February 2015

For Thursday, May 15th, we're going to take the train from Venice to Florence, and make a day out of it, staying overnight and departing the next morning for points south. We're not big on Renaissance art, so we're skipping the museums during this trip.

The train from Venice to Florence is, as usual, a breeze...I really enjoy using the Italian train system for transportation. We've booked a room at the Hotel Laurus Al Duomo, and it's really very nice and centrally located. Here's the view from our room:

After a light snack, we head over toward the Duomo complex. Our plan is to climb both the dome and the bell tower. To do so, you first need to stop at the ticket office, on the south side of plaza, opposite the Baptistry. The ticket is now a combined fare for all of the Duomo complex.

The Baptistry itself is currently undergoing exterior renovations, and is covered with canvas.

We do, however, get to see the replica of the "Gates of Heaven":

First up, the climb to the cupola of the Duomo. Brunelleschi's dome is an engineering marvel, and architects are still trying to figure out how he managed to accomplish the construction of this vast dome without the use of timber forms or concrete. This journey is foot powered, all the way. Your first ascent is through spiral stairs ascending through the transept of the church.

Eventually, you reach the base of the dome itself, where you have an incredible view of the fresco. You're also surrounded by a plexiglass wall, which inhibits photography somewhat.

The next phase is a circular climb between the inner and outer shell of the dome. It's dark and crowded, and you often have to squeeze over to make room for groups of people descending, but eventually, you reach the hatch to the cupola, and rewarding views.

After a while, we squeeze back down through the hatch, and navigate the stairs back to ground level. So, what to do after you've seen an engineering marvel from the inside? Hey, let's climb a bell tower!

The Campanile has four platforms, so you have an opportunity for breaks and views at each level.

The views aren't much different as those you can get from the cupola, but you have the added bonus of seeing the dome from the outside. If tight, enclosed spaced bother you, I definitely recommend the Campanile as an alternative to the Cupola.

Weak-kneed from our back-to-back climbs, we wander around Florence for a bit, catching some of the iconic views.

We decide to have dinner at Trattoria San Lorenzo. Normally, I would expect a restaurant in such close proximity to a major tourist site to be mediocre, but this was an unexpectedly nice meal. We both chose Papardelle pasta with Cinghiale, a broad ribbon pasta with a wild boar sauce (our first time eating boar). Delicious! Intense pork flavor with the al dente pasta was a great combination, and worked well with the house red.

In the morning, we'll be taking the long commute on a fast train south to Salerno.

Thursday morning, we get ready to depart the Hotel Laurus Al Duomo in Florence, but not before stopping at the rooftop restaurant for breakfast. The hotel provides a rather nice buffet with a definite European slant. One of the items on the buffet is a wonderful cheese, very similar to the type we've enjoyed on our many lunchtime panini. I'm curious about what type of cheese it is, so that I can attempt to find it in the USA, so I stop by the prep area and ask one of the servers. She obligingly shows me the wheel it was cut from, and explains that it really doesn't have a name...it's just their "local cheese". As we learn through the rest of our trip, that's pretty typical. Each area we stay in has it's own local cheese...the only cheeses that have names seem to be those (gasp!) imported from other areas.

After breakfast, we gather are belongings and make the short trip uphill to the train station at Santa Maria Novello. We've prebooked our tickets for the fast train to Rome, where we'll switch over to the Frecciargento to Salerno. As we reach Naples and Vesuvius, heavy clouds have moved in, and it's beginning to rain.

From the train station in Salerno, it's an easy 10 minute walk down to the harbor and our boat to Amalfi. We're thankful once again that we've learned the art of minimal packing...we each carry a 17" suitcase and a small backpack, making travel incredibly easy. Our boat is about half full, so we head up to the upper deck, but the drizzle is persistent, and we ultimately seek shelter below. The trip from Salerno to Amalfi is pretty, even in the rain.

We're renting an apartment in Amalfi, so we're met at the dock by a rental agent from TechnoCasa to escort us to the apartment. We've rented this through FlipKey, and we're very satisfied with the experience. The apartment, Dolce Vita A, is perched at the south end of Amalfi beach, up a flight of about 70 steps. It has two long but narrow balconies overlooking the beach, and the views just speak for themselves. We couldn't be happier.

