As you may already know, Ann is a very particular person. She spends lots of time reading and rereading a menu at a restaurant, comparing and contrasting things, reading all the labels on products, cross referencing reviews... It is a wonder why she settled on marrying me. While planning this trip, she was in a quandary about where to stay on the Amalfi Coast. Pay the high prices of staying in one of the beach towns or stay at one of the cheaper B&Bs inland. At one point she was paralyzed trying to decide among six separate reservations. She kept telling me that they could be cancelled but six? I was getting nervous. Finally, I had an inspiration! "Let us stay at one of the cheaper places and use the money we save to pay for a tour or some other extravagance." After making this major contribution, I went off to buy batteries (my other major contribution to prepare for this trip).
Ann cancelled five of the reservations and kept the one for a very nice B&B in the town of Monte Pertuso (with the 115 steps up from the road). With the money we saved, Ann booked us a private driver who spent a full day and drove us up and down the Amalfi Coast. On day 13 at 8:30 we met our driver, Giuseppe, at the bottom of those 115 steps. He was there (suit and all) with, at most, a 2 year old Mercedes. Guiseppe immediately opened the door for us, we got in and off we went. He took us up and down the coast, stopping for pictures, dropping us off in various towns and picking us up at the time of our choosing. The driver was friendly and told us great stories about all the local spots. Every 10 or 20 minutes he would adjust the AC or open a window then ask us, "Is OK?" I could get used to this treatment.
We traveled all the way to Ravello, where Guiseppe recommended that we visit two beautiful gardens, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. Well, the town had too much to see and we got to see only Villa Rufolo.
So, on another day we decided to return to Ravello and visit Villa Cimbrone. However, this time we thought we would travel like locals. The B&B's hosts were always suggesting to take the local bus to get to here or there because the public transportation costs only a few euros, whereas our private driver was $$$$.
So off we went on day 15: We had to catch a 9:05 bus at the bottom of those 115 steps. 1.70 euros (about $2 each) and 40 minutes and 12 stops later we were at the Positano port. 16 euros (about $20 for both) and 1 hour later the ferry deposited us in the town of Amalfi. From Amalfi, we took a 30 minute, 4 euro ($6 each) bus ride to the town of Ravello. At the end of the day we planned to do this again in reverse and return to those 115 steps.
I need to change gears here, for I am not presenting to you the real feel of what is like to travel via Italian public transportation.
First, the trip to Ravello took about 2.5 hours by public transportation while, if our private driver didn't stop, it would have been less than 1 hour. While the ferry is definitely an efficient way to travel from Positano to Amalfi, at each transfer point we had to wait (usually no more than 1 hour, but in the hot, hot sun) for the next leg. This adds a fair about of time and sweat to your travel.
Second, while Italy is a friendly and warm country, there is nothing like the frenzy of trying to board a bus with significantly fewer seats than there are people at the bus stop. This happened in Amalfi while we were trying to board the bus to Ravello. In the hot sun, about 50 people waited 20 minutes for a bus that had a capacity of about 30. And when it arrived... well, it was like trying to board a train in India. People pushed and pushed to get on. At some point, there was no option but to follow the crowd. When the door closed, the faces of those who didn't make it - well, it was like the fall of Saigon. And I have to say, Ann impressed me. She must have some Italian in her ancestry because with all her 5 feet - and two inches! - pushing and elbows working she got a seat. (Ann's editorial comment there, because those two inches are important.)
Third, riding a public bus on the Amalfi Coast is particularly unnerving. You are high up and swaying back and forth while the driver takes near impossible turns. From your elevated position, as the bus seems at the brink of tipping over, you get a bird's eye view of the gorge - ALL the way down.
It's common knowledge that driving in Italy is like a major game of chicken. When two drivers meet head on, each tries to slip by or to convince the other driver to back up. It seems all Italian drivers know the exact width of their car to the millimeter! They can see, from great distances, how much room is available. If they think they can fit, they dive in! A few times I even sucked in my stomach as if it would help. If both vehicles can't fit, the smaller (or more timid) backs up. They can drive long distances in reverse with the same grace that you and I drive, going forward. A public bus is the king of this game. I believe an Italian bus driver could navigate his bus through a letter slot.
Back to our story ... just as we were ready to leave Ravello, it started to rain. The bus line was so long we knew we'd never get on the 4:30 bus and would have to wait in the rain for a hour for the next one. As Ann and I watched the 4:30 bus drive off, a man started walking up and down the bus line saying, "Amalfi cab, 8 people, 10 euros each, Amalfi cab." He had a taxi van that held 5 passengers comfortably - 8 if you wanted to check out how everybody's deodorant was working. The van started to fill up and at "3 people" we jumped at this opportunity and piled in. As you can imagine, not too many people go to tourist sites like this alone, but he then proceeded to spend ANOTHER 5 minutes announcing, "Amalfi cab! One person, 10 euros." He was DETERMINED to maximize his profit on this trip!
Taking a cab in Italy is an adventure in itself. As we descended the road, the driver said "piano, piano" and pointed at the road. I believe he was saying the road was slick and he was going to drive down slowly (this was fine with me). But then he drove down what was effectively a challenging ski slope like a Olympic slalom racer. (Another Ann editorial comment. This is a TOTAL, complete Scharpfism of hyperbole. The driver did NOT speed down the curvy road! The rest of this crazy story is true, though!)
Half way down he then started asking for the fare. With lots of hand gestures and a smattering of confused English words tossed in, he said he was unable to park in Amalfi and needed the money now. Only after he agreed to actually stop the van when we got out did we agree to pay him. We started passing money up to the driver who counted and, after some confusion, settled on the correct amount. Keep in mind, the gesturing, discussion of the parking, the money transferring and a few phone calls (without a hands free head set) all happened as he drove us down the curvy, CURVY road.
When we returned to our room after this second trip to Ravello, we were dripping of sweat and exhausted. We had missed our reservation at an expensive, prestigious restaurant. So we decided to return to a restaurant, Il Ritrovo, we had dined at a few days before. This was a little less expensive and a very nice place.
Now remember Ann being picky? She is also a foodie. Ann thought this restaurant provided the best meal she had in Italy. That night Ann had grilled vegetables and "sea bream cooked in crazy water." (Sea bream is a white fish and I have no idea what "crazy water" is.) She could not stop raving about this meal and even went so far as to go into the kitchen and compliment the chef. So we decided to return and Ann had the same exact meal. In fact, we returned a third time and they were so excited to see us that we all took pictures of us with the chef and wait staff. Each time we ate there we were given glasses of Prosecco, left with gifts and, for some inexplicable reason, they took 10% off our bill. The third time we ate there, we left with additional gifts of flavored olive oil, glasses of limoncello and a locally made marmalade. What a crazy place.
Enclosed are photos from our two journeys including our favorite restaurant staff.
Ciao for now.
bill
