Blogs from Campania, Italy, Europe - page 2

Yesterday morning, at around 8:30 AM, we said farewell to our dear friends Peter and Rosita, who departed for their visit to Napoli. As we waved good-bye to them from our balcony, it began to dawn upon us that we, too, would be leaving in just a few days. Whereas our friends carried with them a single suitcase and backpack, we would need several large trunks and a pack mule in order to bring home the many memories we've accumulated during our time in Sorrento. One of the items on our agenda for our last few days, apart from packing and tidying the apartment, was to say our good-byes to some of the special people with whom we've developed some rapport. So today we decided to pay a final visit to Nello and La Maison Douce ... read more

Yesterday, after breakfast, our friends wanted to walk back to Marina Piccolo, the small port from where ferries dock and depart, to check schedules and prices for a ferry from Sorrento to Napoli. They will be leaving us in a few days for Napoli, where they will stay for a couple days in a B&B before returning to Germany. Instead of riding a train back to Naples, they have decided to try the ferry option, which should be far more enjoyable. Meanwhile, Dee and I decided to have lunch at the Tavern Allegra, where we had enjoyed a fabulous meal just before we left for the French Riviera a couple of weeks ago. A friend of ours in Florida had recommended this place, and had raved about its food and live entertainment by the owner’s father ... read more

Wet, windy and gloomy weather returned to Sorrento throughout this past weekend, leaving us confined indoors much of the time. We finally got a break yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, when the rain stayed away for awhile. So we decided to have lunch at La Maison Douce. We had not dined here since we departed Sorrento for our interlude on the French Riviera two weeks ago, so we wanted to pay our respects to Nello, our favorite head waiter and consummate schmoozer. As we've mentioned in previous blog posts, Nello is quite adept at schmoozing his guests. In fact, he's refined his technique to such a degree that he full well deserves the sobriquet of ‘Romancer of the Stone’! He now greets Dee with kisses on her cheek, and me with hugs, while cheerfully catering to our every ... read more

Yesterday afternoon we returned to Sorrento after our 10-day sojourn in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, the charming little piece of paradise we discovered on the Côte d'Azur in the south of France. To tell you the truth, we had become so enchanted with Saint-Jean during our stay that neither of us were particularly excited about returning to Sorrento. But when we opened the door to our apartment on Via degli Aranci, which had been vacant and shuttered during our absence, it did feel a lot like a homecoming! After all, we've spent more than five weeks here, so it really has started to feel like home. Our concierge in Saint-Jean, Jean-Pierre, had arranged for a taxi to the airport yesterday at 8:00 AM for our 10:45 AM flight from Nice to Napoli. Just before the taxi arrived, he came ... read more

There was no lemon juice for breakfast, freshly squeezed or otherwise. There were a lot of cakes though, so I was very happy, despite it not being in the league of the hotel in Gibraltar (see ). I did particularly love the homemade marmalade, although it was made from the usual oranges rather than lemons. We were woken up art 7.00am by someone tidying the gardens with the world's loudest leaf blower, but it wasn't then long before we were planning to get up anyway, as the plan for today was to go to Pompeii. This, to be honest, was the main reason for coming here. We had been reliably advised that the best way to get from Sorrento to Pompeii is by train so we headed to the train station, which was only about a ... read more