
D+E Travel: Praiano
Story by Dana & Eddy Ymeri
Where could we go in Italy that was more beautiful than Sorrento? Easy, the Amalfi Coast. We made plans to stay in the small town of Praiano. Less chic than Positano but more centrally located than Ravello, Praiano was the most economic way to see this magnificent part of Italy.
We weren’t prepared for the incline that this town was built on, so we were taken by surprise when we rounded the cliffs of the Amalfi coast via bus. As the bus driver navigated the narrow path along the steep coast, I had to be conscientious not to dig my fingernails into Eddy’s arm. It was beautifully scenic and terrifying at the same time. The bus had absolutely no seats left on it by the time we were let off in Praiano.





After climbing many sets of steep stone steps we arrived at our apartment and were greeted by our “Nona” and her grandson. She made the most delicious lemon ice cream from her lemon trees in the front yard garden. What a treat after sweating bullets on the 2 hour bus ride and military march straight up to the apartment. Our view from the quaint porch was spectacular, but our wifi was not.





We enjoyed the small town of Praiano, especially because we were able to easily get to other towns. One highlight of the trip was the day we took a water taxi from the pebble beach of Praiano over to Positano and enjoyed the view of the coast by boat: worth every Euro and then some. When we arrived we felt the drastic difference between Praiano and this bustling, popular vacation destination. Like most of southern Italy, it was lined with lemon trees and purple bougainvillea flowers.


We strolled up and down the shopping streets, wandered around modern art galleries and ended up at a bar called Franco’s. We hadn’t planned on staying for 3 rounds of drinks while still in our bathing suits, but we weren’t ready to give up our unobstructed view of the absolute most perfect Positano sunset. Our walks to the ocean were decorated with adorable ceramic signs and knickknacks guiding us in the right direction. I loved these ceramics and they made me think about my love for making pottery. The path down to the water and back up was so steep that we learned the locals use mules to carry heavy loads on their backs just for that reason.










Eddy and I decided to take a day trip to the town of Amalfi. Eddy was most interested in the 13th century paper mill that had an attached museum which was actually quite interesting. On the tour Eddy volunteered to demonstrate the process of making paper using a screen the way in which it was done hundreds of years ago as well as how to watermark the paper. Eddy has a passion for paper and he truly enjoyed this tour. After the museum we roamed around and found our way to a standing room only pizza shop and then a decadent chocolate and pastry shop called Andrea Pansa. No better way to end our afternoon in Amalfi than with a cafe and dessert.





The Amalfi Coast is one of the most scenic areas in Italy, and maybe even the world. Staying in Praiano made this part of our adventure not only affordable, but unforgettable.
Ciao,
D+E
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#travelymeri

