Sorrento Moon

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May 11th 2022

Published: June 18th 2022

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Delek Delek

Positano

The money shot. You could get similar views on the coastal road on the bus.

For those of you who have got the Tina Arena reference in the title...congratulations, you are old and probably spent some time in Australia and New Zealand in the 90s. It was the first thing that came to mind when I found out I was going to be staying in Sorrento on our romantic getaway to Italy and I had assumed that Ms. Arena was singing about this beautiful cliffside town. Turns out she was singing about her childhood town in Victoria, Australia, but I digress...

Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast have long been on my hitlist but the Amalfi in particular is what many would deem a romantic spot, so I almost deliberately avoided it during my single days. Now, however, I no longer have that excuse, so I can now start checking off these romantic destinations in the way that I have always thought they should be enjoyed - with a partner.

We flew into Naples and after we were shoved into a shared taxi to the train station, the view outside on the way in was exactly what I expected - dirty, dishevelled and disorderly. I felt like I was back in Latin America or

Blue Grotto, Capri

The amazingly illuminated water of the Grotta Azzurra on Capri.

India. I relished the chaos however, having been for so long in the relative order of Germany; the feeling reminded me of how I felt when being pulled through the intestines of Old Delhi by rickshaw. Britta wasn't quite as enthused and was happy she wasn’t going to be spending any time here; she is flying straight back to Berlin after seeing the more serene parts of Campania, while I will stay on a couple more days afterwards to explore. So more about Naples later...

Once at Naples central train station, we jumped straight on to the train to Sorrento, which was a long, one hour and twenty minute ride on some hard plastic seats, the sun setting during the journey. The Circumvseuviana train service is a pretty cheap and handy way of getting between Naples, Pompeii and the Sorrentine Peninsula, the scruffiness and graffiti of Naples giving way to the donkeys and lemon trees of Sorrento and its surrounds.

Our B&B was a short, handy walk from the train station but we had a bit of trouble finding it, as it was hidden within a maze of apartment blocks with no clear signage as to where it actually was. It turns out to be a flat

Southern Coast Of Capri

With the Faraglioni di Capri on the very right of the picture.

within a residential block and was recently renovated and very nice. The balcony had a great view of the mountains looming over the town and was a nice view to have while enjoying your breakfast.
Our first dinner that night was rather forgettable though - as we had arrived in town late, we had to find a nearby restaurant that was open and while we got lucky with finding a place, we weren't especially lucky with the food. Sorrento is famous for gnocchi alla sorrentina, which is gnocchi baked in cheese and tomatoes; while the version I had was nice enough, it wasn't mind-blowing.

We set out to explore the town the next day and the first thing that struck me was that there was a bit of 60s glamour to the place; the second thing that struck me was the sweet smell of the lemon and orange trees that are all over the city, their fruits just casually dropping onto the street. This is in addition to the many plantations that one can see on the way in on the train. I wonder if anyone can simply pick the fruit from these public trees?
Sorrento is famous for

Duomo, Amalfi

Amalfi's mightily impressive cathedral.

its lemons and some of the ones on sale were the biggest I have ever seen, with the biggest being the size of a small watermelon. Limoncello is also famously made here - which is something rammed home to every tourist by the scores of shops in the old town selling lemon and limoncello related tat.

Otherwise, Sorrento is the quintessential Italian town in many ways but it could really have been any old European town, not just in Italy but in Croatia or Greece for that matter, with its cute narrow alleys packed with tourists and tourist shops.
The seaside location means that it has a “beach” where you can hire a deck chair on the boardwalk; this is where the high-end 60s glamour comes into it and in some ways you are taken back in time to an old Bond film or perhaps somewhere flash like the Côte d’Azur, with grand, fancy hotels on the cliffs. There is a walkway built into the cliffs that got you back up from the beach and port to the old town.
The sun came out in the afternoon after our exploration and we decided to have a slow one, having

