Beach Day

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Thursday was beach day. We chose the Fratelli Grassi beach club on Fornillo Spiaggia, although we did think this club was on Spiaggia Grande (the main beach at Positano) when we booked. This led to a little confusion and a walk around the point but we found it in the end.

Beach clubs are everywhere in Italy. The regimented rows of loungers and umbrellas facing the beach with restaurant and facilities behind them. They vary greatly in quality, service and price so picking the right one is a mix of art and science.

We booked online and could specify exactly which loungers we wanted – for us, front row ( a short 2 metre walk to the water) and at the end of a row (so we aren’t surrounded by other beach club goers). We added in towels which came to total of 120 Euros for the day.

Lunch and drinks are extra although there are packages available but these proved too complicated for us to work out so we paid as we went.

Jean is a true beach girl so for her the highlight was time in the water. I’m not really a beach guy so for me the highlight was lunch and the steady stream of drinks that could be ordered as the day went by.

We had heard that Grassi had a good kitchen and the grilled fish didn’t disappoint.

We also discovered that we could use the courtesy boat to get back to the main beach, saving the walk back to Positano. Bonus.

Happy Jean on the beach
Our number for the day
Lunch
Our ride home
Not sure what Jean’s doing here

Rainy evening in Positano

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A few days ago the run of fine and sunny weather was broken by a combination of rain followed by a night of thunder and lightening.

It hadn’t rained for 2 months and the downpour made up for this, soaking everything as it passed. The thunder and lightening later in the night was spectacular, thunder loud enough to wake us and keep us awake and lightening that lit up the coast like day. The storm lasted about hour and managed to knock out power to the village for a short time.

Thankfully next day normal transmission resumed although with a lower temperature and a freshness in the air that was welcome.

Why would you?

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We spotted a new addition to the Positano food scene – one in stark contrast to the usual food offerings available. Food Express 24 – burgers, fries, sandwiches, etc, bought from a hole in the wall machine that will “heat your burger in 60 seconds”. The mind boggles thinking about how this works.

I guess at 3am when you’re staggering home from a night out this may be attractive, but would you, really?

Moonlight over Positano

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Jean captured these lovely shots of a fingernail moon over Positano a few days ago. In one you can also see what we think is the planet Mercury?

Any keen astronomers, please advise.

My elusive Jean

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I try very hard to get photos of people in blog posts. But it can be tricky – particularly when my lovely wife is involved. She is a bit camera shy – but God knows I’ll keep trying.

Jean not being photographed in Piazza Navona, Rome
Jean not being photographed at Le Galli Bar in Positano
Jean not being photographed by the pool at Eden Roc Hotel
Jean not being photographed at the alimentari in Positano

Positano content creation

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It’s around 30 degrees in Positano – enough to make any sane person wear as little clothing as possible and to stay in the shade as much as possible. Unless you’re a content creator for Instagram (or similar) when you’re dressed up, in full makeup searching for those “instagram locations”.

One such location is a collection of ceramics displayed by a local shop on a terrace with the village in the background. You’ve probably seen the shots, I’ve included a couple below.

Copyright – Passportinstyle.com

Now it’s fair to say that these shots – and the reality of taking the shots – are a bit different.

This location is right on the main road through Positano which is very narrow and at a point where steps run down to the main piazza so it can get very busy.

There’s a queue to get onto the terrace which lasts all day and gets longer and shorter as the light moves – apparently mid morning is the best time to go because the angle of the sun helps throw a soft light on the faces of the those being photographed.

The terrace used to be roped off so shots could only be taken from the entrance which meant a degree of “sameness” and also a degree of competition as only one person could be photographed at a time.

But now someone from the ceramics shop manages entry to the terrace and the ceramics are laid out in such a way that content creators can set up multiple shots ensuring everyone has a unique view. It also opened up the opportunity for video to be shot as content creators moved across the terrace.

It costs 10 Euro or a purchase from the ceramic shop to access the terrace. But shots can still be taken from the entrance for free so there is always a degree of chaos as the queue runs along the footpath onto the road.

Instaglam? You decide.

Positano – first impressions

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We arrived in Positano on Saturday and have settled into villa life. The jet lag is pretty much gone and we’re feeling human again. The last couple of days have been spent in and about the hotel pool dealing to our winter whiteness, and even after a couple of days we are both a little browner and a little more able to fit in with the locals.

One thing we were expecting – the crowds – were much reduced on two years ago.

The last time we were here Positano was packed. Mid August is peak season and the combination of the village population trebling as hotels and Air BnBs fill up, and the day trippers arriving by the coach load, meant the village could barely cope.

