The next leg of our trip brought us to the gorgeous town of Amalfi. As an aside, we actually took the city bus (the Sita!) from Maiori all throughout the Amalfi Coast. It costs a euro or two each way (depending on how far you’re going) and it honestly couldn’t have been simpler. The drive was slightly petrifying (note: two buses passing each other at virtually full speed with merely inches to spare and a 2′ high retaining wall separating you from a ginormous, rocky death? It’ll take a few minutes off your life for sure), however it’s unavoidable no matter which way you navigate the roads. Distract yourself with the glorious vistas an you’ll be good to go!

Though significantly more touristy than Maiori & Minori, Amalfi was everything I could have imagined and more. Incredibly picturesque with all the charm one would expect. We spent the entire day getting lost through back alleys, soaking up the ceiling fresco’s at the Cathedral and eating our weight in gelato (seriously though). Throughout our back alley travels, we stumbled upon the most adorable little restaurant. With no real plans, we decided to stay for a drink and a bite to eat. Unfortunately I couldn’t for the life of me tell you where we ended up (bad blogger!) but we both agree that our afternoon on the teeny patio was our favourite moment of the entire trip. We must have sat there for four hours drinking entirely too much mid-day wine with essentially the whole restaurant all to ourselves. Pure magic, really.

all images original to lark & linen

To be honest, at this point our trip feels like a momentary blip in time. It was beyond anything I could have anticipated, but it almost feels as if it never happened. Daily life has resumed in full force and our trip to Italy has since become a wonderful, yet distant, memory. So it feels especially nice to take the time to write everything out. To preserve it all, if you will.

We stayed in a tiny seaside town named Maiori, situated just a few kilometres east of Amalfi. To be fair, I wasn’t originally blown away by this little place. Having been basically destroyed during a flood in the 50′s and, as a result, since rebuilt, it was lacking that charm I had anticipated the weeks leading up to our trip. Over time, however, it grew on me in huge strides. It was calm, situated off the beaten path and had one of the most glorious, expansive, beaches out of all the places we visited throughout the week. It felt quaint and local and the more we explored the more we fell in love. Our hotel, though inexpensive (hello budget!) and nothing over-the top special, was clean, the staff were friendly and our oversized balcony had views of the glorious emerald coloured seas. We could hear the waves crashing as we drifted to sleep each evening.

Though we had one terrible food experience (my biggest pet peeve!!) on our very first evening (I found a chunk of a can in my pizza. A can!), we quickly learnt the ins and outs of where to frequent for true, local, italian eats. If you do find yourself in Maiori, I highly recommend Dedalo. The staff were crazy friendly, handmade pasta was abundant and the food was incredibly tasty. That being said, we collectively agreed that the best thing we ate the entire trip was also the simplest. It was something we stumbled upon during a moment of desperation while waiting for our bus. We rushed into a local butcher shop and asked him if he could whip us up some form of sandwich to take on the road. He quickly prepared a panini made up of fresh bread, layers of prosciutto sliced thinly before our eyes, and a generous, full-sized ball of buffalo mozerella. It was indescribable and it took all of our energy not to fight over the last bite.  We, of course, ingested a few more before weeks end.

Minori, a sweet tiny town situated just a 12 minute walk west of our hotel, became another spot in which we frequented regularly. Similar to Maiori, felt slightly more modern for the most part, yet had its own charm and personality. After visiting many of the more touristy spots, it was nice to head back to our little neck of the woods and socialize with the locals in these tiny, sleepy towns.

all images original to lark & linen

I’ve had one of those crazy productive weeks – you know the ones that, looking back, you aren’t sure how you managed to accomplish it all? I love when that happens – especially because it means that over the weekend I’m free to do nothing of major consequence with zero guilt. Things like barbecue hop and spend the majority of Sunday in my pj’s. Does that make me sound old? It’s quite possible but so be it! There isn’t much that beats a solid day of messy hair and no makeup.

Thanks again for all your sweet comments/emails/tweets and the like re: my Amalfi Coast pictures. I’ll be back next week with even more info about each and every place we visited so stay tuned!

Have a great weekend my dears, and in the meantime, here are a few links that I’ve been hoarding and really just need a place to share:

:: My biggest nightmare
:: Wonderful advice
:: Seriously considering this
:: There’s still time to make these for dad
:: The only Tumblr I scroll through (it makes me feel calm)
:: Totally over the top but I’m secretly loving it all
:: 50 rules for dads with daughters (grab the kleenex)
:: These gave me goosebumps
:: Sad cat diary (aka my new favourite series)
:: There’s a dog one too
:: My new summer drink

XO!

1. Source: Theo Boutique, Photographer: Aaron Delesie | 2. Source: Ruffled Blog, Florals: Saipua | 3. Source: 100 Layer Cake, Photographer: Lisa O’Dwyer | 4. Source: Rue Magazine