Amalfi Coast Photo Diary

The day began in Salerno, which was the fifth stop on our 12-night Mediterranean cruise. That morning, the husband and I took a boat out to the picturesque cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, where we spent a rewarding afternoon soaking in the breathtaking views, exploring the town, and rekindling my love of pasta – not that our romance needed rekindling of any kind, as was evident by the weight I had already put on up to that point of the trip.

Our grand plan included Amalfi, Positano and possibly Capri, but due to time constrains and unreliable public transportation, we opted instead to spend the day exploring Amalfi rather than traveling from one place to the next in a delusional effort to check off more destinations on our bucket list.

As a result, my recommendations are limited, but wandering aimlessly away from the town center to find a flower-lined trattoria of Ristorante Pizzeria Il Mulino is at the top of my list. Approximately a 10-minute walk from the Duomo, the family-run restaurant was rich in flavor, excellent in value and was clearly a local favorite, if the absence of the typical tourist crowd was any indication. The day will forever remain ingrained in my memories as quite possibly the highlight of all my culinary experiences.

That afternoon we opted to take the bus back to Solerno on what we will always remember as the most exquisite and blood-curdling drive in our lives. Passing between mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, the jaw-dropping panorama of homes, villas and restaurants built into the vertical cliffs was a sight to see. What could only be considered the width of a sidewalk was in actuality a two-way road winding around and around the cliffs, with little separating us from a plunging death into the sea hundreds of feet below.