napoli and amalfi coast - spring 2015

Italy!  I've had so much fun looking back over these photos from our trip to Naples + The Amalfi Coast in April.  Simone was three months old.  It was her first flight and first time meeting Marco's grandmother (Nonna) Silvia, Zia Connie and Uncle Bill, as well as cousin Luciana.

It had been a cold and rainy spring in England so of course it did us wonders when we landed in Naples and felt the warm sun on our faces.

We started our trip with a meal at Zia Connie and Uncle Bill's - a perfect pasta lunch, naturally.  We then walked off lunch with a walk along the promenade and beers at a cafe.  That evening we went to Nonna's and ordered in pizza.  What a perfect night with loved ones, red wine, and the REAL DEAL - Neapolitan pizza.

The next day we met Luciana downtown for some shopping at the market and then an aperitivo (Aperol spritzers) and a pizza lunch.  Luciana prepped us for our night out with her. She was taking us to this teeny tiny seafood/raw bar restaurant where she is friends with the owners.  This would be Marco and I's first night out without Simone!

We left Simone sleeping with babysitter Zia Connie and headed out for the night.  Luciana picked us up in her car and then navigated the crazy streets of Naples like a NASCAR driver - as all Neapolitan drivers do.  It's all amusing though slightly scary from the passenger seat.

We finally found parking and walked through the narrow cobble-stoned pedestrian streets to the restaurant - Pescheria Mattiucci.  What must be a 15-20 seat restaurant, everything on the menu for the night, all fresh seafood, was displayed along the long bar.  They whisked over cold, cold, crisp white wine and a plate of oysters while we watched them prepare the delicate dishes.  We shared plate after plate (I still think about that raw platter.) and chatted the night away with Luciana over good wine and amazing food.  Post dinner we roamed the downtown, window shopping the posh shops and finished the night over espressos.

The next day Marco and I spent the morning at the park which overlooks The Bay of Naples.  It was a clear day so we could see islands Capri and Ischia.  We shared crisps and a cold lager as we people watched.  

We had Sunday lunch at Nonna's and then called it an early night as we were driving to The Amalfi Coast the next day.

How lucky am I that I married into an Italian family, um, THE FOOD, but to get to visit them in the beautiful and mad city of Naples and then drive just over an hour to the Amalfi Coast.

I white knuckled it in our little FIAT 500 rental car as Marco drove the windy cliff-side roads along the coast to Positano, where we stayed.  The weekend ended cloudy but it was nice to enjoy a sleepy, springtime Positano.  The shops and bars were quiet.  We put Simone's toes in the sand for the first time.  We ate grilled octopus and escarole at a cafe on the beach.  We then ended the trip at a restaurant high up the hill - one of the best spaghetti vongole I've ever had.