The World's Most Beautiful Stairmaster!

Suffice it to say, when you stay in an area with geography like there is here on the Amalfi Coast with villages tumbling down from the hillsides to the sea, you get nowhere unless you are prepared to walk up and down stairs - lots of them!  Just leaving our apartment, we have 32 steep stairs to go up to reach the pedestrian alleyway which leads up to the road.  The pedestrian alleyway doesn't have stairs but it does have a fairly steep slope for part of it.  Once on the road, it is downhill to the main highway but that does mean going up on our way home.  My calves and thighs are sore but I know this is good for me!  

Today we went to Positano and, if you know how that village is situated, you already know it meant hiking up and down lots of stairs and steep alleyways.  Of course, the effort is worth it.  You are rewarded with the winding alleys and little squares that are the essence of Positano although it could possibly be argued that linen shops are its true core.  We took the bus here - another harrowing experience because the bus is always crowded and there are nearly no rails or handles for standing passengers to hold onto.  Lots of fun!

View of Positano close to the bus stop -
so we walked from here down to the water

One of the many linen shops

 
 So, we wandered down, down, down stopping in the various ceramic and linen shops.  There was certainly lots to see, not to mention buy.  My big purchase was a 20 Euro bracelet and, given that I already wear a watch on one arm and two bracelets on the other, I'm not exactly sure in hindsight where I am going to put it.  My partner in crime had much more success and we won't talk about her purchases, suffice it to say "linen".  Anyway, we meandered all the way down to the beach where we found a seaside restaurant (La Pergola) where we had lunch. 

La Pergola Restaurant on the beach

Nawal's Octopus Salad

Then it was back up the stairs but, I have to confess, not all the way.  We opted for the little local bus that runs between Praiano and Positano so we only had to go up about half the way.  Of course, we did still have that hill to climb up back in Praiano so no guilt here!  At the entrance to Praiano from the Positano direction, there is a statue we noticed when we first arrived.  It is called "The Conversation" and the sculptor dedicated it to his mother.  We both thought it was charming.

.