Our third day took us on some unexpected turns. We had hoped to spend the last day of our vacation in the coast’s namesake town of Amalfi, but because of the aforementioned awful transportation (the buses were so crowded they didn’t even stop), we ended up exploring Praiano. And mayhem ensued. Though our last day in the Amalfi Coast didn’t go as planned, it still offered sun, pasta, and adventure. Isn’t that all one could ask for from a trip to Italy? In case you missed my first two posts on my trip, catch up here!
We chose Praiano for its handy location between big shot Amalfi Coast towns, plus we weren’t about to ball out on a Positano hotel with our college student budgets. Either way, the under-the-radar coastal spot is Vogue-approved and proved to be a pretty perfect place to hide away for the weekend.
Our Airbnb was just as bellisimo as the rest of the city, besides the disgustingly steep walk to the door (though I guess that comes with the territory). It boasted breathtaking views of the ocean and a sunny porch for sipping gas station Prosecco (again, student-friendly budget). In the picture below, you can see the entrance through the tunnel and a side view of the house.
We made our second attempt of the day to do some exploration, but this ended up being a bit of a wild goose chase. We had hoped to make our way down to Praiano’s famous One Fire Beach, but oh joy! It was closed due to unsafe weather conditions or man-eating flamingoes or something like that. No problem, we just walked back a few miles to our Airbnb. Did I mention the town is practically vertical? The day of stairs kicked our asses, but at least we worked off all the pasta.
Though we did a lot of unintended walking this day, we did cover most of Praiano’s top sights (like the Parrocchia di San Gennaro), and even snuck in some pretty magnificent views. All for free! We concluded our little workout with lunch on the porch of Ristorante La Dolce Vista, which meant more pasta and more heavenly views of Positano in the distance.
Of course, since shit hit the fan all morning, we shouldn’t have been surprised when the metaphoric shit kept flying in the evening. We had been pumped for a cooking class we’d found through Airbnb Experiences, which was going to be making pizzas in an Italian woman’s heritage farmhouse, using her wood-fired oven and fresh ingredients from her garden. But for some reason, Italy did not want us to cook homemade pizza; we had too many difficulties getting to the farmhouse to make it on time.
Fear not, there’s an argento lining! Since we were out on dinner plans, we decided to make our way to La Costa Diva for our final meal of the trip. We’d seen its quilt of string lights from the road the previous two nights, and saw this as our opportunity to treat ourselves. Plus, it gave me a chance to dress up and show off my new purse and earrings from Positano shopping.
Boy, oh boy, can someone say bella freakin’ notte? The restaurant felt like a charming vineyard nestled into the side of the mountain. We dined on fresh fish and a few too many carbs, all under a roof of twisting lemon vines. I adore cliches.
Oh, Praiano. Sweet, sweet Praiano. Though not all travel goes perfectly, I wouldn’t have traded our last day of adventure for anything… though I could have done without the sunburn souvenirs. Arrivederci, Italy! I wasn’t too happy to return to the equally fascinating world of 9 am classes, but stepping on Berlin’s clockwork public transportation made me feel right at home again.
SHOP THE DAY LOOK
Dress: Faithfull the Brand (similar pattern, similar cut)| Sneakers: Adidas | Earrings: Free People (similar) | Sunglasses: Fake Ray Bans from China
SHOP THE NIGHT LOOK
Top: J.Crew (similar)| Skirt: Madewell (similar)| Sneakers: Adidas | Purse: Antica Sartoria | Earrings: Antica Sartoria
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