Italy Travel Notes

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If you are arriving at the Amalfi coast in a car and you reach Salerno, you turn right following the Amalfi coast signs and then right again and you are on it. From the highway you don’t really enter into Salerno itself and only after you get on the Amalfi drive you can see on your left how huge and wide-spread along the coast the city actually is.

And what is ahead of you is the picturesque, winding coastal drive between the sea and the mountain, where so many car advertisements have been shot. You do have the blue sea down below on one side and the climbing lemon tree gardens on the other. And depending when you go to the Amalfi coast – the colour combinations change – from the turquoise blue of the water to the yellow of the lemons to the lush green on the hills. Just like the designs you find on the hand painted ceramics this region is famous for.

Moving in the direction of Amalfi and Positano – you go through Maiori and Minori – where the way gets at the level of the beach, but when it starts climbing up again, do try to find some space to park your car and enjoy the spectacular vista of any of the small rocky bays of the Amalfi coast.

And if you are there during the summer months, you will see hundreds of yachts – big and small darting through the waters near the coasts – sailing under Italian or French or British or American flags. And sometimes you see different flags – such as the one from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which I had to check up since I did not know which nation that blue, green and yellow flag belongs to.

Most of the luxurious yachts choose which beautiful sight of the cost to face at night and you can see them parked in front of Amalfi or Positano and in the bays of Capri. And apart from the speed with which these yachts can relocate from one bay to another and choose to stop where the water is the most crystal – there is another advantage they have – to move in the water, since if you are on foot to reach most of the beaches you would have to climb down and then up again and impressive number of stairs, which can be a challenge especially on the way up and after a day in the sun.

Just before you reach Amalfi, you would see on your right another drive starting to climb up the hill with indications that this is the way to follow if you are headed for Ravello, another small tranquil town tugged up in the mountain hills, famous for its ancient villas and breath-taking vistas of the coast.

Following Amalfi and before Paiano at some point on your left you would see the signs for the Emerald Cave. And then you start wondering – because between the beauty of the intense colours, the impressive nature where these towns have found their location and their beautiful names – you feel as if you have found your way into a tale and that being one of the most beautiful ones.

And then you cross through Praiano and you start seeing the bright colours of Positano.

Welcome to the Costiera Amalfitana where you move up and down and you follow the numerous turns of the coastal drive to discover one of the most beautiful places on earth.

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