Jack Kennedy brought his bride here some 40 years ago. Tiberius chose it, from an entire empire, as his final place of rest. And Michael and I enjoyed in June 1995 one of our loveliest holidays in Positano.

Positano

Once a sleepy little fishing village and the secret of painters and writers, its "fatal gift of beauty" has been discovered. The houses in Positano are of many different colors and they seem to cling to the mountain, sitting one on top of the other, framing a black volcanic beach. They descend in steep steps down the mountainside to the bay. Positano can rightfully be called one of the most picturesque towns on the Amalfi coast.

We stayed for five days at the Hotel Le Sirenuse (http://www.sirenuse.it). The view from the pool terrace is breathtaking. During the summer months it also hosts a bar and restaurant tables. Lemon trees and the most colorful bougainvilleas in large pots are lined up along the swimming pool edge. The surrounding area is ideal for sunbathing.

Apart from enjoying the sun and the sea, Positano offered us an ample choice of other activities. We toured through Positano step up, step down. We never walked so many steps in so few days, but it was really exciting and so much fun. We made an excursion to Capri, we traveled along the coast with a rented car to Amalfi and Ravello, and best of all we hiked to Montepertuso and Nocelle high above Positano. I will never forget these spectacular views.

Capri

After an early but tranquil breakfast enjoying the early morning sun from our terrace, we took the speed boat to Capri, which brought us within an hour to Marina Grande, the big harbor of Capri.

Because we had only about 6 hours to explore the island, we did not visit the very touristic magnificent blue Grotto. Instead, we took the bus to Anacapri to the Villa San Michele. It's located high on top of the island. We will never forget the view across the Gulf to Naples and Capri.

Dr. Axel Munthe was the creator of San Michele. While he was a young physician, he decided to make his dreams, ambitions and ideas a reality by creating a home in Anacapri, which later became world renowned through the success of his book, "The Story of San Michele".

In the afternoon, after having a delicious lunch of Ravioli Caprese in a restaurant carved into the rocks, we walked to visit a peculiar natural phenomenon, the Arco Naturale. It is the result of the collapse of a cave and of the effects of wind and rain that molded the arch into its present shape. We suggest hiking through the panoramic Via Pizzolungo to visit the Grotta di Matermania and Villa Malaparte and back to the centre of Capri. It is so not easy to describe the extraordinary beauty of this island.

From Positano to Amalfi and Ravello

We rented a car to discover the Amalfi coast and we took our time. In Amalfi, we strolled along the very small Italian alleys and enjoyed a cappuccino at the Piazza del Duome in front of the gigantic flight of stairs leading to the entrance of a magnificent cathedral. In Ravello we visited the Villa Rufolo with a stunning park which leads us to a huge terrace, from where we couldn't get enough of the grand view over the Amalfi coast and the Mediterranean Sea.

On our way back we visited the Hotel Il San Pietro de Positano (http://www.ilsanpietro.it). It is located just two kilometers outside of Positano. It is not visible from the road. The hotel is entered by an elevator, which takes you down through the rocks into the Hall - an airy room with terra-cotta floors designed by known Neapolitan ceramic experts. Then an elevator takes you 88m from the hall to the private beach below. The beach was created in front of one of the most fascinating caves of the promontory, with a sunbathing platform, bar on the rocks, a tennis court surrounded by a rose garden and flower-filled terraces on all slopes.

The best place to view the bluest waters on earth is from the amazing terrace, where we relaxed and rested on richly ornamented and tiled benches and enjoyed a glass of champagne. We had a perfect, unobstructed view of the entire sparkling Bay of Positano with the charming, vertically-oriented town of Positano as a backdrop. If you should ever tire of the water view (as if that were even possible), just turn your head and you will see the most vividly colored bougainvillea, orchids, and roses on the terrace and adorning the walls of the hotel. To appreciate the impressions of our day we ended our day with a superb candlelight dinner with excellent Italian cuisine.

Montepertuso and Nocelle

An absolute must while in Positano is a hike to Montepertuso and Nocelle, small villages in the hill above the city. In 1995 there was no street leading to Nocelle, so the inhabitants had to carry all their goods on their backs or with their donkeys. The walk is mostly uphill through an olive grove and then a lemon grove, but is rewarded by fabulous views down the coast and of Positano below. Nocelle is very isolated and probably still operates as it did 50 years ago. There is a restaurant there, Nocelle's one and only, and it is surprisingly reasonable and good. (Try the penne all'arrabiata.) The views from Nocelle are outstanding. Arriving in Montepertuso on our way back, we found such a romantic little rural restaurant with a terrace where we enjoyed sitting in the shadow under a roof of vine. The red vine was easier to drink than water and maybe we had a little too much it. Hours later we happily and contentedly found our way back to our hotel.

This was luxury in its purest way. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary (which actually was in April). With a peaceful atmosphere lingering everywhere, we had one of our first holidays without the kids.