Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Amalfi or else

Driving from Sicily up to Rome, we toured the rugged Amalfi coast. We stopped at the town of Amalfi when Alexander declared that he would throw up if we took him around one more curve.

The city of Amalfi is an old fishing village built up a steep ravine, on top of a buried river that you hear rushing under your feet as you climb through town. The town has two stoplights, one at either end of the ravine. They regulate the traffic on the narrow street by sending it in one direction for five minutes then reversing the flow for five minutes.

The only flat place in town is a small square near the marina, which is where all the local kids go to play at night. Austen tried out his soccer skills with the local kids while we talked to their parents and the rest of the town did laps promenading along the marina.