We really had a great week. I don’t know where to start it was all so memorable….

We arrived last Saturday night, it was pouring with rain through our entire transfer from Naples to the Villa San Michele on the Amalfi Coast, Castiglione di Ravello actually. Because we arrived late the hotel had finished serving dinner, but they did give us a recommendation for a restaurant about 500 yards down the road in Atrani. The restaurant was Le Palme, and it became so central to our stay we ended up eating there every other night – the food, the staff and the regular clientele were all fabulous.

Thankfully the only rain we saw was that first evening, and from then on sunshine was the order for each day. It was such a pleasure to get some sun, I even went swimming in the big blue sea, 185 steps down from our room…

Castiglione itself is not much of a village, there is a sprinkling of shops and a bar at the intersection of the steep winding road that leads to Ravello, a lovely beach down a few hundred uneven stairs and a couple of villas on the cliff. The location however is fantastic. About 500 yards north along the tiny cliffside road is the gorgeous sleepy village of Atrani and then a kilometre futher is the buzzing hive of Amalfi. To the south about 4kms away are the twin villages of Minori and Maiori. The location was perfect. Tourists appeared in great numbers everywhere it seemed except Atrani and Castiglione. Perfect. The next time we go, now that we’ve visited all the ‘expected’ sites we’d be more than happy to just laze about alternating between the beach, a cafe in Atrani and a hike now and then from Atrani to any number of hillside villages along the well worn mule tracks.

Since I had never been south of Rome before, there were a few ‘must sees’ on my list that meant we had to get up and out and couldn’t completely slide into the slower rhythm that is so common down here. It was tough going at times, eating dinner at 10pm, socialising ’till 2am, then up between 8 and 9 to start eating again… it’s not hard to understand how Michelle and I gained 5lbs each in 9 days! The food was amazing. We ate fresh seafood everyday, coupled with gorgeous tasty vegetables, creamy pastas and some great local wines. Heaven.

to be continued….