Thursday, June 24, 2010

On the Move...Vietri Sul Mare to Positano

Print Friendly and PDF We have another travel day today. We have had 5 great days in Vietri, and are taking a ferry this afternoon to Positano. We have had spotty weather all week, so we have done some exploring, as sitting by the pool was not an option. A few days ago, we walked up a huge, high, uneven set of stairs in between two buildings, directly across the street from our hotel. We ended up on a very old street paved with cobblestones, like the ones we walked on in Rome. We followed the street and found a few shops, and a church, and a very pretty village called Raito. We took some photos of ancient ruins almost swallowed up by the lush greenery of the mountain, saw a couple of the scruffiest, skinniest cats I have ever seen in my life, and imagined what life was like here.

We were getting pretty sick of the food in our hotel. The road either went straight up. or straight down...no such thing as sidewalks...so we took a little local bus into Vietri, to catch another one into Salerno. We had to go to the train station anyway, to buy our return ticket to Rome...so off we went. The P-Man is definitely not as seasoned a bus rider as I am. After a half hour wait for the phantom bus, in the heat of the day...we decided to watch the bus stop from a high shaded patio at Vera Cucina...a little Ristorante-Pizzeria across the street, next to the scalinata (stairs) that would lead us to the RIGHT bus stop! It was after 2 pm...so I was very glad they were still serving lunch, as I was hot and HUNGRY!! I was not disapointed. The P-Man and I had a mezzo carafe ( way to mix the languages!) of a sparkly cold vino bianco, and spaghetti vongole. It was just as good as the dish I had in Rome...except the spaghetti was more al dente...my boss Penny would highly approve. The tiny little clams were just as beautiful and tender as before, but I think the shells were even MORE beautiful. Some looked as if they were etched with a magic pen that drew masses of organic swirls and shapes, perhaps explaining the secret of the ocean. We also had an insalata mista, that was made with the most flavourful arugula, and mixed lettuces. It came with a HUGE chunk of the local lemons we have seen growing everywhere here. With a little salt and olive oil added...the P-Man pronounced it to be one of his favorite dishes. Simple and fresh, and refreshing.
We paid our bill, and with some proper directions, climbed the stairs to the Autostrada, and waited for the RIGHT bus. We made it to Salerno, bought our train ticket, and had a wander through a very busy street, with lots of people heading home for the day. We did a bit of shopping, and caught the bus back to Vietri, and our Hotel. We had a couple of glasses of wine on the patio, with some snacks, and watched the lights twinkling in the village below. It reminded me of Whoville...I expected to hear singing...

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