Sorrento

Sorrento is a nice little town on the bay. It was chosen for its location near Pompeii but was nice enough to visit for its own charms. This was the best part of the trip. We found a couple of bar / restaurants that we liked well enough to visit repeatedly and felt quite comfortable here. 

The hotel was on a cliff and we had a nice balcony view of the town of Sant' Agnello, the coast and Mt. Vesuvius. From the pool on the roof you could also see Capri if it was clear. Which it usually was.

The local creations for us tourists to snap up are boxes, furniture, plaques, etc. with inlaid wood and tons of terra cotta tiles, spoon holders, hanging things, etc. painted with yellow, blue, green and white suns, moons and lemons.

And Limoncello. They grow lots of lemons here and must have needed something to do with them. This potent formula is served ice cold in shot glasses after dinner. The nuclear yellow, sugary-sweet lemon candy taste is quickly followed by that of pure alcohol. I still can't figure out if I like it or not, so I brought some home to keep trying. Similar products are lemon cream, melon cream (not called meloncello, but should be) and peach cream - all in a variety of cute bottles.

Although we did hang by the pool a lot, we got out more.

Capri

We took a hydrofoil to the island of Capri. The water is a color I've never seen before. Gorgeous.

This island has a nice port and you have to take the funiculare (tram on steep hill) to get to town. Caters to tourists with expensive designer shops and more Americanized service and facilities.

When in Capri, the books say, one must see the Blue Grotto, so we did. You take a small boat to get an even smaller boat to squeeze into a small opening (heads down!) in the side of a cliff. The inside the cave is lit by sunlight that comes through underwater. The opening above water is the tip of a larger inverted "V" shaped opening. The stone underwater is very light so the light reflects off it too. The effect is an eerie electric blue glow throughout the grotto. Looking for a bit extra in the tip, the little boatman sang us "O Solo Mio" as he paddled. It worked.

The last day was nice and easy. No rushing anywhere. We walked down steps and tunnels on a cliff to the beach (no pix, I didn't have the camera.) Then into town to finalize plans to get back to the plane in Rome and other errands, and more pool time. It was hot the whole time we were there and the pool was a great escape.

We were up at 4:30 AM to catch a bus at 6. Hopes to get sleep on the bus were dashed when we headed up the Amalfi coast. The coast twists back and forth along steep cliffs with little towns sprinkled along the narrow street. Brian couldn't sleep due to the bus going back and forth and back and forth (repeat indefinately.) I had a hard time closing my eyes knowing that there were great views out the window. But when we finally hit the highway, zzzzzzzzz.

It was sad to leave, but coming home to familiarity (and toilet seats) was also welcome.

Oh, and ladies, I survived another trip without getting my butt pinched by Italian men.
Either you are telling me stories or I have no feeling down there.

Rome Pompeii Italy