Annual photos on the Pupetto bar

The first time we came to Positano, Michael and I found ourselves on an almost empty Fornillo Beach. It was early May, so the summer season hadn’t quite begun, and we had the only sun chairs on the entire beach. We bought lunch from the Pupetto hotel – simple tomato and mozzarella paninis that melted in our mouths. The Pupetto Café wasn’t yet open for the season so we didn’t get to know its team. It was on our second visit, when we returned with a 6-week old baby Easton in early August 2005, that we got to know the friendly guys at the Pupetto Café. Of all of our friends here in Positano, it is this team of guys who are the most excited to welcome us back every year.

We love our days at Pupetto. We love the guys, we love the food (I dream about their Caponata salad all year long!), and we love the relaxed vibe. We love that year after year our routine here remains the same, and one day matches the next day almost exactly – same timing, same espressos in the morning followed by a swim and lunch in the afternoon. We always stay until the sun dips behind the mountain and the crowds have cleared the beach. This is our favourite time of the day. We linger, we chat with the guys, we slowly grab our things and then walk back through town and up the (many) stairs to our apartment, sometimes grabbing a gelato along the way.

I can’t remember when we started taking photos of the kids on the Pupetto bar (I think it started when the boys were little but I haven’t managed to find those old photos), but every year in recent years we’ve snapped this same photo. For a while, the guys joked that we added a new child to the bar every year (which was practically true). It’s been fun to watch them grow up in this same spot every year and to be surrounded by people who have been a part of our journey here. This year I nearly had to ask for help lifting heavy Easton up onto that bar, but I got him up! We asked all the guys to join them at the bar, and these are my favourite photos from this year. So many happy faces!