Ciao from the Positano Princess

OK this is getting ridiculous. I can't keep saying that each place just gets better and better but I'm sorry, I have to, as it's true! My sister, Robin, calls Positano 'The Italian Jewel'! I can't agree more. I'm selling the house in Tuscany and I'm buying a villa here. Do they have capital gains tax in Italy? Hell, who cares? I'm on a rock platform, carved out of the cliff bottom. It's covered in sun loungers and umbrellas. We travelled here by boat from Positano, free of charge as we are kidnapped, of course we pay for the sunloungers and drinks and food, we are a captive bottomless purse! I've moved out of the sun to the sail covered area to write my blog. Music is playing, I'm drinking a beer, the people beside me are eating their divine smelling pizza, the waiters are keeping everyone happy, the kids are jumping off the rock into the sea. Can life get any better? Going by my adventures so far, I have to say yes! What will it be? During this entire trip I have only one negative to report so far! And you will never guess but it is Capri! the Blue Grotto was closed due to bad water. I wanted to see Villa Jovis, where Tiberius ruled his empire from (and where people who were out of favour with him were thrown 354m from the cliff to the sea, nice chap really!). After climbing 2.2km up steps to Capri Town we then found out at we had to walk another hour to get to the villa. It was way too hot to attempt that! And there was no other way to get there. What's wrong with this place? They don't tell you until you have spent €35 and an hour to get to the island that the Grotto is closed, and that you have to walk miles to see anything! AND there aren't even beaches to appease us. Having said all this, I had a great day as I was with Warren, Deb and Ali. How can I NOT have a great day? My friend Ali, has joined us here from England. Yep, she is still the crazy gutsy girl I remember and love. I haven't seen her since 1991! We have had such a lot to talk about. It's so funny how the years just melt away. The friendship and love is just the same. Thank God for Facebook which has allowed me to find some long lost friends. Warren drove us from Piegaro, Umbria to Positano. He did so well! The Italian drivers are scary to say the least! Zip in and out (on the wrong side of the road of course!) at a minimum of 20kms over the speed limit while they talk with their hands and text at the same time!! Deb and I were navigators, with written instructions from the Satnav that Julie and I had hired for our car in Umbria. Everything perfect until we somehow ended up in Salerno, south of Naples! We had completely gone miles past our off ramp. Someone had removed the sign for the turnoff to Sorrento!! We had to turn around and get ourselves back onto the autostrada. In Salerno, we stopped at a service station to ask directions. The man tried to explain but he just didn't have enough Inglese to explain it clearly. A man in the car that the petrol man was filling ( they still have personal service here, magic!) said he would show us, and that we were to follow him. How kind people are!! My sisters gave me €300 to spend on my trip for my birthday. I finally found something to spend it on this morning on the way down to the beach and boat to come here. Amazingly, we took a different path down and came across a gorgeous jewellery shop. I spent my birthday money on a ring, large, bold and definitely a statement!! Thank you my lovely sisters! Funny how fate steps in. 2 of my sisters and brother came to Positano last year and loved it, which gave me the idea to come here. How appropriate that I find something here to buy. Now whenever I wear the ring I will say, my sisters bought this for me in Positano, and I will have all the memories to go with it!! Positano is built into a steep cliff. The winding roads terrify me and I have to cover my eyes whenever we travel the roads. It's not as steep as I imagined it was going to be from our villa, a good thing my imagination runs away, our villa is about 12- 15 minutes walk from the beach so not too bad and going back up we can shop which gives our lungs and legs a bit of a rest. The beach is stones and pebbles so not very 'nice' by Australian standards. Maybe this difference makes it special though? The water is very clear and warm, a joy to swim in. It's 4.08pm, time I had lunch, load pics on here, another beer and swim before we head back to town by boat. Hope all is well with you all. Arrivederci xx