Finally getting my stuff together to post some vacation recaps… I know not everyone is into travel posts (I’m not sure why, haha) so I will disperse them over the next couple weeks along with regular content (recipes and etc.)
We left on a Thursday night and flew into London, arriving the next morning with an 8 hour layover. London isn’t really on the top of my must see asap list so we figured it would be a great way to see the city briefly. Pat and I went to a traditional English pub, had lunch and a beer, went past some landmarks, snapped some Big Ben photos, and took a scary cab ride- basically the highlights, haha. We took off that night for Rome, and then took the train the following morning to Naples. This sounds like a ton of travel in 24ish hours but it actually worked out really well.
We got to Naples, checked into our hotel, and then headed to Pompeii. While ruins are really interesting to me I’d be lying if I didn’t say this was the only disappointing part of our trip. I think part of it was not doing a guided tour and apparently some of the coolest relics are actually in the Archeological museum in Naples. There was an option for a volcano tour but since the ruins themselves weren’t thrilling we decided to pass and head back to Naples for some Pizza.
As you know the traditional Neapolitan pizza was created by the people of Naples and they knew what they were doing. We went to one of the highest rated pizza places- L’ Antica Pizzeria Da Michele. They had only two options- cheese or no cheese and everyone seemed to get their own pizza even though it wasn’t exactly personal pan size. The sauce was amazing and the pizza was super doughy- it needed to be eaten with a fork and knife, it was lighter on the cheese but we both were super impressed. If any local Philly friends know any authentic pizza places here- please direct me to them!!!! We wondered around Naples for a bit and then went to bed since we had an early train to the coast.
We arrived in Positano hungry and excited. After grabbing a quick bite (omelets) we took the short walk from our hotel to the beach. The views were amazing and we immediately starting talking with various companies about a private boat tour the next day. Pat suggested we check out the hike I wanted to do since there was pretty good cloud cover and we both needed a little exercise. (Pictured below- we will end up where that fog is at the top of the mountain)!
The hike involves climbing up the cliff via mostly steep stairways. At the top there is an actual hole in the mountain or pertuso. The legend about how the hole was created involves the devil and the virgin mary- very interesting. So we started our trek, stopping along various points for beautiful pictures. I think we passed maybe 2 sets of couples so it was mostly deserted which was nice.
After stairs, stairs, stairs and more stairs (140 flights climbed according to our iphones) we reached a dirt path. The whole hike directions were kind of confusing so we ventured down it- up a couple of hills and finally made it to the top. The actual hole itself was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen- especially since it was created naturally. Also it was such a unique hike, very different from the traditional hikes that are almost always composed of dirt paths- I would highly recommend! Photos were obviously taken and then we headed back down- this time splitting time between the road and stairs, such a stunning place.
Pat and I made it back just in time as it started pouring and hailing about a half hour later. I had one of the most delicious salads of my life- isalada Di Mare- a seafood salad dressed in delicious olive oil. (The part that looks like cheese is actually cuddlefish I believe). 
Since we were exhausted from the hike and traveling (and it was rainy) we had a fairly low key night just chilling, grabbing dessert and a drink. We woke up early the next morning for our private boat tour. I had been looking forward to this as soon as we started planning our trip- what could be more amazing than coastal views from a boat!?
The views did not disappoint- we took a 3 hour cruise to Amalfi and stopped at the Emerald Grotto on our way back. It was so cool how green the water looked inside the cave of our grotto tour. It was a little tricky to get pics but I did my best.
We also jumped off the boat a couple times to swim and cool off a little. Our sailor was super nice and answered all of our annoying what is it like living in Positano questions. (We love befriending locals and hearing about their lifestyle- and getting recommendations!).
Pat and I enjoyed some lunch and a little beach time before showering and heading to a beautiful dinner. Rada was one of the fanciest and highest rates restaurants on the entire coast and it did not disappoint. We had an amazing sunset view while we enjoyed our best overall meal of the trip (it was also the most expensive). Starting with the 3 small amuse bouche and zucchini parmigiana as our appetizer, and then ending with the Positano clam pasta and Buffalo ricotta cheese stuffed ravioli.
We grabbed a couple of drinks and just soaked in the beautiful scenery before turning in for the night. The next morning we had a few hours to spend on the beach until our afternoon train to Rome. I tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time ever- I fell a couple of times before I got the hang of it but it was definitely a fun challenge with stunning blue waters.
After showering back at the hotel and packing up, we had lunch overlooking the water. Pat and I were basically in love with the fresh seafood, he was especially obsessed with the sardines. Two things that stood out to me besides the fish were the tomatoes and salads. I had the Italian version of a chef salad- greens corn, tuna, tomatoes, fresh made croutons, olives, mozzarella, and hard boiled eggs- with a simple olive oil dressing. Italian olive oil >>>>> US olive oil. (Don’t worry I brought some back!)
The route to Rome involved a bus ride, a train, another train, and then another bus- the last extensive day of traveling thank god. But 2.5-3 days was the perfect amount of time for us to enjoy the beautiful coast of Positano.
Roma recap coming up next! Any questions about the trip so far? Have you been to Italy? Favorite spot!?
I love travel posts! The food at Rada looks amazing. I visited Pompeii many years ago on a guided tour and I think it probably does make a difference as they help bring the ruins to life.
Yeah I definitely think we should’ve done a guided tour- or the one to the volcano and it would’ve been more interesting to me.