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| first view of Salerno's port from the train |
After Herculaneum, we hopped a train to Naples then to Salerno then to Vietri sul Mare -- amusingly, there are two sets of train tracks in Salerno, the ones for long distance trains (1,2,3,..) and the local trains (1TR,2TR,3TR,...) on the same level, just adjacent. So that 3TR is next to 1.
The Amalfi Coast is maybe 40-60 minutes by train from Naples, the southern coast of a peninsula whose northern side is host to Sorrento and whose finger of land points out to Capri.
The red balloon is at Vietri Sul Mare, where we stayed in a nice place we found on Booking dot com.
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| sunset over Vietri sul Mare |
BEST PART: The host had tons of great advice (restaurants, website of regional hiking club for routes, etc) and this made what could have been a really frustrating experience something we could navigate.
Example 1 of where you need to know someone:
There are three kinds of bus tickets relevant from Vietri Sul Mare, each in a different zone and bought from a different company (sold by the same people, at least):
1. Vietri sul Mare to from Salerno
2. Vietri sul Mare to from Amalfi, and towns in the Vietri district
3. Amalfi to from any other town nearby, or between towns kind of near Amalfi (this region belongs to Naples, probably )
Having someone explain this who could speak English was really useful.
Example 2:
The Vietri sul Mare train station does not have a ticket machine.
I asked our host, and he wrote back (after a pause, where he had phoned ahead actually :) ) that we needed to go to the newsstand (Edicola) and we could buy our train tickets there.
PRO TIP: always go to the news stand (Edicola) or Tabbaco store (Tabacchi) for your train/bus/metro tickets. I traveled home on Easter Sunday and skipped hours of lines of tourists at the 2-3 ticket machines by going to the Hudson News in the station.
Why Vietri sul Mare? (Someone else's reasons, similar but different)
- Being "not Amalfi", it is more affordable
- Awesome reviews for the apartment we stayed in
- Reachable by train (the only town on the Amalfi Coast where this is true); it is about 40 Minutes to Pompeii by train
- Quiet, charming artisan community
- good food at good prices
- Recommended by our host, Carmine: da Giufe
- discovered via tripadvisor, Il Principe e la civetta
Food at " Il Principe" -- if you are anywhere nearby, you should go to this restaurant.
We ate there twice.
The first time for someone's birthday. Mixed appetizer, I had the swordfish, he I think the catch of the day (poached fish of some kind, perfectly cooked). Dessert included the ricotta pear cake, which was apparently invented by a chef in Amalfi. I was a little grumpy as we had asked for wine and gotten a bottle instead of two glasses.
The second time we ate there was after a long hike (followed by a fruitless trek down to the Marina and back, where the recommended restaurant was closed), and I had my grumpyFace on as I walked in. The chef asked what was wrong, and we said "long day". We ordered the appetizer again (asking them to mix it up), each a glass of wine, as well as mains, and they threw in a big bucket of mussels (I like mussels, and these were the second best I have ever had (best was at a malaysian restaurant in Vancouver)) with the appetizer (I think because of grumpyFace plus inhaling the appetizer, which was really sweet of them). Left very full and very happy :)
Review from TripAdvisor:
"Best Restaurant in ItalyThis was one of the BEST meals of my entire life (and I'm married to a chef)! The only thing better than the food, was the service by the Chef and the wonderful atmosphere. [...]. He wants you to have the best experience possible and is happy to share his passion for food with you [...]Everything was beyond incredible! I cannot recommend this wonderful place enough, by far the best meal of our two weeks in Italy! Definitely make sure to have a meal here when visiting Amalfi coast!"
Tiles decorating the stores:
The largest ceramic store (and also workshop -- pinto is an example, but not the largest) is at the end of the main street, Ceramica Artistica Solimente. The building reminds me of work of Gaudi:
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| Gaudi-esque face of the factory/store |
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| fountain across the street |
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| view inside Ceramiche Solimente |
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