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Ciao Amalfi

FOOD & DRINK · July 26, 2020

Recipes from Expats in Positano

The joy that comes from cooking and sharing meals is a staple of Italian daily life. During the long days of quarantine on the Amalfi Coast, time together over lunch and dinner was often the highlight of the days for many families. In fact, in the early days of quarantine the only thing you might ...

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TRAVEL · January 12, 2020

Amalfi Coast 2020 Travel Inspiration

Now that the holiday season has wrapped up, it's that time when we start looking ahead at the year to come. If you're planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast in 2020, I've gathered together some special experiences to help with your planning or perhaps even inspire you to book a trip to the Amalfi Coast ...

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SHOPPING · November 4, 2017

La Selva Handmade Soap from Positano

High in the mountains above Positano there is an enchanting place where you can experience the natural beauty, sights and scents of the Amalfi Coast in an untouched setting. That special place is called La Selva, and I've shared about it here before since it's setting for Sole Yoga Holiday's annual ...

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LIFESTYLE · April 23, 2017

Italy Roundtable: The Rush of the Strange and Unfamiliar

This month's Italy Roundtable topic "foreign" brought in a host of interesting topics from the group - all thoughtful, reflective and informative. Be sure to check them all out at the links below! While I am a foreigner living in Italy, there's another aspect of the word "foreign" that has been ...

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Ravello and Spring on the Amalfi Coast

TRAVEL · March 4, 2017

Visiting the Amalfi Coast in the Spring

What to See & Do on the Amalfi Coast in the Spring The weather is warming up, birds are singing every morning when I open the window and the almond trees have started to blossom. That means la primavera has arrived on the Amalfi Coast! Everything is a bit brighter this time of year, and I love ...

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Positano - One of the Most Romantic Spots on the Amalfi Coast

TRAVEL · February 12, 2017

Top 10 Romantic Spots on the Amalfi Coast

A Hopeless Romantic's Insider Tips for the Most Romantic Spots on the Amalfi Coast If there's one thing I love, it's a good romance. A book, a movie, a sappy card, and I'm hooked. I'm a romantic at heart, and that's probably why I fell in love with the Amalfi Coast. It was one of those love at ...

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TRAVEL · January 19, 2017

Get Your Move On in Positano with a Yoga Retreat!

Winter has settled in on the Amalfi Coast, which means we're in the height of the bundled up inside dreaming of summer season. As much as my body tells me to get outside and MOVE after the holidays, which are celebrated here in southern Italy with a lot of food, the cold wind and snow-capped ...

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TRAVEL · September 6, 2016

An Amalfi Coast Yoga Retreat in Paradise

Love the Amalfi Coast? Love yoga? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then I've got something you're really going to love. I've always known that the Amalfi Coast was a paradise, but I didn't know just how beautiful it could be when my passion for yoga and for the Amalfi Coast came ...

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Amalfi Coast Ferry Schedule 2016

TRAVEL · May 8, 2016

Amalfi Coast Ferry Schedule 2016

  UPDATE: Click here for information on the 2017 Amalfi Coast ferry schedule.   While the twisty Amalfi Coast Road is justifiably famous, my favorite way to get around is on the ferry. You get to avoid the traffic and all those curves while at the same time getting a first class ...

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Amalfi Coast Travel Ferry Sorrento Positano

TRAVEL · August 5, 2015

Take the Ferry from the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento!

I've received tons of questions after I shared my Amalfi Coast Ferry Services post earlier this year, especially about whether or not there would be a ferry service connecting the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento. While there was a delay earlier this summer on the start of the service, it has officially ...

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Amalfi Coast Travel Positano Beach Spiagga Grande

TRAVEL · August 3, 2015

A Guide to the Beaches of Positano

After receiving such a great response about my Guide to the Beaches of Amalfi, I've decided to expand the series to cover another favorite spot on the Amalfi Coast. Of course, I'm talking about Positano! Now these aren't your usual top beaches of the entire Amalfi Coast type guides. These narrow ...

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Amalfi Coast Travel Positano Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY · April 18, 2014

Foto Friday: Love Me Tender

When I'm in Positano there's always one person I miss - my mom. I'll never forget that February day back in 2007 when we first walked on the beach together, picking up sea glass and pebbles and alternating between smiling and crying from happiness. This photo is dedicated to my mom, Sandra Thayer, ...

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Ciao!

My name is Laura and the Amalfi Coast is my passion and my home. I’m a writer and photographer who is endlessly inspired by the incredible beauty of the Amalfi Coast. Welcome to Ciao Amalfi!

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What a moving experience yesterday morning to see What a moving experience yesterday morning to see the Olympic torch in Amalfi. 🔥 One of the many many reasons I love living right in the center of Amalfi is that in one minute I can be in the middle of making pasta with artichokes and the next watching a historic moment happen. I never take that for granted! @milanocortina2026 @olympics
Well that was unexpected but fun! 🎄#amalfi #christ Well that was unexpected but fun! 🎄#amalfi #christmas #natale
Lovely new Christmas ornament created by @illustra Lovely new Christmas ornament created by @illustrationbyjonathan of Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and her tiny 12-sided writing table. It looks exactly like the beautiful spring day when I was there in April this year. Such a beautiful memory! I think this will have to stay out all year.
Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen! One of the de Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen! One of the definite highlights of my year was visiting @janeaustenshouse in Chawton on a beautiful spring day. I still think of her tiny writing table and what it felt like to stand there and take it all in. I’ve enjoyed the book “A Jane Austen Year” throughout the year - pulling it off the shelf at the start of each month. While at Chawton, I picked up the embroidery kit by @abigailrosecreative made to celebrate the 250th celebration. I’ve been wanting to learn to do embroidery for years, so this was the perfect souvenir from Jane Austen’s House. Still a work in progress, but I’m nearly there! 🧵🪡
I don’t know how to begin describing Naples, which I don’t know how to begin describing Naples, which is how I felt seeing “Partenope - Musica per la sirena di Napoli” at the @teatrosancarlo yesterday. This opera in one act was written by the great Ennio Morricone 30 years ago, and it was finally performed for the first time this weekend. Just in time for the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Naples. Mary Oliver wrote: “A town cannot live on dreams.” I was thinking about that line yesterday and wondering if maybe a town could live on mythology. 2,500 years later, Naples might just be proof that it can.
A beautiful and very festive Christmas tree lighti A beautiful and very festive Christmas tree lighting at the @anantaraconventodiamalfi tonight! Always love hearing the beautiful voice of my sweet friend @lucykielymusic. Now it feels like Natale in Amalfi! ✨🎶🎄
As 2025 winds down, I’ve been making my way throug As 2025 winds down, I’ve been making my way through some of the books sitting unfinished on my bedside table. I usually finish a book once started, but occasionally I come across one that is so good I can’t let myself rush through it all at once. I want to hang on to that first read as long as I can, slowly savoring the way it changes the geography of my mind.

This autumn that has been “Upstream” - a selection of essays by Mary Oliver. If “attention is the beginning of devotion,” as Oliver writes in the first essay in the book, I am deeply devoted to her writing. Few writers capture my attention and hold it the way she does. This will be a book I know will return to again and again. And, even though I’ve finished, it might be a long time before it leaves my bedside table. I’ll just leave you with a couple of Oliver’s magical lines:

“You must not ever stop being whimsical.

And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”
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