Mafia Wars

The bus ride to Positano consisted of tight turns, narrow scrapes, and breathtaking views - did I mention tight turns? I got off at the second Positano stop; the one that wasn't 700 stairs above the beach- maybe only 200. A young woman from Israel got off with me and we instantly hit it off. Aki(?), "but you can call me Jackie" is fresh from the army and traveling for two months before going to the US to guide a camp in the Rockies for Jewish kids.

For those of you who have seen the Cinque Terra in Italy, the Amalfi coast is similar, but bigger: bigger hills, bigger cliffs, bigger cities. In both places I've been there during the low season. Even though Positano is bigger it didn't feel like it because everything was closed. When my friend Brian and I went to the Cinque Terra in 2007, there was only one place open to eat or get espresso; it was raining; and the hiking trails were closed. Deja vu all over again.

My new friend needed to find a place to stay, so we stopped in a hotel. The manager was so friendly, as well as the other three guys who were all sitting around play playing Mafia Wars on Facebook! The we got into into a Farmville discussion and, viola, we were best friends. The manager told us that nothing is open until next weekend - including his hotel. He called a couple people who rent out rooms. He said it was way too expensive, so he gave Jackie a free room in his hotel for the night. Even went to get her a space heater because the furnace wasn't working.

The sky started to turn dark and I didn't know when the last bus back to Sorrento ran. We started walking back to the bus stop when thunder, lightening and rain all came at once. (Again, Cinque Terra) Although I didn't have my umbrella, I didn't care because I was eating the best orange ever to pass my lips. It was huge. It was sweet. It was juicy - so juicy that the skin that separates the segments was disintegrated. OMG. Anywho... just as we were nearing the bus stop we saw the bus was already there. I ran for it and as I jumped on the bus, I yelled back to say, "What's your last name?" I think she said Cohen. I'll have to search Facebook.