Day 3 in Sorrento & Train to Venice - 18 September

Today was our last day in Sorrento. We enjoyed our last breakfast at the Hotel Regina, from the restaurant on the 4th floor, sitting on the balcony and looking across at Mount Vesuvius. I don't think I've mentioned the great service at breakfast, the Maitre having Princess cruise experience around New Zealand and Australia. He remembered me every morning and there was always gluten free bread and a small cake for me. The breakfasts have been included at all our hotels, and consist of fruit salad and fresh fruit, yoghurt, cereal, bacon, scrambled egg, sometimes baked beans or sliced sausage or grilled tomato, toast, a variety of hams and sliced cheese, sometimes hard-boiled eggs, cakes and pastries of many different kinds (good job I'm gluten free!), coffee, tea, a variety of juices. There's not much need for lunch after this.

After breakfast we strolled around the old part of Sorrento, filling in time until our transfer with Drive Amalfi at 2:30 pm. Everything was really close to our hotel. We walked down to the old port, which was very picturesque, then up and down the narrow alleyways which had shops beginning to open. Before long it was starting to get crowded with tourists.

We popped into an optician's shop and I asked if they could tighten the screw on one side of my glasses (it was getting a bit loose and I was scared it would come apart). Sure enough, it needed lots of tightening - phew! I bought a couple of scarves, and we had a light lunch, followed by a gelato. This was a special treat for me that David had discovered - a sign advertised Coeliac products, including a cone which they assured me was crisp. We each chose three different flavours, including Limoncello. Very nice!

We headed back to the hotel, and not long after, Raphael arrived to pick us up, half an hour early. There was a bit of a scramble as Jan and Steve weren't back yet, but it all worked out and we were soon on our way to Naples to catch the train to Venice.

The drive was pleasant until we were within a kilometre of the Station, and then we found ourselves stuck in the worst traffic jam I'd ever seen. Buses and cars trying to get into, out of, or around the station. Our driver kept calm, and we did arrive in plenty of time for our train. He helped us in with our bags and checked the correct platform for us.

David and Steve heaved our bags up on the racks above our seats(!!!), and we settled in for the five hour journey, with brief stops along the way in Rome, Florence, Bologne, Padua, and finally Venice at 9:40 pm.

It was an easy 5 minute walk out of the station, and to the Hotel Abbazia (a restored monastery). Our room is tiny and could do with updating, but it's much better than the last Venice hotel we stayed in during our 2009 trip. There is a proper bathroom (not down the hallway) and we can fit both suitcases in, although one is in the relatively spacious bathroom. We are on the second floor and there is no lift, but the stairway is good and there was a porter to help with luggage. There is a lovely courtyard outside our window. Very pleasant!

Day 2 in Sorrento & trip to Capri

I had been watching the weather forecast for the island of Capri for the past week, and today it was for winds up to 46 km per hour, and partly cloudy with light rain. But there was no way around it, today was the day I'd booked a last minute private tour of Capri, and we were very lucky to be able to book a tour with the top-rated Trip Advisor company for Capri - 'Tours of Capri'. So, a couple of Sea Legs each for breakfast, and we were away!

The instructions were to meet our guide at 8:10 am in the area of Piazza Tasso where several flags were flying. We arrived 5 minutes early, and our guide, Maria, was moments after that. She walked us down to the harbour and bought tickets for the Ferry (which had space for drive-on cars as well), managing to get us on an earlier sailing at the very last minute, thus giving us extra time in Capri. During the day, Maria bought tickets whenever required, and seemed to know everyone wherever we went - she saved us SO much time and the tour was at a good pace, not rushed.

The Ferry was very crowded and the journey took about 30 minutes until our arrival at the main pier in Marina Grande. Maria, a resident of Capri, had been up at 5:30 am to travel across and pick us up. She had a private taxi waiting as we disembarked, and we were straight off up the steep road (known as the 'Mama Mia' road because of its steepness and narrowness - but we were already desensitised by the roads on the Amalfi Coast).

We were driven up to the high part of the island, to the other main town of Capri - Anacapri - where Maria announced that we were going on the chairlift up to the top of the highest point on the island (Mount Solaro, 589m high) - "Mama Mia" indeed! The chairlift consisted of single seats taking an amazing 15 minute ride across gardens with fruit trees and vegetables, and then up past rocky outcrops and cliffs, with fabulous views over Anacapri.

At the top of the mountain was a look-out area from where we could see the three rocks that feature in most of the photos of Capri (the Faraglione Rocks), and the area near the Blue Grotto (the main sight and 'must-do' experience on the island). The wind was up by now, so the idea of visiting the Grotto was off (and Maria said that this was in fact the fifth day that it had been closed).

 

We headed back down in the chairlift and Maria showed us some of the sights of Anacapri. It certainly was a beautiful, picturesque and very tidy town. We did a little shopping here (cheaper than in Capri town) and I bought some lemon and green tea perfume, some more little bottles of Limoncello, and a beach bag for on the ship.

Maria offered us two choices for lunch, and we chose the family restaurant that makes its own wine and grows its own organic fruit and vegetables. We were picked up by a driver from the restaurant, and driven for 10 minutes along an incredibly narrow road, that you'd think must surely be one way only (no, it wasn't)!

The Restaurante da Gelsomina was at an amazing spot, with one of those big swimming pools with a view that you see on movies. We went for a walk through their garden first and had wonderful views yet again. Then we settled at a table with a lovely view over the ocean. Maria had recommended a few items off the menu, and soon David and I were sipping organic white wine, and sharing a first course of prosciutto with fresh figs and melon - divine. Next David had swordfish and I ("Mama Mia") dined on gluten free pasta with asparagus and shrimps in a lovely light sauce.

