Day 27 Sorrento

Day 27 Sorrento 

The difference between our Tivoli and Sorrento accommodation could not be more stark. In Sorrento we stayed in a modern hotel and breakfast was in a large, airy, modern breakfast room, but again we were the only guests at breakfast. After breakfast we walked down into the town to get a view of Mount Vesuvius, which was revealed in all her glory now that the mist had been washed away. We could see all the way across the bay to Naples. On the return, we passed a big church that was full of people at 9,30 for a funeral and could barely believe that the hearse was a Maserati. I guess the people who live in style want to go out in style. 

Our original plan was to catch the ferry to Capri today, but when we woke up to blazing sunshine and the mist washed away by overnight rain, we changed our plans and headed for the Amalfi coast. This was another dreamscape for me. I loved the film The Good Woman and watched it over and over to see the landscape. 

We crawled out of Sorrento with the morning’s work traffic but once we got to Piano Sorrento the traffic thinned out and we took the cliff road overhanging the sea towards Positano. Every turn revealed more glorious views, many of which were missed by Johnny as he kept his eyes glued to the road. The sky was the purest pale blue and the sea a deep blue green turning an almost emerald green around the coastal rocks. The sun carried a bit of warmth but it drenched everything in a bright light that made the colours of the houses even more vivid. Whenever he could, Johnny pulled in to catch the sights. We looked for a place to park, but on the road between Sorrento and Positano there was not a single safe parking spot. We looked for white or blue lines as the yellow lined spaces were reserved for residential parking. 

We followed the sea road to Amalfi, parked out on the rock jetty and walked into town. The town of Amalfi was full of people and activity. There was a mixture of locals and tourists and as the school kids made their midday dash home, the town looked alive. We had coffee in a place that has been producing fantastic coffee and cake for the last 170 years. It had always been in the hands of the same family. Then we climbed the steps of the church to get the view down on the piazza. A photographer, model and stylist were making good use of the sun and setting taking some professional shots. We thought of Britt and her magazine work in Dubai as we watched them. Then back down the stairs we walked up the main street. We found a great deli that sold a lot of local fare including butter made with donkey milk. It appears that donkeys are a favourite thing along the Amalfi coast. The girl made us an enormous panini stuffed with grilled aubergine and smoked buffalo mozzarella.  It was too early for lunch so we carried our supplies with us as we climbed the mountain path that led between the houses ever upward. We were hoping for a great view back down to the street level and beyond out to the sea, but instead we became mired in the tangle of houses and lanes. We turned back and proceeded through the town and along the road to the Saracen fort in the crook of the bay. There we found a step to sit on and with the town of Amalfi before us, had our lunch. 

From here we returned to the port area to find a toilet before and collecting our car in order to drive on to Ravella. We still had to get used to the idea of carrying coins for the toilet and found ourselves short. Checking that no-one was looking, we put one Euro into the slot and both of us tried to dash trough before the gate closed. The mechanism detected a problem and an alarm began to scream. Regardless, we were in. Exiting the toilet we had the same problem as the door expected only one body to pass through. Johnny the genius came up with a solution. If we cuddled up, the sensor might think we were just one fat person. It worked! Spending a penny, or in this case a Euro shouldn't be that hard.

Ravella was a village high up in the hills. Each year it has a wonderful music festival with performers of note coming from all over the world. We parked below and walked up to the piazza. Even here there were teams of men in high lifts installing the Christmas lights. All Italy will be ablaze with them in the coming days. Cats roamed the terrace sunning themselves on the yellow rocks. Beautiful as the sun was, it had little warmth in it and it was considerably cooler up there than it had been in Sorrento. 

We thought we might like to see the concert hall and followed the steps downwards through a tunnel, only to be met by two mules lugging soil up the hill. Each carried two purpose built metal containers which could be opened once they were guided into a skip at the top, They worked doggedly at their task. We nimbly stepped aside for them only to be confronted with another two coming from the opposite direction. In areas as steep and inaccessible as this the old ways appear to still be the best way to get the job done. We walked on to a point above the cliffs and this afforded a great view into the next cove. 

By this time we were both feeling tired and turned for home. The sun had moved around and as we turned the corners on the cliff road, it blinded us with its brilliance . A very careful driver in front of us insisted on making the full journey back to Sorrento at a needlessly slow 40 km per hour. At one stage she was even overtaken by a. couple of cyclists. With the road so narrow and winding, it was best to follow her in rather than doing anything reckless like trying to overtake her (though a couple of speed demons did zoom past both her and us. I thought they had a death wish). By the time we reached Sorrento there was a long trail of cars and motorcycles following her into town.  

Dinner was at Azz! Trattoria, a short stroll away from the hotel. We were tempted by the sign that promised lasagne and a generous glass of wine for 12E. We had paid that much for an appetizer. The restauranter was hosting his family so it was quite a welcoming atmosphere as soon as we came through the door. I think he had been liberal with the generous glasses of wine and there was a lot of laughing going on. We were welcomed like old friends, though we had never met these people previously. One of the group showed us to our table and chatted with us about where we were from. Johnny had a ravioli and I had the lasagne and "special garlic bread". The glasses of wine were enormous and filled to the brim. We stayed for coffee and wobbled home to our hotel room. a good night was had by all.