Hello, Ravello!

The legendary Amalfi Coast consists of thirteen towns nestled in the seaside cliffs of southern Italy, giving  tourists endless options of itineraries through this breathtaking region. Greg and I were very happy with the three days we spent in the area several summers ago, having chosen to stay in the higher elevation and less tourist-oriented town of Ravello. From there we took a half-day hike to a monastery and the town of Minori, date night to lively Amalfi, and day trip to the breezy island of Capri. Hop on the back of my Vespa, and let's go!

Rooming in Romantic Ravello

The small town of Ravello had charmed my husband on a business trip several years earlier, so he was excited to take me there.

We'd had quite the day's journey from Milan to the Amalfi Coast, including a train stop at a platform surrounded by trees and not a human in sight! We hiked with our luggage down into the town and then faced another challenge--to locate the bus that would take us down the coast. We finally noticed a tiny sign in front of the pottery shop advertising bus tickets (Because that makes sense, right?), and we were soon on our way. (See photo--would you have noticed that little sign?) Our first glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea dazzled me, but when we stopped in crowded Amalfi for a piece of pizza and another bus ticket, I admit that I was less than enchanted. The surroundings were beautiful, but the place was packed and unfortunately felt a bit like Oceans of Fun on Memorial Day. 

So when we stepped off the bus after our ascent to Ravello, I breathed a sigh of relief. People milled about and admired the gorgeous view of the coastline, but it felt slower-paced, more peaceful, and more authentically Italian.

We'd debated staying in a number of hotels but had decided to go with a property we found on Airbnb, which was less expensive than many of our other options and ended up being simply delightful. It was a bit of a walk from the bus station and main part of town, but we didn't mind this and appreciated that the neighborhood was quiet at night. Check out the amazing view from our window!

Several rooms shared this cozy patio overlooking the ocean, and our host served us pastries and the most wonderful cappuccinos for breakfast each morning.

The most prominent feature of Ravello's town square is its cathedral, which held mass each evening as we walked by; one night we watched a Catholic parade while we ate at an open-air restaurant. This part of Italy is known for beautiful hand-painted pottery and lemons, and there's an abundance of both in Ravello, including these lemons as big as grapefruits!

We visited the Giardini Caffe Calce several times because of its pleasant garden and delicious pizza--cheese for Greg, artichokes for me. Though we waited until 8:00pm to venture into a restaurant for dinner, we received some funny looks...because the rest of the town didn't begin their feasting until closer to 9:00pm! (Don't tell them we usually eat at 6:00pm!)

The Mysterious Monastery in the Clouds

At the suggestion of our host we decided to take a half-day hike to a location I'm calling "The Mysterious Monastery in the Clouds," so named because since we've returned from our trip, I haven't been able to track down any information on this place! It was once either a monastery or convent and is now simply an enigma. We could see this old structure from the entrance to our B&B, so we set out on our journey with a simple map and some lunch.

On our way we gawked at local agriculture, including green beans, grapevines, and tomatoes drying in the sun.

Once out of town we encountered no one on our hike until our descent into the town of Minori several hours later. Well, we did run into a fluffy, white stray dog trotting along the path, and we invited him to join us, but he was on a mission and couldn't be deterred.

We sat down to enjoy some lunch. No PB&J's for us--we'd stashed one of those mouthwatering pizzas in our backpack!

Revived, we continued on our way and arrived at our destination! We explored the area around the old monastery...

...and admired the birds-eye view of the town of Minori and the billowy clouds that seemed almost within reach.

We headed back into the woods and hiked down towards Minori, admiring the lovely greens all around us. Soon we were joined by a pack of pesky bees--not the sting-you-till-you-scream kind but rather the latch-onto-you-and-give-you-the-heebie-jeebies kind. We decided to try to run away from the bees, but they swarmed ferociously right along with us! I felt like I'd witnessed this scene in a cartoon.

The bees left us alone as we reentered civilization. Whew!

I loved seeing the pretty mosaics and carved doors as we walked through Minori's streets with a nice view of the town of Amalfi and the sea.

Here we are with Minori behind us, loving the sea breezes coming our way!

I had to get my picture taken next to this wall of brilliant purple morning glories, but immediately after I'd been photographed, a black snake slithered out of the wall right where I was standing! Yikes! Time to move on down the road!

We stopped to admire Minori's basilica and eat some gelato while we watched locals drive by on their motorbikes. Then we began our climb up the many stairs towards Ravello.

We peered into an interesting cemetery along the way and soon saw Ravello's famous umbrella tree ahead, assuring us we were almost home. We were exhausted after all those stairs when we finally reached our home base, but we'd had a wonderful adventure!

Date Nights in Italy Eat Other Date Nights for Breakfast

One evening we took the bus to Amalfi for a date night! I'm happy to report that though the city was bustling, this was a pleasurable liveliness, not the overcrowded theme park feel of several days earlier. We walked around town, picked up some fruit, bread, and fresh mozzarella, and admired Amalfi's imposing cathedral.

Our dinner of spaghetti with lemon garlic sauce, pappardelle with bolognese sauce, arugula salad with tomatoes, and crusty bread was truly fabulous. After dinner we walked out onto the dock to gaze at the twinkling city lights before heading back to the bus stop.

The Beachy Island that Turned Out to Be Big

I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the dreamy island of Capri, so we caught a ferry in Amalfi for the roughly two-hour ride to Capri, stopping along the way at several of the coastal towns to pick up more travelers. Look at that turquoise water!

