We left the house early doors (8am) with Stansted in our sights. Meet & greet car parking and easyJet "Hands Free" travel made air travel smoother than normal, but we still had to contain a 2-year old for 3 hours on a plane. Arriving in Naples airport, we were met by Giuseppe of Positano Taxis, who whisked us out from under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius to the sunlit uplands of the Amalfi coast road. By late afternoon, we were safely deposited at Villa Punta del Sole, on the outskirts of Positano.
Lugging bags and shopping down the villa's many steps made for a sweaty start to the holiday, so the pool provided some welcome refreshment. First night for me was largely spent blowing up a giant inflatable unicorn, drinking prosecco, beer and wine, chatting with our host Vito, making plans for the week, and admiring the magical view from our balcony.
I was especially dumbstruck by how the moon threw a spotlight on a small group of islands (Li Galli, or Le Sirenuse) out at sea, and after which 2 of the 3 apartments at the villa are named (Castellucio and Rotonda). Some believe these were the same islands Homer described as inhabited by sirens in The Odyssey. What's for sure is that they've been home to several famous figures, including dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who bought them in 1985 – for more details, see this potted history.
Going to the newly opened Roman villa, which has been excavated under Positano's main church (Santa Maria Assunta), also gives a sense of the area's various layers of history – mythical past, area of "otium" (leisure) for the Romans, destruction by eruption of Mt Vesuvius. The city later recovered and grew rich as a trading port in the Middle Ages and is now a honeytrap for wealthy tourists. We managed to do Positano on a "budget", but it was still far more expensive than most family holidays. You get what you pay for though – the city is rightly described as a "pearl" of the Mediterranean.
We'd been to the area before, staying in Ravello back in 2011 when I conducted the wedding of my friends John & Suzette, but despite visits to Amalfi, Salerno and other small villages along the coast (including Minori), we'd never yet made it to Positano. Before booking the trip, I didn't appreciate how vertical the city is, making it a challenging holiday with 3 kids – especially the 5-minute walk along the busy coastal road, and the steep steps that lead for half an hour down to the main beach (Spiaggia Grande).
All that said, we had some very memorable outings, especially the boat trip to Capri. We chartered a private boat for 12 people with Bluestar Positano, setting off from the main beach around 10am and returning about 5pm. Our captain was Roberto, who was initially shocked at how many kids were on board (6, as many as the adults!) but was very amenable to stopping at various coves and grottoes, so that we could have a dip in the sea and snorkel. We also enjoyed the mini bar!
Other highlights were the pizza party at Villa Punta del Sole, when we were joined by all of Vito's family and listened to my Italian Spotify playlist (the Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone tracks went down especially well). Vito's mamma loved Archie and called him "monello" (cheeky rascal), the aunts sang the praises of Naples – saying it was nothing like the hellhole portrayed in Gommorah and calling football rivals Juventus "Rubentus" (thieving Juventus) – while Vito's brother Giovanni was a brilliant pizza chef, allowing all the older kids to make their own.
We also had a memorable meal out at La Tagliata for our wedding anniversary, lunch at C'era Una Volta and even escaped from the kids for a few hours on our last day, to enjoy a gelato at Bar Internazionale, plus a cherry Negroni and local beer (Karma) at Villa Gabrisi. Cin cin!
P.S. To read John Steinbeck's article on Positano, click here.
Lugging bags and shopping down the villa's many steps made for a sweaty start to the holiday, so the pool provided some welcome refreshment. First night for me was largely spent blowing up a giant inflatable unicorn, drinking prosecco, beer and wine, chatting with our host Vito, making plans for the week, and admiring the magical view from our balcony.
I was especially dumbstruck by how the moon threw a spotlight on a small group of islands (Li Galli, or Le Sirenuse) out at sea, and after which 2 of the 3 apartments at the villa are named (Castellucio and Rotonda). Some believe these were the same islands Homer described as inhabited by sirens in The Odyssey. What's for sure is that they've been home to several famous figures, including dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who bought them in 1985 – for more details, see this potted history.
Going to the newly opened Roman villa, which has been excavated under Positano's main church (Santa Maria Assunta), also gives a sense of the area's various layers of history – mythical past, area of "otium" (leisure) for the Romans, destruction by eruption of Mt Vesuvius. The city later recovered and grew rich as a trading port in the Middle Ages and is now a honeytrap for wealthy tourists. We managed to do Positano on a "budget", but it was still far more expensive than most family holidays. You get what you pay for though – the city is rightly described as a "pearl" of the Mediterranean.
We'd been to the area before, staying in Ravello back in 2011 when I conducted the wedding of my friends John & Suzette, but despite visits to Amalfi, Salerno and other small villages along the coast (including Minori), we'd never yet made it to Positano. Before booking the trip, I didn't appreciate how vertical the city is, making it a challenging holiday with 3 kids – especially the 5-minute walk along the busy coastal road, and the steep steps that lead for half an hour down to the main beach (Spiaggia Grande).
All that said, we had some very memorable outings, especially the boat trip to Capri. We chartered a private boat for 12 people with Bluestar Positano, setting off from the main beach around 10am and returning about 5pm. Our captain was Roberto, who was initially shocked at how many kids were on board (6, as many as the adults!) but was very amenable to stopping at various coves and grottoes, so that we could have a dip in the sea and snorkel. We also enjoyed the mini bar!
Other highlights were the pizza party at Villa Punta del Sole, when we were joined by all of Vito's family and listened to my Italian Spotify playlist (the Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone tracks went down especially well). Vito's mamma loved Archie and called him "monello" (cheeky rascal), the aunts sang the praises of Naples – saying it was nothing like the hellhole portrayed in Gommorah and calling football rivals Juventus "Rubentus" (thieving Juventus) – while Vito's brother Giovanni was a brilliant pizza chef, allowing all the older kids to make their own.
We also had a memorable meal out at La Tagliata for our wedding anniversary, lunch at C'era Una Volta and even escaped from the kids for a few hours on our last day, to enjoy a gelato at Bar Internazionale, plus a cherry Negroni and local beer (Karma) at Villa Gabrisi. Cin cin!
P.S. To read John Steinbeck's article on Positano, click here.
Comments