Coast Dresses

Most visitors to explore the beautiful Amalfi coast, just south of Naples, stopping at two big diamonds, Positano and Amalfi and walk right through the city jewel of Praiano, half way between Positano and Amalfi.

What a mistake! Why not stay in the beautiful Praiano as I did? It is smaller, less crowded and feels less touristy than its famous neighbors.

What I wanted to hike in September channels mountainside between Positano and Amalfi (another story for another time) so chose Praiano as a good in between. Three days full of holiday fun!

My single room in Hotel Perla on the edge of Praiano open to a sunny balcony with beautiful views of the coastline of the dry, brown and green steep mountains falling to the deep blue sea. Perched high above the Amalfi coast road the hotel is quiet, but you walk a few paces from the bus stop to Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi or Salerno.

I enjoyed a good breakfast buffet on the terrace overlooking the sea and convenient Internet service in the lobby. Hotel La Perla, perlahotel.it Phone: 089-874246. Double rooms range from 100-150 euros.

Best of all, a staircase a few feet along the main road from the Hotel Perla takes you down from a Saracen tower to a great restaurant on the sea that doubles point range during the day.

The restaurant Paradies is located on a terrace on the rocks beside the water is if you look along the shore, the boats come and go look at and admire the twinkling lights on the sea as night falls. I liked it so much I went twice!

The fish soup was full of shrimp, mussels, squid, octopus and clams in a delicious tomato broth. The roasted peppers with capers and black olives with good quality olive oil were excellent. The outgoing owner gave me good advice on what wine to order by the glass. I spent about 27 Euros.

My third day back lots of sightseeing, I strolled down the stairs even find a bed for sun lazing on the sea for a couple of hours and find the owner of the restaurant. When I asked him how the sun bed hire, with a big smile, he said: "For you, it's free! He knows how to make people special! Terrazze Paradies in Praiano, Via Terramare 6. Phone: 089-874534.

A two minute walk along the road of the Amalfi Coast Hotel Perla takes you to a small sandy beach. You can also take a water taxi from here to Positano where you take the boat to Capri or along the coast.

Westfall for about 20 minutes on the sea view, beautiful back roads of the hotel houses, gardens, schools, shops and hotels which takes you to the center of Praiano. To get there by bus you can take the cheaper, local orange buses or the more expensive, crowded Amalfi Coast SITA buses.

For local bus tickets from orange to a euro, you pay the driver directly. For SITA buses, you buy your tickets first places designated as some cafes. Tickets good tourist along the coast are 5 Euros for a period of 24 hours.

A SITA SITA bus driver told me not to sell foreign notes 1 Euro premises unless they can prove they are local residents. A small thing, but it left a bad taste into my mouth.

In downtown Praiano I descended into the large main square dominated by the brilliant, white San Gennaro church with its striking dome of white, blue and yellow tiles of the tower with a roof of yellow tiles and green.

Inside the church I have a very pleasant surprise, a beautiful baroque interior in yellow, green and white. On the site I looked over the sea along the coast of Positano. What a beautiful sight!

I followed the steps below the church in the streets too narrow for cars homes passed, gardens and patios with tomatoes to dry at the beach a series of patios on the rocks with a view o.