Naples sounding too good to miss? Read about my underground experiences there, and find out the best things to do in the area. Amalfi Coast: Ceramics A Girl in Capri" succeeds in a precision landing: this is exactly where you want to be: in the middle of the scented action and outside the hustle and bustle. It lies piled up, by now well dried and in whimsical shapes, in a corner, telling faintly salty-smelling stories of life on the sea.

Skip forward to 1948, and the prior of the Charterhouse discovered the ye olde formula, and sold it to a chemist in Piedmont. This created Cathusia perfume. Whether you believe the tale or not, the more pressing point is the perfume itself: how good is it? You’ve found yourself in one of the most beautiful and culturally-rich areas of Italy: the area around Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Once you’ve explored the sights, the history, the food, there’s only thing thing left… shopping! Falling in love with Sorrento? Read about the town and what to do there, or learn how to visit Sorrento on a budget! Naples: A gift from Christmas Alley If you’d like something a tiny bit smaller, and more likely to survive the journey home, tiles are a good choice. You’ll see plenty of shops selling these, particularly ones depicting the local landscape, or the blue and white Cross of Amalfi. However, my choice was a shop along Via Lorenzo D’Amalfi, which seems to specialise in cat-shaped homewares. And that’s exactly my kind of souvenir! The holiday impression thus drawn in cheerful colors gives pleasure; it shows magnificent nature, laughing people with bright eyes and a sparkling vitality!Sorrento is a great town for shopping – the tiny streets just off Piazza Tasso are full of small stores and stalls selling all kinds of local products, from enormous fruit and vegetables to artisan gelato – but one of the most common sights you’ll see is a workshop selling the wooden boxes that the town is so well known for. Lanvin fragrances are rarely loud or particularly heavy. They still carry the charming personality of the company's founder Jeanne Lanvin as their very own DNA. The best selection is in Sapori di Positano on Via dei Mulini – this little shop has everything that it is possible to produce from the humble lemon. Family run, it’s best known for its line of traditionally-made limoncello, a lemon liqueur that you’ll see quite frequently in the Amalfi Coast area. But don’t settle for the more-generic ones you see in the tourist shops; this is the better stuff. But my favourites are the sweet treats: the lemon candies, nougat (nothing is better than Italian nougat!), and lemon chocolate. Yes, you read that right, lemon chocolate.

Italy, and the Amalfi Coast in particular, have been renowned for ceramics for thousands of years. A fortunate meeting of ancient trade routes and rich volcanic soil meant that the ceramics trade became firmly established early on, and nothing’s changed – you’ll still see countless ceramic shops as you travel along the Amalfi Coast. Around me, everyone is busy and cheerful: the harvest of the first early lemons has been brought in! Now it's time to process them: to boil them down into jellies, juices and to make them into no less delicious liqueurs. It's pleasant here in the fragrant shade, as the grapefruit trees and their many small blossoms smell pleasantly spicy in the sun: it's a scent that exudes vibrancy and stability.Thus, this summer fragrance "A Girl in Capri" is exactly what the name implies: joy of life captured in fragrance with the unmistakable flair of this island. If you’re a hardcore shopper, or if like me, you just fancy a poke around the shops every now and then, you’re in for a treat. The street is at it’s peak in September and October when stallholders are gearing up for the Christmas period, some carving the figures deep within their stall, but it’s not just confined to winter festivities. If you’re a football/soccer fan, then you’ll definitely want to visit: you’ll never again see such a variety of statuettes and caricatures of footballers. Aside from images of the godlike Maradona (who has his own shrine just around the corner at Bar Nilo), you’ll be spoilt for choice for lovingly created statues of Napoli players, and slightly less-than loving figures of the rival Juventus team. Want some more Capri info? Read about my day there, and find out the best things to do on your trip. Positano: Lemon goodies

Gelis and Pudelbonzo have already written really nice commis to this fragrance, but I would like to take up the cudgels for him today. This has been crushed in the mortar - also for further consumption - so that its strong spicy aroma becomes one with the fresh fruity one of lemons and bergamots. The name may sound like a terrible made-for-television movie shown during the festive period, but rest assured! It’s not actually called Christmas Alley. Phew. And it saves us the trip on the crowded ferry, the climb through the narrow alleys crowded with people in summer temperatures.What was that about the trees hugging?", I think, as the wind sends another reminder to me of the sea dancing lively below the property. Even better, all of these souvenirs have a strong basis in Italian history and culture, truly reflecting the area and people who made them. No novelty Michelangelo’s David aprons here! Fancy reading some more on Amalfi? Read about the town, and the world’s cutest puppy, here. Guaranteed Shopping Satisfaction