2016 ITALY Positano 55 - Sleeping in Positano

Coming out of the mountains it was lovely to see the blue sea again. Mike imagined us with a rent-a-Vespa winding our way down this coast road...me on the back hugging him (for dear life)...wind in our hair...smiles on our faces. Oh, so romantically Italian!

This was coming round a bend and our first view of Positano.

Our hotel was about half way down the hill in the middle of town.

We arrived about 18:30. Our hotel was Villa delle Palme with hosts Giuliana and Manuela (on left with a guest). Their grandpapa had purchased this property from the Mayor of Positano years ago.

So not sure if you remember the blog entry sometime back about visiting Cantoro Italian Market near Ann Arbor, Michigan. There we met and chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Cantoro. They had just returned from a trip to Italy and they had stayed at this very hotel. What a small world!

Anyway when we checked in we told Manuela this story and, yes, she surely knew the lovely couple and said they stayed a number of times. That was enough of a recommendation for us. Chef John did good once again!

The main building of the hotel had a lobby and small cafe. Everyone except us had a room in the that building. We were in the building next door. Seemed like a secret hide away. Balconies are above the arches.

Here was our lobby. Notice the books on the shelf. From the landing to the next floor books rested on both sides of each step. Lots on history and architecture, but other topics, too. You were free to read them while you visited. And there were binoculars to borrow. Oh...no bellhop. We had to lug our own bags. Glad I had big strong Mike to help me.

The hallway floor was like nothing we had seen before. It was a huge glass covered "tray," like you see in some coffee tables to show-off mementos. This had a sand bottom displaying treasures from the past--coins and things found during excavation to expand the hotel. A little freaky to walk over, but WOW!

This was the view when we opened our room door. Soft music wafted in from the cafe below.

It was the simplest of rooms we had stayed in on either Italy trip, but we loved it. Seemed like the type of place where a typical Italian couple would stay on vacation. There was a live orchid on the corner table.

Nice beachy bathroom with fish decor and a porthole. Big shower with lots of water pressure. This was the only hotel that supplied wash clothes.

Our porthole to the sea. Well, you had to be in the shower to see the sea. 

We had a LITTLE outdoor patio (maybe 4x6 feet) with a BIG view.

Here's our view to the right.

To the left.

Down below. How handy is this little cafe? The source of the music. And we heard the church bells ring at 19:00.

We checked on Lynn and Sandy in the main building. They had an elegant room with a huge patio (the one on the website homepage).

Our groupies were on their balconies, too.

Heading back to our room we noticed this little cubby hole kitchen. Yes, it was unmanned and all kinds of booze was displayed on the back shelf. A little gate let us know it was off limits. Bummer. On the counter was an order form for breakfast to be delivered to our room the next morning. We left our order.
We had the evening free and John had mentioned there was a Fish Festival on the other side of town.

We took a quick walk, but in the long run decided to hunker down, catch up on some reading, just relax. Outside music played, streets bustled, fireworks flashed from the festival. How beautiful! This town and the situation was like being in a Fellini movie without the bizarre part.

We met our neighbors on their balcony next door. They were laughing and playing cards. A cute honeymoon couple from Australia. Young love. Romantique! We felt just as young...at heart, and in love.