Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast
We stayed in a beautiful villa in the hills behind Sant'Agnello. I’d recommend arriving in daylight if you do something like this because driving is a challenge enough without the added hilarity of a satnav trying to take you through someone’s back garden! When we finally arrived the electric gates opened to reveal a driveway leading through a lemon grove and the view from the villa was stunning. Our stay was based on B&B and we enjoyed Maria's baking - the lemonade and cake to greet us was a lovely welcome. Breakfast was all locally sourced and offered something different every day alongside the more traditional cereals and eggs. We walked into Sorrento from here most days and spent hours just wandering around the quaint shopping streets trying to decide where to eat – everything looked wonderful and we weren’t disappointed. The area is known for Limoncello liqueur and there's no shortage of opportunity to try out the local brands. There are plenty of restaurants with the ‘catch of the day’ displayed on ice in mini fishing boats for you to choose your fish and so many pastas that there’s food to suit every pocket. The town comes alive at night with impromptu street entertainment so even just going out for a quick pizza and a drink can turn into a late night.
Having recently watch ‘Pompeii’ the movie, we had a renewed interest in seeing it for ourselves. It’s easy and cheap to go by train from Sant Agnello/Sorrento but you will have a better experience if you have a tour guide when you’re there. It’s a well preserved and interesting site but it’s huge and very uneven in places so make sure you have good walking shoes. There's also not much shade if you visit in summer but there are water fountains so you can top up your water whilst walking. As an add-on it’s also a great opportunity to visit Vesuvius. There are tour buses that leave from outside Pompeii and half way up you will transfer to a ‘monster truck’ to take you much further up on the gravel road. Finally, if you’ve got the energy, it’s a 20/30 minute walk to the crater. It’s definitely worth it and there’s even a bar at the top for a well earned drink with an amazing view. Vesuvius is still 'live' and you can see wisps of smoke escaping all the time from the crater sides.
For the second half of our trip we moved to Maiori. This is a pretty seaside town with a beach. The drive along the Amalfi coast was definitely not for the faint hearted. The short wheel base local buses and touring coaches swing around the tight bends and we were pleased we’d got a small manoeuvrable car. It's not know as the 'road of 1000 bends' for nothing! There are passing places and plenty of viewpoints but backing up against a cliff face became second nature to allow some of these bigger vehicles to pass us. I thought that parking would be a problem, but in September it wasn’t too bad. A couple of Euros for a couple of hours in the car park in town or squeeze yourself behind a white line into the cliff space seems to do the trick! The other thing to be aware of is that the locals still have mopeds galore. They don’t seem to care where they park those and think nothing of riding across the town square and pulling up outside a shop just to pop in for a few supplies.
The highlight of our last few days was a visit to the Palazzo Avino, high above Maiori in the town of Ravello. The town is a 7km twisting drive up through the Valle del Dragone but it’s worth it. There are lovely gardens to wander in, the 11th-century Duomo di Ravello on the town square is surrounded by pretty bars and restaurants. It’s predominantly a pedestrianised town so it’s a great place to wander around. We were lucky enough to have lunch at the Terrazza Belvedere with stunning views of our resort below. The hotel itself exudes glamour with smiles and gracious service from the staff – many have worked there for most of their lives and know their regular guests well. The rooms and suites combine high ceilings, antiques and individuality with the modern additions of satellite TV and iPod docking stations. It’s a historic hotel but it’s keeping up with the times gracefully. I'd love to be able to stay next time and try it out properly! Ravello takes on a different mood at night once the day trippers leave and it's renowned for being peaceful and atmospheric. They also offer summer concerts at the Annunziata Historic Building or their outdoor stage which are great settings.
Had we been away longer I would have loved to have taken the ferries out to Capri and Ischia, and across to explore Naples as a city. I definitely would have explored Positano and some of the smaller towns and returned to Minori and waited to get a table at Sal De Riso for a coffee and ice cream or dessert - but time was against us!