Amalfi Coast (Day 7 & 8) on Tour
With a renewed since of appreciation for our driver, we left Matera behind and headed to an organic water buffalo farm where we go to see them make mozzarella, pet the buffalo (if you wanted), watch them milk themselves and visit their massage stations…and then we sat down for a lunch of many forms of mozzarella including gelato! So fun and in a lovely picnic area of the farm.
Back on the coach we headed to Paestum, home of the best preserved Greek temples in the world. There are actually three and while you can’t walk through them, you can get pretty close. They date from about 500 BC and are amazing well preserved. There are also city walls and an amphitheater and other structures that we spent some time wandering about. They are massive!
After walking off our lunch, we hopped on the coach for a bit and then went aboard and boat for our trip to Maoiri, a small town on the famous Amalfi Coast. Once again our luggage was playing Tetris as we left Salerno for our new stop.
After checking in we had a brief walk about town so we would have an idea of how to spend our day off- tomorrow is a “free” day on the tour. As there were no formal plans, most of us ended up eating at the same place (Casa Ferraiuolo), which was delicious.
After a lovely breakfast at the hotel a few of us headed to the “path of the lemons” which connects Maiori with Minori on the coast and takes you up several hundred stairs and feet as you pass groves of lemons and jaw dropping views of the town, rooftops and the coastline below. Worth it, but take water if it is warm. It is not really difficult, but there are lots of stairs so take your time and enjoy the views. And the views are worth all of the steps, I promise.
Once in Minori we stopped for a refreshment and took the road back to Maiori and then walked all the way to the Norman watchtower at the far end of town…and back just in time for lunch on the beach.
Once in Minori we stopped for a refreshment and took the road back to Maiori and then walked all the way to the Norman watchtower at the far end of town…and back just in time for lunch on the beach.
We walked just as much on our free day as we did the rest of the trip. Some people went to Positano, Ravello or Amalfi and enjoyed that too.
Savvy Travel Tip: do a little research of what might interest you, especially if you have a free day on your tour. We did not want to go on another boat ride or take the ferry, so were content to explore the small town on foot.
Savvy Travel Tip: do a little research of what might interest you, especially if you have a free day on your tour. We did not want to go on another boat ride or take the ferry, so were content to explore the small town on foot.