Villa Scarpariello - Bella

I don't know what I was thinking - renting a car in Rome.  The gentleman at the rental agency was helpful as far as his limited English allowed.  I had to walk up and down the street in front of the train station a couple of times before I figured out where the car was parked.  I followed his directions to get out of the city and was fairly successful but my blood pressure was pretty high by the time I got onto the autostrade.  From there it was almost smooth sailing, only one wrong turn and a heated discussion with a toll booth operator (we were struggling to understand one another) but I made it to Amalfi in one piece.

Villa Scarpariello, my home for the next week, is so beautiful.  When I walked into my small apartment I couldn't believe my good fortune.  The apartment seems built into a cliff right above the sea.  I could fish from my bedroom window if I had some line and a hook.  There are two bedrooms, a bath, small kitchen (I can't figure out how to light the stove) and a balcony.  The Mediterranean sparkles with the sun, the grounds are filled with lemon and pomegranate trees, the walls are covered in blue morning glory, hibiscus and bougainvillea, there are marigolds, geraniums and many others.

I went to sleep listening to the waves and enjoying a light breeze.  When I woke Sunday morning I could look out my window from my bed at the sunrise and see bright pink clouds against a beautiful blue sky.  Breakfast was served on a lovely terrace, a nice pot of hot chocolate (cioccolato), croissant, and a tall glass of orange juice.  A perfect start to a perfect day in an almost perfect place (traffic and tourists are definitely the curse of the Amalfi coast, but I have no room to talk since I qualify on both counts).