Blogs from Sorrento, Campania, Italy, Europe - page 5

Dee and I finally caught a break with the weather, as overcast skies gave way to some sunshine today. By mid-afternoon it was downright pleasant, with the temperature reaching 59 degrees, under partly sunny skies, and light winds. Still jacket and scarf weather, but quite comfortable for walking. We've wanted to try riding the train from Piano di Sorrento into Sorrento, saving us a 3-mile hike. The station is a 15-minute walk from our apartment, and after we arrived we purchased roundtrip tickets for 5.20 euros (about $6.75), a real bargain compared to a taxi fare of $40! We missed the first train, after waiting on the wrong track(!), but boarded the next one about 20 minutes later. This train runs between Naples and Sorrento, with numerous stops along the way, including Pompeii. It's very popular ... read more

A great day out to Sorrento. Caught the train passing through from Napoli. An older lady travelling by herself proceeded to tell us at great Italian lengths in Italian all the stops we needed to pass through before we got off....we must really stand out! Out to the tourist craze....can't imagine what it would be like in the height of the season...it was madness. Beautiful place high above the sea, the deep gorges and cliffs making for natural defence. A spetacular view over the large Bay of Napoli. The historic center is a warren of narrow alleys that's home to the Chiesa di San Francesco, a 14th-century church with a tranquil cloister. We wandered the alleyways in the shade...there was a definite presence of British tourists and the locals were well in catering for them. A ... read more

Getting to Sorrento was a bit of a mission. The train we took stopped at Naples, so we had to get a local train from Naples to Sorrento. That train was very humid and quite full. And it took an hour and a half, a somewhat unpleasant ride some might say. Upon arriving in Sorrento, we caught a local bus to our campsite which was located up a hill and a few windy roads. Our cabin was also up a hill. There were the most lovely of views from our deck though of the rugged cliffs and coastline, peppered with terraced, colourful housing. It is probably the best view I've had yet from my accommodation site. That evening we did laundry and what Bex and I refer to as "Life Admin", or trip sorting. We went ... read more

I wonder if I'll be allowed into the restaurant for breakfast wearing shorts. Issy says that she‘ll pass on breakfast so I head off on my own. The waiters are all still wearing tuxedos, but there seem to be other people wearing shorts, so I relax a bit. There's a sign on the toaster saying that you're only allowed to put sliced bread into it. I wonder what other sort of bread anyone might contemplate trying to jam into a toaster. I'm pretty sure that a full loaf wouldn't fit. It‘s very quiet until the silence is broken by an American lady shouting "where can I get some coffee honey" across the room to one of the older waiters. I suspect he’s not all that accustomed to being addressed as "honey". We head off to explore ... read more

This is my last blog of the trip, and though I started it on the plane ride home (so hard to find time to blog on such a busy trip!), I'm finishing it sitting in my house in Washington, very much missing the sunny 70s-80s weather, and all the Italians! They really are my people. Pushy and all :) Our final adventure started in Sorrento. It's connected to Naples by land, but it's on a bit of a peninsula that's about equidistant over water to Naples. But Naples was north, and we were basing in Sorrento to go south. Unless you are honeymooning I would definitely base in Sorrento and just do a day tour down the coast. While Sorrento is not huge, Positano and Amalfi are tiny, and just about the only thing to do ... read more