Apparently this blog never features a picture of me. So says my editor who insists that I include a photograph of me just to prove that I’m actually on the trip and not sitting at home making all this up.
And if you’re wondering why I’m looking so damn smug it’s because I’ve just finished that most Italian of breakfasts – bacon and eggs – at Buca di Bacco, on the beach at Positano.
Thank you to all the gentle readers who made suggestions as to which ceramic piece is, as I write this, winging its way to New Zealand.
Sadly, neither those who know Jean well nor those who have only read about her in this blog managed to pick the correct piece – and I can’t really blame anyone – it’s a bit of a wildcard choice, as you can see.
In a recent post looking at the array of super yachts that come and go in Positano, we decided that a slide seemed to be the latest “must have” accessory for any self respecting millionaire boat owner.
We were wrong – based on this shot of a yacht moored in the bay a few days ago it’s clearly a helicopter.
Groceries delivered – job done. Grazie mille.
One thing we needed to do early in our stay was to shop for groceries. This meant a trip to the alimentari in the village – a walk of about 1km – but importantly, the same distance home with arms weighed down with shopping bags. Not a problem until you realise the temperature is about 28 degrees and quite humid, and the walk is predominately up hill.
Thankfully the lovely staff at the store recognised us from years past – asked if we had the dogs with us – sadly not this time, and made the kind offer that “the boy” could deliver the groceries – si, graze mille.
You cannot understand how happy that made us feel – as we added another few bottles of beer and tonic and water and bread and vegetables to the order.
The delivery address was confirmed using a picture of the villa we had on our phones – yes, next to the madonna on via Marconi. What is that villa like inside? More photos and discussion about decor and layout. It’s spacious, yes, very nice.
The walk back was a delight and as promised “the boy” – looking a little hot and bothered – delivered everything an hour later. That was worth a generous tip.
It is Thursday evening , 27 degrees, and I’m sitting on our front verandah enjoying the sunset and watching the locals passing our front gate on their way home. In the days since our arrival, we have spent time in the sun, in the pool, visited Sorrento for a morning and shopped in the village – both for the necessities and a few luxuries.
We had dinner with Carlo and the team at Eden Roc earlier in the week. Beautiful fish with patate and pomodoro preceded by a shrimp cocktail that tasted of the sea and complimented by a Falanghina which was older and more complex than the usual. Clearly we are not the only ones to be impressed with the food because they have achieved the status of No1 hotel restaurant in Positano on TripAdvisor. This is quite an achievement given the calibre of the competition. And I feel it’s all down to that magic mix of the food, the service and the superb location looking across the bay combining for a dinner experience that is unforgettable. Read the reviews yourself if you don’t believe me.
We kept our promise to eat at Bar Bruno again – on Wednesday night – and enjoyed the meal so much we have booked again for Friday night.
The family that run the alimentari in the village remembered us from past visits and asked about the dogs – no, they are not with us this time – 2 weeks is not a long enough visit. They also made our grocery shopping a delight rather than a chore – but more of that in a later post.
The boys who run the Galli bar which we walk past on the way to the village now greet us with a cheerful Ciao in the mornings and ice cold gelati for the walk back to the villa in the afternoons.
It feels like we are slipping back into village life.
Jean has just wandered down to the local alimentari for some provisions – primarily beer for me and something for us both for tea and she will no doubt return with some tale of the local happenings or of the trip there and back.
Tonight we decided to eat in, simply because we can. And because the thought of getting ready and heading out is to much of a chore. It’s great to be back and to have reached that point – la dolce fa niente. The sweet art of doing nothing.
The news that a pair of animal lovers have arrived in Positano has spread quickly with our first feline visitor arriving on Sunday afternoon.
Clearly a cat that knows a couple of “soft touches”, this little girl wandered into the villa and made herself at home. As I write this she’s spread out on the front verandah enjoying some late afternoon sun.
From the villa we have a view of the various super yachts that visit Positano. Some are relatively modest and some are a little over the top.
Often the yachts launch smaller craft, jet skis or motor boats for the use of those onboard, but this is the first time we’ve seen a waterslide as an accessory on a super yacht.
What will they think of next?
After 3 days travelling by plane, train and automobile we have arrived in Positano. Along the way we spent 3 hours in Auckland, 4 hours in Hong Kong, 25 hours in the air and a day and a night in Rome.
