Turkish A359 Business Class to Italy: Rome, Amalfi Coast and a Glimpse of Istanbul

[yflyer]

After checking into the Hotel Pellegrino, we headed into Praiano for a look around.


Our hotel was just a short walk from the Praiano town centre.


There were no pavements here. You just walked along the side of the road closest to the sea and trusted any oncoming vehicles to see you and not run you over.



The town itself was pleasant enough...



It was set high up along the Amalfi Coast, with great views of the sea from just about everywhere.



We walked right across town, to the Easten end of Praiano, where there was a small beach, and a well known bar, known as Il Pirata.



We headed down towards the beach...



...not far from an ancient fortification, known as Torri de Mare / Assiola.



This was a fairly small beach...


...with small boats anchored offshore...


...and rows and rows of beach chairs.



There was no sand, just smooth pebbles...



I wandered onto the pebbles to try and touch the water, only to fall flat onto the beach in spectacularly clown-worthy fashion when I lost my balance and slipped on the shiny pebbles, trying to run from an oncoming wave.

"Did you catch that on video?" I asked Mrs yflyer. "That would have been quite comical..me falling like that".

No she didn't.



I am sure the folks around were quite amused.

By this point, my skin was quite thick (Probably from taking so many TR pics over the years) so I didn't feel particularly embarrassed about falling flat onto the beach...

[yflyer]

We headed to Il Pirata...



The bar was located right along the water...



There was a DJ and music...



The bar was literally built into the cave...



Signature cocktails...



Apertivo and beer...



Substantial snacks and bites were included in the price of the cocktails...



What a pleasant place to have an evening drink!

[yflyer]

That evening we dined at the Hotel Pellegrino's restaurant...



...where talented chef Daniella, Luigi's daughter, offered a daily set dinner menu with a strong focus on the produce and seafood of the region.



We each ordered the set. Knowing the portion sizes typically served, we asked for smaller portion sizes for each dish.

We shared a bottle of white wine from Ettore Sammarco Winery in Ravello, not far up the Amalfi Coast. This was made from the Pepella grape grown in the Amalfi region.





We began with a vegetable appetiser. What incredible flavours the vegetables from ths region had!



Then, a delicious eggplant parmigiana.



Spaghetti with zucchini and mint, with the pasta cooked to a perfect texture...



A succession of 2 fish dishes followed, first a delicate blue fish stew...



...then a grilled sea bass with lemon.



Pre-dessert...



...and then a delicious pistachio and chocolate cake.



We ended the meal with a shot of limoncello in a frozen glass...



What a wonderful dinner!

[yflyer]

We dined there the next night as well, where the set menu was completely different.

Highlights included the mozzarella with tomatoes, a simple dish that just let the flavours of the cheese and tomato speak for themselves...



Octopus salad...



...and amazing Paccheri, a kind of pasta, with seafood...

[yflyer]

The Hotel Pellegrino also served up a delicious, and very elaborate, daily breakfast.



A highlight of the breakfast was the amazing eggs. I don't know what kind of eggs they have in the Amalfi Coast, or their recipes, but the eggs were just incredibly fluffy and flavourful, with scrambled eggs and omelettes in the Amalfi Coast (and also in Sorrento, at the Belair) that tasted better than eggs just about anywhere else in the world that we had visited.

[yflyer]

We loaded up on a big breakfast in the morning of our stay in Praiano because we needed the energy for the hike that we had planned for that day, from Praiano to Positano, along a popular hiking trail known as Sentiero degli Dei, or the Path of the Gods.

This was a half day hike that would take us along the mountain trail high above the towns of the Amalfi Coast. The path was so named because of the legend that the path was made when the Gods from Ancient Mythology rushed to save Ulysses from the Siren's song. The full route of the path was from Bomerano to Positano. We would do the segment from Praiano to Positano, which would take us about 3+ hours.



This hike was considered moderately challenging, because there was a lot climbing involved, whether steps or hilside slopes, but apart from that, the route was well marked and fairly straightforward to navigate, with cellphone coverage available throughout the route, although to play safe, I did download the relevant segments of Google Maps before the hike.

Alessa, Luigi's warm and friendly daughter, who manned the reception at the Hotel Pellegrino, helped with the route and gave us very specific and detailed instructions on how to get to the start point of the trail. From there, the rest of the hike was fairly straightforward, especially with the help of Google Maps.

We started our hike early in the morning at about 8.30am.



We were soon high up in the hills and mountains of the Amalfi Coast...



This hike involved lots and lots of climbing...



The reward was spectacular views...



We passed a small shrine...



...and rested briefly at the Convento di San Domenico, high up above Praiano.



This was an old convent, at an elevation of 364m. It was first built in the 16th century, but someone had thoughtfully decided to install an automatic defibrillator on the premises, which was a great idea given how strenuous the climb up from Praiano was.



After a short break at the convent, we continued on our hike, this time up more rocky terrain, without the benefit of proper steps or handrails...



As we climbed, the scenery became more and more stunning...



Far in the distance, we could see our endpoint, Positano. Why did it still look so far away?



Some segments of the trail could be slightly treacherous. One had to stay away from the cliff's edge.



The trail was marked with small red/white markings, to reassure hikers they were still on the right path.



We met a few other groups of hikers along the way. It could get quite busy at peak season, but when we were there, we only came across a handful of other hikers.

[yflyer]

We pressed on...


...climbing higher and higher...


Finally, a good view of our end point, Positano, far down below, and still a good distance away.

[yflyer]

As we approached the hilltop town of Nocelle, the trail became less treacherous, with flatter, wider paths, and even wooden handrails...



We reached a scenic lookout, perfect for that Instagram selfie or wefie.



