December 2022 to January 2023 - Rome and Amalfi Coast, Italy  


  Christmas in Rome and then two luxurious weeks in the Amalfi Coast. While a majority of the time was spent being lazy and taking in the ocean view from our balcony, we did take some day trips.

The Amalfi Coast is famous for its picturesque seaside towns, cliffs, and beaches and is known for its stunning coastline and colorful villages. The streets are steep and narrow. Many towns along the Amalfi Coast have a rich historical legacy with important sights of historical and artistic value.


 

leaving Amsterdam



"Dr"... never heard of that brand before. Don't recommend it either.

Rome
Since the best flight got us to Rome airport already late in the day, we didn't feel like driving 3.5 more house in the same day to the Amalfi Coast would be a good idea.

So we had a nice time exploring Rome on Christmas Eve. The only person who had not been there before was Raj so it was fun to show him around.

Christmas lights in Rome

Spanish Steps



first of many pasta carbonara


roasted chestnuts

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain


romantic hotel room <3

we enjoyed attending the Pope deliver "Urbi et Orbi" (for the people of Rome and the people of the world) in the Vatican

video of "Urbi et Orbi"


Santa drove by on Christmas day

AirBnB (Furore)
Our AirBnB had possibly the most beautiful view of the ocean of any place we have every stayed. The city of Furore is located between the towns of Positano and Amalfi.

the best part about our AirBnB


Lyra living her best dog life





we remembered to bring our chromecast so we could still have family movie night


Unstable Unicorns :)

Raj decided (probably wisely) not to join us on our the LOOOONG and STEEEP walk from our apartment down to the popular "Fjord of Furore"

<3

Fjord of Furore

the "sea glass" on the beach also included beautiful broken tiles


the Amalfi Coast is famous for lemons (and Lemoncello)



panettone and oj

a familiar place to find the writer in our family

Amalfi
Amalfi was the original trading post established on the "Amalfi Coast". Aside from being a trading port, it also became known for exporting paper and pasta.

beautiful tilework showing the entire amalfi coast


1 more year to 20!

cuoppo d'amalfi - popular street food made of fried calamari, shrimp, anchovies and small fish in a con

visiting one of the original paper presses was really interesting




anniversary dinner with a view

Capri
Capri was a short ferry ride from Amalfi. It was first discovered by emperor Augustus in the early years of the Roman Empire. He often resided there and built many temples, villas and gardens.







our guide and friend for the day


view from Giardini di Augusto






The Saint James' Charterhouse is the oldest monastery and was built in 1371


Positano
Positano became a wealthy market port from the 15th to 17th century and has only continued to grow in popularity over time.

It is frequently listed on the top most Instagrammable places on the planet.





this extremely delicious pasta with clams dish gave Tony food poisening for a day :(


under the cathedral or Positano archologists have discovered a sprawling 2000 year old villa which was burried in the eruption of vesuvius

a crypt was later built by a brotherhood on TOP of the 'then' undescovered villa

Altrani
Another spectacular city on the Amalfi Coast. The famous dutch artist the city and it is easy to see how his stay impacted his work.


too bad Axa didn't come on this day trip to appreciate all the lizzards




it is difficult to describe how OVERSIZED the church is for this city

google Escher art and look at the IMAGES

probably our best meal was in Altrani

Emerald Cave
The Emerald Grotto just outside Amalfi is one of the natural highlights along the Amalfi Coast, a blend of dazzling beauty and historic legend.




the sun shines from under the water to create the beaufitul emerald color

Amalfi coast is also famous for ceramics

our gift for Grammy from this trip :)

coffee in style


Pompeii (top) and Mount Vesuvius (bottom row)
The city of Pompeii is famous because it was destroyed in 79 CE when a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted, covering it in at least 19 feet (6 metres) of ash and other volcanic debris. The city's quick burial preserved it for centuries before its ruins were discovered in the late 16th century.





gaming night!


one of multiple amphitheatres in the city



the city was absolutely stunning... and it was much much BIGGER than you might think



hiking up mount vesuvius (about a 30 minute hike)

view of Naples and the bay of Naples

view of the cone

we didn't expect for smoke to still be rising from the volcano. It is actually still very active.

Naples
Founded by Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. At over 3 million population, it is also more populous than Rome.

Food historians believe the Neapolitan pizza evolved from a meal eaten in ancient Rome.

Naples was a stark contrast of rich and poor


Piazza del Plebiscito

to be fair... there was a lot of tasty pizza in Naples!
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