Italia ~ Where do I begin? Kimberly’s Koast!

I have been in and out of Italy so many times that I’ve honestly lost count.  It started many years ago when I lived in Germany and was close enough to drive to Venice in only 3 hours.  Yes, I took weekend trips to Venice like many of you when you go to your cabin “up north”!  That was the beginning of what would become a long-standing love affair with Italy.  I’ve traversed many regions throughout Italy and I’ve yet to find one that left me wanting, but there is one particular region that has captured my heart.  The Amalfi Coast.

I’ve been spending my summer holidays there over the past 7 years and I’m finding that the duration of time I spend while I’m there is extending, just like the number of years I keep going back.  My first trip was 9 days…this summer, 4 weeks (with two of them working remotely).  The first year was absolutely magical so when I booked my trip the following summer I thought, “there is no way it could get better than last year” and somehow, it always does.  It keeps getting progressively more magical!

Perhaps it’s because I get so much pleasure out of introducing the Amalfi Coast to others, which is true, but I think the real magic is the people who I meet while I’m there.  Yes, it’s certainly other visitors from all parts of the world, and yes, there have been some celebrity interactions (if you want to call them that) but mostly, it’s the locals.  Some of the warmest, hard-working people I’ve ever known.  They start to feel like family and there is nothing like a Southern Italian family!  The images capture both old and new members of that “family”. More below…

Casa Maria Veranda and Old Friends!

Casa Maria Veranda and New Friends

Casa Maria Veranda and Old Friends!

So, I’d like to start a series on Italy beginning on “my Koast” and moving around the country.  It will be a “mash up” of the best of my trips and I hope it can become a resource for your future visit.  As a teaser, let’s begin at my home port, Positano!  Gosh, my heart skips a beat just typing that!

John Steinbeck wrote an article in Harper’s Bazaar back in 1953 about Positano after spending time in Rome the year after his epic East of Eden.  He drove from Rome to Positano with his wife and admitted to sobbing during the drive.  You see, this drive takes you along what I call, the coastal Hwy 1 of Italy.  John said, “the road corkscrewed on the edge of nothing”!  And while that is certainly true, the road is wider now and not so scary.  Although, I must confess to grabbing a corkscrew when I get to my accommodations to open the wine that I need after zig zagging my way from Naples to Positano!

He also made two of my other favorite quotes about the village.  He said,

“Positano bites deep.  It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there, and becomes beckoningly real after you are gone.”

This I KNOW to be true as evidenced by my frequent returns.  But John and I disagree on one thing, “Nearly always when you find a place as beautiful as Positano, your impulse is to conceal it”.  Okay, wait, maybe I sort of agree…I hate the idea of tour buses and cruise ships coming here with large groups of people jamming up the narrow walkways and passages with selfie-stick sword fights!  That said, I’m also compelled to share this place with my special peeps…of which you all are.

And so it begins, welcome to my favorite koast on the planet, the Amalfi Coast, beginning in my home port of Positano!

Next up…Accommodations and Verandas