Finally, signs pointing to Nocelle...



The town was built high up on the cliff. There were still many, many steps to go...



One of the points of interest marked on Google Maps was "Lemon Point".



This was on a cliff-side square still quite high up above the coast.



What a fantastic location for a refreshment stand...


By then we were parched, and ready for a icy lemon drink.


That was super refreshing!



We continued down the steps towards Positano, still far below...



There were a ridiculous number of steps down.

We were so grateful that we started from Praiano and were ending here, coming down these steps. We could not imagine anyone doing the reverse route, starting at Positano and having to climb up these endless stairs to get to the trail.



Finally, we get to street level...



The end point of the trail at last!

[yflyer]

We continued on foot along the winding coastal road to Positano...



This was one of the most popular towns along the Amalfi Coast, with its postcard-perfect views.



We made our way through the winding narrow streets of Positano right to the beach.


What a gorgeous town this was, with colourful houses built all the way up the cliff. Postcard perfect indeed.

By then it was 12.25pm.

What an amazing trail to walk.

Total distance covered was about 8km...



While the distance was nothing special, what made this a very challenging route was the elevation where we climbed as high up as 560 meters above sea-level.



It took us about 4 hours to cover this distance, and by then we both quite tired.

As I run regularly, I found the hike ok. As for Mrs yflyer, she was able to complete the walk, but this was probably the most walking she had done in a while, and for the next 3 days, her legs felt like jelly.

What kept Mrs yflyer going was the fact that she had made an immovable lunch reservation that day.

To switch to Singlish for a moment, we "die die had to get to the end point on time", otherwise we would forfeit the day's lunch.

So throughout the hike, we kept up the pace and kept going until we found ourselves at the beach in Positano with not a minute to spare.

[yflyer]

Why was it so important to get to the beach on time?

It was because our lunch was at Da Adolfo, a restaurant on a secluded beach only easily accessible by boat!



The boat would come by the pier at Positano to fetch diners to the restaurant.

While waiting for the boat, we marvelled at the crystal clear waters along the beach.

We saw a fisherman drop off his catch...



This was the catch of the day...



It was not a big catch, but the fish (and lobsters) sure looked fresh!



Not sure what they were going to do with the Moray Eel! Did they eat those too?



Eventually a boat to Da Adolfo arrived, and we went on a very scenic boat ride along the coastline...



The boat was a small one, but thankfully the water was quite calm...

[yflyer]

Along the way, we passed Il San Pietro di Positano, which many said was the top-rated hotel/resort along the Amalfi Coast...



What a stunning hotel this was, perched high up on a cliff not far from Positano...



Eventually we approached the small beach where Da Adolfo was located...



It was just a small restaurant located on a secluded beach, not accessible by road.



There was a building along the beach, but it looked to be disused. The restaurant was a tent along the beach.



We dined under the tent...



...while others enjoyed the beach.



The menu was simple and rustic, with antipasti, pasta and seafood, but everything was absolutely delicious.

We began with grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves...



Spaghetti Vongole...



...then a whole grilled fish.



The charming waiter asked if we wanted the fish deboned, but we declined.

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Yes!" we replied...

The fish was delicious. We picked it clean, head and all...



After that, we had some room for grilled octopus...



What a unique place to eat...



...and getting there was half the fun!

[yflyer]

That day was our last day along the Amalfi Coast...



The next day, we took a private car transfer to Naples train station to catch our train to Bologna.



It was really busy when we got there.



Inside, the large station was thronging with travellers, including many tourists.



Our train from Naples to Bologna was a Frecciarossa high speed train operated by Trenitalia.



Our seats were in the business class carriage of the train.



The interior of the business class carriage was very comfortable, laid out 1-2.



There were four seaters...



...and 2 seaters...



Seats had A/C power...



There were ample bathrooms available.



There were silent carriages, with rules enforced by the train staff. Thumbs up!

[yflyer]

The train ride from Naples to Bologna would take 2.5 hours.


There were great views along the way...


...from vineyards to hilltop towns.


Our train tickets came with a choice of beverage and snack.



We needed coffee...



...but wine was also available.



Snack options included a very tasty salami croissant.



This was a very comfortable way to travel between cities.

Apart from the complimentary snacks and beverages, there was an onboard bistro.



The bistro menu...



We arrived in Bologna right on time.

[yflyer]

From the train station in Bologna, we took a taxi to our accommodations, the Palazzo Gregorini Bingham Bologna, which was a converted Palazzo (Which was an Italian term for a grand residence or building, not necessarily a Palace or Castle).



This place very centrally located, within walking distance of the city centre, and was managed by an architectural/design firm.



This was a beautiful old building...



There were conservation rules in force...



...which meant there was no lift. We hauled our luggage up 3 floors...



...which was great exercise.

The hotel receptionist, a slim young lady, also offered to help with the luggage.

"Don't worry", she said, "I do this on a daily basis..."



It was quite a climb, but the room was worth it.



It was a large room, with a high ceiling, and wonderful decor.



There were cooking facilities...



Minibar...



A very large bathroom...



...with bidet and shower stall.

[yflyer]

The first thing you noticed about Bologna were the porticoes...



These were similar to the 5 foot ways you saw along old shophouses in Singapore, except that these had to be tall enough to fit a man on horseback. The Porticos of Bologna were added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 2021.



This was a very pleasant city to wander around on foot.



Like many (most?) old European cities, where were town squares, statues and fountains...



The city's largest church, the Basilica of San Petronio, was quite unique, as the facade has remained unfinished...



The interior of the Basilica...



The town centre had two towers...



...both of which had a pronounced lean...



There was also a mini train, which I at first thought to be a bit of a tourist gimmick, but in fact it had a very important function.