Sunday July 27: A Day Trip to Amalfi Coast
I’ve heard amazing things about the Amalfi Coast and according to Google maps, it was about a 2 hour ride to Positano, one of the two cities everyone fawns over. We made plans to go to Positano first and Sorrento second. But, at the last minute, I thought we should go to the farther city first to save the shorter drive for the way home.
We started the day with breakfast at 8am at Bar Gelato Nazionale-our new favorite spot. Three cornettos and two apple pastries with seven coffees (everyone has two except Nan). The cornettos seemed to be warm! I was much happier with this version of bread for breakfast.
After figuring out how to buy gas, we were on our way. The 2.5 hour drive was long. The road we had to drive on was crowded and the traffic didn’t move quickly. It definitely took longer than expected. I wondered already if this trip was really going to be worth it.
When we arrived in Sorrento, the gps lost service and there was some confusion about where we were headed and where to park. We ended up parking about a mile from the restaurant we were heading to which meant a 40 minute walk along a mostly traffic filled road with small sidewalks until hitting the tourist center. It was nice to get steps but we were all pretty tired. We ended up getting to lunch at 1:00 at a place called Bufalita Inn.
A bottle of wine, a buffalo cheese appetizer, beef carpaccio, a pasta, and a steak. Still, way more food than we needed. The cheese app came with a focaccia and was my favorite part of the meal. I really only wanted the carpaccio but we always get excited to eat.
The restaurant was supposedly a steak house, they had dry aging meats on display. But I have to say it was the toughest steak I may have ever eaten. The highlight of the entree was the flaky black salt which I did look into stores for after lunch.
We shopped around a bit, I purchased some linen pants, then we stopped for gelato before taking an uber back to the car.
The drive from Sorrento to Positano was only 15 minutes and thank god I slept because those roads are insane! Twisty windy mountain road with vespas everywhere and busses traveling at top speed. I have absolutely no idea how Phil managed driving.
It was about 4:30 when we arrived in Positano and we parked at the first garage we saw. We went to a pretty restaurant for drinks with a nice view.
We went into a few shops but noticed quickly that these were Positano prices and everything here was more expensive.
I found the Amalfi coast to be underwhelming but perhaps it just isn’t my style. It’s pretty, but it’s so super touristy and expensive and crowded and I wouldn’t want to spend my vacation walking up and down those hills or stuck in traffic. I feel badly because I know everyone loves the Amalfi coast but it’s really not my style. Stick me on the quiet mountain top any day.
So time to return home. First, we have no service so I can’t plug in directions. But we were on a one way so it was fine. When I finally can put the address in, it says 3 hours to get back. The whole point of going to Positano second was that it was supposedly closer than Sorrento.
We ended up stuck in traffic and didn’t get back to Bar Gelateria Nazionale until 9:40pm. We went in, ordered 4 spritzes, got 4 bags of chips, and 2 bottles of wine to take home for $45.
Finally back at the agriturismo, I needed desperately to shower after a sweaty day. In 15 mins I was showered and in pjs while my mom set us up a little card table outside the rooms. We drank wine out of plastic cups and played 500 rummy until midnight.
