Breakfast

Those of you who have stayed at Eden Roc Hotel will know Tony and the experience of breakfast.  When we were staying in the hotel, we would stumble down to breakast – usually late – and be met by Tony’s smiling greeting across the restaurant and cups of his famous Cappuccino.

I am not a coffee drinker except for Eden Roc and only because of Tony.  My record is 3 cups by which time I was bouncing off the walls.

When we booked the villa we were told we would have full use of all the hotel facilities – including the ability to pop down for breakfast.  While this has proved to be the case we were a little nervous as we wandered down the road to the hotel the first morning.

We needn’t have worried.  When we arrived Tony was nowhere to be seen but within a minute we heard his traditional greeting “good morning sir and lady” across the restaurant and he arrived at our table with two cups of his famous cappuccino.

He then proceeded to ply us with croissants (the last two kept just for us), watermelon (fresh from the Eden Roc garden), toast (toasted both sides – past guests please note) and slices of breakfast pizza/quiche all prepared especially for us.

We don’t normally eat breakfast so working through the mountain of food that arrived required concentration and complete disregard for the effect on our waistlines.

Live action – or inaction

It’s around 1:30pm and 30 degrees. Relaxing before lunch. Nothing more to say really.

20110706-013452.jpg

Girls out and about in Positano

Today the girls got their first taste of Positano with a walk from our villa to Eden Roc Hotel and back.

The stop at the hotel was an excellent chance for a drink and to catch up with Carlo who manages the bar and restaurant.  As always he had some great tips for places to eat in and around Positano although tomorrow evening we will be enjoying his hospitality with dinner on the terrace overlooking the bay.

On the way back to the villa Jean and the girls posed for the classic Positano photo.

For sale – one superyacht

We snapped this photo of one of the superyachts moored in our front yard last night.

It is called Lady Joy and a quick check on the interweb found that it accommodates 12 people in complete luxury for between $US250k and $US300k a week.

Interestingly it’s also on the market – for $US43 million.  Any takers?

A rare sight in Positano

The rarest thing you see in Positano isn’t some exotic bird or animal, it’s an empty carpark.  Parking spaces on the side of a cliff are strictly limited, unlike the number of cars, scooters and motor bikes in Positano.

If a trip out is planned, locals make a judgement call about whether it’s worth taking the car and losing their park – because finding another one may mean a long wait or, worse, a long walk.  Some cars have been parked in the same spot so long they are collecting dust.

The photo shows an empty park opposite the villa.  It stayed empty for about 2 minutes, maximum.

Welcome to Positano

We arrived in Positano on Saturday after a 5 hour drive from Tuscany to the warmest, friendliest greeting from the staff at Eden Roc Hotel.  We aren’t staying at the hotel but have rented a villa they own called Villa Greta.  The villa is situated just along the main road, 10 minutes easy walk from the hotel.

When we arrived there were fresh flowers on the table, wine and fresh fruit in the fridge and a home made cake on the bench. A lovely touch by the hotel we thought.

Compared to our cottage in Tuscany the villa is huge and everyone is enjoying the additional space and various mod cons – like a dishwasher.

The dogs have recovered from the drive south and have settled in.  They already bark at everyone walking past on the street – much to the delight of the locals.

We normally arrive at Positano later in July but the good news is that the weather is great and the temperature is around 30 degrees.  The town doesn’t feel packed and the superyachts are just starting to arrive in the bay.  The bonus is that we can use the hotel facilities – pool, bar, restaurant, did I mention the pool, etc – so we have the best of both worlds.

We’re off to Positano

It’s time for a holiday from our holiday.  That’s right, the whole Mowday clan is moving from Tuscany to Positano (on the beautiful Amalfi Coast) for a fortnight.  We’ve rented an apartment which is owned by the lovely people who also own and run Eden Roc Hotel, our favourite hotel in Positano.  Updates to follow.

Poppie ready for the trip to Positano.

Every journey starts with a single step. This is ours.

Italy is about as far from New Zealand as you can get – both geographically and culturally. We’ve experienced wonderful holidays it Italy for the last decade and the nagging question has always been – what would it be like to live there?

The only way to answer that question was to step out of our comfortable lives in New Zealand and into whatever a life in Italy has to offer. We did that on Wednesday April 6, 2011.

It sounds easy if you say it quickly. But it meant leaving behind family and jobs, renting out our house, storing our precious things and, most importantly, bringing our girls Poppie and Daisy along for the trip.

Poppie and Daisy are our dogs. Small, furry, white Bichon Frise. And they are definitely part of our family.

So what sounded so simple to say turned out to be a tad more complicated and I’m sure the fun is only beginning.