Amalfi Coast

After Roma, Mark and Anne rented a car and drove the 3 hours or so south for the second leg of their journey.  The area between Sorrento and Salerno is called the Amalfi Coast, and Mark and Anne stayed nearly in the middle of it in a town called, appropriately, Amalfi.  The area is significant in ancient mythology, popular among the high rollers in Italy, and absolutely beautiful.

View from our hotel, first morning in Amalfi

The cities are basically built into the sides of the cliffs.  This makes for a stunning visual effect.

Partial view of Amalfi taken from dock.

Mark and Anne drove a portion of the coast on multiple days.  It was a singular experience.  First of all, we're rolling in our rental car (see below).

Just like high school.

Second, the locals find it to be standard practice to tailgate, even if they are not going to pass you, which is very thoughtful of them.  Third, this road is straight out of a video game.  Uphill, narrowing to one lane with two way traffic, pedestrians, bicycles, no shoulder, and 180 degree switchbacks.  The first time driving it was very stressful, but after a time or two, Mark and Anne started to get the hang of it and had a bit more fun.

Good view of the road from the next cliff over

Anne and Mark decided to take the public bus one morning from their hotel in Amalfi to the city of Sorrento (a city that appears in Homer's Odyssey as the home of the Sirens).  Sorrrento is another picturesque town, not unlike the one in which we were staying.  When it was time to leave, we returned to the bus station to learn that the bus drivers had gone on strike shortly after we had arrived (one of those "mid-day"strikes, I guess).  A friendly cab driver offered to give us a ride back to Amalfi for 100 Euro.  The bus ride cost 7 Euro round trip, so we turned him down.  So, we ended up having an extra couple of hours in Sorrento, as a consequence of the general strike against austerity measures in Europe (or whatever).  Eventually, a bus driver showed up and we began the return trip to Amalfi.  This bus driver was not the same one we had on the way there.  Apparently, because of the strike, they found some replacement bus drivers at the Mario Andretti racing school.  The ride there took 1 hour and 45 minutes. This dude made it back (with more stops) in an hour and 15.  It was quite an adventure sitting in the bus and looking straight down out the window to see not a road, or shoulder, but the freaking sea.  But the guy made it happen.  Mark wanted to get his picture taken with this bus driver, his new hero, after we arrived.  But as you might expect, this guy while a busload of the need for speed was the first person running off of the bus.

View from a bus at 50 mph.

View from the bus at a stop.   The road ahead is visible.

The city of Amalfi, itself, was very pretty and charming.  Although it must get thousands of visitors each year, it manages to retain the feeling of a small town of locals.  If you ever get the chance to visit, go ahead and do it.

Amalfi's main drag.

Dinner in the main square on our last night in Amalfi.