by Anne Woodyard | Aug 27, 2019 | amalfi, Amalfi Coast, Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival, Anacapri, Caprese, Capri, Food and Wine, Fritto Misto, Italian food, Italy, Italy travel, Music and Markets, Positano, Ravello, Villa Cimbrone
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you! How about an unforgettable holiday with us at New Years’ Jazz in Italy?
What do we love about the Amalfi Coast? Well, there are the VIEWS – always astounding, always drawing oohs and aahs, whether we’re relaxing by the pool at our favorite Capri hotel, 
approaching iconic Positano from the water, 
gazing up at the majestic Duomo of Amalfi, 
posing before the Faraglioni rocks of Capri, 
watching Vesuvius fade into the distance
as we speed across the bay, pulling into Capri’s colorful Marina Grande before spiraling high above to Anacapri, 
or enjoying the vista from the Belvedere of Infinity in Ravello. 
We’ve taken in these views for nearly twenty years, and they still make us gasp anew each time!
Then there’s the food….a fritto misto fresh from the surrounding waters,
a caprese salad created on the island for which it’s named,
pizza in the land of its birth, 
a lemon granita (a slushy) from our favorite cart up the hill in Positano,
fresh fish from the sea below us in Ravello, 
and that marvelous lemon-tinged lunch we learned how to make with our guests at Villa Maria Agriturismo, 
under the lemon groves above Minori, before enjoying it with yet another fabulous view.
We also love the history that surrounds us – that 13th century Moorish style cloister 
and loggia of the Duomo in Amalfi,
the peaceful Villa San Michele, 
constructed in Anacapri for a Swedish doctor at the turn of the 19th century, incorporating relics from the ruins of a villa of Emperor Tiberius on which it was built,
the gardens and cloister of Villa Cimbrone, 
dating from the 11th century, and the mysterious 13th century passageways in Atrani and Amalfi, 
even more enticing after dark.
Is it any surprise that we chose this fabulous part of Italy to premier our Wonder Tours last spring?!
We’ll be back in April 2020 – why not join us and experience these wonders for yourself?
by Anne | Sep 19, 2015 | Amalfi Coast, Anacapri, Capri, Italian food, Italy, Italy travel, Villa San Michele
Monday, July 20, 2015
Amalfi, Italy
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
How about celebrating Mozart in the matchless city of Bath, England in November?
We’ll speed on the sea to Capri, but first we have to get to Amalfi from Maiori..along the barely-wide-enough-for-2-little-cars Amalfi Coast Highway…will these buses make it by each other? Not without a LOT of manoeuvring! 
I continue to be in awe of these patient and skillful drivers – I can’t imagine driving a car on this road (although Kirk does it expertly), much less a huge BUS!
The sea is wide open – no challenge to avoid other boats here – and soon Capri comes into view. See that dot of white about a third of the way down the ridge? 
That’s our destination – who knows what it is?!
We quickly load into a taxi and head up the rock from Marina Grande, 
and soon we’re walking the peaceful paths of Villa San Michele in Anacapri,
Dr. Axel Munthe’s exquisite house and gardens built over the ruins of a Roman emperor’s palace in the early 1900s. We love how he incorporated Roman relics discovered during construction – a marble face here, a bit of a pillar there…
Through the shaded gardens, 
we stroll to that white spot we saw from the sea on our approach…
our group has expanded a bit, with the addition of two of the marvelous musicians of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, 
pianist Boaz Sharon and flutist Nancy Stagnitta, who’s taking the photo.
And there, far below is where we sailed in, with this red granite sphinx gazing down on us – we could see the white building, but not this red speck from so far away. Olga and her daughter have been relaxing on the rooftop cafe, and we join them there 
before browsing the shops on the way back to Anacapri’s main square, 
then making our way
to lunch at Il Solitario. 
Sharing a toast, we all agree that a Caprese Salad tastes best in Capri, 
and imagine the fishermen catching our lunch early this morning. 
The only way to get from the marina, and Capritown, to Anacapri until 1874 when a road was built, was a still-usable stairway zigzagged into the cliff. The ride down, along the side of Monte Solaro, is as scary as that staircase! 
Anacapri is the quieter, less-glitzy town on the island, Capritown is the one FILLED with high-end shops
– including a grand total of FIVE Ferragamos! 
But as you know from our stay here earlier in July, the entire island is filled with beauty – keep looking around and up as you shop and stroll!
A quick funicular descent, 
and we’re back on the boat towards the mainland – arrivederci, Capri! 
Oh how much beauty that rock hides in its crevices! 
Soon we’re pulling into Amalfi, 
and we meet again for a final dinner in Maiori. 
Chatting with Edith, the charming mother of Leslie, the festival director, we’re the last to leave…and tomorrow we’ll say goodbye to this gorgeous coast and head for Tuscany!
gazing up at the majestic Duomo of Amalfi, 
posing before the Faraglioni rocks of Capri, 
watching Vesuvius fade into the distance
as we speed across the bay, pulling into Capri’s colorful Marina Grande before spiraling high above to Anacapri, 
or enjoying the vista from the Belvedere of Infinity in Ravello. 
We’ve taken in these views for nearly twenty years, and they still make us gasp anew each time!
a caprese salad created on the island for which it’s named,
a lemon granita (a slushy) from our favorite cart up the hill in Positano,
and that marvelous lemon-tinged lunch we learned how to make with our guests at Villa Maria Agriturismo, 
under the lemon groves above Minori, before enjoying it with yet another fabulous view.
and loggia of the Duomo in Amalfi,
the peaceful Villa San Michele, 
constructed in Anacapri for a Swedish doctor at the turn of the 19th century, incorporating relics from the ruins of a villa of Emperor Tiberius on which it was built,
dating from the 11th century, and the mysterious 13th century passageways in Atrani and Amalfi, 
even more enticing after dark.
The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we're interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We've visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and in the the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with you.