Trekcapri's 2011 Amalfi Coast Adventures: The Dream lives on . . .

I haven't been back to Italy since 2007 when I visited Venice for two whole weeks. It's been great traveling to places I've never been to like Spain, Czech Republic, Belgium and Scotland and also re-discovering new and familiar places in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. But as the old saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder".   

For my 4th trip to Italy, I plan to try something a little new with something a little familiar. New will be to see the small and charming towns along the beautiful Amalfi Coast and familiar will be to revisit the island of Capri.

It took me a while to decide on actually going on this trip because I was not only waiting for a good airfare, but I was also waiting for my asthma to improve. Like clockwork I've been taking my daily meds but my recovery has been slow and I'm still not 100% fully recovered.  But how could I not travel this year?  I have been drawing great inspiration from fellow Slow Traveler and blogging friend, Sandra (A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with too much Luggage) who is about to fulfill her dream of moving to Rome to carve (and write) out an exciting new chapter in her life. I'm very excited for Sandra and I'm looking forward to reading about her awesome journey. It looks like I might even be lucky enough to meet her in Rome, which will be really cool.

As usual, I always draw travel inspiration from my fellow Slow Travelers. I am inspired by Sandra and her plans to move to Rome, by Kaydee who wrote a great trip report about her stay in Ravello with her family and by Mimi, who wrote a wonderful trip report about her experiences with friends basing in Priano and exploring around the Amalfi Coast. And it goes without saying that I am always inspired by Slow Travel Founder, Pauline Kenny, the Slow Travel Community and by all my blogging friends.

They say that great poets, song writers, novelists and even film makers are drawn to this part of Southern Italy in the Campania Region so why shouldn’t it also draw dreamers like myself as well. I've decided to base in the small town of Priano (Wikipedia) for the entire three weeks.  This is the longest I have stayed in one place and I'm really excited to try it for the first time.

I read an apartment review by fellow Slow Traveler, Mimi, describing this part of Southern Italy south of Sorrento as "old world." I love that description. Unlike my recent trip to the very vibrant cities of Amsterdam, and Berlin, there are no fancy modern museums, no art galleries, no super tall towers with precision elevators to lift us up for a spectacular view of the coast. No, not here. What I'm going to find and hopefully discover is an "Old World" charm that Mimi spoke of.

There's a paper mill museum, a miniature village display (YouTube Video) on the side of a winding road between Priano and Positano and there are hundreds of steps to climb up in order to earn my view.  Inspired by fellow Slow Traveler and blogging friend AnnieNC (Churches in Venice) I'm looking forward to visiting several of the beautiful small churches in the Amalfi Coast like the Church of San Luca Evangelico which features paintings by Giovanni Bernardo Lama (Wikipedia). For my dining pleasure there are small but charming places like nearby Vivaro Wine Bar (Official Website).

I plan on keeping my itinerary loose, simple and very slow. On my "must see" sightseeing list: Capri, Positano, Ravello, Paestum and as many of the small towns like Atrani, Scala, Minori as I can see. I will use public transportation (hoping not to get motion sickness on those Sita buses).

Although the apartment has a spectacular view, it does not have WiFi.  Several months ago I invested in a Novatel 2352 MiFi (Official Website) device and I plan to purchase a TIM SIM card in Rome so I can hopefully have a hot spot to connect to the web. If that doesn't work, I learned that there is a little bar nearby that has WiFi service for 20 Euros a week.  Let's see, pizza, prosecco and WiFi.  I know that WiFi isn't very "old world" of me, but I love writing live blogs on my trips and then reliving every special moment when I return home. :)

So there you have it.  I finally purchased my plane tickets, I've started working on my itinerary and I've dusted off my Italian Phrase book. Trekcapri's 2011 Amalfi Coast Adventures has officially begun.

And the Dream lives on . . .