 

 

 

 

After that lovely meal (my best yet in Italy) we were back in the van for the ride back down to Anacapri. By now we hardly batted an eyelid when cars and motorbikes pulled out in front of us, or tried to squeeze past.

A taxi was waiting to take us back down to Capri. Maria had, in the meantime, found out that some sailings were finishing earlier because of the wind making the sea rough. So, we would have to make sure we were on the last sailing back to Sorrento at the now earlier time of 3:20 pm. What would we have done without her?!

 

 

We headed back through Capri centre for a short trip on the famous funicular (cable car) to take us back down the cliff to the Pier to join the huge crowd for the trip back to Sorrento. This is where we farewelled Maria. The sea was certainly a lot more rough, so we were lucky to have been able to have had such an amazing day.

 

Back in Sorrento, David and I took the lift back up the cliff from the port, rather than walking up the long, steep way. For 1 Euro each we were whisked up in 20 seconds. Back in our hotel room by 4:10 pm, I was soon sound asleep. After the lovely lunch, we decided we didn't need any dinner, and David was feeling a bit off-colour again, so we stayed in and watched TV and dozed.

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!

Naples

Another fabulous day today, in the late 20s. A bit hazy today in Naples and the surrounding area, but clear blue sky beyond the haze.

Our group of Cruise Critic friends (Bob and Lorraine, Angelo and Junjun, Art and Marita) was picked up at 8.15 am by Roberto of DriveAmalfi, and he didn't seem to realise that I had organised to go up Mount Vesuvius some time during the day (preferably at the end, in case we ran out of time for the other activities), and said he didn't think we'd be able to fit everything in - hmmmm - it had been confirmed by his boss (Salvatore) that we could do it all.... Anyway, Roberto was accommodating, and off we went up Mt Vesuvius first (retrospectively a big mistake). A winding drive most of the way up, with lots of overflowing rubbish bins near the end of the road - a disgusting sight for a national park and Naples icon. Anyway, we arrived at 9.00 am and waited 5 minutes to get through the gate - time means little in Italy. We had a lovely walk up the path to the top of the volcano - it took me 25 minutes, going slowly, no worse than the steepest part at the bottom of Hackthorne Rd at home. We had an hour and a half to get up and back down to the car park. The experience was great, but the views weren't brilliant because of the haze. Nevertheless, we could see how high up we were and get an idea of things - it just won't show up well in the photos. I brought back a small piece of Vesuvius rock :-)

After this we headed through the hills, very high up, but very green and beautiful, and across to Ravello - this drive took a while but we made it for lunch at about 12 pm. The views from up on the hill, looking down towards the Amalfi coast were spectacular! The little square at Ravello was so quaint. Then we moved on to have a fabulous lunch in a little restaurant (make a note of this one, Mark) - Ristorante San Giovanni in Pontone. Our Tour Guide ordered food for all of us, gluten free for me, and the others had several courses including the fabulous pizza Marguerita. I have photos! We had water and table wine, then were brought out glasses of sparkling wine, and I asked for lemoncello - OMG - what lovely stuff. David tried to talk me out of buying a bottle (33% alcohol), but for only 9 Euros, I was having it! The others bought some too. We had refills of our glasses, then hit the road!

Down the hill we went, to the actual Amalfi Coast. During lunch, Roberto had offered me an impossible choice - either take a shortcut back over the hill and miss seeing both Positano AND Sorrento, but get 2 hours in Pompeii; or see Positano and Sorrento, but only get 1 hour in Pompeii (was meant to be a minimum of two hours!). I felt like bursting into tears, but decided that we couldn't go to the Amalfi Coast and NOT see Positano and Sorrento, and we'd take our chances with Pompeii. But, I was not happy...

We passed through lots of little townships, including Amalfi, and Positano, where we had very brief photographic stops, and on to Sorrento where we did not stop - we just drove straight through. All absolutely beautiful. We all thought we'd love to come back here for a longer stay.

We had taken longer over lunch because Roberto had said the road was periodically closed for 45 minutes, so this also took a bit of time off the other end of our day, unfortunately. The road was open when we passed through.

We made it to Pompeii just before 4 pm, and Roberto was absolutely insistent that we could only have an hour there, not the planned 2 hours, and we absolutely must be back at the car by 5 pm because of the traffic that would shortly be occurring in Naples. Well, what a terrible pity! David and I made a good start with my podcast from iJourney, but got lost within 20 minutes after taking a wrong turn out of the Forum's public baths.

From then on we simply couldn't figure out where we were or even what direction we were facing, so, sadly, David didn't get to see the infamous brothel - a bit of a let down (pardon the metaphor). I was annoyed with myself for getting lost, but Pompeii is renowned for this. I did get quite a few photos (with camera batteries rapidly running out), of exactly what I'm not sure, but will figure it out from the internet when I get home. We all made it back to the car in time (David pointing me in the right direction, thank goodness). But I felt like crying again. Then back to the ship we went. I have my thoughts now on how DriveAmalfi should have restructured the day. Definitely Vesuvius last, and Pompeii first, as originally arranged in emails with Salvatore!

David is struggling with the heat, so there's no way he'd be going to places like Phuket! I had to keep nudging him in the car around the Amalfi coast, because he kept nodding off every minute or two! It was the same yesterday. Never mind, we have a sea day tomorrow, and can have a lie in.

However, I'm told that the ship sails past Stromboli at 2 am in the morning, and that we'll be able to see the eruption and it's very exciting. I'll get up to see that, but David will sleep on.

We've had a lovely group of people with us on the trips, and it's been great getting to know them through Cruise Critic first - it's making for a very friendly voyage with a lot of people we know and say 'hi' to around the ship or at stops in port.