Amalfi . . .

Amalfi, Amalfi, Amalfi . . . what a wondrous sight to behold.



The architecture . . .



everything about it. PERFECT!

We are not a herd animals by nature, so we only booked two tour excursions. We prefer to get lost without any one's help . . . considering we are so good at it. . . . I did, however, sign us up for a tour of the Emerald Grotto . . . I wanted to see the grotto and the descriptive blurb raved about the boat ride down the coast.

The coast . . . OH MY GOSH . . . it is spectacular. The photos do NOT do it justice. We boarded the little excursion boat while our fearless tour director explained history, vegetation, zoning ordinances . . . he covered everything. So there I was bobbing away in the boat trying to assimilate the beauty while snapping away like THE most obnoxious tourist ever. I couldn't click fast enough to catch this . . .



and this . . .



and this little untouched beauty . . .



and this . . .



and finally this . . . it was tough going through 206 shots . . .



until we finally came to the Grotto. What can I say???? The famed or should I say infamous grotto was just . . . . I am speechless. Our captain docked our boat and we were ushered into dingys to make the trip through the grotto. Trip is sort of a vague word since the grotto is about the size of a large living room. Our "gondolier" was more interested in reminding us to tip him and singing his rendition of O Solo Mio then anything else. The name Emerald Grotto comes from one section where the light from outside is visible under water. On the other side, there is a structure under water that resembles the Virgin Mary if you squint and cock your head 7 degrees to the left. To accentuate their point, they sunk a toy baby Jesus down next to it. Now a statue of Jesus I could see but the Cupie Doll version they chose was definitely sad. Very, very sad.

Although this is certainly a stinker of a shot, it does show the best parts.



Would I visit the grotto again. Nope. Would I take that ride down the coast. Absolutely. Tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next . . .