On arrival I was met by the lovely Eduardo, who was my driver for the duration. When I arrived at the hotel, I went straight for dinner which included Antipasti, mozzarella, bread & fish - that was just the starter which as the trip went on I realised was a daily occurrence! This was then followed by a pasta dish and dessert. I thought I was going to lose weight on this walking experience..!
The following day after a continental breakfast, I travelled by mini bus to Ravello to visit Villa Cimbrone, which has one of the most beautiful gardens that are so well maintained. Here you will find gorgeous flowers as well as preserved statues throughout the gardens and stunning views across the Mediterranean Sea. Once I had finished a light lunch I started our first walk which would take me through the Valle Delle Ferriere Natural Reserve where I would finish up in Amalfi. The scenery had amazing views across the Amalfi Coast Line. As part of the days walking, I found myself walking through the forest area which has wonderful natural waterfalls and the Autumnal colours on the leaves were at their best.
On my third day I took part in a Pompeii tour, the group paid an extra 90 Euros to have a private guide, which is well worth every penny. Our tour guide Hector was excellent and was super active for an 80-year-old sprinting down the steps, he put my fitness to shame! He knew everything you needed to about Pompeii. The scale and size of Pompeii really surprised me, there is so much to see and take in. Hector really brought to life how Pompeii would have looked like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
It was then time again for more lovely food & a wine tasting experience. I arrived at Cantine Del Vesuvio which is situated at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius which has a lovely setting for our lunch accompanied by the wines which complemented the typical Italian food I had. I got to taste all the wine - Rose, White & Reds.
The next day I departed the Hotel Due Torri by foot to start the magnificent Walk of the Gods, this is a harder walk with the distance covering 13km. It has high inclines and deep declines on uneven ground. It was worth the hike up to see some of the most stunning views I have seen, and to top it off, the weather was amazing and I could see for miles out to the Mediterranean Sea and across to the island of Capri. The views were that clear, it was also lovely to see the traditional family farms, operating as they had done when the farms were first worked, and being passed down through the generations.
After lunch and a little rest, I then began the descent to Positano via the 1,500 steps (there is a bus for those who may struggle with the steps). I was glad when I took that last step in Positano which is just beautiful with lots of little alleyways, where you will find shops, bars & restaurants, very traditionally Italian. I would certainly go back to Positano for my own personal holiday.
On my last day I was due to go to Sorrento, but unfortunately the weather was so bad. Instead, I went to a Mozzarella Factory and saw how the cheese was made, all by hand by an individual man. I then went for a walk to Agerola for a coffee before going to lunch in the mountains at a place called Orrido Di Pino which was a lovely family run restaurant. I arrived at 12:30 and didn't leave till until 16:30 was a very leisurely lunch but needed to be as I have 4 massive courses to eat, I have never felt so full in my life! It was extremely scrumptious you can't beat homemade cooking!
I stayed at the lovely little Hotel Due Torri which is run by Nicola and his family. His brother Giovanni was the hotel chef also his daughter worked at check-in and at the bar. My room were allocated in the new area which has recently just been opened which had spacious balconies and under floor heating which I needed in November. The highlight of the room for me was the disco light in the shower which I was not expecting at all but was a great touch. The position of the hotel was prefect right in the centre, 5 minutes’ walk to the main square with shops, cafes & restaurants. All the staff at the hotel were so friendly and knew everyone by names couldn't of asked for a better place to stay.
