Expedition Edition 6: Turin and Amalfi Coast, Italy
Maggie and I continued our trip by spending six days in the north and south of Italy (and nothing in between). To give an idea of what our Italy travels looked like, I’ve included an easy to follow map in this post. We first spent two nights in Turin (or Torino if you’re familiar with Italian or the 2006 Winter Olympics) on some advice that it was a pleasant place to be in, and that it was nearly equidistant between Paris (our previous stop) and Sorrento (our future stop). Turin is a fantastic city. Some highlights include the unexpectedly great Cinema Museum, an expansive indoor/outdoor market in Piazza della Repubblica, and the fact that drinks almost always came with a full pizza and focaccia, which puts Turin at the top of the Italian city generosity power rankings. I could have spent more time there, but alas, the Amalfi Coast was calling. We took a six-hour train ride and a 45-minute boat ride to reach Sorrento, which served as our home base for four nights while we explored the region. Sorrento was bonkers touristy, but it was even more beautiful and walkable than I expected it to be. Maggie picked a really good AirBnB in Sorrento (she’s picked all of the accommodations on this trip by the way, and picked some major winners) that had a great view of the bay and the Sorrento cliff side. We traveled along the Amalfi Coast via the nausea express bus to the cliffier town of Positano for our first full day in the area. We would have visited more towns along the coast, but as soon as we got to the beach, we had the sudden urge to just stay there and read and drink. Side note: I just finished the book I Will Find You by Detective Lt. Joe Kenda. Book review: it’s almost exactly what you’d expect it to be based on his persona in the Investigation Discovery show, “Homicide Hunter.” It’s solid, but could probably use a little more insight into his life and how he likes working on the show. I’d give it a B+. Anyway, back to Italy. We also visited the island of Capri, which qualifies as posh as shit, but was also really pretty. We hiked around the east side of the island to check out the Arco Naturale and I Faraglioni (neat rocks), and then got back on a boat to have more beach time in Positano. While on that boat ride, we came to the realization that my debit card had been fraudulently used to rack up thousands of dollars worth of expenses in one day. The shopping spree included $800 at the Nike Store and $30 at McDonald’s (how do you spend $30 at McDonald’s?). Other than spending some time on the phone with Chase’s Fraud Department, it wasn’t that big of a deal and we’ll get that money back, but it would be nice to channel my inner Joe Kenda and find the person. We also visited Pompeii (Maggie’s favorite) for the second time in two years. Maggie likes it because she thinks it’s funny to run around shouting, “it’s erupting again!” while throwing hot coffee on unsuspecting tourists. I think it’s weird, but pretty funny too. Maybe that’s why our marriage works so well. I’m giving Italy a solid A. It’s legit impossible to have a bad meal, even in tourist traps, and that’s all I ask out of a country, so it definitely moves to the top of my list. Our next stop is a country neither one of us has been to before: Croatia!
Check out the photos below and thanks for reading!
