Italy - Day 8 - Sentiero degli Dei

Bucket list check off day.  We walked the Path of the Gods, Sentiero degli Dei.  The gorgeous path is on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast is said to have some of the most breathtaking views of our earth.  I can say...it truly was some of the most beautiful views I have witnessed.  

This path is 7.8 kilometers from Agerola to Nocelle, through ancient mule routes.  It is a once in a lifetime hike and I was captivated by the beauty.  The hike can take 3-5 hours, so we packed our lunch and headed on our way.  

Sign showing the trail discreetly placed on side of building

Beginning of the hike

Start of a upward walk

Houses along the way

View of the Mediterranean Sea

People still live on these cliffs and use donkeys to travel, but mostly they walk

Another view of the sea

The hike is listed as being "easy", and it wasn't hard, but it definitely should be done by those without joint or back issues as this path is not even, and does involve some uphill maneuvering.  We thought we were in pretty decent shape until we saw an elderly man come up behind us and pass us at a speed worthy of mentioning as he was clearly at least 20+ years older than us and passed us like it was nothing!!! And off he went, don't know where, since he was out of sight by the next bend.  We decided on a more stringent workout program once we got back home. 👍

We can see why it is called Path of the Gods

At a point where it goes downhill for a bit

Before we left Sorrento to drive to here, we made sure to pack lunch.  I stopped in a small home and brought these sun ripened tomatoes from an old Italian woman who could barely walk and whose face was that of worn leather.   She was beautiful and offered the grapes to go with our tomatoes.  I was touched and remembered her lovely gesture while we ate and drank in this beautiful place. 

Doesn't get any better...

Lunch with the best...friends, food, wine and God's beauty

Sentiero degli Dei - must do if you come to Italy

You have to stop in to absorb the moment

The Med

More houses along the way...some inhabited and some not

Like I said, the hike was up and down, and although not hard, was good exercise.  Good for working up appetite for more gelato later.

 

I definitely want to come back to this spot.  If planning a trip to Italy, please take the time to make this a stop on your itinerary.  It truly is one of the most beautiful places I've seen.  

It was getting later in the afternoon, so we had to pull ourselves off this hike and head back to the car to get to Sorrento before dark.  But not before our gelato fix.

On the ride home, Becky got a great pic of the sunset...what a DAY!!!

Amalfi sunset

Once back in Sorrento, we looked around for a place to dine...I know...more food, right?  But that's one of the many reasons we are here, to eat!   I said before I came on this trip that I was going to eat my way through these wonderful cities.  And so we did.  

 

Ristorante O' Murzill...wonderful food served by wonderful people

One of our best meals while in Italy

Once fed, we were exhausted.   We did not venture far this evening as our beds were calling us.  But, what fun we had today!  Can't wait for tomorrow!

Until next time...

Enjoy

Italy - Day 7 Sorrento!

The beautiful city of Sorrento...a coastal town in southwestern Italy that faces the Bay of Naples.  I love, love, love this place.  In doing my research for this trip, I read about a lovely little restaurant on the waterfront and could not wait to get there.  Da Emilia at Marina Grande is a family owned restaurant that has been there since 1947...the children and grandchildren of Emilia pride themselves on serving fish caught by the local fisherman and serving up the best tastes of the sea.  I read about the 'fish basket' and asked for it immediately without looking at the menu.  Along with a carafe of house vino blanco, I can say I was in total bliss.

My fish basket of sardines, anchovy, shrimp, calamari, small bass, and other fresh fish caught that morning

 

 

 

Our vino

Insalata di Mare

 

Marina Grande

This meal was such an experience.  I can see why Sophia Loren loved this area.

It took some persuading to get me to leave, but Sorrento has so much to see and take in, so we got moving. 

Walking up toward the town away from the Marina Grande

Love the cobble walk ways between the buildings

Marcus waiting on the 'tourists taking many pics'

My granddaughters name...could not help but take a pic

Looking down at the Marina Grande

The Marina Grande

Olive trees

The Villa Fiorentino

Corso Italia- main shopping street in Sorrento

One of the churches along the Corso Italia

Inside the church

Flowing chocolate!

Many vegetable and fruit stands on the Corso Italia

Sorrento is said to have the best lemons in Italy

And you can find lemon everything here...candy, soap, lotion, limoncello

Local art and crafts

after shopping, time for more food and drink

Crostini

 

We spent the rest of the day taking in the sights and sounds, and did a little shopping.  So much to see and experience.  Have I said I love this place?

After such a day, I couldn't be anything but ecstatic.  It was a beautiful!  

Until next time...

Enjoy!

 

Italy - Day 6 - Leaving Minori and driving the Amalfi Coast

Pottery and  frescoes at small museum in Minori

We only had one night in Minori, so we ventured out early on Sunday  to walk the streets of this beautiful village before we had to check out.  Doing so, we stumbled across a very small museum which had artifacts from the area that dated back to the first century.  Mostly consisted of pottery and a few frescoes that were found in this region.  

Dishes found in the area of Minori

Outside of the museum, there is the "Villa Romana"..  This Roman villa is also dated back to the first century.  It was discovered in early 1950's and was buried again in the flood of 1954.  No one knows who actually built this villa, but it is noted to have been someone famous and very wealthy.  It consists of many, many rooms and had painted frescoes on the walls, along with a ground level spa which they used as bathing pool.

 

Villa Romana

Villa Romana

After our morning walk, it was time to check out of our lovely hotel and hit the road.  Once again, Marcus was our driver, and we were suppose to be his navigators. 
😕

While we had GPS and thought we knew where we wanted to go, we instructed Marcus to take a wrong turn and we headed up the mountain.  Mind you...there's no room for turning around here.  As we got higher, the fog set in and became more dense the higher we went.  I did not get any pictures of this part of the ride as all of us were focused on the little bit of road that we could see in such dense fog!  Too scared!  Once we got to a place where it was possible to turn around, that's what we did.  All of us were feeling more relaxed once the fog lifted.  And Marcus handled the car and turns with expertise!

The following pics are of the Amalfi coast and I can say pictures cannot capture the beauty of this place.  It was absolutely breathtaking and I was in awe.

 

Meeting a car in a turn, not much room!

Positano

The mountain with fog (we were up there!!!)

Meeting another car on the Amalfi coast ride

One of many beautiful buildings built on the cliff overlooking the sea

Marcus had nerves of steel behind the wheel!

The drive from Minori to Sorrento is approximately an hour and 40 minutes.  Took us a bit longer and by the time we got to Sorrento, we were starving!  We checked into our hotel....and headed off to find Emilia's!!!  But will save that for the next post.

Until next time...

Enjoy!!!