October 30, 2018

Finding Hygge in Positano, Italy

On a recent recent trip to Europe back in May, partially for work and partially to get away from the busy North American life and to visit friends and colleagues, the Hygge North Team had the chance to take a little detour to the famous little town of Positano on the Amalfi Coast.  Positano quickly proved itself to be one of the most beautiful places we have been to, despite having travelled to some pretty amazing places together already. In order to get there we took a high speed train from Rome to Naples where we hired a car to take us to Positano . We first made a stop in the well preserved ancient town of Pompei, where we learned that even the ancient Romans knew how to Hygge (see next weeks post!).  From there we took some extremely windy, steep cliffside roads to Positano which were enough to make most North Americans wet themselves, but the views were spectacular. 

Photo of the view from the road leading to Positano Italy, overlooking the beatiful Amalfi Coast. Sparkling light blue water many miles below is filled with speed boats navigating around jagged rock faces which protrude from the sea. The ocean meets the cliffside town and from the distance of the photo can be seen the colourful homes and shops on the cliff-side which make up the beautiful holiday town of Positano.

As we approached the town and it could be seen from quite a far distance, you could feel the excitement in the car rising. We knew we had found the perfect summer Hygge destination. Positano has a population of about four thousand which our driver informed us grows to over ten thousand during tourist season. It was an essential stop for the ancient Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians back in the day and is said to be named after Poseidon, God of the Sea.  In the words of John Steinbeck, who wrote an essay in Harpers Bazaar about Positano which became largely responsible for its popularization with American tourists; Positano is "a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and become beckoningly real after you have gone." Writing this a few months later as it starts to get cooler in the Pacific Northwest, we couldn't agree more. 

 

Photo of a beautiful girl with black hair wearing a white jump-suite, white fedora hat with a black stripe sitting on turquoise colored cushions at the hotel restaurant and bar at the Hotel Marincanto in Positano, Italy overlooking the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. The sea is many miles below and is littered with boats on its beautiful and sparkling blue-green water. The girl is smiling and looks like she is having the time of her life in this amazing place.

Our first stop was the Hotel Marincanto, which one of our awesome team members, Astrid, had found and booked for us on Booking.com. This beautiful hotel is perched on the cliffside overlooking the Amalfi coast, and if you are looking for excellent service, friendly staff and great food look no further. The patio features turquoise colored benches and Hygge inspired pillows and quickly became our favorite place for our morning work sessions. Jackie Kennedy even stayed here at one point, and a stroll around the lobby leaves you feeling some strong nostalgic vibes. 

Photo of the lobby at the Hotel Marincanto in Positano, Italy. There is a piece of exposed cliffside on which the hotel is perched in the middle of the photo with a living wall of sorts consisting of plants growing out of the cliffside. White, mid century modern style chairs decorated with pink pillows and surrounded by geometrically patterned tables. Lambs with baby blue vases and framed photos add to the scene. A classic Italian tiled floor with matching light blue and yellow accents makes up the base of the photo.

Photo of potted plants found on the streets of Positano, Italy. The plants are encased in vases that look like natural rocks.

The next day, just Lesley and I booked a photographer duo for a memorable couples photo-shoot from Flytographer.com. Mary and Maurizio were a pleasure to work with and did an amazing job. We highly recommend them if you are looking to get photos done in the Naples or Positano area. Despite experiencing some car trouble prior to the shoot they went out of their way to borrow a friend's car in order to make sure to make our day special, and we couldn't be happier with the results and the memories we now get to keep forever.

 

Photo of a husband and wife taken during a Flytographer photo shoot in Positano, Italy. The photo is taken in front of the large green entrance door to the famous Church of Sant Maria Assunta. The girl is wearing a stunning floor length red and pink dress with long sleeves. The man is wearing a blue blazer and grey checkered slacks. They holding each-other in a deep embrace and looking longingly into each others eyes. They are juxtaposed to the left in the photo. The girl has long back hair reaching the middle of her back and the man has long dirty blonde hair reaching down to his shoulders. They look deeply in love.

Photo taken overhead of an outdoor shop in Positano, Italy with all white, female garments line a clothesline hanging system featuring the signature lemon print that Positano is known for.

On our third day we visited the island of Capri with the help of Blue Star Tours. We quickly made friends with the rest of the people on the tour, with them all being from the US. The boat trip to the island was extremely choppy and resulted in a lot of sea sickness, but this was quickly fixed with beer. We had a great time with our new friends and made plans to meet at Franco's Bar the following day, a place that had become our go-to spot for drinks and snacks after our initial visit. Franco's features delicious cocktails and appetizers and an incredible view. The Hygge vibes were strong here; it was always packed with people from all over the world, spending time together with old and new friends, family and colleagues. The decor was immensely popular amongst our team as well. 

Photo of the sitting area at Franco's Bar in Positano, Italy. Blue chairs surround white tables and an accent piece to the left which has been painted from its original colour to Yellow. Shining white tile floors and the beautiful background oif the

The following day it was time to go on to our next destination visiting some colleagues in Luxembourg, and as we went on a final walk around the steep streets and alleyways we couldn't help but feel a little bit sad to be leaving. Now, writing this a few months later, the quote spoken by John Steinbeck that I mentioned previously couldn't ring truer. Positano truly is a place that does not feel quite real when you are there but becomes beckoningly real once you leave. We were lucky enough, however, to recreate memories through photography, and we wanted to be able to share those beautiful memories with you. Have a look at our Premium Prints Collection. Check out "Pretty Positano by L&M Photography or click on the image below." On sale now during our Welcome Winter Sale while we remember the happy times we had there.

Michael

 

Marketing Image of the Pretty Positano print available from the Premium Prints Collection. Gorgeous photograph of Positano, Italy taken from the water. A blue boat manned by a single person appears in the right hand corner on top of sparkling blue-green water. The town is to the right, perched on a cliffside and littered with blue, light red, yellow and other coloured homes and shops. The mountains are in the distance and the sunlight is creating a blinding effect on the lens.

Written by Michael Sikorski

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