Positano

As you could discern from our earlier post “Foligno to Positano” our first impressions of Positano were lukewarm.

After 5 days I can sum it up, we loved the place and would certainly come back if we had a chance.

Our room at the Villa Delle Palme was on the second floor. It was very comfortable had lovely water & hillside views from the balcony. The balcony also had some lines and pegs to dry your washing which is essential when you’re travelling for a long time. Down stairs where the free Wi-fi worked was also where we had breakfast and after lunchtime turned into a bar. We both enjoyed meeting up with the various visitor down stairs, however Peter was often trapped down there long after Claire had gone to bed. On some of these occasions Peter had the opportunity to have long conversations with Giuliana about the town. The TV in our room could pick up the BBC world news service on channel 43, however the TV down stairs had another station on the same channel. Everyone could not work out why it was happening but it was pleasant not to have to try to decipher what was going on in the world from the Italian news.

Giuliana & Manuela from the Hotel Villa Delle Palme were wonderful warm hearted people who made our stay a pleasure. Both spoke good English and were invaluable with their advice.  Their first recommendation was Christine’s walking tour which Claire’s post covered. We followed most of Christine’s recommendations and could not fault her advice.

The hotel we stayed at had relatives at two restaurants close by, with one right next door and the other 75 metres down the road. We got discounts at both restaurants and the food was good at both of them. The one next door was a little strange with about eight tables on the other side of the road very close to the traffic (a very tight squeeze for the busses to get through). So that all the traffic travelling through the town came right through the restaurant with the waiter dodging cars, scooters & busses while carrying a tray full of food. Peter began to think that in this part of the world we could have a scooter passing through our bathroom. After exploring the town we discovered that this was not an unusual situation with many of the restaurants in the town working on the same basis. You get used to it.

The scenery in Positano is a little overpowering. I’m not sure that you can see it from the photos but the mountain tops loom imposingly over the town. The moon glistening off the sea is unforgettable.

This shot was taken from our room after it occurred to us to try to take a photo. It’s a bit fuzzy. If we had the brains and taken the shot earlier it would have been better.

 

Shot of the Positano coast with Praiano in the distance.

View from the main square.

Besides the scenery Positano is famous for its fashions, ceramics, restaurants, cheeses and wines. It’s not cheap but it’s of a different variety and quality that you see elsewhere.

The locals are warm and genuinely friendly. In one of Peter’s late night talks with Giuliana she explained that there are only 4000 local residents and they all know each other and are related in some way somewhere down the line. The tourist industry is the towns livelihood so they do their best to keep up its reputation.

I remarked that I didn’t see many shady characters around town. She explained that while there was some minimal theft from the locals in the town it was only from a few bad eggs, the same as in all towns, but when dodgy customers come there to pick over the tourists, the locals soon identify them and send them packing.

My first impression was that the traffic in the town was insane. After five days I perceived that it was remarkably well organised chaos. It works. Almost all of the problems stem from the crazy tourists.

Memorable Positano moments:

Our stay at the Villa Delle Palme and chatting with the visitors and hosts.

Hotel Villa Delle Palme centre of the photo.

View from our balcony

Dinner at the classy Buca di Bacco restaurant on the main beach (glorious setting, excellent food & service at a not too expensive price)

Christine’s walking tour and tastings.

Drinks at very, very reasonable prices down at Puppetos on the off-main beach.

Besides our visit to Pompei we also did a trip to Ravello via Amalfi which was marred by our problems with the hordes of tourists and the busses being overloaded so we missed some and were packed in on others. Ravello is worth a visit but the choice of time for the visit is essential.

Ruins in Ravello

The view from Ravello

We have seen a lot of churches so far and it is true that they can gradually lose their impact on you, but the cathedral at Amalfi really stood out. The main church is impressive, but it is the Crypt of St. Andrew underneath that is truly magnificent.

Crypt of St. Andrew

In summary visit Positano if you can but take more than just a day or two or three. The town definitely grows on you.

Positano from the main beach.