The Amalfi Coast - aka my favorite place in the WORLD (so far anyway ;) ). You know those magical photos of colorful buildings settled into the cliffs off of mountains, that seem too beautiful to be real? Well, that's this place.
A 3 hour train ride through hundreds of sunflower fields later, we found ourselves driving down some of the windiest roads ever to find a hotel 20 minutes outside of Positano. Trying to be thrifty, I booked the cheapest room there, that I could find, and the three of us, Summer, Becky and I, were just planning on sleeping like 3 peas-in-a-pod on a queen bed, well...you guys learn from my mistake! Europe does not play with thrifty Americans!! When we showed up to check in at this place, with it being almost midnight, and the front desk lady flips out on us! She keeps telling us that it is impossible to sleep with 3 people in this room, there is not enough room and is reacting as if someone just killed her cat about this. Exhausted and just desperately wanting to be in a room, unwinding, I try to tell her it is okay I will be able to sleep on the floor, that we are all fine with our planned arrangement and we don't mind. BUT she continues to go on - her eyes staring at us like a deer in the headlights. Then, the owner shows up and basically tells us it is against the law to sleep 3 people in a room like that. I can hear it now 'What in the world?!?!?' ...I was thinking that too. BUT thank goodness for my friend Becky's magic - she talked the owner into letting us stay!! SO in Europe if you are ever staying somewhere with more people than you booked your room for, check in alone..and then have your friends meet you at the hotel room after! Lesson learned. We laughed until we cried over that whole situation that night, and I think we'll just be laughing about it til our hair turns grey!
Since we had arrived there late at night, the view in front of us was a total mystery. Somehow, that next morning, the Lord woke me up just in time for sunrise, and in that exact moment, the Amalfi Coast stole my heart. It didn't feel real. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
The water was a color that no words can describe, the cliffs were taller than any I'd ever seen before.
Once everyone was awake, we made our way to breakfast, and came to find the biggest feast. Eggs, croissants, lattes, cake, strudels, fruit, you name it -and it just kept getting brought out.(Low key- the whole time, Summer and I were freaking out trying to figure out if all of the food was included or not!) And then, on top of the most flavorful food before us, our view over looked the most exquisite mountain. Y'all... I couldn't stop smiling - it was all too good to be true.
Then, the craziest thing happened! To be honest, Summer and I did not do much research on what all to do in Europe, but thankfully the Lord just kept surprising us with the most incredible hidden gems (and I LOVE 'non-touristy' things, the local spots are my favorite). The hotel where we stayed was directly on top of this hidden beach called Furore. I had seen photos of this place on Pinterest but had no clue where in the world it was, and now, as if it were Christmas morning, it was laid out right in front of us.
I had seen photos of this place on Pinterest but had no clue where in the world it was and now, as if it were Christmas morning, it was lying right in front of us.
A thousand steps, literally, down the mountain later, we arrived at the most beautiful pebbled beach in the world. Sandwiched between two giant mountains, with the water sneaking through a 98 foot tall bridge, that connected the mountains. We swam, we laughed, we cliff jumped, made new Aussie friends, got a free lunch, and hunted for sea glass, it was a day I never wanted to end. It was a day that has the power of taking away any sorrow with even the simplest remembrance of it.
Beyond sad that we only had one more day there, we headed into Positano for a boat ride with our new friends, to see if it was what it was all hyped up to be...guys...the hype our new friends shared doesn't even do it justice! It was breath-taking. Driving down the curving cliffs. The smell of the Italian food escaping the restaurants. Couples on mopeds. Flowers everywhere you turned. It felt like a movie scene. The thought of leaving this place was killing me by the second, I fell so in love.
A tease is exactly what the Amalfi Coast was for me. A beautiful, magical, indescribable tease. Amalfi, I promise I will be back very, very soon.
xx
