Two Days in Positano

This year I crossed a major item off my bucket list: a trip to Italy. The boyfriend, KB, and I spent two weeks living la dolce vita…except touring Italy was actually incredibly tiring! After floating on the canals of Venice, tromping through the cobblestone alleys of Florence, and sweating it out in the Roman heat, it was time to relax. We chose to spend our last few days in Italy soaking up the sun along the Amalfi Coast in the gorgeous little town of Positano.

We travelled from Rome to Positano on the Marozzi bus that operates between the two cities during the summer months. In the spirit of transparency, booking our Marozzi tickets was a painful process as their site is 1) confusing and 2) entirely in Italian. I basically typed the entire site into Google Translate and we showed up at the bus depot only like 50% confident we had actual tickets.

I have to admit I was downright worried about this bus ride because I had heard some horror stories about the winding roads and I don’t have the strongest of stomachs. Flying in the face of my fear, our bus ride was by far the most pleasant travel experience through Italy we had! The Marozzi had large seats, air conditioning…and was empty. Meaning KB and I had an entire tour bus to ourselves. Talk about luxury. And the view we got as we rounded the corners along the coast? Unforgettable. We only had two days in Positano, so we made sure to make our very first stop the beautiful beach down below…

 

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The beach at Positano is a standard Italian beach – think less sand, more pebbles. There are gorgeous brightly colored umbrellas dotting the beach and families sunbathing and swimming in the sea. KB and I strolled through the umbrellas, but our villa had a gorgeous pool (a rarity in this little town!) so we didn’t lounge at the beach ourselves. There’s a path right along the beach and during our stay it was sprawled with artists and their artwork. We even caught some of them mid-painting as they looked up to the town on the cliffs above for inspiration. If one thing stands out the most about the Amalfi Coast it’s the colors. Everything was so colorful from the crystal clear blue of the water to the pop colors of the artist’s paint. I’m just a girl from San Francisco who lives in the fog – the level of color in Positano is downright stunning.

Fair warning before you jet off to Positano – this town is a work out! Because the town is perched on the cliffs, stairs are an unavoidable fact of life. As we climbed the stairs from the beach up towards our villa we explored the various shops we found along the way. KB collects shot glasses from each city we visit and he found the most beautiful ceramic shot glasses in some little pottery shops!

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The view of Positano only gets better as you climb up the cliffs. We had to stop for a few breathers on our way up and were happy to do so while soaking in the gorgeous view.

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We booked our hotels in a package through Route Perfect (more to come on that process later…) and ended up selecting a boutique hotel: a small little villa called Villa Fiorentino. The stairs up to the Villa, like the rest of the town, were incredibly tiring. As soon as we reached the little lobby at the top the Fiorentino family were throwing their hands up in the air, apologizing that a porter did not help us up the stairs while simultaneously grabbing our bags and ferociously pouring us glasses of water. From the first moment we arrived we were treated like family! Which apparently is exactly how this little villa is owned and operated – Dr. Fiorentino was the first doctor to settle in Positano and the land has belonged to the Fiorentino family ever since.

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To say Villa Fiorentino is stunning is an understatement. The Villa is perched high up on the cliffs and the walk up the many stairs is worth it for that unforgettable view. The pool and bar area are at the very top of the villa (more stairs) meaning that you can swim, eat, and drink while taking in the town. During our trip to Mexico I developed an affinity for the chocolatey drink “Dirty Monkey,” which of course is not on any Italian drink menu. Was that enough to stop the Fiorentino staff from making me my favorite drink? Nope. One of the staff members actually looked up the recipe, went on the hunt for fresh bananas, and whipped me up his own version of my beloved “Dirty Monkey.” I am so spoiled.

KB and I were addicted to the Villa Fiorentino rooftop swimming pool. I’ve literally never stayed at such a gorgeous hotel. We admittedly may have missed out on some beach time, but with a beautiful pool like this we had zero regrets.

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KB is much more of a swimmer than I am, but I was able to get in some reading time while soaking in some sun (and views) on the lounge chairs next to the pool. The villa is small and thus we actually had the pool entirely to ourselves for the two whole days we stayed there! So basically we had a private rooftop pool. Again, I am so spoiled. The villa is small but with the property entirely built on a cliff, I will admit it was sometimes just a little hard to find a staff member when you needed one. You could absolutely go down to the little lobby at the bottom if you needed help, but when you’re just a greedy blonde like myself in search of more “Dirty Monkeys,” the walk down was not worth the reward. We enjoyed the privacy we had up at the pool and the staff was more than attentive and helpful when they did come up to check on us.

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On our last day at the villa I got to talking with one of the Fiorentino family members. He told me about all the amazing things the Fiorentino family has planned for the villa – cooking classes and massages will apparently be available starting in 2016! He also let me tour the honeymoon suite which has it’s own private patio and hot tub. Talk about dreamy. Top all this off with the painting of Positano were were gifted at check out (hand painted by a family member) and it’s pretty clear to me I’ll never stay at another hotel in Positano.

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I’ve been to a lot of countries and seen a lot of towns, but Positano has hands down been my favorite city I’ve seen so far. I love the colors, I love the kindness of the people, and now I love the daydreams of Positano that get me through a work week.

Have you ever visited Positano? What’s your favorite city you’ve seen on your travels?

xoxo Blonde