Amalfi Coast, 2018

We love sea coasts and have seen many of the great ones, including the Amalfi coast; three times, we think. In the past we have done the Amalfi by bus: great scenery plus the abundant thrills of traffic on a tiny mountain/coastal road, jammed with local as well as tourist traffic. A good place to leave the driving to them. This time, we thought, we'd take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi and then the boat back to Sorrento, stopping in Positano. It worked; and should we return, hopefully, we'll probably just stick to the boat. Quicker and more scenic and not that expensive. We had an additional reason for revisiting Amalfi...a favorite dish and a favorite restaurant, Il Taro. It was in 2011 that we discovered Il Taro's paccheri, with veal and tomatoes and provalone (or, smoky mozzarella?) and pecorino romano. We returned later in 2011, got the rudiments of the recipe, and returned again in 2013, only to find the restaurant closed on Tuesdays. In 2018, checking the website, we were sure to visit on some day other than Tuesday. Veal Amalfi, as we call it, has become one of our standard dishes. But, as they say, you can't go back....

Previous visits to Amalfi and environs are:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/03/amalfi-coast-road-not-driven.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/04/amalfi-again.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/04/ravello-and-klingsors-garden.html
http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/03/amalfi-bus-ride-on-youtube.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/amalfi-2013.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/10/positano-2013.html

On the bus, the high cliffs

Over Positano

So all the little towns have now installed traffic directors to prevent the bus-on-
bus encounters that were such a thrill in the past

Watchtowers along the coast...sort of like Martello towers in Ireland except the
Irish were not fighting the Saracen pigs ("...Saracen pig! Spartan dog! Take this!
And this! Roman cowl! Russian snake! Spanish fly!")

So we get to Amalfi and shop our way to Il Tari, which is open, but...they no
longer do Veal Amalfi; they don't do veal; we decide to eat there nonetheless,
for old time's sake; the anchovies, above, with lemon/olive oil and red pepper
flakes, were the best I've had; and I've had a few from these waters; the
paccheri stuffed with cod and shrimp was not so great

Vicki had the bruschetta, which was great and picturesque; the cow-patty
lasagna above was a bit less inspiring; as they say, you can't go back

Amalfi cathedral

Defending Amalfi against the Saracen Pigs; maybe next time

Our ship comes in

On board

Arrivaderci, Amalfi

Cliffs and gigantic limestone caves along the way

And the road

Cleared for landing in Positano

Where we spent a few hours

Stimulating the local economy

One of the more beautiful outdoor shopping malls

Positano's tiny but popular beach

So long, Positano

The Nureyev Islands, as we know them

The big cliffs

Local traffic

The only drawback to taking the boat is that it returns you to Sorrento at sea
level, and you have to trudge back up-hill to the city and the Circumvesuviana
train station; but it's all worth it; even if you can't go back