Philynda's Travels: The Amalfi Experience

Just like in the movies but with a distinct lack of control -- Buses, cars, motor bikes and scooters and great big lorries. Oh yes , and we didn't have a soft top sports car with Lynda with a chiffon scarf blowing out behind her as we drive -- mind you after the story she told me of an actress Isadora Duncan who had the same and the scarf caught in the wheel and proceeded to strangle her - maybe not eh!

So the drive itself started in Pompei and headed towards Sorrento, to start the drive along the Amalfi Coast. Now , there was a turn off that stopped us having to go to into Sorrento but when we ended up being directed by the Alexa in the sat nav to turn into a street that would be hard pressed to take a Vespa scooter about 3 times , that machine was getting close to taking flying lessons as she has ever come.

One of the tiny streets that we were sent up and you know what -- eventually we end up coming out onto a main road that goes to where we wan to go, but it des come perilously close to taking the side out of Frankie and that aint good.

We also continue this little side line of ours that is looking for the ultimate Doer Upper -- and whether we would ever consider doing such a thing now, it is fact that there are stunning properties that would most definitely convert into a B&B or similar. Oh and always time for some local side of the road fruit-- all over Europe we get great opportunity to eat well at a better price.

Always to odd castle or castle look alike villa to catch the eye.

Above has to be the ultimate challenge for the DIY experts -- Rodney , how about this one.

Challenging streets, especially if a coach is hiding around the corner to come at you

I still cant work out as to why people would want to live on a 2 in 1 slope , that demands mountain goat skills every day just to go to get your copy of the Sun newspaper -- nor of course why you would want to to reside in a hotel that is eked out of a mountain cliff and demands that you not only have to walk down some perilously steep steps , but also navigate across a road full of lunatics, before descending down another 500 steps to get to the tiniest strip of beach ever seen and not always sandy.

Also a word of advice -- let the buses go - trust me , having one of those for 10 kilometres about 400mm -- do you like that I am metrically converted -- from your jacksey, aint no fun and not good for Frankies palputations

We saw lots of boats, some a bit more special than others like the futuristic on with the 3 masts below.

Another thing for us was the ability of the local folk along this coastline to terrace the face of the hills to such an extent that they can be self sustaining with fruit , veg and salad.

Love the place below, ripe for refurb and a great example of a place half in the cliffs and half out.

Ok , so people might think that I exaggerate a bit but take my word that after a day on the tiny beach fighting for everything with another 100 bathers all day, you have to circumnavigate your way all the way back up to the hotel again -- daily.

Still looking for that fixer upper

Still find time to find a castle or two.

So having ridden the Amalfi coast road below is a professional shot of what we could not capture as there were so few places to pull over to get the shot. It is totally stunning, one that we are glad that we have done but will not be looking to do it again any time soon.

So for a final wrap up was the uneventful drive from here over to Taranto for a chill out and sight seeing of nearby attractions , more of which are yet to come.