Good news – this is not so much the case this year. Everyone we have talked to puts this down to a combination of economic uncertainty (particularly holding back American visitors), global unease and shifting travel habits with more visitors earlier and later in the season. In fact one local said with some shock, that some hotel rooms were available at 24 hours notice which, for the last few years has been unheard of.

Day trippers still mean the village is crowded between 10am and 3pm but much less so than in the past.

And the hotels are finding that they are booked longer into the shoulder season. Eden Roc Hotel closes at the end of October which is traditionally when bookings have dropped dramatically but this year they are fully booked right to closing day.

Positano – summer 2025 (stock image)
Positano – summer 2026

Spoilt rotten in Rome

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Gentle readers, as you may know we have a favourite place to stay in Rome. Hotel Barocco is a boutique hotel with 38 rooms located on Piazza Barberini at the bottom of the Via Veneto in the cities historical centre.

Our first stay was in 2011 when we lived in Italy for a year. We picked it from Booking.com’s list of hotels as it is dog friendly (so Daisy and Poppy the Bichon Frise could stay with us whenever we travelled from our rental in Tuscany to Rome) and because it looked ‘quite nice in the pictures’.

Since then it has become our place to stay in Rome. It has never disappointed and has always gone the extra mile for us – ensuring that we had a room with a terrace when the girls stayed in 2011 so no one had to go onto the street for comfort stops at 5am, or by making our delayed stay in 2019 (as the student riots forced an extended transit stay in Hong Kong) easy and worry free despite our booking being non-changable and non-refundable.

Jean and Poppie outside Hotel Barocco on a visit to Rome in 2011. Look closely and you’ll see the lead is a camera bag handle as we’d left the proper leads behind in Tuscany

This trip when we arrived at 9am tired and jet lagged our room was ready for us (which definitely is not the norm in hotels) and we had been upgraded to a room far superior to the one we booked. Thank you to all at Hotel Barocco, what a great start to our holiday.

One of Jeans famous ‘one take’ walk-through videos.

Let the fun begin

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It’s August and our Italian holiday has started. The lovely people at Cathay Pacific are transporting us from a cold and dark New Zealand to a warm inviting Italy. The flight was broken up by a 4 hour layover in Hong Kong which meant an 11 hour first leg skirting around Australia and then north over the Philipines and a 12 hour second leg across Asia and Europe.

There is no feeling quite like waking up to a sunrise over Kazakhstan as your plane zigzags between war zones.

This trip we flew Cathay Pacific. They are a great airline and their Premium Economy product is pretty good. For us the added legroom is the key attraction but priority boarding and an upgraded food offering is nothing to sneeze at.

But we still rate Emirates as having the best Premium Economy product in our experience. It just feels special and is more “business lite” rather than Cathay’s “economy plus”.

One more thing that Cathay does right is the electronic check in and automated baggage process at Auckland Airport. It is brilliant and removes all the queuing and angst of the traditional approach – plus they have enough helpers working the kiosks to make sure everyone who needs a bit of help gets it.

Pillow fight

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Both girls love being on the pillow in the study – but when one gets there first (Bella) the other (Ellie) gets as close as possible hoping for the best.

Wellington on a good day

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Lately there have been quite a few bad weather days in Wellington. Here’s a better one – taken from our balcony overlooking Evans Bay on a calm autumn morning.

The mystery machine

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Next to our hotel in Rome there is a vending machine. It is covered in buttons, has slots for money and for cards, is covered in pictures and Italian writing, and it changes colour every few seconds. It looks a bit like a Las Vegas slot machine, and like one of those has caused both delight and tears.

We have sat at the bar which is next to it and observed many people using, or trying to use it. Last night there was an American girl trying to use it, the interaction ended in tears.

So what is this mystery machine and why does it affect people the way it does. Jean went to investigate.

it is a cigarette vending machine which has instructions only in Italian and a process for purchase that is convoluted and complicated. Clearly the locals understand it, but any visitor is baffled. Often they put their money into the machine only to fail the process to purchase and then walk away empty handed and without their cash.

Upon investigation, Jean’s concluded that ID is required as part of the purchase process. All Italians have this via a national ID card. Things like passports and drivers licences or foreign ID cards are useless – but there is no indication of that on the machine. So having watched people struggle with it and fail, I’m pretty sure that this machine is the most profitable vending machine in Italy.

Echoes of San Felice

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We had a wonderful time staying at San Felice, it is a magical place. Here are some evening shots in and around the hotel.

Friends in Tuscany

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We are lucky enough to have friends in Tuscany and we all got together for dinner at San Felice. It was a wonderful night, great food, great wine and great company.

Three Kiwis and four Italians, what a special experience.

Today we leave Tuscany

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Today we leave San Felice and travel to Rome. It’s an early start, but the upside is capturing the view of Tuscany from our front door at 7am.