New Zealand farewelled us with chilling rain on a grey day and Positano welcomed us with sun, warmth and gentle breezes. The delights of jet lag haven’t quite left us yet so currently a late night is 8pm and a “sleep in” is 5am. We know that will change as the wonderfully pedestrian pace of life in Positano takes over.
As always everyone has looked after us superbly – from the welcome sight of the hotel driver at Rome airport to our room being ready for us at 8am when we arrived at Hotel Barocco. The ability to drop our bags and freshen up was a lifesaver – and no mean feat for the hotel as they were fully booked the previous night but still they managed to get our room ready in record time.
The trip south by train was blissfully uneventful and relaxing with none of the hassles that accompany air travel – although recent events in France and Belgium may change that.
The welcome at Eden Roc was as warm as ever with time spent catching up on events of the last year – had the changes to the hotel that were talked about last been made? No, too much beaurcracy and too little time – maybe next year. Were all the staff well, who had left and who was new? All the usual characters were still part of the team – plus some new faces – it has been a good year. Were we in for good weather or was the recent rain going to dampen our holiday? No, the weather had settled and we could expect hot, dry days.
The afternoon was spent enjoying a late lunch/early dinner on the hotel terrace looking out over Positano and the bay beyond. Let the relaxing begin.
For the northern summer of 2011 our life consisted of doing very little – but doing it very well. On the fine sunny days – pretty much every day between May and October – we spent time at our villa pool.
And after a hard afternoons sunning and swimming it was a short walk back to the cottage for a G &T, a beer and some time to recover from the stress of the day.
It was a fun old year at our place. As always there seemed to be a lot happening but when I look back at the photos we’ve taken, our trip in August and those puppies – well Bella mainly – seem to dominate.
From the balcony of our hotel room in Positano we could look across the road and see the back yard of a small villa which was perched on the edge of the cliff overlooking the bay. An elderly couple live there and every evening they sit outside, side by side and enjoy the sunset.
Sometimes one gets the other a drink and sometimes one or the other nods off to sleep. But every evening they are there, sitting next to each other.
We first noticed them years ago and every time we visit Positano we see them again, each time a little older, a little slower and a little frailer. But always together.
On Saturday we said goodbye to Rosie. Old age has been catching up with Rosie for the last few months – after all she was 18 years old – and we finally had to let her go.
When Rosie was young she was one of 5 cats in the household – don’t ask how that happened – and she was always the one to be picked on. But since 2011 she has been the queen of Kainui Road and has enjoyed the run of the house, the back yard and the neighbours.
She will be missed.
Much of our holiday was booked by our travel agent, the lovely Petra, and the team at House of Travel in Wellington. As always, everything was organised perfectly and went off without a hitch.
But this trip there was a bonus – House of Travel’s iPhone app.
We punched in our booking code after downloading the app and had our itinerary available in an easy to digest and easy to use form on our phone. It was amazing the number of times we used it – to quickly check a departure time or to confirm a flight number when completing an arrival card – it was incredibly useful.
And there’s much more to the app than just the itinerary. There is a plethora of options available.
I’ve been involved with designing and developing a few mobile apps and can appreciate the time and attention to detail that has gone into this app. It’s a great piece of work.
I’ve just checked the app and it has archived our holiday itinerary and is ready for our next trip. Nice.
We arrived back in New Zealand earlier in the week after 4 fabulous weeks away. We were greeted by warm spring weather (which has now turned back to winter) and two very happy puppies who, after an initial frenzied greeting, proceeded to ignore us just to make a point.
The last few days have been spent recovering from jet lag and unpacking – as well as returning to work because, let’s face it, the holiday has to be paid for somehow.
There are still a number of posts to write covering such things as our dinner at the 3 Michelin Star restaurant La Pergola in Rome, some thoughts on modern air travel, how purchasing a laptop case on Via Condotti in Rome can turn into something much more and the temptation of Hong Kong duty free shopping.
I’ll post these over the next few days – just as soon as I write them.
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As we wandered through Rome we passed the Pantheon. The last time we did this was 2011 when we had the girls with us. We recalled the challenge of walking them through the streets avoiding, not only the multitude of visitors, but … Continue reading
Toscanakiwi 
