Planet Amalfi

Sometimes living 'the life' gets all kinds of overwhelming and time consuming, making for one very inconsistent blogger. When I last penned out a post for my dear bloggy I had said goodbye to London. I, however, failed to mention that I was departing from my new found (future) home to head off on another adventure on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. 

After spending a week in London, the evening I returned to Florence I found myself with a fierce contention for Italy. Why are there so many people on this miniature sidewalk? I forgot how to speak this language! Hey you with the creepy eyes: don't you dare holler at me! I had a bit of re-culture shock situation on my hands. 

Fortunately, the cure for any negative feelings for fair Italia is to briefly recover from exhaustion with a good ol' fashion bubble bath and then head off to somewhere entirely new that will remind you just how magical of a country you live in. 

-Insert 4 hour train ride to Southern Italy here-

My friend Elsa and I arrived on the train in Salerno, then set off to Amalfi by bus. Arriving in the sloping land of Amalfi, Elsa and I were both left speechless. Usually when you arrive in a new place you can compare it to somewhere you've been before. This is not a possibility on the Southern Ionian Coast of Italy. It was like arriving on an new planet. Even the Amalfians portray their tiny town with some very alien-like figures. 

Monstrous gray stone mountains tower over the town, which seems to be barely wedged into a break in the coastline.

I would be lying if I didn't say that this particular vista didn't remind me of Avatar. I only wished that I had the transportation of a Mountain Banshee (those bird things in Avatar, which I totally just googled the name for) to fly me around, it really would have been a whole new planet.

Now if you're like me and curious what that annoying green cloth thing seemingly ruing the view is, I'll tell you: lemons. Thousands and thousands of Lemons, which I learned (and probably should have known) are the thing on the Amalfi Coast. Which explained the above and beyond delicious lemon-ice I had.  

How ever the founders of Amalfi managed construction on the sheer cliffs, that rise high over the sea, is beyond me. 

I may not understand the 'how', but I definitely get the 'why'. I don't know that I have ever seen a sea as amazing as the Ionic, and I'm from California. 

After we finished gawking at the view, as well as, the ridiculousness/fantasticalness of what seemed to be kayak-waterpolo, Elsa and I hopped on a bus, for what was the first of many roller coaster-like journeys down the barely-two-car road that weaves between the towns along the coast. 

We only had two coast days, so the next morning, after having met up with our other friends, Danielle and Nicole, the night before, we were up bright and early to take yet another bus up/down the seaboard. Not that I am complaining; the view from the bus is stupendous, and the whole I'm-going-to-die feeling is pretty invigorating.

When we finally arrived in our new day-destination, we found that the famed Positano is even more shocking than Amalfi. 

There is a very logical explanation for the Amalfi Coast being one of the most photographed locations on the planet: just look at it! With a view like this, it was no wonder Italy stole my heart back in less than a day.  

As I fell back into adoration with Italy, my italian too began to return to me. We followed the scrawled letters of spiaggia (beach) and mare (sea) all the way to the seashore. 

My mama always says the best photos are those by the sea, and I must say, I think she's right. 

Frolicking down the steep sloping steps of the narrow Positano "streets" we arrived more quickly than we realized to the spiaggia (not that we were disappointed). 

The water somehow seemed even bluer than the day before; I could hardly discern between the hue of the clear sky and the calm sea. 

The only downside to the beaches on the Amalfi shore, are the pebbles. This may actually not be a huge problem if you know about the pebbles before hand, and wear proper shoes, but as a California girl, I wear sandals to the beach. Let's just say I "ow-ow-ow'd" my way across the rocky waterfront. 

Elsa found us a good place to have a sit, and bask in the sun and glory of the beautiful world the universe had placed us. 

Eventually we decided it was time to drag our booties up and go explore some more. We headed in the direction of a castle-like structure (which turned out to be someone's house, la te da). 

I've been significantly deprived of tree climbing in this country so I thought I'd give a nice rock a gander. The below image is basically me being Anna from Frozen...I really wanted to have a "That was like some crazy trust exercise!" moment. 

Instead I persevered up the treacherously high rock to proceed to pose like the weirdo I choose to be. 

My decent then proceeded to scare the crap out of everyone. They just don't have any faith in my coordination, I have now idea why. *oozing sarcasm*

Elsa lead the way up to our next sketchy precipice.

We did well on our random path choosing, discovering a more covert beach just around a bend. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the natural beauty and muddled charm of Positano.

Our time in Amalfi was unseasonal and unfortunately short, and yet still perfect. I needed every ounce of sunshine we soaked up that day. And moreover, I needed to learn to re-appreciate the allure and heart of Italy, which is easy to embrace in the bright colors of Positano. By the end of our next day in Pompeii, I had nearly forgotten London. . . well, almost. At the very least, I was happy again to be in the country I've spent my whole life dreaming of, and with good reason. Italy will always offer up something new to enchant you, just when you need it. 

Yours, Kenna