Italy Vacation Part 4 Sorrento

[NJGIRL]

Sorrento: Arrive Friday Afternoon Leave Sunday

This was a short trip (3 hours on the Euro Star) from Rome to Naples and as I said before the Euro Star is a very nice train. Once we got to Naples we had to take another local train to Sorrento. It was not very nice but the trip was only about 45 minutes. We didn't stay in Naples because I had read many bad reviews about the safety of the city and I can say by going through the city it is very run down and can bet it does have as much crime as the travel books claim.

Our main reason for stopping in this section of Italy was to tour Pompeii which is about 30 mins from Sorrento by train. Here is where you can see a big difference from the north. Most people in Sorrento spoke either very little English or none. People working in the hotels and restaurants can speak enough so you can be understood but most can not hold a convrsation with you. When we got there we checked into our hotel "The Savoia". It is a family owned hotel and the owner makes breakfast for everyone each day! The hotel was nice but basic. It was about $150 per night which is a big diference from Venice and Rome. It had tile floors, a very nice shower and comfortable beds. The room was much bigger than our room in Rome.

We put our luggage in our room and walked around to look for a place to eat a late lunch. We wondered into a place down the hill that didn't even look like a restaurant from the outside but smelled so good. The waiter spoke very little English and the menu was not in English either. I had roasted vegetables that were probably picked from their backyard garden and a Caprese salad. I can't even tell you how good the food was, so fresh and tasty. The cheese here was much better (if that was even possible) from Rome and Venice. It even had a different texture. The bread was out of this world. It was my favorite meal so far and it was only a lunch!

Now for the boring part. At this point we had run out of cloths (I packed very light since we were traveling around so much and lugging our bags on and off trains) so we went to the laundromat. This was located about a half mile from our hotel and only had 6 machines (it was in the tourist part of town) so we were in there for hours between the dryers not working that well and waiting our turn for the few machines they had.

By the time we were done we were tired but ready for a light dinner. We decided to get take out pizza from the hole in the wall next door to our hotel. The pizza place was no bigger than a Disney value hotel room cut in half and that included the pizza ovens. There were no tables and was strickly a take out place. Only four people could fit inside to order at a time and I thought to myself how can they stay in business. Well I found out. It was the best pizza I had ever ever had. It was heavenly. My husband and I ate a whole large pizza by ourselves and we never do that! We went to bed happy.

The next day we set out for Pompeii. We had a late start because it was raining. We got to Pompeii and it was amazing. It was much bigger than I expected and much more intact than I thought it would be. The stone roads and the pretty tiling throughout the town was a marvel. I had to laugh because they had pottery and "ash people" displayed under pole barns but out in the open air. Our museums in the US would have had this stuff inside and enclosed in 6 inches of glass with an alarm system attached. One thing that always bothers me when I travel to other countries or islands are the stray aniamls running around. Being in the rescue business this is something I can't avoid noticing. Of course everyone knows about the Pompeii dogs. They were all over. I think we saw about 30 of them. If you weren't paying attention you would think there were only four of them because there were only four different breeds and they all looked alike. I had read they have been there for many many years and to tell you the truth even though this is no way to live I think they looked pretty healthy. So many people feed them that I saw many dogs walking away from food people were trying to give them. It's really sad to see them living in the empty buildings. We stayed in Pompeii about 4 hours and then caught the train back to Sorrento.

We went into town for shopping and dinner that night. We ate a restaurant that had the best penne in gravy! Have I said how much I liked Sorento food yet? Well it gets better, after shopping on our way back we stopped at the bakery that was two doors down from our hotel and got the prettiest pastries I have ever seen. We took them back to our room and ate them all They were sooooooooooo good I went back down the the bakery and got a pound of cookies for our long train ride to Sicily.

I wish that we would have had more time in Sorrento to expolre because it was really a pretty place and I'm sure they had much more to offer than just food. Have I mentioned how good the food was in Sorrento LOL. But it was time to move on.

We had the hotel owner prepare a packed lunch for us for the train ride. The Euro Star does not go to Sicily so the train we were taking was not as luxurious and did not have food service We had a six hour ride ahead of us.


Next: Seeing family in Sicily but first a six hour train ride!

[SBETigg]

Wow, what a fantastic adventure! Thanks for sharing this. I love reading about the food and your travels. How fun! I think I'll have to put Sorrento on my list after all, just to try some of that food.

I have a relative who has a few dogs that she picked up on her travels. I don't know how she got them cleared to bring home, but she couldn't bear to leave them behind. Mostly from Caribbean islands.

[Katarch]

It sounds like a great trip! How was the train to Sicily?

[NJGIRL]

Wow, what a fantastic adventure! Thanks for sharing this. I love reading about the food and your travels. How fun! I think I'll have to put Sorrento on my list after all, just to try some of that food.

I have a relative who has a few dogs that she picked up on her travels. I don't know how she got them cleared to bring home, but she couldn't bear to leave them behind. Mostly from Caribbean islands.

Thanks! The food alone was worth the trip plus all of the amazing sights, well that was a bonus.

The islands are bad. When we were in Antiqua there was a beagle staying at the resort that just broke my heart. I woke up one day and was looking to feed her and the maint. man told me some people complained about her and they drove her to the other side of the island and just dropped her off! Some people are just evil She never bothered anyone. I do think it's very hard to get animals into this country so I give a to your relative for going through with the process not to mention the cost.

[NJGIRL]

It sounds like a great trip! How was the train to Sicily?

That was an adventure in itself. I will try to post Sicily tomarrow.

[bucky at disney]

Patiently waiting for you next update....

[NJGIRL]

Patiently waiting for you next update....

Sorry, I had an emergency last week and didn't have the time to post the next part of the trip. Hopefully in the next couple of days.