Our trip to the Amalfi Coast was more than 3 months ago, but I’d never got round to write everything I wanted to write on this blog. And that makes me sad, really. This blog started as a travel journal for me, but I’ve been struggling to find time to write here, thanks to the cliché ‘life gets in the way’ thing.

I found this draft I wrote about Praiano, the place where we stayed the longest during our trip to the Amalfi Coast. This is less polished than I’d like and overall imperfect, but I’m posting it anyway as I want to remember these things about Praiano.

At first, staying in Praiano felt like a mistake. I went there after a three-night stay in Sorrento, which, in comparison, was a lot more lively and vibrant. Praiano felt too quiet, too remote, too ordinary. Nothing much was happening, and the location was inconvenient. As we made lots of day trips to the neighboring towns, we had to use either the SITA bus or the local bus ― none of which was reliable. I have to admit, if it hadn’t been for the non-refundable BnB, I would’ve considered looking for another accommodation in either Positano or even Sorrento.

It wasn’t that Praiano wasn’t beautiful. If anything, it was even more beautiful than Positano or Amalfi, simply because it looked similar but with a lot fewer people (and buses). But this quality was offset by the inconvenience, at least for me.

It wasn’t until the penultimate day of our stay when I could truly appreciate this tranquil little town. Coming back from overcrowded Capri, I was relieved to come back to the peace and quiet of Praiano, and it felt like I finally saw it with fresh eyes.

The dome of St. Gennaro Church, the welcome view we had every time our bus drove into Praiano.

Kasai, a restaurant close to our BnB with an amazing view.

Kasai’s interior; rustic, chic, and cozy.

Our BnB lies somewhere in the middle of the (vertical) town, which means we had to climb an awful lot of stairs to get there. But there was a reward for that: a balcony overlooking the sea.

Not exactly the view from our Balcony, but just as beautiful.

The natural landscape was such a feast to the eyes, but the town was charming in itself, with little touches in every corner that made Praiano so special. The Roman-built passages were adorned with bright ceramics and tiles (mostly blue and white, I noticed), and narrow paths were decorated with flower pots in the pots of eccentric human heads. While it sounds creepy, I can assure you that it’s not (too bad I didn’t have any photos of the pots).

Pretty ceramics everywhere.

Looking back, I realized that Praiano gave some of the most breathtaking views, and images that I cherish fondly.

The beautiful dome of San Gennaro church that greeted us from our day trips. The Amalfi Coast against the sunset, where the sky turned from soft orange to violet, before the light faded slowly. The view of the rugged coastline and Positano from afar. The quiet nights, when you could hear the low chatters of diners and the occasional clinks of glasses.

One last picture of Praiano at night. It’s blurry, it’s imperfect (much like this post), but I love it anyway.

Praiano. What a special place.

It was, after all, a perfect choice.