Ravello, Wednesday 4 June, Day 42

Today we tried to sleep in, but we couldn't resist the light and the view, so we sat soaking up the morning sun and the panorama for a while then headed down for breakfast on the terrace. The view and the fragrant lemon trees seem to make food taste better - those were the best corn flakes ever.

After a bit more lounging round we pottered off to explore the nearby garden of the Villa_Cimbrone. I knew nothing about it and had no expectations, but as we approached it past a cliff face covered in honey suckle and roses, all in bloom, I began to think it might be something special, and it was. The location is stunning, on a little peninsula of land pointing out above the sea, and the gardens have been laid out by some inspired gardeners. We spent an extremely happy couple of hours wandering, admiring the faux temples and statues, the rose gardens, the magnificent vistas, the artfully framed groves. There were even two massive gum trees, exuding the nostalgic scent of the Australian bush, to remind us of home. It is a truly beautiful place. We liked it so much we want to go back there tomorrow.

Today's pic is us on the Terrace of Infinity at the end of the garden, me clutching Anne in terror as the cliff drops sheer several hundred metres -at least - just behind us.

The Villa Cimborne would be a hard act to follow, and indeed our next stop, Villa Rufalo, seemed pretty average by comparison, a bit scrappy and shop soiled. They hold a music festival on the grounds, and build a platform on scaffolding out from the cliff face to accommodate the orchestras. I would be too terrified to play a note.

For dinner we went to a restaurant with a magnificent view in the opposite direction to last night, so we could watch the shadows slowly creeping up the face of the mountains opposite as the sun set. We had a good talk with an older English lady we had met briefly on the train coming into Salerno on Saturday. She was an inspiration, travelling by herself, with a walking stick from a recently broken ankle, but really having a good time.  She has spent the week here in Ravello, and next time round I think we would do the same. We had a lovely dinner, listened to the happy banter of a Danish family with two lovely young sons sitting at the table sitting next to us, and shuffled off down the enchanted streets back to our hotel, feeling very fond of Ravello.

We will be sorry to leave tomorrow.