Porto di Sorrento, Sorrento

View from Sorrento's main port. From here you can see Sorrento's elegant clifftop hotels.

a late lunch al fresco with an Aperol spritz. Watching the cars, motorcycles and pedestrians on the pretty main square…life could've been worse.
I've never been a good day-drinker (some would say drinker full stop) and the rather strong Aperol spritz put me to sleep; we snuck out later that evening for a dinner of gelato in a brioche bun, which we curiously saw people eating in the afternoon. The verdict? It’s OK and is a bit more filling than a normal gelato but I would probably go for the waffle cone next time. The cheese and pear gelato was delicious though.

The next day, we hopped back on the Circumvesuviana to explore the magnificent ruins of Pompeii.
The famously historic and captivating tale of how this ancient Roman city was buried under the pumice and volcanic ash spewed out by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius, was one that was etched into my mind as a kid - so it was cool to finally come here. The tragic and apocalyptic story was gripping; the fact that the city and the lives within it were frozen in time, was fascinating.
Exploring the ruins, the entire city was extraordinarily well-preserved

Pompeii

One of the main thoroughfares of the ancient town of Pompeii.

and remarkably intact - perhaps more than any other ruins I have visited. Being buried in volcanic ash for almost two thousand years would do that, I guess. It is also much bigger than I was expecting - I reckon that it would take a good 15-20 minutes to walk from one side of the city to the other. The city even had it's own coliseum. It was amazing to explore and you really got a feel for what it was like to live here.
Yet it was still underwhelming to an extent, having visited so many ruins before.
Among the highlights within the city however, was the ancient graffiti and how they depicted the Vulgar Latin spoken colloquially at the time; as well as the amount of erotic imagery, so much so that there was an entire museum dedicated to it.
While we passed on the many tour guides touting their stuff at the park entrance - who would've been able to tell us more about what we were seeing and some stories of the city and the disaster - we still felt like we had a great experience during the four hours that we spent there.

I

View From The Bus

Not a bad photo out of moving bus, in my opinion. You can also get a sense of how narrow the coastal road is en route from Positano to Amalfi.

had told all my friends and colleagues that I was going to the Amalfi Coast for my holiday but it took us until our third day here to actually visit it, as we boarded a bus from Sorrento bound for Positano and Amalfi itself. The weather forecast for our entire stay wasn't great, so it was a pleasant surprise that we were greeted with a beautiful day that morning.
Britta had read that the bus ride itself was supposedly amazing and she wasn't wrong - the cliff side views on the coastal road were breathtaking. The road itself was pretty narrow however and often there was only enough space for one car to pass and the ride reminded me of the Death Road and Colombian drivers on blind corners…you need patience to be a bus driver here!
I am also certain that James Bond has driven this road before...

The literal cliffside town of Positano is absolutely beautiful and reminded me a lot of Greek cliffside towns such as Santorini. Perhaps even more however, Positano also reminded me of the Cinque Terre and its towns built onto the slopes with multi-coloured pastel buildings that lead down on to the beach. And of course, the views looking

Artistic Arrangement, Positano

Something very nicely done for visitors to snap photos of, featuring the famous lemons of the region and a spectacular view.

down on to the beach from the top of the town are amazing too. Positano has definitely been the most beautiful place we have been to so far.
There were unsurprisingly a lot of tourists, many of them Americans and Brits; Asian tourists were conspicuous by their absence.
We spent about an hour sipping an espresso and a “Secret Cool” mocktail (whose "secret" ingredient was aloe vera) at a cafe overlooking the beach…it was so nice.

