il san pietro hotel in positano

If you are going to Positano, we loved our hotel called Il San Pietro.  It is not in downtown Positano....it is a 10 minute car ride, and the hotel provides a shuttle.  Positano can be very crowded and very touristy, so we really enjoyed being away from it.

Look how spectacular it is from the photo below.  Built entirely into a cliff.  See the pool toward the top?  The restaurant is under there.  See the tennis court at the bottom?  You can either take a lot of stairs or an elevator.

This unique hotel opened in 1970 and has remained in the family ever since.  The upstairs restaurant has a Michelin star, the downstairs restaurant is outside on the water.

The Amalfi coast is beautiful, but can be crowded.  Il San Pietro was a beautiful place to take it in while being away from the crowds.

 

 

 

 

the hotel:

some photos:

photo last day --- so relaxed:

beautiful things i saw today: ancient olive tree

Puglia, Italy.  Home to 60 million live trees.  Producer of 40% of Italy's olive oil.  I know, this doesn't look like an olive tree.  It looks more like an oak tree.  That is because of it's age.  This magnificent beauty is probably 1,000 years old.  Some in the region are 2,000 years old.  Think about that for a minute.  That is during the time of the Bible!

Olive trees along the coast of the turquoise Adriatic Sea....it really was a dazzling place!

Full write up of Puglia coming soon.

italian sandals

I stumbled across the most amazing small local shoe store in Ostuni, Italy, which has been around for 40 years.  If you're headed to Puglia, Ostuni is a must, along with this chic reasonably priced sandal store, Erredibi!

Front of the store:

the shoes:

When you walk in, here is what you see.  I mean, where do you start?  They are all so cute!

my shoes:

Here are the 2 pairs that I chose, and my sweet husband purchased them for me.  Looking back, I wish I had bought more for friends & family for gifts.

 

how can i buy these?

Erredibi has a few stores in Southern Italy.   They do have a website, but the cost to ship is twice the price of the shoes........so, use it as an excuse to head to Italy!  

Although not quite the same.....some examples below of similar simple flat styles you can get in the USA.

my shoes one more time: