Yet another lovely blue sky morning in Positano. The plan for today is trip to Ravello and Villa Cimbrone. Ravello is a music and arts mecca; its spectacular views over the gulf of Salerno and coastal towns and its two main garden villas Cimbrone and Rufolo are an attraction to historical and current artists and source of inspiration.

The trip to Ravello involved catching a SITA bus at midday to Amalfi from the bus stop at Bar Internazionale, just 100m away at the top of our street; then a local bus up the hill to Ravello. In hindsight we should have taken the ferry again. The SITA bus arrived nearly an hour late, or it was early and we missed it. The driver must have been trying to make up time because the ride between Positano and Amalfi jerked, stopped and started and made us green. Nothing that a gelato couldn't fix, while waiting for the local bus to Ravello.

The bus to Ravello was more sedate but no less windy as it made its way up the valley between Scala and Ravello by way of a number of switch-back turns. We disembarked at a spectacular panoramic lookout at the western end of a short tunnel entrance to Ravello and its central Piazza Duomo. We walked through the tunnel and chose a pizzeria, Il Doge d'Amalfi, from a number of alfresco cafes on offer in the piazza.

After lunch we headed off to find Villa Cimbrone. The walk to the villa took about 20 minutes. Entry to the gardens is charged. Although centuries old, the Villa had been developed by and English lord at the beginning of the 20th century, With our guide we spent the hour or two taking in the magnificent gardens and views from lookouts. Although, visiting in April, the gardens were not at their prime, it had the benefit of being less crowded than mid season. Also, the views from vantage points of the Terrace of Infinity and the Crypt were clearer in the cooler spring air.

On the return walk from Cimbrone back to the piazza Duomo, we stopped at Hotel Villa Maria for a drink and snack. I had a wonder around the hotel, which looked to be very nice; a young couple were planning a wedding with the manager. We were one of only two in the bar and sitting at our table under the wisteria vine in the afternoon sun, we could easily have stayed longer.

On our way back to the piazza Rena found the ceramic goblets she had been looking out for in a small shop just as it was about to close. We also stopped for photos and a look around Hotel Rufolo. Its café gardens offered great views and apparently this is where DH Lawrence wrote 'Lady Chatterly's Lover' in 1926-27.

By the time we reached the piazza again the stalls and cafes had closed and the piazza was relatively empty. We wondered around for a few minutes before walking back through the tunnel to the bus stop with the panoramic view. The tunnel was lined with posters of artist who had performed at Villa Rufolo for Ravello Concert Society. 

We time to kill before our 6pm bus down the hill.  As we waited, the glitterati began to arrive in taxis for a meal before the night's concert. REGRET; we should have accepted Rena's suggestion, months earlier when planning our itinerary, to go to this concert while staying in Positano. We thought it would be too late and not age appropriate for the girls. Big mistake; by now they were used to dining and sleeping late and it would have been a life memory for sure. A spectacular poster of such a concert showing the stage seemingly cantilevered into the infinite night, with the lights of Maiori and Salerno providing the backdrop, was as close as we got.

Back at the coast in Amalfi, we decided to taxi home rather than face another SITA bus ride, especially as we planned to stop for a meal at Open Gate Hotel, the Praiano Hotel owned by the family of Stefania, the manager of our Positano Villa, Adonia. We had a lovely meal and were treated like royalty by the family and delivered home to Positano in a relatives taxi.