Sorrentine splendor

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Date Saturday 18th September 2010
City Rome - Naples - Sorrento, Italy
Currency $NZ 0.55 = 1EUR
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine - slightly overcast

We were heading South on the fast train to Naples today at 1.00pm so we had the morning to finish off our sightseeing. We enjoyed a leisurely walk to the Spanish steps, with very few people out and about at 9.30am. After this it was time to partake in a coffee and a Marmalat croissant at a cafe called AutoGrill. We were very Mediterranean and had our breakfast standing up. Refreshed, refuelled and recaffeinated we made our way to the National Monument, at the intersection of Via Nazionale and Via Del Corso. This is an amazing monument with a couple of museums hidden within its immense base. We scaled the polished external marble steps, past the ever watchful whistle police, ready to blow their piercing weapon at the first sign of a tourist sitting on the steps or eating. They carried their whistle with menace and weren’t afraid to blow it until they were blue in the face! A nice surprise was to find a cafe hidden away at the rear of the monument near the top, providing a shady retreat to soak up the expansive sights spreading out in all directions. We enjoyed spending some time up there before exploring the labyrinth inside the monuments base. Aware of our time constraints, we strolled along Via Dei Fore Imperiali and viewed Caesars forum before heading back to our apartment on Via Serpenti. We met with the owner of the apartment to say goodbye and as we stepped out onto the street a taxi was going by - so perfect timing! We had a quick trip to the train station and had an hour to relax before our departure. The fast train was fabulous, with comfy seats and the hour and 10 minutes to Naples passed very quickly. Once at Naples we jumped in a cab and had to negotiate the fee to the ferry terminal where we were to pick up our Hertz rental car. For whatever reason they weren’t using their meters and would just announce their price. We negotiated down from 20 Euro to 10 Euro plus luggage fee. Should’ve held back for more as due to the language barrier we ended up walking for about 500 metres back to the Hertz depot from where he dropped us off!
The timing actually worked out OK as the office didn’t open until 3.00pm, so we were on the road with our feisty little 3 door Lancia by 3.30pm, Jennie the chief navigator leading us onto the autostrada with no problems at all. Once we arrived at the Sorrento peninsular we turned off the autostrada and slowed to a fast crawl as we made our way along the coast to find our accommodation for the night. We were booked at ‘The Secret Garden’ Relais in Piano di Sorrento from tomorrow night, but we thought that hopefully there may be a vacancy there for tonight as well. We didn’t have a map of the Sorrento peninsular either so tried in vain to find a tourist office that could supply one. It wasn’t until we got into the town of Sorrento itself and found a small bookstore that we were sufficiently armed with said map to seek out our accommodation. First realisation - we had overshot ‘The Secret Garden’ by quite a bit. Second realisation - there are a lot of very narrow and unmarked one-way streets throughout the whole area! After a frustrating half an hour of going around in circles and reversing out of narrow one way streets we eventually found the front door after abandoning the car and walking.
Third realisation - you really should book ahead at popular destinations! Unfortunately the owner said that they were fully booked, and after phoning around other accommodation to no avail, took pity on us and offered us her daughter’s bedroom, who is currently away at university. We gratefully accepted her offer and lugged all our bags the three floors to the room. It is a wonderful 18th century villa set in citrus groves and magnolia trees - www.secretgardenrelais.com - Via Gottola, 14, 80063 Piano di Sorrento. After a quick change we headed out to explore the local piazza to find some dinner. We discovered a very popular eatery called ‘Le Tre Arcate’ Il ristorante (the 3 arches) in the Piazza Cota and settled in for a well deserved break.


Date Sunday 19th September 2010
City Piano di Sorrento, Italy
Currency $NZ 0.55 = 1EUR
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine

This was our first ‘Lazy Sunday’ on our holiday and we had a bit of a lie-in before ambling down for breakfast. It was obviously late enough that our proper room was now available for us to move into! When we were walking around the town last night we had noticed a few shops that we wanted to check out today. So off we headed only to discover that everything was closed today! We meandered down to check out the beach, which is reached by a road that zig-zags down the cliff to the beach about 150 metres below. Deciding to maybe explore this at a later date, we found a quaint local restaurant called ‘Il Chiosco’ on Via Delle Rose, 76 in Piano di Sorrento for lunch. We enjoyed typical Italian fare - fettuccine, cannelloni, beer, Chianti wine and cappuccino! It isn’t cheap though - even in the outskirts of town lie this - 27Euro for a light lunch - but typical for the times we have eaten out in Italy. Following this we thought that the best way to immerse ourselves into the local way of life was to do as the Romans do. Thus, we retired for a siesta in the afternoon and sunbathing by the pool. The hunger pangs kicked in later so we wandered into town for dinner. Everything was still closed except for what has become our “local” (the 3 arches), where we bought takeaways and ate them there - rather than ordering from the menu. We finished the night off with a delicious gelato from the bar next door to the restaurant before walking home. There is wi-fi access at the accommodation so we tried to get some work done before bed. Unfortunately there were some complications so it was very slow progress. The boyfriend of the owner’s daughter tried to help but he gave up and we went to bed at 11.30pm with the promise of a new router for the wi-fi tomorrow.


