Advertisement
Yesterday our very special German friends, Peter and Rosita Zue, arrived in Sorrento for their 5-day visit. They flew from Munich, their home town, to Naples; took a bus from the airport to the main train station in Naples; and then boarded a train for the hour-long ride to Sorrento. These intrepid travelers, who have far more
chutzpah than we do, then walked about 1/2-mile from the Sorrento station to reach our apartment, arriving at our door around 5:30 PM.
As a bit of background, we have known Peter and Rosita for a long time. Over the years, they had made many visits to Rosita’s aunt (now deceased), who resided in New Smyrna Beach. Her aunt and Dee’s mother (also deceased) were life-long friends, so we became acquainted with Peter and Rosita during their visits. We spent some time with them during our last odyssey in 2019, before the COVID scourge hit, when they took us under their wings during our stay in Munich. They had shown us many sights in and around that city, so we wanted to return their kindnesses by inviting them to stay with us in Sorrento this year.
After greeting them when they arrived,
it was quite a reunion that ensued! They were understandably weary after their journey, but in good spirits. Since both of them speak fluent English, we shared much conversation, while Rosita prepared some white asparagus (which she had carried all the way from Germany!) to accompany the pork and potatoes Dee had planned for their welcome dinner.
Today our guests awoke well-rested and, after a pot of coffee and Dee's breakfast of eggs, bacon and croissants, were ready to hit the ground running. We decided to accompany them into the old town for a brief orientation, then walked with them to the scenic overlook in the Villa Comunale for a panoramic view of the Gulf of Naples. The weather was ideal today, with blue skies and temperatures that climbed into the 80s, while the gardens in the park were awash in colorful, blooming roses.
Peter decided to walk down the stairs and pedestrian path leading to the Marina Piccolo, the small port from where cruise boats carry passengers to Capri, Napoli and other points along the Amalfi Coast. He and Rosita are considering taking a ferry to visit Capri during their stay in Sorrento, so he wanted to
Dee and Rosita
Villa Comunale, with the Gulf of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius in the background.check schedules and ticket prices. Since they wanted to explore more of the streets and shops in the old town after stopping at the port, Dee and I walked back via Piazza Tasso to the cathedral, where we would all meet around 1:30 PM to have a late lunch together.
When Peter and Rosita rejoined us at the cathedral, we decided to take them to La Maison Douce, thinking they would enjoy the food as well as the ambience, i.e., the antics of Nello, the resident "Romancer of the Stone". He was definitely at the top of his game today, greeting us with hugs and kisses as we approached the terrace, while he rearranged some tables to accommodate the four of us.
All of us enjoyed our meals, from pasta and eggplant to seafood dishes, along with wine and Dee's obligatory limoncello spritzer (of course!). Once we had cleaned our plates, we all lamented about being over-stuffed, but that would change once we were presented with the dessert tray! Even Dee and Rosita succumbed to the enticing array of sweets, so we chose several different items to sample amongst ourselves; at one point one of the waiters served
Dee a delicious lemon sherbet served in a small wine glass! After shots of limoncello were served, Peter vanished for a few minutes to use the restroom inside, but it soon became apparent that he had paid our tab for lunch! Although we objected, he and Rosita insisted, so we thanked them profusely for this unexpected gesture.
We soon said our good-byes to Nello, and while walking toward our exit point from the Corso Italia, Dee and I had a chance encounter with the lovely cashier from the butcher shop up the street from our apartment. While chatting with her briefly, we finally discovered that her name is 'Luisita', and that she will turn 50-years-old later this year (although she looks to be much younger). Having given her our email and WhatsApp contacts a few days ago, we reminded her to send a response before Dee and I leave Sorrento next week.
At this point, Dee and I returned to our apartment, while Peter and Rosita wanted to do some more exploring. Later, after they had returned to the apartment, we all enjoyed some of the leftover asparagus, pork, and potatoes from last evening's supper, along with some
bread and cheese they found during today's stroll around the town.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0303s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jeni
non-member comment
Happy to see Rosita and Peter arrived safely and for reminding us how you met. You all make me so hungry first thing in the morning when I read the blog. Now, I want all those desserts for breakfast and I will eat eggplant parmigiana anytime of day! 😏 can’t wait to see what’s next! 😘