we had a crazy adventure on the amalfi coast. our first day was chaotic but really wonderful in positano (it was everything i’d dreamed of and more, with a side of four small wild children). the next day ian got really, really sick, and the rest of our time on the amalfi coast involved going to the e.r. twice and trying to take care of a pretty violently ill daddy. it was wild. after ruling out kidney stones and appendicitis, doctors guessed ian had a very severe case of food poisoning. it was a scary and exhausting experience for all of us.

so – especially in retrospect, we were really grateful for that pretty incredibly awesome first day. there’s nothing like positano – the setting could not be more idyllic. when we were getting parked and down to the beach with all the kids, there was some pandemonium. a couple with three kids, all older than ours, approached us and said, “wow, you guys are brave. we have one less than you and it’s crazy.” i looked at them dead in the eyes and said, “no, we’re just stupid.” haha. but once we got settled we had such a great day just enjoying the beach and the scenery.

ian and i decided right away as we were winding down the streets toward the ocean that we were going to come back to this place someday without the children, haha. it’s really magical, and there’s a picture around every corner. i only managed to snap these few!

and the drive back to our airbnb was ridiculously scenic – these photos capture about 1/1000th of the stunning beauty! and some of how pooped the kids were after a day in the sun playing in the sand and sea!

ian started to feel really ill when we headed to a beach near our airbnb the next morning. as it turns out, that day was a national holiday in italy so it was so so crowded. we weren’t sure what to do with ian’s intense stomach spasms – he dropped off the boys and i and went back to the airbnb with the babies to try to rest during their nap. moses, gabriel and i had an adventure on the beach where there was hardly an inch between bathing-suited bodies.

that night we ended up going to the e.r., but the wait was hours and hours long so we went back to the airbnb to try to rest and tried again in the morning (after hardly any rest from intense pain). i dropped ian off and drove on windy foreign roads back to the airbnb with all the kids and did my best to keep them all busy all day and not worry too much about ian. we pulled out all the airplane activities and watched some movies and waited and prayed.

ian left the hospital without a diagnosis but with some medicine and some instructions. he hadn’t improved much but i was able to leave the twins with him and take the boys to a beach after a full day cooped up and stressed out! we went to a tiny town with a tiny little beach and it was sublime to float in the sea and exhale.

when we left amalfi the next morning, driving towards our next stop of tuscany, ian was still feeling dreadful. and i was exhausted! we certainly had a memorable time in amalfi!