A slice of Heaven on earth - Positano, Amalfi Coast!!

Positano, Amalfi Coast - this is where one our many new adventures will grow from and where we start the next chapter in our lives together! Up until this point, this blog I has been focused our journey oversee's together and our lives as an engaged couple. I have even labeled the blog as such 'Half Pike Across the Pond'. Well folks, this is where that story takes a new turn and I become an official Pike! After having a great time in Amsterdam, we are headed to Italy to get hitched! 

This journey begins with a large coach bus ride along a very curvy road on the side of the mountain. It was quite nerve wrecking when the bud driver honks his horn around very turn. Everything seemed all in order though, and as though these things are quite normal in the sleepy towns along the Amalfi Coast. We are headed to the 1st large town, Positano. Along the way, we got great views of Sorronto though :) 

After finally arriving at the hotel, we head down to the beach for some food. Being the adventurous people we are, Jeff gave the cuttlefish dish a go. We had no idea it would completely black, but he embraced it with bib and all! 

We had great views of the ocean and were starting to get in the proper beach holiday mood!

What we have come to know as the typical alleys of Europe, we took some pretty paths down to the beach.  
       

One thing very unique to this part of Italy is the lemoncello.... and of course that is supported by the HUGE lemons that grow here. These things were the sizes of grapefruits!

After stretching our legs exploring the area, we couldn't resist the inviting lounges of our hotel to relax a bit and soak it all in. Here is a picture of one of the many lounges at Hotel Maricantillo. 

We opted for a pre-dinner drink on the next terrace down. The white couches and lounge chairs, where the perfect place to wind down and relax before our big day :) We had wonderful views of the pool below and the wide open sea. 

              

Here is a special shout out to the best sister in the world! Julie, it really meant the world to us that you could be part of our special day. Having you there made it all the more special and I am so very thankful to have you as a sister - Love you!  

As the evening progressed, the weather was not looking promising for the next day... but luck was on our side and it turned out beautiful.  This eery weather made for some great photos and the sea side town was beautiful at night. Pictures don't do either justice!

Our wedding ceremony and pictures are worthy of multiple posts, so I am saving the details  and pictures for the wedding page... so be sure to check them out there :) 

Here are a few pictures from that afternoon though... 

 

Thanks for sending the bride and groom flip flops Mom! There were perfect for relaxing and hanging out by the pool afterwards. We wouldn't have it any other way... busy morning and perfect ceremony followed by a wonderful relaxing afternoon and letting time pass slowly to soak everything in :) 

 

Eventually we wondered down for some dinner. We had a booking at this place that was directly below the hotel and jetted out over the rocks on the cliff side. 
          

We couldn't be happier!!! Here we took one of our usual selfies..

 and one it is one of my favorites! 

One of the favorite meals the whole trip! 

The next day, Julie headed off to Rome and we headed off to the island of Capri. As you can see by the picture the weather turned much cooler and was rainy off and on all day. We were still on cloud nine though... so it didn't bother us to much :) 

When we got to the island, we took a cable car up to the top. The views were unforgetable.. no matter what direction you were looking or whether you were on the island or back on the mainland. Love this place!

There was a cute little town at the top that was nice for a lazy day stroll through and to do some window shopping. 

After wondering around a bit, we decided to take a boat tour around the island. 

 

We got to sit outside for a short while... but it eventually started to rain. 

When the rain hit, we decided it would be a good time to grab a bite to eat. We got a pretty interesting looking pizza... but it was really good. It was the perfect way to end the day. 

As I am writing this post, it has been a full month since we got married. Time is flying by! I have enjoyed every minute of this journey and I am looking for many more months, years, and decades with the love of my life - Jeffrey Pike!

I AMsterdam!

After a great weekend in London, we are off again to AMSTERDAM! It was short hop, skip and a jump and we landed a few hours later and greeted with wonderful weather. 

Outside the airport

First stop was meeting up with Julie and going for Dutch pancakes!

(We can tell Jeffrey is really excited about it! haha)

They had some interesting sweet and savory pancakes to enjoy. I of course went with the sweet ones and Julie and Jeffrey went with the savory... I have to admit that the savory was really really good! After filling the bellies, it only seemed appropriate that we walked around to explore and let the food digest. 

I couldn't resist not taking a picture this classic scene...there were bikes everywhere!

Julie recommended taking a canal boat ride so Jeff and I went for a little boat ride :) 

  

We got some pretty cool view of the city from the water

After the boat ride, we met up again with Julie. We all the I AMsterdam card (which included all museums), so we decided to cultural ourselves some... first stop Tulip Museum!

I had no idea there were so many different types of Tulips and all so beautiful. I was never a hug fan of them until now... The museum also told a little more background on the trading of the flower and how big the industry is in Amsterdam. 

Next stop was the Amsterdam Museum....it was quite interesting to wonder around. You always pick up a few interesting facts when you go to the cities museums that leaving you wondering for a few hours... unfortunately I tend to forget what I learned for much more than those few hours though haha

After a busy first day in Amsterdam, I got to meet up with another good friend from Charlotte, Lindsay! It was so good to see her! We went over to her and Gijs's flat to hang out for a hot minute and then went to dinner. Check out these steps - Crazy steep!!!

Dinner was great - we went to local place Gijs recommended. After dinner we went back to their place to hang out a little more and catch up. Our fingers our crossed for you Lindsay - It is easy to see why you want to stay in Amsterdam :) Thanks again for meeting up and hosting us afterwards!

The next day we got a little bit of a slow start and headed to the Van Gogh Museum... but the line was already at least 2 hours long. So we decided to skip it and go to the diamond museum. It actually was better than I was expecting! I had no idea that Amsterdam was once the diamond cutting centers of the world. It walked us through the cutting process and talked some about the more famous diamonds of the world. 

On the way to the museum, I got a little photo happy.. the weather was beautiful and I couldn't resist! haha

            

Luck for us, Julie was able to make a booking for a cheese tasting for the 3 of us! I had no idea that Netherlands was the 2nd highest consumer of cheese! Nor did I realize that Gouda cheese originated from Holland. Lucky for us - We love cheese and gouda is one of our favorites!

We were taking notes and grading each one. We had a test at the end!

We got to try 7 different cheeses!

After tasting some cheese we took a took a stroll through the flower market on the way to the Heinken experience. 

Look at all the pretty cacti! 

Found a new fruit and I actually   

wouldn't mind trying this one out

The Heineken experience was awesome. We all got a chance to let the inner kid in us come out!

Love these two!

    

DJ time! (It was slightly embarrassing  
how much I got into the spinning haha)

But maybe not as embarrassing as how     

excited Jeff got with the Trophy!              

And of course at the end of our experience we got to partake in a few Heineken beverages

Before 

 After!

Given the above... we thought it would be a good idea to partake in one more on the way back to the hotel :) and how could we resist with seats by the canal

To top off the great day, Sam had made a booking a true 'farm to table' restaurant. It was a surprise menu and based on what was in season at that time. 

Part of their gardens were on the other side of the restaurant 

The last day we finally made it to the Van Gogh museum! 

After the wondering through the museum, Julie headed off to the airport and Jeff and I wondered around a bit and had a lazy afternoon. We took a few peaks down down the Red Light District lanes and enjoyed a brew by the water before heading off to the airport ourselves. Next stop = Italy!!!!