It was about a 5 hour journey from Tuscany to the Costiera Amalfitana – one littered with some of the scariest driving my Mums had ever encountered… Vans reversing back onto the autostrada; Vespas using the hard shoulder when traffic at a stand still; cars using the hard shoulder when traffic at a stand still; and pretty much general chaos and not just on the outskirts of Rome or Naples…I definitely had the best seat, in the back, head down in the comfort of my bed, with my seat belt firmly fastened. We didn’t have time to stop at Pompeii so that will have to be done another time. And then, there it was, the long and winding road along the coast that might have been OK if it hadn’t been for the lunatics driving on it, on a Saturday afternoon! The hair pin bends were bad enough, but the Vespas dancing around your bonnet, whilst oncoming traffic seemed to think that the white line was something to straddle rather than stay one side of…. Literally, at one point a motorbike coming the other way swerved and missed hitting our car by what must have been millimetres…If we’d had a swear box, it would’ve been full – every 5 minutes!

Danger, danger!

And then, there was Minori – a town of faded grandeur but with a lot of character! Eventually Franco our host found us, and we followed him to a God-send of a parking space – worth every cent of €18/giorno! Once parked, that car was never moving again until we left!
The apartment was lovely and had all my Mums requirements of mod-cons! It also had 120steps to and from it, which was a struggle sometimes! We planned our meals and shopped locally, accordingly.

Room with a view!

Going to sleep listening to the waves crashing against the beach was lovely,and only interspersed by the bell tower of the basilica, directly opposite our bedroom! Thankfully, I am quite a heavy sleeper so it didn’t really affect me!

The bells, the bells!

Sunday’s plan was to walk to Ravello from Minori,and after some hair-raising moments as pedestrians, and genuine helpfulness from a very Italian lady, we found the route and started the long climb…

Evidence!

For a start, my Mums had no idea that Ravello wasn’t actually on the coast, so that in itself was educational! It was a charming little place , apart from the multitude of Ninja felines who surrounded us when we were having our picnic – there was a definite hint of Mafioso about them! Even the kitten creatures. It made for a swift,and mostly unenjoyable repas! There was time for a refreshment stop before starting the journey back,and it’s safe to say, I slept well that evening.

Avoiding the Ninjas

The next day, the plan was to get the boat to Amalfi and onwards. However, the sailings were cancelled so we braved the bus, but only to Amalfi. We bought our tickets and checked the timetable…why we checked the timetable, I have no idea..eventually a bus arrived and there was standing room, only – but for about 15 people…I mean, I’ve lived in London and been on packed tubes and buses; I know when a bus is full and this was not, despite the protestations of a gobby woman. We got onto the bus, but alas, some of our fellow queue-ers did not. Shame on that woman.
So, we eventually arrived, a little frazzled, in to the much vaunted town who bestowed it’s name upon this piece of treacherous coast-line.

Saint Andrew’s resting place is pretty

It was late October – and still very crowded, with no obvious place to play ball, or anything…. There was a good bit where we had some fritto misto seafood in a cone..Then, not soon enough, we were on the, thankfully, less crowded, bus back to Minori! Once back, we played ball on the promenade,and I made a little German girl’s day by choosing her to be my play-mate – for about half an hour. Lucky thing! Then we went to the posh pasticceria that is renowned in the area – Sal Di Riso – for some coffee and dessert. Even MN tried something not too dolce – bit like a croissant with marmalade in, whilst MJ had the lemon cake made with limoncello, and vanilla ice-cream. We walked around the delicious looking shop, and there, were biscuits especially for furries, like me! Spending €5 on such-like is always a little risky with me as I am, what I like to call,particular (though I have heard others refer to it as fussy…the cheek!)

Apple and carrot biscotti for me!

Our last full day, we eventually managed to experience the Costeria Amalfitana from the sea – so much more relaxing and appropriate for a salty sea dog like myself..well, I say “dog!” The weather was good enough to be outside and the views were splendid – and affirmed that we preferred being on water to the winding roads of the land!

Ahoy Positano!

Positano was delightful – within minutes of disembarking I was playing ball on the beach and not feeling over crowded.

Positano Pete!

Bliss, at last. We strolled around the shops – I have learnt that this is obligatory behaviour when with my Mums,and we stopped at a restaurant overlooking the bay.

Italiano Noo-Noo

There, I enjoyed linguine vongole and local fresh fish fillet with spaghetti….delicious! More strolling then it was time to set sail back to Amalfi (no direct boats from Minori). This time, we sat inside with some nice tourists from Japan who adored me from afar. The boat back to Minori had been cancelled so we had to brave the bus again…eventually we got back,and it was so much more pleasant, having a seat, this time!
In a bid to be austere, we ate in again, but did manage to find some lovely steaks and vino rosso to herald in Halloween, and our last night in Minori.

Getting in the spooky spirit!

We were up with the larks to start our journey to Sicilia,and to try and avoid zippy Italian Fiats being up our back end – it worked. Soon, we were back to “civilisation” and wide roads, with markings, two lanes and everything….
The trip to Sicilia was not without incident either – even on the Autostrada. Or to be more precise, just off it, when more fuel was required…So, we eventually pulled into the stazione Di service (it not being right on the road, which had already irked my Mums!),and there was a friendly gentleman who oversaw what we were doing,and then followed MJ into the office, so as to pay. However, this was just after he had shooed MN away from the pump…such strange customs the southern Italians have, we thought…. MJ had seen the dial – €50.01. Then the silly man made an honest mistake and put €65 into the CC machine..it could happen to anyone…the kindly gentleman then gave his sincerest apologies when MJ pointed out his mishap and he gave her a €10 note…but that was incorrect,too….However, he pulled up the €55.01 onto the screen; and there, dear reader was the reason he had shooed MN away from the pump….The dirty, robbing…well, you can imagine..every 5 minutes or so, expletives, for about 300km…🙄
As we neared the port, from which to cross to Sicilia from the mainland, we had to stop and buy the tickets from the stazione di service – we were getting tight on time for our check-in at our accommodation in Taormina, so it was all a bit tense. Anyhoo, we made it to Villa San Giovanni (sailing to Sicily seems to be the only reason one would go there..) and across the Strait of Messina for about 20minutes and then we were there – in actual Sicily!! It was yet another moment on this trip that we had to take a step back and marvel that we are so lucky to be experiencing this adventure -obviously more so for my Mums – having me with them #24/7 !! Yep, actual Sicilia! Ben venuto, Ben venuto!!