What an awesome vacation! We had amazing weather the whole week (which was great since they were predicing thunderstorms). Our Villa was incredible - all week we were raving about it. It was huge. We each had our own bedroom w/ balconies and own bathrooms, and an amazing deck/terrace where we ate breakfast every morning and had wine & cheese or champagne every evening. Perfect for a family trip. A million times better than a hotel. We had a ton of gelato, wine, cheese, seafood, proscuitto, etc - yummy!
I took a ton of pictures - I'll include some below. The rest you can check out on Shutterfly - Italy pics
Hit up Pompei on the way to Positano. It was really interesting, but looked like most other ruins. I expected to see more of the artifacts in their original location, but they've moved them all. Still great to see though freaky to see the bodies...
Then we headed to the Villa - which as I mentioned above, was amazing! We were exhausted, so we went to dinner nearby and then to bed. Some Villa pics:
Had some relaxing days at the beach and wandering about town. Beaches are rocky (shoes needed!). Steps are everywhere! Since our villa was up the hill, a walk to town or the beach usually involved steps. I counted on the way back up once - 432 steps! (you could walk the road too, and skip steps, but it was faster on the stairs)
We rented a boat and a captain to take us around. A MUST DO!! We rode up and down the coast and got to see a number of incredible coves and sea caves we wouldn't have found on our own or on the ferry. Visited the Emerald Grotto (bit of a tourist trap but worth going if no line). Docked on Capri for lunch, then swam into the Blue Grotto (only way to visit is to swim in after the tour boats leave - so much better in the water itself, the boat tour would be disapointing).
We visited Sorrento one day. Prices are significantly cheaper in Sorrento and Amalfi than Positano. Also had a relaxing day on the veranda at the villa. Then we headed to Ravello for dinner and went to Villa Rufulo (built in the 13th century) for an outdoor piano concerto (wonderful!).
We rented a boat again, this time captained by Dad. Went for some swims, drove up to some coastal bars. Docked at Amalfi and walked around town. Went to Montepertuso for dinner at Donna Rosa's (pricey, but one of the best meals EVER!)
On Saturday, we headed towards Rome. It was brutally hot and we've been there before so we visited some sites but didn't go crazy (Colosseum, Trevi, Roman Forum, Panthenon - Dad and Diana did the Vatican too)
Awww Lisa, hubby and I are going next year, I will be hitting you up for ideas. I love the pix. What wonderful pix. That villa is hot!!!! I am so happy you are back safe and sound and that it was a great vacation. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa...the pics are GORGEOUS!! the weather looked fantastic!!! I love the Mediterranean lifestyle...eating and sleeping...maybe a little work...just to get enough to eat and sleep!!
Shamma - that was mom's dinner. She ordered fried local fish, and expected something like a filet of sole - got that creature instead. Needless to say, it made for better pictures than eating
