Sorrento, Campania, Italy, Monday, October 8, 2012

Leaving Amalfi

Today we leave Amalfi for Sorrento. We have decided to take a boat to Sorrento rather than the bus. It’s a little more money but we like the different perspective we will get and is probably a smoother ride! There is only one boat in the morning and it doesn’t leave until 1130 so we can relax this morning. I go out around 1015 to pay the bill and get us something to eat. We were going to get the spinach rolls we liked the other day but they were not open yet so I get a pear and ricotta tart and two slices of pizza. We eat in the apartment, clean up and head for the dock. It is a beautiful day which makes us happier in our decision.
A boat arrives that is not ours but docks in the same spot. It is going to Positano a little up the coast. One of the crew is funny to watch, as the boat stops, and people have to get off first, some Asians start to try and board. Relax, he says, slow down and enjoy. He jokes with almost everyone that gets on or asks if this is the boat to Sorrento. He takes a ticket and says things like Morocco or Greek isles making people do double takes as to if this is their boat. It is fun to watch. That boat leaves and ours arrives in typical Italian fashion about 10 minutes late. Not all transportation here is late, in fact most have been on time or close, but when they are late it just isn’t a big deal to them. The Swiss on the other hand would have a coronary.

Jack Nicholson Look

We board and get two seats outside by the railing. We get quite wind blown as we move along and Carol gets quite amused by my wind blown hair saying I look like Jack Nicholson. Personally I think I look much better than Jack Nicholson but if it makes her smile, I’m happy. We make stops in Positano, and Capri, before Sorrento. The scenery along the coast is great and the advertised 50 minute ride takes two hours. Same as the bus!
At the Sorrento dock, we check on boat tickets and schedule to Capri tomorrow, get a map of town and set out to find our BNB. The road signs are not real clear and we walk up some steps, than along the only road we see leaving the marina in our general direction. We see a long flight of stairs that looks like it goes to the next level of roads so we take it. Then around the bend on that road to a square and I know where we are on the map. Always a good feeling to get that first reference point. A short walk later and we turn down our street and arrive. No one answers our buzzer ring but there is a sign that you can go to their restaurant a few blocks away so I head over there while Carol stays here with the packs. I find the restaurant and they call the owner over who says he will meet me at the BNB in a few minutes. I walk back and stop to look at a menu in a restaurant figuring he is behind me and I have the time to browse. As I start to look, the owner rides by on a bike, and beats me to the door. He checks us in, gives us a map and other info and heads back to the restaurant. The room is spacious and our window backs up to a garden so no neighbors behind us which is nice.

St. Anthony Church

We go out to see a little of the town in a somewhat random manner. We find a small church of St. Anthony with a reliquary under the alter. It is small but nice. From there, we head to the main square and enter the more congested part of town. We are staying in an area with much less traffic than here which is nice. We follow the main street to a grocery store and check it out as we are here five nights and have a refrigerator. We buy a variety of items starting with the essentials of wine and beer, followed by coke zero, marinated artichokes, salami, cheese, and bread. We walk it all back to our room and then decide on where to eat.

Macaroni and Mussels

There is a little pizzeria ristorante that got good reviews so we decide to walk to it. It is back along the main road and we pass the market on the way and I decide to buy a bottle of Melone Liquor that we had tried in San Marino. Sorrento is famous for their Limoncello but Carol did not like it when we tried it so I forego the Limoncello for the Melone. We continue to walk and the restaurant is much further than we thought but we do find it. When they come to ask about drinks, I ask about the house wine which just says 5E but not how much wine you get. She says it is a whole bottle so we order some white. We also get some Caprese salad which is just tomatoes, mozzarella, oregano drizzled with olive oil. Macaroni with mussels and potato for me and pasta for Carol. I enjoy the mussels but Carol is not crazy about her dish. It’s good but not anything special. On the bright side, they bring us two tall shot glasses of ice cold Limoncello on the house. Since Carol does not care for it, I get a double dose of lemon love. Nice surprise and tasty too.

Sorrento Coast

The walk home is nice and we choose a different street as we get closer to the BNB. Lots of shops, and free Limoncello tasting and we pass the Sorrento Men’s club where the towns nobles used to meet. Now it is a retreat for working class retired gentlemen and is strictly no women and no phones ( I guess so they can’t get called home). Its right near our BNB and we are soon home for the night. The weather report says rain tomorrow so we will get up and plan our day based on the weather.
CNC
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind”- Seneca

Expenses
2.40E- 2 slices pizza
3E- pear and ricotta tart
33E- 2 boat tickets from Amalfi to Sorrento
17.26E- supermarket Deco chianti, 2 beers, white wine, artichokes, salami, cheese, coke zero
7.98E- Bottle of Melon Liquor
32E- Caprese Salad, pasta with mussels and potato, pasta, bottle of wine, 1.50E coperto at Il Ritrovo
2.50E- Tiramisu from Pasticceria Rita
65E- Casa Dominova

Miles Walked- 7.6 Miles