Amazing. Astounding. Amalfi.

On the fifth day of our cruise, we had decisions to make and they were:

1. See Pompei – the city that was nearly-instantly buried by Mt. Vesuvius in 70 A.D.  Temptation level: 7.  We all thought it would be cool to see this city-caught-in-time.
2. Travel the Amalfi Coast – by many accounts, the most beautiful coastline in the world, with fishing villages built into the hills and amazing food to be found.  Temptation level:  9.  We love food.  And coasts.
3. Tour the city of Naples – the city that invented the Nativity Set and a little thing we in America like to call the pizza.  Downside?  It’s not a very safe city, or a particularly clean one.  Temptation level:  6
4. Climb Mt. Vesuvius.  It’s a beautiful but steep and strenuous climb..   Tempation level:  seriously?  Do you know us at all?  Vacation is for eating, not for climbing.

Winner:  the Amalfi Coast!

And what a winner it was.  We used the same awesome tour company, but this time we just hired a driver (which is necessary – a foreigner ought not attempt the narrow, corkscrew roads) and that also was a great and economical choice.

Well, this is how our morning started – breakfast and then a little rest up on the ship’s deck, looking out over the city of Naples (Napoli) and – off in the distance, Mt. Vesuvius.  See that cute, happy couple behind Steve?  It was their fifth anniversary on this very day.  Nice way to celebrate, yes?  Oh, just wait and see!

Our day was set to include three cities:  Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi.  The first stop – Sorrento – was a good 30 miles from Napoli, but the beauty of the drive left us all nearly speechless.  In fact, I’ll shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves.

This was the one day of our adventure that I just kept wishing and willing time to slow down and let us stay suspended in the beauty of it all.  Our fist stop was Sorrento which is one of the most beautiful little cities I’ve ever been to.  It is, however, LOADED with tourists.  We stopped there for an hour and a truly miraculous cappuccino at this lovely little outdoor cafe:

Look back over the top of Steve’s head…see those giant lemons?  The Amalfi coast is known for it’s lemons – I do not kid: they’re the size of cantaloupes.  Called Bread Lemons, they apparently aren’t very juicy, but they’re used for flavoring in cakes and in Amalfi’s famous drink:  Limoncello.  It’s a sweet, lemony liqueur and every meal is ended with a small drink of it for the table  – which is a little like a quick shot of lemon meringue pie.   They also use the lemons in decorating – they are everywhere  (candles, candy, cake, clothes – everywhere).   It makes the whole city look fresh and vibrant.  Beautiful.

I know.  I have an affliction and it’s called:  I Can’t Stop Taking Pictures of our Coffee.  I can’t.  But do you think they serve this at the top of Vesuvius?  I think not.

After Sorrento, our driver, Antonio, picked us up and told us about the wonder we were about to see: Positano.  He really loves Positano and it was fun that he was excited for us to see us.  We stopped on the way at this little viewpoint.

I tell you, the scenery is breathtaking.  But those people there to the left of me?  So are they.

Positano is built into a hillside and has only a one-way entrance and a one-way exit.  Tour buses are not allowed, so this town is much less crowded and easy to navigate.  Except for the stairs.

You have to go down a LOT of stairs to get to the shops and cafes and such.  Hi, Casey!

Hi, Corey & Whit!  Hi, grandbaby!

Cool door, built into the side of the hillside – someone lives in there!  My front door seems significantly less dramatic than this one.

Shoppers.

Beauty, everywhere.

When Antonio picked us up, we were ready for lunch, so he took us to his favorite restaurant.  Constantino’s is 800 meters up on the hillside, overlooking the Mediterranean.

Here’s the view from our table:

The owner’s name – and I do not kid here – was Luigi.  And he was a marvel.  We loved him.  He asked if we wanted a menu or we just wanted him to bring us a great Italian lunch.  Ha!  Yes, Luigi, we said – you just bring us a good lunch.

Everything in Positano is grown or made on the mountain.  For instance, the tomatoes and olive oil on this bruschetta:

And then there was this…Luigi’s mom makes all the pasta:

I’m not sure how long we sat here at Constantino’s, drinking in the view and the company and saying about a million times:  “Are we really here right now?”  It will go down in history as one of the best moments of my life and at one point, I looked at our kids and then at Steve and said, “We might be the luckiest people in the world.”

And it’s true.  Yep, some things in life are hard right now – but the undercurrent of it all is that we are blessed beyond what we deserve.  There was more day after this and it was wonderful, but I just want to end here on this thought:  God is not and will never be in debt to us.

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again…

Amen.