Date Monday 20th September 2010
City Sorrento and Amalfi Coast, Italy
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine and sunny

We were up bright and early today as we were going on a road trip around the peninsular. We headed out about 8.30am but Shaun wasn’t following instructions very well so after half an hour of driving hadn’t actually gone anywhere. Once Jennie had reprogrammed him we were away and racing! We travelled from Meta di Sorrento across the backbone of the peninsular to Positano, before driving along the narrow, winding roads only slightly wider than goat-tracks, clinging precariously to the mountain side. The drive got interesting when the local buses careened around corners with their horns blaring to advertise their approach. This usually ended with some quick reversing into non-existent gaps before they over ran you. We had built up a hunger by the time we got to Amalfi so we parked up and went for a walk around this gorgeous town. We found a lovely cafe along the boardwalk where we settled in for lunch before continuing our ‘Italian Job’ car chase along the coastline. Next stop was at the relaxed village of Maiori where it was a time to test the waters of the Gulf of Solerno. We had a quick dip in the calm ocean before retiring to our towels to get our first taste of Amalfi coast sun. We gave ourselves an hour before heading off to Vietri sul Mare and onto the autostrada for home. We stopped in at the supermarket in our village ‘Superemercato 3 Esse - Sisa” on Corso Italia for some supplies for our anti-pasta dinner. Having left our last bread knife in Rome we needed to purchase another at a fairly reasonable 3.50Eur - the same price as a bottle of Vino Maschio Pinot Rosa Vino Frizzante - this means it is a lovely fizzy rose wine - very drinkable on a warm evening!


Date Tuesday 21st September 2010
City Sorrento, Italy
Currency $NZ 0.55 = 1EUR
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine, but cloudy at times

Today we thought we’d spend the day exploring our local environs of Sorrento, so decided to walk the 25 minutes from Piano di Sorrento to the main town. We had to share the road with the zippy scooter riders, lumbering lorries, behemoth buses, the odd tourist and crazy cars as several long sections of the footpath merged into the road. The only differentiation between the road and “footpath” was some zebra style painted white lines on the edge of the road! We spent some time doing a little window shopping but didn’t really find anything that piqued our fancy. In the end we bought a hat each. We noticed that there seemed to be quite a lot of tourists in town, and when we found a viewpoint of the harbour, we realised why - there were three cruise ships in town! A Silver Seas ship, a Celebrity Azamara line and a Princess ship. It is indeed a small world though, as we bumped into our Jeweller from Wellington that made our wedding rings, who was travelling on ‘The Silver Wind’ with his fiancée. Sorrento was criss-crossed with many small side streets filled with eateries and shops, one of which Shaun found a theme present for Christmas. After all this window shopping we found a quiet little Ristorante for lunch with a view of the frenetic piazza. During our meal we had a surprise guest visit us - a humming bird flitting around the flower box right next to us! They are so tiny - about the size of a large bumblebee! Jen managed to get a great photo of it. After lunch we went for a walk and about half an hour later Shaun realised that he had left the Christmas present behind at the cafe! So on our way out of town we popped in to see if it was there but weren’t too hopeful - but the cafe staff located it immediately so good news all round. We deduced to try the local train service as we’d been advised that it takes just four minutes from Sorrento to Piano - our home stop. This was correct - a great efficient service for just 1.10eur each one way. When we got back to Piano Shaun decided to give an Italian barber a try - not to cut his hair but to have a cut-throat razor shave. It was only 4 Euro with complimentary face massage and an Espresso. Since we had enjoyed a lovely restaurant lunch it was home to the Secret Garden for dinner. We tried the dried soup that we had bought in Edinburgh - a yummy Chicken and Lemongrass Thai mix. Added to our antipasti supplies we were well fed.



Date Wednesday 22nd September 2010
City Isle of Capri
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine and sunny


