Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and …. Surroundings
20/04/06 – 25/04/06
No. of participants: 4 (Laura, Renata, Carmen, Fabiola) Total spend around 420.00
How to make the most of one of this year's handy long weekends with a nice little trip??? “Torna Surriento” wrote G. Battista De Curtis, and here we are, travelling to go there for the first time, almost by chance, on the suggestion of a friend of ours who in the end, at the last moment, decided not to come! But he'll never imagine what he missed on these beautiful spring days in Sorrento and its surroundings.
20/04/06 After an intense working day we are already projected towards the start of our holiday: punctual departure at 22:00 from Milan Central Station, train with couchette, so we take advantage of the night to travel. An excellent idea also because the return journey wouldn't have gone down well at all!
21/04/06 Means of Transport Arrival in Naples, at around 8.30 am, here, from the central station you immediately access the Circumvesuviana, a surface train line that connects the entire coast. The trains run every 10 minutes and in my opinion this line is very convenient. (price Naples – Sorrento about 3 euros). The area is well served by public transport so even we, who didn't have a car, got around really well and without difficulty. Taking the ferry is a bit more expensive but definitely more scenic and fun and feels very "holiday-like", there are also many buses, here we had some problems when we went to Positano because on the way back they were packed and we missed a few runs because we couldn't get on.
After this little digression on means of transport we take the Circumvesuviana, where we immediately go the wrong way, we realise about halfway through because instead of seeing the sea we saw the mountains. No problem, we found lots of people who immediately understood our problem and explained how to get back on the right line. Tip: be careful because for Sorrento any line is fine but then you have to change!
We then arrive in Sorrento and immediately find our Hotel, it's called Hotel Nice, it's very close to the station and also overlooks Piazza Lauro in Sorrento so right in the centre. Our quadruple room is truly large and spacious and we were really comfortable!
After a little stroll around Sorrento we decide to dedicate the afternoon to the Pompeii Excavations. We take the Circumvesuviana and arrive in 15 minutes at Pompeii Scavi. Ticket to enter the city 10 euros. The Pompeii excavations are incredibly fascinating, I had already seen various archaeological sites and ruins but never an entire city. The grandeur and the extent are the things that struck me most, in fact you can see all the different places and environments of an entire city, starting from the forum, to the theatre, to the baths, up to the amphitheatre and the various villas. We walked all afternoon getting lost in tons of photographs.
22/04/06 Capri Today a nature trip, we take the ferry towards Capri at 9.45 and as soon as we disembark on the island we decide as the first thing to go and see the Blue Grotto. We had already taken into account that it would be expensive (about 16 euros), but we decide to see this beautiful grotto. In the end we were a bit disappointed, not so much by the grotto which anyway has truly stunning colours but by the organisation to get there. In fact you arrive by motorboat outside the grotto and wait to get on in small groups onto rowing boats to enter the grotto. The problem is that you spend half an hour at sea breathing the diesel of the motorboats that sway wildly. In short, a red flag for those who suffer from seasickness and also for those who don't know they suffer from it (so better to reach the vicinity of the grotto on foot).
Then when you finally get on the rowing boat the tour inside the grotto doesn't even last two minutes. We return to the island of Capri which we tour on foot, we go to the two viewpoints, the Gardens of Augustus and that of Tragara in front of the Faraglioni. We walk along the famous and rich streets full of shops up to the little square where we take the bus to Anacapri. Here we decide to visit the Church of S. Michele famous for its beautiful majolica floor depicting paradise and the expulsion of Adam and Eve. It's truly worth it. Satisfied with the whole day we return to Sorrento where a tasty dinner based on fresh fish awaits us. Ah remember to try the hazelnut coffee!
23/04/06 Naples – Positano Today's destination is the Parthenopean city which we decide to reach, as suggested by a friend of ours, by ferry to arrive directly from the gulf. Shame about the slightly hazy weather which doesn't allow us to admire the panorama clearly. It's one of the famous car-free Sundays so we also prepare to walk in a Naples that isn't as chaotic as they had described it to us. We visit Castel dell'Ovo, Piazza del Plebiscito with the church, we admire the Royal Palace and then of course the photo in front of the grandiose Maschio Angioino can't be missed. How can you not go to see St. Gennaro??? And here we are searching for the cathedral, in Gothic style, completely different from the rest of the city, we go in to admire the famous chapel.
Having left the cathedral we venture into one of the most typical streets of Naples (Via dei Tribunali and surroundings) and here we are immersed in the total chaos of a midday of full city life. Scooters, cars, hanging laundry, baskets being lowered from above. We're a bit disoriented but here we are in the real Naples, so to recover from the tiredness we go into a pizzeria where a pizza with buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes awaits us. A real treat that at home we can only dream of. We then decide to leave the city which more than chaotic I would call messy but very characteristic, which certainly deserves a more in-depth visit in the future, to go to Positano, a characteristic town of the Amalfi Coast with very beautiful little streets, characteristic little shops of custom-made sandals and houses all perched descending towards the beach.
24/04/06 Caserta and its Royal Palace Today heading towards Caserta, we change a few trains, and arrive at the very large Royal Palace. Perfect timing, as soon as we enter there's immediately the guided tour of the apartments and the most important halls. The guide is really good not only in the historical explanation of the facts but in making us catch details and little secrets that we would never have noticed on our own. After the visit the gardens await us, it's a fantastic day, the sun makes the water of the fountains shine, descending from the hill down to the villa. Bravely we decide to reach the starting point of the fountains, so after four kilometres on foot (this is the total length of the magnificent fountains) with a final steep bit we reach the top.
Before us a breathtaking panorama, Vesuvius and the Royal Palace which seem very far away with the fountain seen from above which almost scares you to look at. We return satisfied to Sorrento with our Circumvesuviana, which at sunset on a spectacular day offers wonderful landscapes. Who will forget the beautiful glimpse of Seiano???
25/04/06 Last day….. Sigh! We spend the last few hours in Sorrento immersed in shopping, to bring home something from this land: not only limoncello and kilos of lemons (but how will we transport them on the train, but how many did he sell us?!?!?! Poor us!) but also sweets and…, for wood lovers like me, a visit to a very typical marquetry workshop could not be missed. 8.30 pm Milan Central Station, we arrived late and missed the connection, tomorrow it's back to work, we're waiting for the train, it's raining and cold!!! "Torna a Surriento" sang G. Battista De Curtis…. If it were up to us, even right now!!!!!
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