Perfect Positano
Right after our wedding, we flew to the Amalfi Coast for an Italian getaway. From what I knew of the coast, our trip would be mostly relaxing, visiting a few cute towns and enjoying long dinners. Seeing as we tend to go go go when we travel, Amalfi seemed like an ideal spot to relax after throwing the party of our lives.
Our beautiful hotel, Le Sireneuse, offered guided walks in the morning with fitness instructor Giovanni. The first day, we walked the Stairs to Nocelle, climbing upwards of 130 flights, leading the pack of hotel guests since we were in a bit better shape than our hungover companions. The view of Positano from up high was so magnificent that I quickly signed us up for the fitness walk the following morning, the Stairs to Montepurso, even though our calves would be feeling it.
When we arrived at the gym the next morning, we were the only guests joining Giovanni for an 8AM 5 mile hike. Giovanni knew our athletic prowess from the day prior and took us all the way up the giant hole. It truly is a huge hole in the mountain at the top of the Positano coast that you can see all the way down from the beach. Our hike took over 2 hours and brought us over 170 flights up. There was no better way to see all of Positano than from that giant hole.
Hotel breakfast awaited us, held open late for us since our walk took longer than expected. After indulging in fruits and pastries, we showered and headed down to the hotel boat that would take us to Nerano. Only two other guests were on the boat, men scouting the hotel for a potential work retreat. They were living in Switzerland but one was from Italy, so you can imagine the smile on my face when I changed out of my bathing suit and into a Farm Rio jumper to which he said “oh, you look so chic!” I died and went to heaven.
Bouncing on the waves of the dark blue water, snacking on marcona almonds and taking in the natural beauty of the coast, I thought the day couldn’t get any better. But then we arrived at Nerano, pulling right up to Lo Scoglio, a famous restaurant that you may hear Stanley Tucci rave about from time to time. We enjoyed a two hour lunch, every bite better than the last, and by far the best meal of the trip.
The day ended at Zass, a restaurant at the Il San Pietro hotel. The food was great but our shuttle ride back to Le Sireneuse was even better, as our driver told us that NYC has the best pizza and that lunch in NYC takes 10 minutes but in Italy, 2 hours. Positano, Sorrento, and Rome were good to us every day we were there, but an intense athletic experience, a luxurious boat, a beautiful lunch, and chats with locals made for the best of all of the days.
