Sorrento,Capri, Pompeii, Massa Lubrense

Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri and Massa Lubrense

I ended up staying two additional nights in Sorrento, making it a total of five. The place that I booked through HostelBookers.com was by far the best place so far, and it will be hard to equal. What I thought I had booked was a dorm room with 3 beds for 10 euros a night, which is pretty cheap for anywhere in Italy, never mind Sorrento. What I got was a private bungalow with a double bed, private bathroom, patio, breakfast, AND reliable wifi. I was a little concerned, thinking that when I went to settle my bill I would be charged something rather more than the agreed upon 10 euros/night. At the very least I expected to be charged more for the additional nights beyond what I booked on-line. NOT SO!!!! I paid 10 euros per night, and I was GLAD!! (In Rome I paid 30 euros per night.) This place is special, situated up a steep hill (as is everything around this area), part of an active lemon and olive plantation. If you go to Sorrento, you should stay at Casale Antoniette. The staff are super friendly and the owner, Marco, who speaks very respectable English, is always helpful. So it was hard to leave, but after being part of the Amalfi/Sorrento/Capri/Pompeii tourist scene for that number of days, I felt it was time to get back to my original agenda and head north towards Venice.

Meantime, my time in Sorrento and environs was lovely. I remember how smitten my mother was with Pompeii when she and my father visited some 50 years ago. She mentioned it over the years, and I thought I would like to see it, and imagine how she saw it 5 decades earlier. I believe that it hasn’t changed that much! You know, those Romans built things to last, regardless of volcanoes or whatever! It has probably changed from the perspective of the tourism industry though. There are a lot of people there, wandering about in awe, as I was. Likely, many, many more people than when Mom and Dad strolled those ruins, but still it was amazing and I was glad to have been able to “share” that with them..

Another Canadian was staying at Casale Antoniette. From Victoria BC, he was on a self drive tour of some European countries, so he had a car. We got together to drive the Amalfi Coast and do a couple of short hikes along the way. Hikes here always involve elevation gain and loss, and we agreed that had we been alone we probably would not have made the effort to venture forth. One such walk took us through olive and lemon groves, with smatterings of pomegranates, persimmons, figs and apples as well as veggie patches. Of course lemons are very prevalent here and one of the many lemon products is Lemoncello. (Did I ever tell you my secret recipe for a martini extraordinaire? Let’s just say that it involves Lemoncello… Where was I? Oh yes, the Amalfi Coast. Rugged. Beautiful. Azure sea. Vertical. Not sandy. Vertical. Up. Rocky. Vertical. Crazy winding narrow roads up vertical rocky terrain rising above beautiful azure sea. Do I make myself clear? And lemons. Everywhere. Terraces for lemon groves. What? Do these people not think that there are enough lemons, already? Apparently not.

Capri: Lemons. Everywhere. Terraces for lemon groves. Where the stupidly wealthy are not living, that is. Rocky, vertical, azure sea, vertical, the craziest winding narrow roads, vertical. Every home, rich or not so rich, has an unobstructed view due to the steepness of the landscape. And the roads - surely they are only wide enough for one small bus! But no! Wait! Here comes another bus towards us. It’s impossible! There can’t be enough room to pass! NO WAY! That is UNBELIEVABLE! Those bus drivers are so skilled at knowing exactly where their bus is, they pass each other with literally an inch to spare between them, and between the houses or walls on the other side. Sometimes they have to slow down, though. I AM NOT exaggerating! Ask anyone who has been there. Campbell? Jane? Am I right? All the cars are dented and scratched on their side panels. And we are talking small cars here, folks. Not like in N.A. We have no idea how small, small cars really are. Yet. Ever see a Fiat 500?

Another thing about Capri is the Haute Couture. Ferragamo, Armani, Valentino, et cetera. And jewellers. Tres tres chic. Personally, I did a lot of walking around in my frumpy thrift store scores and Salomon sneakers, and wasn’t seduced a bit by the Italian movie stars doing a film shoot! The local ragazzi were though, by the shapely, full figured starlets. Ahem…

My fourth excursion was to the nearby town of Massa Lubrense. It is a short bus trip up the coast from Sorrento. A lovely spot, again with verticality as the overwhelming feature of the landscape, dictating so much of everything else. It was another day of hiking down down down, and then back up up up. There are many old paved trails and footpaths that have been used for centuries. Paved for centuries too, I suppose. Those Romans, again. In fact one of the things that I was actually going to be grateful for, on the long train trip north, was the chance to give my knees a break. All that pavement really takes a toll. So far, I have found no unpaved walking or driving surfaces. At all. None. Anyway, Massa Lubrense would be another lovely spot to consider as an alternative to Sorrento or Portofino, for a few days of relaxing, and perhaps it being less costly. My little secret investment tip: buy real estate there, now!

FOOD: Aside from the omnipresence of pizza one can find other things to eat. It’s just a matter of how much you are willing to pay. The Canadian guy and I went to a restaurant down the road from where we were staying, at the recommendation of Marco, our host. Ron ordered the Raviolli alla Crema Basilico, which I was going to order, so I went for the risotto al funghi. Our waiter, whom at first seemed to be gruff and a tad unfriendly, recommended a local wine, which we went along with, especially considering it was very affordable. Insalate pomodori was perfect with green tomatoes (ripe but green) and then came the piatti secondi. WOW!!! The risotto was excellent, but the ravioli was TO DIE FOR. I decided that I needed to come back again for my own helping of this most fantastic of pasta dishes, which I did a couple of nights later. It turned out that the aforementioned waiter was super friendly and a lovely man. Again I went with his recommendation of a half bottle of local vintage rather than a glass of house wine. It was an awfully nice wine, the perfect choice. De Angelis 2006 della Peninsula Sorrentino DOC. Anyway, you know how you want to see if you can figure out how something is made? Well, I was luxuriating over this pasta and sauce, and trying for the life of me to break it down into its component parts. I failed. The secret would not be revealed. I will have to do my research on the internet I suppose. The gorgeous jade green sauce was so velvety smooth and so pleasing to the palate that it almost defies description. I’m thinking it may have been a blend of finely pulverized basil, and panna (aka: artery clogger), but perhaps panna is too rich. Hmm. Mmmm. Together with the Isalata Misto and the wine, I was in culinary heaven. My most memorable meal so far, and it wasn’t even stupidly expensive. Once in a while I eat at a real restaurant. Otherwise, I try to keep my costs down by shopping at grocery stores, when possible. All that pizza leaves a gal wanting just a plain old carrot! Not so noteworthy, but it’s about Canada’s food guide. And scurvy. That’s where a bottle of lemoncello comes in. Si?

***LAUNDRY TIP: Excuse me - it costs 8 Euros for one load of wash at the lavanderia. That’s over C$13!!! Just for the wash, never mind the dryer. Sorry - it ain’t gonna happen. I’ll wash by hand. But bathroom sinks can be awfully small, with significant splash factor, so it’s just not practical. Hmm, what to do? What’s this? A bidet. Ah ha! FINALLY, I have found a use for the bidet (so what‘s wrong with a shower?). I’m sure I’m not the first traveller to figure this out, but maybe I’m one of the first to let the cat out of the bag. Works like a charm. Big basin, limited splash factor, more than one piece at a time. And hey, it’s not a toilet! File under “B” for brilliant!