Wednesday, September 26, 2018

A Guide to Praiano

The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast
A hoy hoy! Welcome to part deux of my Amalfi Coast posts – you can catch the first one here if you missed it (which, by the way, I'd like to thank you for all your lovely feedback on! It took a soul destroying amount of time to put together so I'm really glad you liked it/found it helpful). Today we’re visiting Praiano, which is somewhere I knew nothing about prior to visiting. Shame on me, I know. I’d been so set on visiting ‘The Amalfi Coast’ for so long but could really only have named Positano and Amalfi as being part of it - geography Gordon over here - so I had no expectations at all. By about five minutes in, maybe even four, I was in love. It’s much quieter than Positano and also, on the whole, much cheaper; we stumbled upon a restaurant that sold takeaway pizza for 4e and a little shop selling beers for 1e. Heaven, right? I loved both towns for different reasons but I think I might just be that bit more eager to return to peaceful Praiano. It's a toughie though and a lot my love blossomed from how much I loved our beautiful hotel too, so let me tell you all about that.
The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast
So, the hotel. We checked into Casa Angelina, another member of the wonderful Small Luxury Hotels of the World group, after a short coastal drive through the mountains from Positano - again, where are the vintage silk headscarves and convertible cars when you need them - and were received with the nicest welcome ever, along with the offer of a welcome drink. 'Why do I mention this welcome drink?' I hear you ask. Well, it's the most incredible almond milk-y cup of goodness I've ever tasted. Seriously, that’s my first tip – if you go there Get. That. Almond. Drink. Don’t opt for water, no matter how dehydrated you may be. Nut allergy? Well, actually, maybe avoid it in that case. The hotel has a very minimal and calm feel to it and is filled with the owner’s personal collection of Murano glass pieces, which give it a real arty pop of colour. I did slow down to turtle's pace any time I walked past one for fear of tripping up or getting blown over by a breeze and knocking into one, but all the more time to enjoy them I say.

Both Praiano and the hotel have a very relaxing vibe to them; you'll feel those shoulders starting to un-tense the moment you walk through the door (even more so once you've had the almond drink). It's another hotel I think would be so wonderful for a romantic break or honeymoon! The hotel even has a private dining area on the roof which they can set up for a meal for two - with a prime view of the sunset, may I add - which would be a really great place to propose to someone*. Out at the back of the hotel is the beautiful, lemon tree lined pool you'll see many, many times in the photos throughout this post, which is genuinely a slice of heaven on earth.We spent our first afternoon parked there, chilling on the lounger with an aperol spritz in hand and some nibbles in the other, reading our books and watching the sea and feeling very, very content and lucky. Ooh, whilst we’re on the subject of cocktails, the bartender does a take on the traditional mojito using lemons from the property that’s supposed to be amazing! I, alas couldn't tear myself away from the Aperol Spritz long enough to try it.

*I'm so unhealthily addicted to proposals that it's now verging on problematic
The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast The Little Magpie guide to Praiano Amalfi Coast
There’s not a huge amount to do in Praiano, which is one of the reasons I loved it, but if you’re staying at the hotel they do offer a free shuttle bus to Positano and back each day! I'm normally itching to get out and explore but there was a real pull to stay in the hotel, especially as we only had two full days there. I honestly felt so content in our bedroom; waking up each morning with that sparkling sea view and the sun shining through the curtains onto the bed (I seem to think I'm writing a poem here but it's hard not to get all romantic about it). On a less poetic note, I think one afternoon I shouted, ‘I mean, LOOK at that view. LOOK AT IT’ at least seventeen times to Kirsty, who was last seen slowly slipping in earplugs. Our shower also had a view right out to the sea, which you can see in the photos above actually, which encourages a very long, relaxing bathe. The New York Times is delivered to your room every morning, along with a little L’Occitane hand cream and some truffles on your bedside table every evening. Again, they went out of their way to make sure I had gluten free ones which was so, so kind. Every single member of staff in the hotel was amazing and so very thoughtful – one morning at breakfast I asked if they had any of the delicious GF cookies I’d had the day before (for breakfast, yes, when I'm on holiday I'm on holiday) and came up to find a couple of packets of them left for me in the room with a wee note later that afternoon! The breakfast room has an outdoor seating area so you have that gorgeous sea view from the very start of your day, and you'll find table upon tables filled with every kind of breakfast food you can imagine. Apart from when we were at the pool, we tended to spend most of our time at the little cove you see above with crisps, a coke, a book and a lot of contentment. It's so sheltered and quiet there, I think there were only ever around 5-10 other people there, so you can chill or jump around and frolick in the sea to your heart's content.

And that, my friends, brings to an end my Amalfi adventure. I'm making it my mission to return again next year - it's one of those places that draws you in and keeps a hold of you and your thoughts for a long time after. Kind of like once you've seen Harry Styles.

Amy

Have a wee read of my Positano post here