Amalfi is not so nice - a little more run-down, a little more dishevelled - but it has a surprisingly impressive duomo and and a character of its own. While Positano trades on its beauty, down the road in Amalfi, they trade a little more on their history. The Maltese Cross is said to have originated from here and the donkey is revered as a symbol of the town and the region; Britta found that cute enough to buy some donkey-printed coasters. Narrow, enchanting alleyways and staircases also contribute to Amalfi's atmosphere.
We had the best dinner of the trip so far in the shadow of the duomo, where Britta enjoyed the grilled squid, while I enjoyed the seafood linguine. I passed on

Piazza Duomo, Amalfi

The rather pleasant central square in front of the duomo in Amalfi.

the sorbet served in a massive local lemon - they are agony for my teeth…

Despite the most pleasurable of experiences, I was nevertheless saddened by the fact that nothing I saw that day had blown me away…that I'd already seen something similar to everything I had seen. Is it the natural consequence of my travelling experiences? My maturity and age? Both? Will I ever be wowed again?

My age was certainly what made us decide to have a rest day the next day. We were meant to go on a hike known as the "Path Of The Gods" that took you over a hill (no pun intended!) and down towards Positano, with the most amazing of views - similar to the one I did at the Cinque Terre. We had however, already seen a lot of stunning views and were not super-keen on four hours of hiking in the sun…I'm certainly not a sprightly 25 year old anymore, who can smash a four-hour hike in three!

We arguably saved the best for last as we went to Capri on our final full day.
An expensive twenty-five minute ferry got us there from Sorrento and at first

Marina Grande, Capri

Capri's main port isn't the nicest part of the island but it is still a pretty picture nonetheless.

sight, the run-down Marina Grande where we arrived left us distinctly underwhelmed.
Wanting to get the main sight out of the way, we decided to get straight on a tour to the famous Blue Grotto...which was also not cheap. A boat ride to the Blue Grotto cost us another 20€ and then once you are there, you have to get on a tiny dinghy for 14€ to go into the grotto itself. You then have to tip your gondolier about 10€. Derek the backpacker would’ve been outraged! At least the gondolier entertains you with instructions, singing and facts, like one would in Venice. The gondolier also makes sure that you are lying flat on your back as you enter the grotto, since the entrance is only one metre high.
But you could say that it was all about worth it; the colour of the water inside the cave looks like a swimming pool at a five star hotel that is lit up at night, except that the light effect here was all natural, as the sunlight reflected off the white sand twenty metres below the surface. Apparently, Emperor Tiberius used the grotto has his own personal swimming pool and why

Capri Town

Narrow walkways with high-end shops in the old town of Capri.

not - it is certainly a swimming pool fit for an emperor!

Emerging from the rather romantic dinghy ride in the grotto, we then discovered that we had unknowingly also bought a circumnavigation of the entire island for our 20€ ticket, but rather than it being something to endure, it was surprisingly pleasant, as we were taken to several landmarks on what was a perfect day. Among the landmarks we saw, were Marina Piccola (the smaller port on the island), the lighthouse, the faraglioni (hole-in-the-rock formations just off the island), the Green Grotto and a cave with a rock that looks like the Virgin Mary.
Throughout the boat ride, the water looked so inviting and I would loved to have dived into it...I was very jealous of those who were sunbathing on private boats and yachts that were able to do so...

Capri of course, is historically steeped in glamour and intrigue as a getaway for the rich. While this may not be reflected at Marina Grande, a ride up the funicular to the historic old town gets you to where it is all really at.
The old town itself is - apart from all the high-end fashion

Gardens Of Augustus, Capri

The Giardini di Augusto is perhaps the most scenic and picturesque spot on the island of Capri.

and jewellery stores - like any other island old town you might encounter in Greece, Croatia or Spain, but once you get to the Giordini di Augusto, this is where the charm starts.
Wonderfully neat and manicured little streets lead you to the wonderfully neat and manicured Gardens Of Augustus, where the immaculately laid out foliage takes a back seat to the stunning views over the south coast of Capri.
We then explored the narrow alleys around the old town which led us to many five star hotels and classic old villas. You could smell the wealth around the place but it made for a wonderfully pleasant stroll; and for us to wish that one day we will have the money to be able to stay at one of these places…

But perhaps the highlight of the day was having an al fresco lunch at a chic restaurant with decent view; every table had an ice bucket for wine and was bedecked in white; there were loads of staff members, all of them wearing white shirts and waistcoats. It looked expensive, but we may not ever be on Capri again, so we decided to treat ourselves and eat like

Streets Of Capri

The elegant streets of the island, where many a grand old villa reside.

the rich folks who have been coming to Capri for decades. When in Rome…or when in Capri, in this case.
Over some white wine and the best pasta I have had on the trip, it was just about the perfect lunch and afternoon.

