Leaving Amalfi & Day 1 in Sorrento - Monday 16 September

This morning we were picked up at 8:30 am by Nicola of Drive Amalfi, for our transfer to Sorrento. The journey took about one hour and 20 minutes because he stopped a couple of times along the way so we could get some great photos. We got a great view back towards Amalfi, and another of the tiny settlement at Furore (in a small cleft in the cliffs).

The tourist traffic was just beginning to pour into the Amalfi coast area, but we had a good time being entertained by Nicola; he was very funny, though I don't think he liked it later when I mentioned how we liked the new Pope (perhaps he thinks he should be an Italian...)?

The traffic in Sorrento was crazy, and we had to manoeuvre through some very narrow alleyways to get to our hotel (Hotel Regina). At one point it was so narrow that, Nicola knocked a wing mirror on our car. We notice that everyone is very patient with other drivers, and let people get in. Also, people let you cross at a crossing, but instead of stopping completely, they often steer around you. Many people ride small motorbikes, and there are some unusual 3-wheeled vehicles for delivering goods around steep, narrow roads.

We were able to check into our hotel by 10:30 am, which was amazing (normally 1 pm check-in). Our room is 205 'Positano', on the second floor, with great views over the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius.

Once again, our hotel has free wifi, and I was able to confirm a last minute booking for a tour to Capri tomorrow with Tours of Capri (top-rated on Trip Advisor).

Next, we all headed out for a walk around central Sorrento. It was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel, with some great look-out points for views over the harbour and bay along the way, and also the older part of the town with narrow alleyways for streets. We followed some of Rick Steves' suggestions of what to look at, and also took the 'City Train' (like a 'Noddy Train') to see a bit more.

 

 

Next stop was the Trip Advisor recommended Cafe Fauno for a light lunch. They are right in the central hub of the city, at Piazza Torquato Tasso, a great place to sit and watch people passing by. I wanted to go there because they have a separate gluten free menu, and David and I shared a GF pizza.

We wandered around a bit more, then relaxed in the afternoon. I was keen to go back to Cafe Fauno for a dinner of GF ravioli, so David and I headed back there. We ordered our dinner, and some drinks, and... never saw our waiter again for 50 minutes! David had to grab another waiter to give him a glass to share the wine with me, and we had to ask for water, but no meal came.... Others around us had their meals within 10 minutes! Finally, another waiter looked my way, and started talking to the two gentleman who seemed to be in charge and who were ushering people into the restaurant, and I could see some serious discussion going on, and we were told that two meals were on the way (no explanation). Eventually our meals arrived with an apology, but still no explanation. The food was luke warm, and the vegetables were soggy. So much for my GF ravioli treat! The bill arrived, still no explanation. I wouldn't let David just hand over the credit card, so we went to the till to pay, where one of the men in charge asked what we wanted and I silently pointed at the credit card to indicate we were paying. Then he asked if everything was alright and if the food was ok. I said "No, not really", and then he realised we were the table that hadn't been served and began begging us to give them another chance, and he tore up our E48 bill! He probably knew he was up for a very bad Trip Advisor review! Everything around here seems to have a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence on display... Tearing up the bill saved me an hour or two writing up what I think, but we won't go back as I had originally hoped.

Anyway, after that really disappointing meal experience, we had a pleasant walk back to our hotel. It was a very mild, still evening, and lots of folk were out walking. And we had a great sleep!