All of the towns along the Amalfi Coast seem to have expanded entirely upwards, especially Positano!

When we arrived at Capri, we were greeted with brilliant colors, an awe-inspiring view of Capri's famous "three rocks," and hoards of people. Though I hate to admit it, I think I'd gotten caught up in a travel blogger's idyllic descriptions of the island's beauty and mystique and failed to focus on logistics! It was indeed gorgeous, but it was much bigger than I thought it would be, so it took a long time to get around. (I guess that's the power of the pen, and may we writers steward it well!)

Nonetheless we enjoyed hiking across the island. The first public beach we investigated had about three beach towels occupying each square yard of beach, which is quite simply against my beachy religion!--one must have personal space at the beach. So we located a less-crowded "family" beach and floated in the water there for the rest of the afternoon with Mt. Vesuvius as our backdrop. All in all, it was a day well-spent and completed our Amalfi Coast experience.

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Meandering in Milan: Piazza del Duomo in Pictures

I'm in a travel state of mind these days, reminiscing about a dreamy European adventure my husband and I took several years ago. Our journey began in Milan, Italy, where Greg was speaking at a conference held at the University of Milan. The university and our hotel were just a brief stroll away from the center of the city, Piazza del Duomo: "Cathedral Square." I entertained myself while Greg was conferencing largely by walking around this magnificent piazza and eating gelato. Join me on a brief pictorial jaunt, and make plans to meander through Milan yourself!

When you emerge from the Milan Metro at the duomo stop, you'll be met with the stately panoramic scene you see here--the cathedral in front of you, the monument of King Victor Immanuel II on horseback on your right, and the entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on your left.

The square's most impressive feature is, of course, Milan Cathedral, the largest church in Italy and the third largest in the world.

The duomo's intricate Gothic details are impressive! 

Saunter by the cathedral at night to get a different feel for this impressive structure.

For a fee tourists can wander around the inside of the cathedral, which is impossibly grand with its huge pillars, marble floor, and beautiful stained glass windows.

When you're satisfied with your exposure to the duomo, head into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy's oldest shopping mall.

The galleria is vaulted in glass and hosts numerous upscale retailers...

...and a variety of restaurants! My mouth is watering at the memory of this black olive and mushroom pizza, and I also immensely enjoyed the pesto gnocchi and salad with prosciutto and artichokes that Greg and I tried at a deli.

Grab a cup of melt-in-your-mouth gelato to eat while you stroll. Gelaterias exist around every corner, with a variety of tempting flavors to sample. My favorite find was lemon basil...

...while Greg insisted on chocolate every time. Piazza del Duomo and the galleria were full of tourists when we visited, so there was also no shortage of street entertainers, from spray paint artists to people performing interesting acrobatic feats, like these men.

The streets surrounding Milan's piazza are home to numerous buildings and statues of historic and architectural importance. See if you can find yourself in front of the Church of San Fidele or the Statue of Leonardo da Vinci.

Looking for a fun day trip from Milan? Check out my account of the charming town of Varenna here.

Let me know what you discover during your own Milan meandering!

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Varenna, Italy

I’m daydreaming about Italy today, particularly the charming town of Varenna, located on the shore of Lake Como in northern Italy. If you’re enchanted by the thought of cobblestone streets, wistful accordion music, lush pink hydrangeas, and the fragrance of freshly baked bread, put Varenna on your list of must-see destinations.

Varenna is one of several tourist hotspots at Lake Como. At only about an hour by train, it is one of the more accessible lakeside towns from Milan, making it a perfect day-long escape from the big city. I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Milan in August, and we found ourselves in need of just such a getaway, so we headed to Varenna.

The short walk from the train station to the lakeshore showed Greg and I scenery that was decidedly Mediterranean, with old vine-covered villas and stately cypress trees. The lake itself was beautiful, and we could see several hillside towns across the water. We wandered along the lakeside path, noticing swans and fishing boats on our right and colorful houses built right on top of each other on our left.

We happened upon Villa Monastero, an ancient monastery-turned-residence and deliberated as to whether or not we should tour its gardens for five euros each. We decided to do it and were glad that we did! The gardens were breathtaking. For the next hour we meandered along trails of manicured shrubs and trees, admiring statues, giant aloe vera plants, and fuchsia petunias trailing from stone pots.

For lunch we located a restaurant with a cozy patio on the water’s edge. We watched the ferry travel between towns while we ate creamy gnocchi made with local cheese, nutty arugula salad, and crusty bread. Refreshed, we decided to hike to the nearby town of Vezio to see its castle. Though we walked for only half an hour on a nice, cobbled path, the climb was steep. The sky had darkened with an impending storm, and though we’d encountered other travelers in the town, we saw few other people now, adding a sense of adventure to this leg of our journey.

When we reached the castle grounds, we paid several euros to enter. From the courtyard we walked across a drawbridge to a tower. Inside the tower we climbed about five flights of rickety stairs and finally emerged to a landing, from which we enjoyed the most gorgeous view yet of the lake, Varenna, and the surrounding forested countryside. Greg remarked that he could feel the tower moving with the wind, and we had begun to hear thunder, so we relished the breeze for a moment and then began our descent.

We rested on a bench in tiny Vezio and listened to the sounds of normal life—women talking loudly, a dog barking—and this dreamy place seemed to me to be stuck in time. As we hiked back down to Varenna to catch a train back to Milan, I realized that I’d had my first real taste of Italy, and I was hooked.

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