The Amalfi coast

One of the great things about the Amalfi coast (aside from the stunning views and beautiful beaches) is the culture of pastry; the history of the different delicious desserts from each town was amazing (and tasted pretty fantastic too!) Minori was our first stop, it was a cute town but it was mainly because of the bakery we had heard of there. Not only did they have delicious focaccia, but we also gorged ourselves on three different desserts! I felt extremely full but rather happy afterwards.

Although we saw many beautiful towns and views on the twisting roads on the cliff side, I simply sat back and enjoyed them therefore my next photos are from our stop in the town of Amalfi. It was a surprisingly small town for the fact that the entire coast is named after it, and I was sad to learn that although it had once been a maritime power and center of trade, in 1343 half of the town and its people sunk into the sea without warning when hit by an earthquake. 

However one of the surviving squares was dominated by the Duomo and retained its beauty of old, Saint Andrews Cathedral was built in the 11th century and was stunning to behold. 

After a lovely dessert from a bakery on the corner of the square (the candied chocolate orange slices were divine) we headed along the coast towards Sorrento until we were unexpectedly stopped in a traffic jam as above us a forest fire raged. We passed a burned out car and I wondered if it was the cause of the fire or simply a victim of it. 

Because of the traffic slowing us down we ended up deciding to stay in Sorrento, once named Surrentum by the Romans. Funnily enough we camped in the very same camping ground that I had stayed in when I first made my trip to Italy with my best friend. It was an odd feeling being back in the same place but having done so much since. We even wandered back to the very same quiet garden I had stumbled across with friend Shyla before.

I posed in the gardens to capture the same shot as last time, although here my legs look strangely more tanned than the rest of me (how does that happen?)

One of the most stand-out and unexpected things we saw here was the Valley of the Mills. Until I saw it I had no idea what to expect, but when I finally laid eyes on it, it was to realize I had seen it before, many times in fact! If you have every visited the website Pinterest and looked at ruins or abandoned buildings, this is one of the most popular photos you will see. And to think it was only a few steps from the main roads of Sorrento! These buildings once milled all the flour of the region taking advantage of a natural stream that ran through the valley, however this work was eventually shifted to nearby pasta mills and eventually these buildings were closed and left to be reclaimed by nature. 

Sorrento will always hold a special place in my heart (and not just because it was supposedly founded by Ulysses and Circe's son!) it is a place where every-time you turn the corner you discover something new, the food can be to die for (a restaurant of all things Bufala mozzarella, heaven!) and if you like limoncello it's produced here! There's something special about walking down that hill from the campsite towards the town, the lights and sounds of the harbor on one side, a tall cliff face with a small grotto carved into it on the other, illuminating a statue of Mary looking dolefully down at us.