Just imagine waking to that view each morning! The only minor drawback is that directly below is the busy coastal highway, which means there is constant noise from motorcycles, cars, and buses until about 11pm each evening, but balanced against the beautiful views (and the opportunity to watch locals celebrate a birthday party on the beach), it's no problem for us at all.

Each morning we are there, a different small cruise ship is anchored offshore, using tenders to bring cruisers to Amalfi.

Tonight, we enjoy the ambiance of the town, and admit we've fallen in love with it already. While it's busy with day tourists, in the evening things quiet down, and you get a real sense of the place. Tomorrow, we'll start walking the trails through the hills of the coast. Stay tuned for breathtaking views and hair-raising stories!

We spend Saturday relaxing and visiting the town of Amalfi, familiarizing ourselves with the alleyways and the ebb and flow of daily life. We're finding this town to be utterly charming. During the day, the town is flooded with an influx of day-trippers, but most of them only stop for a short while to visit the Duomo or the seafront, perhaps stopping at one of the tourist restaurants on the square. Then, they move in a rush to see Positano or Ravello. In the evening, though, the town is mostly locals, gathering in the Piazza and going about their business.

We find a wonderful restaurant, La Taverna di Masaniello, run by Andrea and his brother Pietro. It's a small place, with a few outside tables, tucked away in the corner of the Piazza dei Dogi. There are much showier places right outside their door, but they are the real deal. Delicious food, simply and wonderfully prepared with fresh ingredients. When the present you with a plate, the pride that they have in the food they have prepared for you is evident. We felt like family and ate there frequently.

On Sunday, it's time to go adventuring again. Mrs. Zukini's knees have recovered from all the stair climbing in Florence, so we decide to head off on a hike through the Valle dei Mulini (The Valley of the Mills), named for the three ruined paper mills that once operated there. This trip starts from the far end of Amalfi town, and winds its way gradually up through the valley, eventually bringing us to the town of Pontone, high above. From Pontone, we'll take a side trip to the ruins of Torre dello Ziro, then head back down via the long stairways to Amalfi.

For the most part, the photos and captions will speak for themselves.

As we wind our way through the valley, we are seldom far from the sound of rushing water from the stream. Periodically, we get glimpses of the many cascades and waterfalls, and the icy cold, crystal clear mountain water.

As we reach this point, noon arrives, and we hear the Sunday church bells from Amalfi come drifting up through the valley.

We break for lunch at the Blu Bar in Pontone, where we get a great Neapolitan style pizza and icy cold glasses of fresh-squeezed lemonade. Fueled up with carbs, we'll be off on the side branch to Torre dello Ziro shortly.

.

After lunch in Pontone, we continue or hike on the spur that leads to the ruins of the ancient watchtower of Torre dello Ziro, perched on a promontory high above Amalfi and Atrani.

The ruins are built on several terraces on the promontory of Monte Aureo. We start by climbing up the the highest level at the summit of the mountain. We're treated to expansive views of Ravello, on the other side of the valley.

Below us to the south is the town of Atrani.

The tower itself is supposedly haunted and avoided by locals, with a story about a madwoman ("La Pazza") who was once imprisoned here. That doesn't seem to deter the young lovers we find stretched out on blankets behind a grassy hill.

At this point, we realize we missed one of the terraces...the one that gives the best view of the tower. We decide to backtrack back up Monte Aureo.

The climb back up is worth it...once we reach the column, we have a spectacular view of the ruins below us, with the town of Atrani to the left and Amalfi to the right.

From here, we hike back to Pontone, and the stairs down to Amalfi.

.

Monday, it's a little chilly and overcast. The weather forecast is for rain, so, while we would like to head up to the Sentiero degli Dei, we decide to wait a day for better weather, and stick around Amalfi. We spend most of our day just strolling around, and decide to walk along the seafront from the north side of Amalfi down to Atrani.

The day is mostly overcast and drizzly, so we're glad we didn't make the hike to the Path of the Gods today.

.