It dawned a gorgeous day again. We can never sleep in as they have the church bells clanging and big booming cannon-sounding fireworks going off at 8.30am. This along with the pigeons on our attic room roof ensures we don’t waste a second of the day! After our 4 minute train journey along the line we caught the fast ferry across to Isle of Capri. This island is at the front of the Sorrentine peninsular and is one of the most celebrated islands in the world. It was a favourite holiday resort for the Roman emperors who erected sumptuous villas there. The island has developed fishing and wine industries but tourism is undoubtedly its primary income source. There are two options of ferry. The 40 minute and the 20 minute. We were happy to take the 40 minute as it is only 19Eur return. Unfortunately we weren’t early enough to secure a ticket for this infrequent service and we discovered it was full. Luckily the fast service runs more often and we were able to secure a seat on the 9.45am service for 27 Euro return each. Our ticket gave us a return time of 3.20pm. Jennie was uncertain whether this was able to be used for any return time - so she swapped the ticket with a lady who wanted an early return time than hers - which was 5.45pm. This may not have been necessary - but she wanted to be sure we had adequate time on the island and that we wouldn’t be turned away at the pier or made to purchase a new ticket for missing the 3.20pm ferry. On arrival into the port “Marina Grande” there are many eateries and souvenir shops as one would expect to greet the hundreds of tourists arriving each day. The towns of Capri and Anacapri are up the hillside and there is a funicular that operates to assist people make the journey up to the capital - Capri. We walked up the hill instead of waiting half an hour for the lazier tourists to take the funicular. This also made us feel less guilty for the lunch we had planned later in the day! We made it into the centre “Piazzetta” - heart of the medieval quarter; then walked about half an hour to the “Arco Naturale” natural arch. A most spectacular site. We stopped on the way back at a gorgeous restaurant called Ristorante La Palette on Via Matermania #36 that was empty - despite its gorgeous position overlooking the hillsides and water. The restaurant manager was lovely and spoke Italian, English, German, French and Dutch. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of Rose, freshly made pasta with shellfish and seafood made for a perfect lunch break. Overlooking the jagged coastline of Capri we commented how a boat ride around the island would need to be on the list of things to do next time! We met a Kiwi working in Ireland and his 15 year old son from Tauranga at the table next to us - once the restaurant started to fill up. We started a conversation with them after Shaun asked them to “please keep your accent down!” A laugh or two and easy conversation followed - as it does when we bump into kiwis on tour! After lunch we accidently explored the maze of narrow streets and hidden gardens behind the high walls. Having no real urgency to get back to an early ferry we enjoyed the spontaneity of getting a little lost! Once back to familiar territory we traipsed back down the hill and saw the funicular on the downward leg. We walked a short distance from the port and found a beach to relax on for an hour before the ferry left. We had a swim and were amazed at how clear the water is. And not too cold either for Autumn. We returned back by train to Piano di Sorrento and chowed down on Leek and potato soup, pane and cheese as dinner. We took advantage of the washing machine and drier at the Relais and got a couple of loads out of the way. Another latish night.

Date Thursday 23rd September 2010
City Marina del Cantone, Sorrentine peninsula
Climate low 16c - high 28c - fine and sunny

Our last day here on the peninsula - so we thought we’d better do some serious beach time. After packing a picnic we leapt in the racy Lancia and headed for Termini - a small village past the more popular Massa Lubrense at the end of the peninsular. The roads were far less crowded than over on the Amalfi coast and we enjoyed the peacefulness of it. It didn’t take long to find Termini and a lovely lookout where we caught a great view of the Isle of Capri. In the town square there was a map that we studied that made us decide to head a little further around to a beach called Marina del Cartone. There was a picture of a beach umbrella and also a road indicating it was large enough for the local bus going right down to the beach. We decided this was more appealing that taking a hike through the bush to the secluded beach below Termini that the hotel receptionist had recommended. What a great choice. The road was easy and parking was plentiful at the Marina - with a lovely young man eager to show us a parking spot and take our money! We couldn’t decide how many hours we’d be there - so he kindly suggested we could pay at the end of the day and offered us a generous discount for each additional hour we stayed. Once on the pebble beach we quickly grabbed an excellent position right at the water’s edge - hiring a couple of colourful loungers and brolly for our use for as long as we stayed. The loungers were 5 euro each and the brolly 3 euro. Well worth it. As we brought our picnic we were able to settle in and relax for the day with sun, sea, food and our good books! We rotisseried ourselves until we were medium rare and had plenty of dips in the crystal clear sea to cool off. The view from our loungers was to die for - less than a metre from our lounger was the ocean rippling against the pebbles, small brightly coloured rowboats pulling at their buoys, large launches off-shore with the beautiful people draped over them sun-worshipping, and one of the local Ristorantes ferrying said beautiful people to and from their establishment. Oh, it was so terrible!
We pulled ourselves away in the late afternoon and reminded the new parking guy that we had negotiated a discount with the previous attendant. He quickly suggested a more appropriate fee for the 5 hours we’d been there and we were off. We had an enjoyable drive back to Piano di Sorrento, watching the slanting sun bathe the small villages perched on the hills in a warm glow.
After washing off the salt we headed into Piano di Sorrento to find an eatery to celebrate our last night on the peninsula. After exploring the town for half an hour funnily enough ended up at the triple arches! Shaun had a craving for veges, which the waiter interpreted as an antipasti platter and Jen enjoyed a bowl of spaghetti carbonara. We shared a half carafe of Rosso - red wine. Typically we have also been enjoying local beers - Nastro Azzurro and Peroni
After a relaxing dinner we had to face reality and retire to the Secret Garden to pack for our departure tomorrow - destination East coast!

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