August 23, 2009

Ravello is the most beautiful village in the world

I've fallen in love with Ravello, luckily my summer love is not some hunk but a town on the Amalfi Coast, perched high on a mountain overlooking the sea. It has it all: wonderful little streets, crystal clear coves, and a lively nightlife centered around the steps of the main square's church, where night after night, we'd sit, observe, and chat with the locals. One night, we fell asleep at the top of the steps, right at the church door, really. We woke up distraught, thinking we'd committed some kind of sacrilege, but no one seemed to mind our little heavenly nap. That's Ravello – peaceful, beautiful, and pleasant.

The beaches are rocky and only accessible from the hotel (something to keep in mind if you ever go). Generally, all the beaches in that area are rocky, and we were amazed at how Italians make the most of every square centimeter of land. I recommend spending a little extra money for something more intimate (a hammock, private beach, small boat... anything to keep people from stepping on your limbs).

Gosh... oh my, how handsome the Consort looks on the beach! Hehe, he never knows what I post until he sees it online the next day. I'm sure he won't mind me featuring him in true Light Blue style... I hope.

I like how he's been cuffing his pant hems lately; I think such a simple gesture makes them look summery.

Maje dress, Zara skull scarf

Ravello is famous for its Music Festival. We happened to be there for this year's festival and attended a Canadian contemporary dance ballet, which you can't imagine how boring it was (can someone please clarify if it's normal for dancers in modern ballet to scream, cry, and wallow like pigs in a puddle?), but it allowed us to enjoy the spectacular views from the stage.

Everything is covered in bougainvillea (what a great word) and wonderful balconies. The entire town is super well-maintained, clean, and the people are nicer than in a Disney fairy tale.

Zara shirtdress, Toms espadrilles

So I wouldn't be caught unprepared, as happened to me in Ibiza, I brought out the heavy artillery for the beach and was so ridiculous that I even wore a sequined dress, ha!

Juicy Couture dress

Ravello has welcomed dozens of illustrious visitors and celebrities who have come here to escape the worldly hustle and bustle and find inspiration. The divine Greta Garbo lived for a long time at Villa Cimbrone, Richard Wagner composed his opera Parsifal at Villa Rufolo, Truman Capote and Humphrey Bogart filmed "Beat the Devil" here, Virginia Woolf also visited, and numerous English aristocrats moved here to read in the shade and design spectacular gardens.

But the footprint that made me most excited to discover was that of E.M. Forster. As a teenager, I was obsessed with his novels and the film adaptations made by James Ivory. A Passage to India, A Room with a View, Maurice, Howards End... I devoured them all... of course, that's why my head is the way it is.

Apologies for my disappearance this week; getting an internet connection on vacation is an odyssey.

A thousand kisses,

The Countess, more aristocratic than ever

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