Now those of you who know me or follow this blog, will know that I am not a romantic and would normally turn my nose up at all the couples around us enjoying a romantic getaway - the romantic in me died a long time ago - but things are different when you are on the other side. There are a lot of places that I have always wanted to visit but felt that I couldn’t, as they are romantic/couply places that would be awful to visit alone; but now I can finally enjoy them and our time on Capri really was romantic and I have to admit that...I enjoyed it very much (as did Britta, of course).
We could’ve explored more of the island and visited some villas and old ruins dating back to Roman times, but we couldn’t really bear getting on to another bus full of loud American tourists, of which there were

Corso Italia, Sorrento

This pedestrianised thoroughfare is one of Sorrento's most important and elegant streets, flanked by shops, cafes, restaurants and gelaterias.

lots! We instead wiled our time away on park benches in shady, beautiful surrounds and on the beach at Marina Grande.

Once back in Sorrento, we had one final dinner there, al fresco again in the old town. The food was OK - we decided that gnocchi alla sorrentina is nice enough but not amazing - a little overrated, perhaps. Britta then popped her limoncello cherry. She thought it was nice, but not enough for her to buy a bottle to take home…

The next day, Britta's flight out of Naples was in the evening, so we had a whole day to kill. Things didn't get off to the greatest of starts, as the B&B couldn't store our luggage for us and then the cafe that the B&B owner told us could, was closed. Which led to us frustratingly lugging our luggage all over town while deciding what to do. Thankfully and conveniently, we were able to keep our bags at the train station.
Free of our bags, we then went to Sorrento's old harbour, which is pretty run down - it had the feel of a real port village, unlike the touristy new port. Nevertheless, restaurants and

L'Antica Trattoria, Sorrento

Pretty restaurant where we had our final - and very tasty - lunch in Sorrento.

cafes lined the waterfront, but it felt a little sketchy to be honest…

If we thought we had already had our “nice” meal on the Amalfi Coast, then we were wrong as we rocked up to L’Antica Trattoria. With tables immaculately laid out on a wonderfully shaded patio, we felt a little out of place at first and got a little scared when two glasses of champagne and a fried ricotta starter showed up at our table unannounced - and then we saw the prices on the menu. Thankfully there was a lunch deal going for 30€, which came with a starter, main and dessert. I also thought “f*ck it, I’m on holiday", and that we deserved to treat ourselves. And in wild contrast to my backpacking days, I can now actually afford to treat myself in a place like this, so why not - life is short!
And enjoy it we did - the fried zucchini starter was amazing and the lemon cream dessert delicious. The octopus pasta I had on Capri was better than the seafood spaghetti I had here though, as I thought the spaghetti was a little overcooked. And I think I will end every

Britta & I

At the viewpoint of the Gardens Of Augustus on Capri.

lunch I have now with an espresso! The long lunch helped us to kill the time we had to wait until it was time to head back to Naples.

Overall, it was a great trip and my first "romantic" one with a significant other. They always say that a long trip together is the first real test of a couple and while I admit we sometimes had our challenges, we passed!
As for the Amalfi Coast itself, it is amazingly pretty and really is that quintessential Italian holiday that everyone dreams about and I am sure that if this was my first rodeo, that I would’ve been blown away.

For now however, it is back into the hustle and bustle of Naples!

Ciao!
Derek

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