Amalfi, Italy
I read about Agricola Fore Porta a restaurant on a family farm in Amalfi, so I decided to go there for lunch. From Rome. Amalfi is more than 200 km from Rome, but the hi-speed train to Salerno (240 km/hr) and a ferry ride made it a reasonable day trip.
The farm and restaurant was up a hill that was only accessible by a stone path. Google maps said .8 miles uphill from the ferry. Yeah, that was the paved road, not the 300+ steps after the road ends. It was an unseasonably hot 85 degrees that day, plus it was crowed because it was a national holiday- April 25, when the Allied forces drove Mussolini out of Italy.
The uphill path had acres and acres of lemon groves alongside it. The smell was incredible. A frozen lemonade with limoncello was not to ne missed.
Because the place was small, I shared a table with Janet and Jeff from Brighton, England who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We talked about the idiocy of Brexit, the lack of local news coverage in their country and in mine, then went our separate ways. It is customary for strangers to share tables in Italy. As a solo traveler, I welcome the custom because it gives me a chance to connect with people.
It had been my intention to take the ferry from Amalfi to Positano further down the coast, because the movie Under the Tuscan Sun had romanticized the place for me and many women I know. But I was just too tired to make the trip. I hadn't[t counted on the 300 steps and lounging around at the restaurant, so with a bit of regret I took the ferry back to Salerno and then the train to Rome. I arrived about 10 pm, and being tired I almost fell for a classic scam of being offered a ride by a non-registered taxi and then getting charged an outrageous price. Although I took a registered taxi, it was still very pricey to get back to the convent, so I'm not sure I avoided a scam after all.
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