Our AirBnb was situated in Atrani, and was located at the top of a small mountain. We had to climb a beautiful 5 flight staircase if we wanted to go to our room. There was a rooftop that was accessible for people to sit on with a gorgeous view. The apartment itself was adorable and had air conditioning (super important). Atrani is the smallest community in all of Italy. Everyone who lives there is extremely family oriented and everyone knows their neighbors. The majority of the inhabitants also smoke, giving the air in the town the faint smell of tobacco. The homes in Atrani (and in any of the small towns that dot the Amalfi Coast) are organized around a central square where the majority of the restaurants are. Cobblestone roads spread out from the central square like spokes on a wagon wheel. Thin alleys connect the roads and allow access to the homes.
Day two in Amalfi was dedicated towards relaxing and exploring. We slept in until 10am and ventured down to the main square for breakfast. Breakfast consisted of a pastry and a hot beverage. We finished eating and made our way to the main road connecting the towns. The town of Amalfi is a short 5-10 minute walk on the main road. Now… the main road connecting the towns (as described before) is a thin, winding, paved road perched on the edge of a cliff. There is not enough room for two cars next to each other much less a walkway for pedestrians. Walking to Amalfi along the main road gets the adrenaline pumping! The majority of the cars swerve to avoid hitting you, or if there is oncoming traffic, must wait until the coast is clear.
Thank goodness the walk was short! We made it to Amalfi around 11:30am and began to explore the beauty of the city. Amalfi is the most commercial and touristy of the towns in the Amalfi coast. During the day, vendors line the colorful streets, and tourists are everywhere. You can spot tourists pretty easily (us included!). All of the clothes in the shop are bright, patterned, or beach-y giving the whole town a relaxed feeling despite the crowd. Bryn, Sena, and I spent the majority of the day bopping into shops and trying various gelato! All three of us ended up buying some form of clothing that was more italian looking, so we wouldn’t look like such Americans.
We left Amalfi around 4pm and went back to the apartment to change into beach gear. The beach in Atrani is small, and perfect for relaxing! We spent the next two hours swimming in the beautiful blue waters and laying in the sun. After all of us were a nice golden/bronze (minus Bryn haha) we changed again, took a short nap at the apartment, then made our way to dinner. We all ate a glorious amount of pasta throughout this trip. Gnocchi, linguine, spaghetti, ravioli, penne….. we gorged on every type you can name. Every meal we got also came with a liter of wine.
After dinner Sena went back to the AirBnb to go to sleep, while Bryn and I went back to Amalfi to explore and take pictures. The skyline of the city is gorgeous at night. All of the houses, hotels, shops, etc. are lit up with a dreamy golden color. The streets are illuminated with a similar soft golden glow. We bought more gelato and ate it while walking along the pier. It was a spectacular lady date. If anyone reading this is trying to propose to someone I would highly recommend doing so in Amalfi. Sadly Bryn and I did not have a ring š
After our romantic walk we went back to the Airbnb and went to sleep.
Side story: In Italy it is completely normal to drink from the fountains. People use the fountains to fill up their water bottles, and we maintained our hydration by drinking from the fountains! Here is a picture of Sena drinking from one of the fountains:
