To really enjoy childless travel, we needed to visit somewhere that is incredibly crowded during the high season but likely to be deserted in the off season. The Amalfi Coast fit the bill perfectly. We left Naples by car and after a stop over in Sorrento and a visit to the ruins of Pompei, we were on our own, zig zagging along a narrow coastal road along an area widely considered Europe’s most beautiful coast.
It’s true that the sun and beaches which bring the hordes of tourists out in the peak months were absent in February. But there is a special beauty to the sea in winter I find, with the horizon and the clouds merging to one endless navy field. The lines of villages perched on hilltops and cliffs plunging in the aquamarine Mediterranean are simply overwhelming, no matter the time of year. We stayed in a small hotel in a renovated church in a village a little removed from the coast. From the terrace of our room we could see mountain peaks with some traces of snow still left on top. The area was known for its hiking opportunities, but for Anna, whose belly seemed to be growing by the day, just making it the two flights of stairs up to our room was hiking enough.
Instead we stuck to our rental car and headed along the coast all the way to Salerno, stopping in small fishing villages and to visit churches and viewpoints along the way. We were never far from a good plate of calamari or a new variety of pasta, and since it was the low season there was never any line or need to make a reservation.
The roads are narrow and winding, and any rumors you may have heard about awful Italian driving are totally true. It is almost impossible to drive safely in an area where stop lights are considered optional, where any scrap of pavement can be turned into a parking spot, and where (I can only assume, since we never saw them being used) turn signals are simply not included in cars. Back in Brussels we don’t drive much, and I found myself acutely aware of the child-to-be that was riding in the seat next to me as I dodged insane Italian road obstacles, slowing to ever lower speeds to try to stay safe.
It occurred to me then that even if we called this our last hurrah as childless travelers, we were actually already well on our way to parenthood.
