Beckoningly Real

The Amalfi Coast (and title name of our Study Abroad) was a region that was highly anticipated by most of my family who knew that I'd be coming. It's no surprise why, it's a beautiful place for sure. Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello were sights to behold with beautiful beaches, unreal views, and rich history.

The title Beckoningly Real comes from a quote from John Steinbeck (who wrote one of my favorite required readings during high school, East of Eden) about Positano. Steinbeck says "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone". For the two times I went to Positano (once with classmates for a day at the beach and the second for class) I feel this statement is entirely accurate. Positano is striking in it's beauty and feel like a painting come to life. The road leading to the beaches is lines with people selling their art, sandal shops making shoes outside their shops, and docks full of boats and ferries. It's so scenic that I'm not shocked that it was possibly a town that was scenic inspiration for one of my favorite movies, 'Luca', and writers John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway found their way here. In fact there is a house...hotel...(?) that has a sign letting people know that it was once Steinbeck's house. With that being said my Professor said she last saw it say Ernest Hemingway's house years before... This house is a mystery. Either way it gives writer by the beach aesthetics.

Also fair warning about Positano. Beware the stairs. My first night there I got bamboozled into climbing so many stairs I nearly threw up while being hangry. Be smart if you ever find yourself in Positano. Don't trust stairs. I say I never want to see a flight of stairs again... But I have until the 20th... And Texas State is 85% hills and stairs... I made wild life choices.

Now Amalfi, which easily the most popular of the three places. Amalfi has a similar scenic beauty to it like Positano and where a lot of history shone for me personally. Our guide in Amalfi really emphasised the importance of the donkeys in the Amalfi coast as the donkeys were detrimental to building the towns on the coast. I think it's really neat that the animals are held to such a high standard and are valued so much for their service. In the states, we don't see anything remotely similar. In addition to the beautiful oceans and love of donkeys I definitely got an interesting load of sweets to try. Sweets like lemon and pistacio candies, cookies, candied orange peels, the melon version of limoncello, and a lemon candy that was filled with alcohol. Barely having water and food made me feel weird about that last one... Now Duomo di Amalfi is an absolutely beautiful church that is grandiose and in the very heart of Amalfi. It felt like an absolute wonder being in this church and learning about it's history of being destroyed and rebuilt made me feel more lucky to be able to experience this marvel.

Finally Ravello which became one of my favorite locations to visit. It was, from what I could tell, the smallest of the three locations we visited so there isn't much for me to get into given the one hour of free time. Ravello is on the cliffside and has a beautiful villa. This villa, where I spent most of my free time, was picturesque and felt unreal. Ripped from the pages of a fairytale book. In addition, equally fairytale worthy gardens and an unbeatable view that showed off the entirety of the Amalfi coast in all it's glory.

So, I do feel as though Steinbeck's quote could easily be translated for my time in all the towns as well. Amalfi and Ravello also had this beauty that felt unreal while being there. But the Amalfi is just that. Real.