On the Rocks in Sorrento

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We took a 4 hour train from Rome to Naples with a mother/daughter duo from Mexico sharing our car on the train. Then, once in Naples, we switched to a smaller train line that would take us from Naples to Sorrento on the opposite side of the bay. As it happened, this was the worst train ride I could ever imagine. It was a solid hour and a half long train ride that stopped over twenty times on the way to Sorrento. Also, the train was not airconditioned and it was badly overcrowded. So, I got to sit on my bag in the aisle of the train and smell the stink of Italian armpits sans deoderant while we slowly made our way to Sorrento.

Finally, upon arrival in the Sorrento train station we began looking for a taxi to take us to our bed and breakfast. There weren't too many cabs in Sorrento, so when we finally found a cab it just so happend we were standing two doors down from our accomodation. This seemed funny to us, not funny to the cab driver. So we walked to our bed and breakfast, dropped off our bags, and took a walk on the town.

We walked down to the sea and were suprised at the height of the town which seemed to tower over the blue Mediterranean far below. Then we found our way to a restaurant, had a quiet dinner and walked back to the bed and breakfast. The next day I took a quick swim in the Mediterranean, mostly just so I could say I did and realized that the European idea of a beach doesn't hold a candle the the North American standard. Here, in Sorrento, the beach consisted of a few square meters of dirt-like sand with people lying back in speedos smoking cigarettes, practically on top of one another due to the fact that the beach was so tiny. Oh well, at least I can say I swam in the Mediterranean.

Sorrento would serve as our home base over the next few days as we took day trips to the neighboring towns of Positano and Amalfi, both also on the Mediterranean coast. When I look back on Sorrento it seemed to me a very picturesque albeit totally tourist driven place that was fun to visit for a few days, but after that it would sort of seem as though you had seen it all. I guess it would be the kind of place that would be much more memorable mixed with a little romance, but that wasn't in the cards for me this time around. For now I had to settle for twilight walks down meandering Mediterranean lanes with the company of only my parents. Not that I'm complaining... well not complaining too much.

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