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Ciao Amalfi

Villa Cimbrone - Romantic Spots in Ravello

TRAVEL · February 12, 2012

Where to Propose on the Amalfi Coast

With San Valentino just around the corner, romance is definitely in the air. The Amalfi Coast is one of the top travel destinations for romance in Italy – popular for engagements, destination weddings, honeymoons and special anniversary celebrations. As a romantic at heart, I would love to share ...

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TRAVEL · November 16, 2011

An Autumn Walk in Ravello

Autumn is a glorious time of year to visit the Amalfi Coast. One of my favorite spots to walk during any season is the town of Ravello located high in the mountains overlooking the coastline. If you enjoyed the Autumn Walk in Scala, you're going to love coming along on a beautiful autumn walk ...

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TRAVEL · October 15, 2011

A Passeggiata in Amalfi

The passeggiata—a leisurely walk or stroll—is one of those wonderful Italian traditions that you can enjoy across Italy. This is a time for families and friends to spend together catching up on the day's news, for kids to play together and to just enjoy a healthy bit of fresh air. On the Amalfi ...

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LIFESTYLE · August 18, 2011

The Broken Shoe

While I didn't buy them for their practicality or durability, I do like these fun and inexpensive shoes. The steps on the Amalfi Coast can be tough on shoes, even if you take them carefully. Anyone have any ideas or tips on how I might fix this little problem on the right toe? Grazie! ...

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LIFESTYLE · July 29, 2011

Photo Friday: Salve

I pass this whitewashed entrance to a house on my usual walk, and every time the work "Salve" painted above the doorway catches my eye. This common expression of greeting in Italian simply means "hello," but I always wonder about it as I pass by. I've never seen anyone coming or going, there are ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 9, 2011

Stopping to Enjoy the View

The thing with steep hills and lots of steps is that you just have to stop sometimes for a rest. Last Thursday, a cool and dry wind blowing down from the mountains had cleared away any trace of humidity left in the air from the rainy days before and turned the sea into an intense shade of azure ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 6, 2011

Photo Friday: Under the Lemon Groves in Ravello

On  any of the regular walks I take through Amalfi, Scala and Ravello, I have my favorite spots to stop and enjoy the view. Perhaps a glimps of the coastline through a garden or between two old buildings. When I see a new staircase or pathway, I'm always so curious to know where it leads and what ...

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TRAVEL · December 8, 2010

Climbing Mt. Vesuvius

On a sunny day at the beginning of November we headed over the Lattari Mountains to Naples. Destination: Mt. Vesuvius! After climbing Mt. Etna in Sicily, my mother was very excited to tackle another volcano. I hadn't ever been to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, so I was really happy she wanted to go. Head ...

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Italy, Travel Inspirations · June 27, 2010

Walking among the cobblestones in Florence, Italy

  This Sunday I’m happy to welcome back my friend Katie Greenaway, an American who now lives in Florence, Italy. She tempted us last Tuesday with her favorite church in Florence, and today she’s taking us on a walk through the streets of her beloved city. These two guest posts on Florence have ...

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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!

Ciao Amalfi

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Latest on Instagram

Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with a newsl Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with a newsletter inspired in part by this beautiful song by @samantha_whates & @mgboultermusic. While I could never decide on just seven bookshops for my whole life, I’m sharing about seven remarkable indie bookshops I visited earlier this month in Bath and London. The link is in my bio, but swipe through the photos here for a look inside - each bookshop is tagged if they’re on Instagram. But definitely give them all a follow: 
@persephonebooks 
@mrbsemporium 
@toppingsbath 
@sherlockandpages 
@huntingravenbooks 
@hatchardspiccadilly 
@lrbbookshop 

Long live the independent bookshops! 📚
Thanks Amalfi … I needed a little reminder of th Thanks Amalfi … I needed a little reminder of that this morning. 🩶
Magic to watch the reflections dancing on the wate Magic to watch the reflections dancing on the water. Magic when they’re frozen in time. Just so much magic all around. I could spend a long time in moments like these. ✨
While it’s been a beautiful Easter Sunday in Ama While it’s been a beautiful Easter Sunday in Amalfi, I’m still processing all of the incredible experiences from my trip to England last week. And, thanks to “Square Haunting” by @francescawade, I am still very much haunting the streets and squares of London. Her book opens with this marvelous quotation from Virginia Woolf’s diary written 100 years ago today on April 20, 1925 (photo 1). It captures just what it felt like I was doing days ago - including a saunter through Bloomsbury Square (photo 2). Diving into this book over the weekend has felt like I’ve been able to linger even longer in those rare April days of spring blooms and blue skies in London. 

This book caught my eye immediately at the ever so charming @sherlockandpages in Frome (photos 4 & 5). How could it not when it was surrounded my one of my all time favorite books (“Letters to Camondo” by @edmunddewaal) and one of the best books I read last year (“All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me” by @patrickbringley)?

Hope that your Easter weekend has been a lovely one - with a little bit of “street sauntering & square haunting” wherever you may be!
Just had an unforgettable spring day visiting the Just had an unforgettable spring day visiting the Jane Austen House in Chawton as an early birthday present for myself.(Quite a bit early as it’s not until June.) But earlier this year I decided to have a Jane Austen theme for the year, especially since 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 1775. I do love a theme! Seeing the place where she wrote all of her novels, her tiny twelve-sided writing table, a quilt she made, and sitting in the garden listening to the birds sing is altogether something I’ll never forget. ✍️
Watching the colors of the sea and the fish swimmi Watching the colors of the sea and the fish swimming and thinking of the deep connections of old friends. And this poem by Mary Oliver. Hold tight to the friends who always find a way to say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment.

Mysteries, Yes 
— by Mary Oliver

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds will
never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
Mary Oliver wrote in a poem that “happiness isn’t a town on a map.” But when the little bit of wisteria blooms in Amalfi, I’m not so sure. 💜
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