Italy Day 8

Today we were planning on going to Capri but Caroline was horrible last night. She didn't eat any dinner and was hungry, angry and inconsolable. Joel had to feed her puffs and apple sauce to calm her down. So instead of a longer, more expensive boat ride out to Capri, we opted to stay closer and go to Amalfi. The boat ride was about the same, 25 mins, but the trip to Amalfi was half the price so we could head back to the hotel easier and without guilt. But first, breakfast, which must be one of Bennett's favorite meals because he asks to eat at the hotel ALL THE TIME. But they literally only serve breakfast.

Then we were off to the pier.

True to their personalities Bennett was constantly saying, "I'm excited! I'm excited!"  Caroline was okay with the boat for about 5 minutes but there were pretty huge waves and the boat wa rocking heavily side to side. So then Caroline was saying, "No! No! Noooooo!!! NoNoNoNooooooooo!" for the rest of the ride. I mean, I felt pretty crappy too and I have a feeling she takes after me, so I wasn't too surprised.

Before long, we were there. We just picked a street and started walking. One of the first shops we passed was a fruit shop. I told Bennett if anything looked good, we could buy it. He immediately picked a peach. We walked a little further (we did zero research about Amalfi and didn't have a map) and came upon a big church, so we stopped to eat our fruit.

And take some pictures outside the church.

Then they did some dancing:

On the walk down the stairs, I was carrying Caroline. I'm not sure if I couldn't see where I was walking, if my sandals were slick, or the stairs were slippery but I fell pretty hard and scraped up my shins. I was really scared because we were pretty high up and the stone stairs were steep. I was worried we were going to tumble to the bottom so i was quite relieved I only fell down a step and Caroline wasn't injured... But it hurt pretty damn bad. Then we stopped for some gelato and did a little more walking. Caroline saw a cat on a balcony and was probably the happiest she's been this entire trip, except when we facetimed Isla and Luca. She was squealing and pointing at the cat. Joel and Bennett were a bit behind is so when they got close, she kept squealing to show them where it was. 

Then we passed by one of many curio shops. This one had toys outside so Bennett wanted to check it out. They had some bubble wands for 1.50 euro so we bought some for the kids. They were super happy. 

We started the slow walk back to the ferry. Caroline was getting crabby and Joel was worried about my injury, and decided we should head back for naps. On the way, Bennett wanted to take some pictures. So I posed for him:

Then Caroline posed with me:

Amalfi had what Joel and I have been on the hunt for in Positano: little shops that sell comes of fried calamari.

Bennett talking on the phone to Ellen. He literally had a five minute convo with her, telling her about the trip. 

Luckily for us Caroline had fallen asleep before we got on the ferry and slept the whole way back to Positano. 

We picked up a sandwich and some fruit when we got back to Positano and had a little picnic before heading back to the hotel for naps. Joel bought blueberries and bananas. I don't think I've seen the kids more grateful for food. I think we're all getting a little sick of pasta and pizza. 

After naps Bennett got the last kinder egg. He really loves them. 

Then we took a walk to a small beach near the pier. It was a little bit of a hike, down the 400+steps and then some more walking, but Bennett was full of energy.

We were hoping to eat there but there wasn't much for restaurants so we just had some drinks and fruit.

Aside from the kids having some applesauce packs, I'd say this is the most fruit we've eaten in a day since we arrived. Then we are the long trek back to find a restaurant for dinner.

We kept thinking we could find a restaurant and walked along the road towards the hotel. We passed many but none seemed quite right. Then the kids were melting down and we remembered we had the carrier with, so this time Bennett got to go in it. "I'm a backpack!" he exclaimed.

Joel was carrying both kids (his idea) and they started play fighting, which always turns into some getting hurt and screaming. Anyway we ended up walking past our hotel and eventually found a place. By this time any place would do but it was clearly meant to be. I mean, with a menu like this and a guy playing the guitar, who could resist?

The service was slower than slow (probably why they got the guitar guy) but the atmosphere was fantastic and the food was really great. The guitar guy was GOOD and charming. There were times the restaurant was singing with him. Everyone had a smile on his face, even the waitstaff would sing along. It was the perfect last dinner experience. We had zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, then deep friend. GOOD. Caroline was so hungry she even tried some and kept asking for more. 

Then unfortunate thing is, the kids WERE actually super good but the service was so slow that Caroline ate the entire bred basket before our meal arrived so when the meal came, she was done and wanted to run. Bennett managed to eat nearly an entire 1/2 portion of pasta thiugh, so that was pretty impressive. It was a lot of fun, and not as expensive as other places we'd eaten at. 

During our dinner, we kept hearing what sounded like cannons going off. We overhead one of the waiters telling another table that it was a celebration for Saint Antonio. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. As we were getting ready for bed, we heard more loud booms and ran onto the balcony. In the cliffs high above Positano, there were big fireworks. We had the perfect view of them. It was quite the spectacular way to end a pretty enjoyable evening. (And Caroline was scared of the fireworks, naturally)