Honeymoon -- Day 7 -- Positano (Evening)

When we left Montepulciano and set off toward Positano, we had this ambitious plan to get to Pompeii before the last guests were allowed in at 6, but traffic in Naples and some rain delayed us.

Mt. Vesuvius

We got to Pompeii at 5:50 but couldn't find the entrance/parking and then got all turned around because of a lot of one-way and dead-end roads, which was pretty frustrating since we actually had made it on time. We could see glimpses of the ruins from outside. We decided it just wasn't meant to be (and maybe we'd go back the next day, which we never did) and continued on our way.

We (and when I say we, I mean Jeff) drove the windy, narrow road to Positano in the dark and the rain. As we were driving along, we heard a beep and Jeff asked what it was. I calmly replied it was the gas light. We were not far from the hotel according to the GPS on the phone, but then all of a sudden it reset and said we were 37 kilometers away. And then we both momentarily freaked out. (In hindsight, I think we passed the hotel but didn't realize it in the dark.) I ran into some convenience stores and tried my best to ask where the nearest gas station was and understand the directions in my very limited Italian. We found a gas station just in the nick of time and found the hotel shortly after.

When we finally arrived at the Hotel Eden Roc, we were tired, it was pitch black outside, and it was still raining. Jeff ran in to check us in while I sat in the car. He returned moments later with two men with umbrellas, and they grabbed our stuff and helped us inside and then parked our car for us. We were escorted to our room, and as we were settling in, they brought us two glasses of Prosecco. All was right again.

Ordinarily, I would have liked to venture out for dinner, but since it was so late and we knew it would be hard to find somewhere in the dark and rain, we stayed at the hotel and had dinner there at Adamo ed Eva Restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with wine bottles and has an atmosphere similar to a wine cellar, but I thought it was just a little stuffy too. I felt like most of the restaurants we'd gone to so far were much more low-key.

We figured we'd stick with the Prosecco and ordered a bottle. Dining in the hotel has its advantages; we could take the remains of our bottle back to our room.

Our waiter wheeled out a cart full of fish and showed us the catches of the day. It looked good, and I went with a local rockfish served with paccheri -- a large, wide noodle reminiscent of ziti. It had a lovely fresh tomato sauce. (Our waiter informed us that the chef has his own garden and incorporates the garden-fresh veggies in many of the dishes.) The fish was very light and mild.

Jeff decided to get the veal Milanese, a lightly breaded veal cutlet.

Neither of us realized it came with French fries, which was fine, but when our waiter saw that we were surprised, he offered to bring us out a plate of grilled veggies. I was all over those. There was grilled pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions. I thought the grilled pumpkin was so interesting.

All in all, we enjoyed our dinner and it was nice to just walk upstairs when we were done eating.

Next up: Day 8 -- Positano (Morning/Afternoon)