Ravello and Amalfi Trip.

Went to Ravello and Amalfi for a wedding at the end of September.

Pics:

imgur.com/a/pfTdg/layout/grid

Naples Airport:

This is the easiest airport I've been to. There's no passport control because you can only arrive from another European country. From the plane exit terminal to the airport exit is only about 500 feet.

Check-in was similar. 5 min wait time to drop baggage, 4-5 mins to get through screening.

But because there's no passport control, that means no passport stamp.

Arrival:

After not being able to board multiple shuttles to take me to the train station, because the lines were too long, I decided to take a cab instead. I needed to get to Ravello from Naples by 5:30, and there wouldn't be enough time anymore to keep waiting.

I got in a cab, and asked about the fares. He showed me a laminated sheet with some rates and explained there were some fixed charges if he had to go on the highway, and for other reasons. I agreed to what he said.

Along the way, I noticed few traffic lights. The curved roads also had mirrors on poles so you could see cars approaching from around the curve. There were a lot of these.

I don't think I had seen these elsewhere.

The cab driver played a music playlist varying from Deep Purple's "Highway Star" to Frank Sinatra's "My Way". He seemed to have a lot of live versions on his playlist.

When I arrived, it was time to pay. He had mentioned something about charging me for the return before we left. I thought he was referring to the fixed fees. But he had instead meant the whole fare rate.

He had made it seem that going to Ravello was going to be a remote area. But when I got there, I saw an area with a lot of other cab drivers waiting. So it wasn't that remote.

I had gotten ripped off by that driver. Next time, I need to make sure I understand exactly how I'll be charged, and I need to point to the meter for an example. And if I hear something about charging me for the return, I need to evacuate the cab.

Ravello, Amalfi:

Once I arrived, I understood why this destination was chosen. It was beautiful. You could see the mountains, and the coast, at the same time.

It was funny that trash bags were tied to a pole outside the Air BnB.

I never use a suitcase lock, but this time I did. Unfortunately, the combination wasn't working anymore. I had tested it before I left. But now I couldn't open the lock.

With only about 50 minutes before I had to leave for the pre-wedding day toast and dinner, I had to get this open. This was a formal event. I couldn't show up in casual clothes and then explain to everyone why I was dressed like that. That would be too distracting.

I went into town and found a hardware store. I explained I needed something to break a suitcase lock. But I didn't have the suitcase with me, as I didn't have time to be slowed down by carrying a suitcase up the hills of Ravello. He understood English reasonably well.

He suggested a vice grip. I bought it and ran down the hills to the Air Bnb.

The lock broke easily. Yes! No more locks in the future.

For the dinner, I had pre-ordered a caprese salad, even though I don't like raw tomatoes too much. This was good.

The next day, in the morning, the roommates from the Air BnB and I went to Amalfi before the wedding.

One can either take the winding roads, or take the segmented stairs path down the hills. We took the latter option. For about the next 75 mins, we went down stairs until we reached the town portion of Amalfi.

Most of the stairs were actually well-maintained. There some areas though where the stairs were rough, and there wasn't a railing or wall.

Amalfi is a coastal town. The water was clear. It was a little cold, but something I could get used to after a few mins.

For lunch, I had a pizza. It tasted similar to pizza I could find at Italian style pizzerias in the US. But, I had never seen pizza with tuna on it before, so I got that one. I liked it.

Pizzerias in Italy are as frequent as coffee shops in the US.

Then, it was back to Ravello for the ceremony and reception. The wedding location was beautiful, as it was just on the edge of a mountain, overlooking the coast.

The next day, after brunch, my friend took a few of us back to the hotel where the wedding was held. He told us what guest names to use to gain access to the area.

The hotel had an infinity pool. I had heard of one before, because I heard MLB pitcher Barry Zito had one. But I had never seen one. The pool overlooked the mountains and the coast.

It looked better than anything I could have imagined.

We spent a great hour by the pool before some of us had to leave for the Naples airport from Ravello.

This was the best vacation I'd had in over 2 years since New Orleans. After that one, other vacations always had something I wish had been different/better, or something weird.

But this was perfect.