We left Sulmona bright and early to catch two trains and a taxi to Atrani. Marta from our B@B packed us a takeaway breakfast - chocolate cake, biscuits, fruit and chocolates. I like Sulmona breakfasts!

The first train went through the valleys between the mountains of the Apennines until we got to Rome . There were about 8 carriages, and only 3 other people besides us in our carriage, which made our job of dashing from side to side to take photos out of the windows relatively easy! The views were stunning - green hills, bare mountains, towns clinging to hill tops with forts and churches having pride of place everywhere. We travelled next to some roads suspended along huge viaducts across valleys, with the roads then darting in and out of tunnels - these roads must cut off huge amounts of time for commuters, who do not have to wind their way up and down the mountain paths.

The second train was a Freccarossa (red arrow) so it hared along between 250-300kms an hour, stopping only once at Naples before arriving in Salerno. In addition to being extremely fast, these trains are sooo comfortable, with reclining seats, power sockets, coffee carts.... The height of luxury!

At Salerno we had booked a car to take us to Atrani so we didn't have to brave the very crowded bus with all our luggage (this bus was a bit of a nightmare on our last trip as we had to stand up all the way, with our bags nearly falling off the overhead racks on every bend (of which there are many!)) . Unfortunately the driver was 40 minutes late, which took the gloss off our first private car and driver. However, when he finally arrived, he was an exceptionally good driver, managing to miss the buses and cars on the tiny Amalfi coast road with millimetres to spare at times! He obviously knows exactly how wide his car is!

We arrived at the apartment block, and it is every bit as beautiful as we remembered. Last time we stayed at the Emerald apartment, and this time we are in the Green apartment. This one is even better than last time (which we didn't think was possible) because it is on the corner and you can see the sea and the town from the same balcony. The furniture and walls are white, with green tiles and window frames, and it makes for a very cheerful apartment. The balcony is huge, and there are many windows which look out over the spectacular view.