave Dad alone.”

We were looking forward to one more full day together in Rome the next day.