Positano

The kids left for school this morning, and we left for Positano. We thought of stopping off at Herculaneum (the archeological site) along the way, but decided against it. It was a beautiful day. We wanted to check in to our hotel, and enjoy lunch in Positano.  The strange thing is that while the sun shone for our entire drive, allowing for incredible visibility of the surrounding mountain peaks and stunning landscape, as soon as we rounded the corner to Positano, the sun hid behind the clouds. In fact, over the next several hours there would be intermittent rain.

As we drove through Positano, we tried remembering the town as it was during our honeymoon, almost 14 years ago. It turns out our hotel, Marincanto, was just down the road from Le Sirenuse. Not only does the Marincanto have a brand new infinity egde swimming pool, but stairs lead down to a private beach, something Le Sirenuse doesn’t have; all for 200 euros a night less.

Due to the topography, all of the hotels in Positano cascade down a cliff. We were pleased and surprised when we were escorted to a two-bedroom suite with an enormous terrace just above the water on the lowest level of the hotel. The terrace had an enormous wooden tub on it, along with a table and four chairs, and two chaise lounges. And, it was extremely private. We walked down the steps and along the beach to lunch at La Cambusa. It was just what we’d had in mind – fresh fish. We had a delicious Amberjack carpaccio to start. Then zuppa di cozze (mussels in tomato and garlic broth), and mixed grilled fish accompanied by a Falanghina wine.

It was time to relax. Josh took a nap and I took a bath. I had wanted to bathe out on the terrace but the tub was so big it was taking forever to fill up, so I settled for a bubble bath indoors. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. This time we took a passeggiata through town down to the port of Positano. We walked on a pathway above the water towards the the Spiagga del Fornillo until we came upon Il Guarracino. The restaurant, perched above the water, was in a lovely and very romantic setting. It was another delicious meal in an absolutely incredible locale.

We had an apertivo of prosecco, and still almost finished a bottle of Fiano di Avellino between us. Again, the fish was fresh and tasty, but the highlight tonight was the torta di limone. It was nice to have a bit of a walk back to our hotel in the moonlight.