Our one and only day at sea! I was actually excited to have a lazy day enjoying the ship and the sun. I was also looking forward to attending a cooking class at the Bon Appetit Cooking Center on the ship. The cooking center was set up for hands on cooking. We each had our own cooking station, with our own cook tops. Over two hours, we made homemade pasta, mushroom risotto, eggplant rollatini, sauce and tiramisu. (The guys kept sneaking into the class from the pool to steal bites. The food was crazy good.) The cooking class was definitely a highlight for me and has inspired me to try and make fresh pasta as soon as possible. (I also snagged a souvenir of the cutest little apron ever. Makes me feel like a real chef!)
By mutual agreement, the guys had agreed to set up shop to reserve our preferred loungers by the pool so that when our class ended we could soak up the sun for the rest of the day. The guys alternated between sunning with us, to engaging in contests of skill at the putting course or visiting the gym and spa facilities. (Chris was a huge fan of the sauna. I think he wanted to take it home with him.)
The weather was perfect. Sunny and warm. It was wonderful to have a day just to relax, to read and nap by the pool in the sun. We all knew that the next few days were going to be fairly busy with sightseeing, so it was a nice break. It also helped that we kept sneaking down (ahem) some adult beverages to the pool. Instead of paying for drinks (alcohol costs extra), we kept filling up water bottles with various liquor and adding them to our smoothies (oh yum!), ice teas and lemonades. (Yes, all class, all the time people.) Our water bottle system worked great right up until Christine confused her bottle of, well, water, with the bottle or raspberry vodka. That was a nice surprise for her.
We woke the next day in Sicily, Italy. While I had done some reading on Sicily, I had no expectations other than to taste both pizza and cannoli. I think that was true of almost all of our group and because of that, Sicily was a great surprise for us. We really loved it. We opted to spend the day in the hillside town of Taormina. The drive up to Taormina was straight up a cliff on a road that looked like it should be only one way, but instead barely offered enough room for two cars to squeeze by each other without running each other off the road. And of course, our taxi driver took the cliff side drive at about 80 miles an hour, screeching around turns until we were all convinced we were going to die. (Okay, okay, maybe I was convinced we were going to die. Chris might have loved it.)
From the cliffs of Taormina, you could see both the volcano on the horizon and the beautiful sea below. The streets were cobble stoned and lined with shops or apartments with balconies overflowing with flowers. It is a beautiful town. The guys entertained themselves by hunting down an Italian barber shop and getting old school shaves. (I felt like we were in a scene from the Godfather watching Chris in the barber chair.)
We enjoyed unbelievable cannolis (oh the goodness) and had the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. Crazy good pizza. Fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, wood-fired, oh so good. My mouth waters at just the thought of it.
From Sicily, we were off to the Amalfi Coast of Italy!
Amalfi was one of the stops I was most looking forward to seeing on our trip. I have always wanted to see it and honestly, could not believe it was truly happening. Chris and I were astounded by the views in the morning as we walked to breakfast. The towns built into the cliffs just didn't seem real. We opted to delay breakfast and visit the coffee bar on the ship to enjoy an espresso together while we took on the view from a balcony. It was a moment for me.
We tendered into Amalfi, but we had decided to head straight for Positano, a hillside resort town down the coast. There are two ways to get to Amalfi - a drive that takes over an hour on a seaside highway on death defying cliffs or a twenty minute boat ride along the coast. We opted for the boat ride and selected seats on top of the boat.
The next twenty minutes were frankly, unbelievable. It was the most picturesque twenty minutes of my life. We took a ton of pictures of the ride, but even the pictures do not do it justice.
We pulled into Positano and I was in love. This seaside village stole my heart from my very first glance at it. It was beautiful. I loved the color of the cottages and houses built up the mountainside, the cobblestone steps and walkways, the flowers exploding from balconies. Love.
We walked up steps upon steps, upon steps, through narrow cobblestone passageways to reach the top of the town. After our climb, we decided we needed a short break and opted to stop at a cliff side cafe for coffee. Chris and I each ordered an iced coffee while we admired the view from the cliffs. Our coffee was served to us in a martini glass, garnished with chocolate covered espresso beans. Oh, icy coffee goodness. It was heaven in a cup. After seeing our drinks and hearing our blissful ohs and ahs after our first sip, the rest of our group quickly put in orders for more martini coffees. It was the best coffee I have ever had in my life.
We spent the rest of the day exploring Positano, shopping, eating and walking. The guys fell in love with a shop full of men's clothes and quickly took over the place, trying on clothes here, there and everywhere. (PJ even got a little naked in the middle of the shop, trying on a million and one shirts.) It turned out the shopkeeper helping the guys was also the designer of the clothes. (He referred to himself as the Armani of Positano. Heh.) Matching shirts in a rainbow of colors were purchased by one and all. (And a few pairs of matching shoes.) I never imagined a world where the men outshopped the women, but on this trip, it was definitely the men who get their shop on. Even Chris who is so NOT a shopper, got into the fun. (I, however, realized I am so not a shopper. I get too overwhelmed by the multitude of choices and come away with nothing. I am not an impulse buyer. Almost two weeks of vacation and I bought a scarf and some Christmas ornaments.)
The shopping habits of our crew became quite the conversation. We all knew PJ could shop, and shop he did, but none of us realized he may have met his match in Justine. Bets were quickly made as to who would outshop the other throughout the trip, PJ or Justine. Judging by the number of shopping bags making it back to the ship, it may have been a draw.
After a lovely day in Positano and lunch in a restaurant overlooking the beach, we hopped back onto the boat to Amalfi. The ride was just as beautiful going back as it was coming there. I admit I cried a few tears of happiness for such an amazing day, but I also quietly vowed that Chris and I would be back to visit Positano someday soon.
We landed in Amalfi with plenty of time before the last tender, so we opted to explore Amalfi for a few hours. Amalfi was more crowded than Positano, and it was surreal to see cars attempting to drive through narrow cobblestone streets crowded with tourists.
While Chris and I were walking through the streets, an old Italian woman caught my eye and smiled at me. I smiled back and in broken English she called to me, "Oh, you are such a beautiful woman! Such beautiful."
I stammered a thank you to her for her kindness. She smiled again, waved her hands and said, "Oh, but I bet you hear all about that all the time."
I laughed and told her I didn't. And then, of course, I cried. Chris laughed at my tears, grabbed my hands, kissed me and told me the woman was only speaking the truth. So, I cried some more, at the kindness of strangers and the sweetness of my loving husband. Vacation is good.
We made it back to the tender with a few minutes to spare. The sea had gotten a bit rough while we had been sightseeing and the tender boat ride back to the ship was a bit of an adventure. Waves were so high, they crashed into the boat and got everyone wet. The tender went up and down with such force, I was convinced we were catching air. (I also thought both Christine and Danielle were going to be sick. I think they both turned green!)
That evening we met on deck next to the pool, to enjoy the sunset, wine and appetizers. It was a beautiful night. Our group scattered after drinks and we opted to get dinner with part of the group at the ship's steakhouse The Polo Grille. It was another incredible meal while at sea.
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