EUROPEAN VACATION 2017 {PART 2}

8 Days Abroad  |  London, UK & Amalfi Italy

Now that you’ve got the low down on London, it’s time to fill you guys in on part TWO of our incredibly amazing European escapade this summer. Our venture to Italy was very purposeful – we were witnessing the marriage of our sweet friends! What more amazing place than Amalfi, with its cascading cliffs, royal blue water and perfumed air, would make them most perfect backdrop for a wedding celebration I am not sure. Joe and I knew that this was going to be a wedding weekend of a lifetime and we couldn’t wait to get there!

We flew into Naples where a car was waiting for us. It was probably better that I wasn’t privy to the duration of the car ride or I probably would have gotten car sick right then and there. I am notorious for getting queasy when I’m driving in the back seat or when there is a lot of stop and go in the car (#urbancities). Anyway, we thought the trip would only take us about an hour, but our Italian driver was so excited to have Americans in the back seat that he took us the scenic route instead. We didn’t realize this until half way through (after pulling over to get iPhone photos with Mt. Vesuvius, of course) and still had another 75 minutes to go. Que the quease.

After dinner we got some large gelatos (we felt we deserved it, and there was only one size) and walked along the cobblestone roads for a little bit. Everything was dark except for the warm lights radiating from the restaurants and twinkling lights from the yachts and sailboats out on the water. Event thought it was almost 11pm the streets were still bustling with life. I guess that’s why they have a midnight noise curfew in Amalfi!

The trek back to our house was quite the adventure. I feel like it definitely was somewhere around a mile uphill after all was said and done. We had to traverse some pretty scary narrow roads, and of course the Italians are always flying around them, and then up many many stone steps to get high enough on the cliff to reach our house. From the main road we counted 225 physical steps, but some were those wide, double pace ones too, so it took a while to get up. I definitely was not prepared for this fact! I don’t know how I didn’t realize that the whole terrain was literally steps – to get to your house, to get to your neighbors house, to get into the restaurant, to get to the ocean… ALL steps! And not, like, a few. I mean, were talking minimum 15 step flights in any direction. It was truly incredible, but could also be a deal breaker destination for some people.

The next day we had some time to go into town and do a little shopping, touring and eating before the wedding! We went back into the town center near the church and found a restaurant where we both got some pizza. It was just shaded enough and not too sweltering that we definitely wanted to sit outside. It’s probably one of our favorite things to do in other countries, just sit outside of restaurants and cafes enjoying the culture, watching the people and soaking in the sights and sounds of a home away from home. We both ordered classic margherita pizzas with buffalo mozzarella cheese. It was melt-in-your-mouth uh-mazing. Italian pizzas are some of the only pies that I can order and eat almost the whole thing by myself. It’s just something about the ultra-fresh ingredients, not overdoing it and the thin crust dough. Mmmmm… perfection. We quickly did a little shopping, and, of course, topped off with some gelato (double ciccolato) and headed back to the house to get dressed for the wedding.