'When the American writer John Steinbeck first saw the Amalfi coast, he was moved to uncontrollable weeping. He was not the first - nor will he be the last - to succumb to the emotional impact of the potent beauty found here.' So reads my Guide Book which I took with me on holiday to Amalfi in Italy for the last two weeks and how well it fits the description. What can I add?
Except to say that I have now travelled on the most incredible bus journey of my life. One day, catching the local 'SITA' bus outside our hotel with a 'Unico Costiera' ticket at the cost of 6Euros, we travelled all the way along the coast from Amalfi to Sorrento and back. A truly rollercoaster ride, zigzagging around the mountains' hairpin bends with sheer jaw-dropping cliff edges and a view of the whole bay of Salerno one side and changing to a view of the Bay of Naples with Versuvius in the background on the other. The highway is so old that it is 'listed' and no alterations can be made to it. There is a weight limit and the buses are the largest vehicles which can travel along it - anyone meeting them has to negotiate with skill - though scraped cars were a plenty! The small towns on the way were built right up to the road edge - so walking the road is as dangerous as driving it, though you can sample a taste of it through this You Tube link. The journey into Oxford will never be the same again!
But now it is time to catch up, as usual, on everything that has been happening whilst I have been away. The weather has been pretty grim here, so I am pleased to have not grumbled about the searing heat but was thankful for my sunhat! I am now ready again to continue to keep you posted.
Except to say that I have now travelled on the most incredible bus journey of my life. One day, catching the local 'SITA' bus outside our hotel with a 'Unico Costiera' ticket at the cost of 6Euros, we travelled all the way along the coast from Amalfi to Sorrento and back. A truly rollercoaster ride, zigzagging around the mountains' hairpin bends with sheer jaw-dropping cliff edges and a view of the whole bay of Salerno one side and changing to a view of the Bay of Naples with Versuvius in the background on the other. The highway is so old that it is 'listed' and no alterations can be made to it. There is a weight limit and the buses are the largest vehicles which can travel along it - anyone meeting them has to negotiate with skill - though scraped cars were a plenty! The small towns on the way were built right up to the road edge - so walking the road is as dangerous as driving it, though you can sample a taste of it through this You Tube link. The journey into Oxford will never be the same again!
But now it is time to catch up, as usual, on everything that has been happening whilst I have been away. The weather has been pretty grim here, so I am pleased to have not grumbled about the searing heat but was thankful for my sunhat! I am now ready again to continue to keep you posted.
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