"Limoncello? Ho, ho, my boy!"

Unfortunately, other than the pizza and nice bed and breakfast, there really wasn't much to do or see in Naples. It is crippled by crime and corruption, and a rather dirty place.

But. It is a great launching point for other adventures around the area. Our first adventure? The Amalfi Coast.

A quick train ride via the Circumvesuviano will deposit you in Sorrento, a place of excellent pasta, huge lemons, and all sorts of lemon products - including the infamous limoncello. This is a trip I highly recommend, and if I could do it again I would just skip staying in Naples and pay the extra Euro cent to stay somewhere on the Amalfi Coast. Before I go any further, the Amalfi Coast is a region in Southern Italy comprised of five towns, two of which we visited (Sorrento and Positano).

Since we didn't have much of a plan for Sorrento other than going and having a wonderful time, there were plenty of opportunities to wander and take some nice pictures. Here are a few:

From 1 Amalfi Coast

From 1 Amalfi Coast

From 1 Amalfi Coast

During our wandering, we enjoyed lunch at a nice little pasta place tucked in the wall of one of the many narrow streets. Nearby was another road that was home to all the limoncellerias. Limoncello is a thick liquor made from lemon zest, and it is...well, incredibly zesty. We all sampled a little bit of it (not too much, because it really didn't taste all that great) and along the way bumped into a group of old, British tourists. They found the idea of a street filled with people offering you free alcohol heavenly, and took full advantage. As we walked away, one of them explained "be careful or you'll have jelly legs like me!" as he struggled to stay standing. Noted.

An advantage to the Amalfi coast is that everything is relatively close by. For 5€ you can purchase a round trip bus ticket that will take you to the other towns, so we decided to go to Positano. The bus rise itself was harrowing: the bus driver whipped the tour bus around sharp curbs overlooking very steep cliffs on narrow roads, and I'm pretty sure he was well over the speed limit the entire time.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

From 1 Amalfi Coast

However, when we leveled out from our last major curb, the view that awaited us was well worth it.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

Positano is a little more off the beaten path, which means instead of an abundance of British travelers, you have American students and Navy personnel (from the nearby base). It is perched on the side of a hill and, accordingly, instead of sidewalks there are staircases. The staircases go up and down, side to side, and sometimes around things in no logical order. Clearly, the whimsical and laid back nature of the people who live there influenced their architecture. Positano is known more for its seafood, which I enjoyed for dinner, and its beautiful beach. The experience of walking through its winding roads and peaking in the little boutiques was well worth it. If you've got the time, I've heard taking the boat to Capri is worth it, and its already on my list of things to do when I come back someday. And yeah, you better believe I'm going to.

From 1 Amalfi Coast

From 1 Amalfi Coast

After another harrowing bus ride back to Sorrento and an hour long train ride back into Naples, it was time to call it a night. Operation Amalfi Coast: Successful.

Next Mission: Pompeii