Return to Sorrento

We always enjoy returning to Sorrento. Driving along the road that takes us there, it is all so familiar. It feels like we're going home. (Click photos to enlarge, then back button to return.)

When we drove up the narrow road to the Hotel Cristina, high above the Bay of Naples, Sam parked our rental car behind the hotel's shuttle bus, and one of the girls who works at the front desk, leaned over the railing overhead and welcomed us with a big smile. In fact, everyone at the Cristina greets us with big smiles and warm hugs. Most of these people have been working for Marco all the years we have been going there, and it feels like a big, happy family!

Of course the best hugs and kisses come when we finally get to see our friends, Marco and Antonella!  Sorrento is a beautiful town, and it is definitely a good base for some pretty spectacular sightseeing - the Amalfi Coast, the island of Capri, Pompeii - but the main attraction for us is spending time with this wonderful family! Watching their children grow up has been such a joy!

We had dinner every night with M & A at the hotel restaurant, but on the last night, the four of us went out to try a new sushi place (in Sorrento?!) that had just opened a couple of days before. As it turned out, their menu was very limited because they were a bit disorganized, so instead, we walked to a nearby restaurant that our hosts recommended, and we had a very relaxed and delicious meal. I say relaxed because not being at the Cristina, Marco was not interrupted by hotel issues, so we had him all to ourselves! Afterward, we walked back to the car, and Sam took this picture of the three of us. Not the greatest shot of me, but I think it's pretty good of two of them!

During our six day stay at the Cristina, we mostly stayed "home" - relaxing by the pool, enjoying their amazing garden...

 checking out Marco's chickens...

marveling at the views, and shooting photos of the beautiful Sorrento sky and sunsets!

The town of Sant' Agnello below.

Mt. Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples.

The island of Capri in the distance.

All of these were taken from the terrace at the Cristina.

One afternoon, we did drive to the Amalfi Coast, something Sam loves to do, as he really enjoys the "crazy" driving in Italy! We stopped a little beyond Positano, at the ceramic factory where we bought our beautiful table six years ago. It is across the road from the elevator that goes down to the Grotta della Smeralda (Emerald Grotto), and we had lunch at the same restaurant on the cliff, as we did the day we ordered our table. This photo is an old one, taken by our waiter, when we sat at the same table in 2005.

On one other day, we decided to do something we had never done before - go into the notorious city of Naples to see the sights. It's not that we had never been to Naples. We certainly had been to the train station many times, and we actually returned a rental car there once near the train station. I was in the hospital in Naples for 4 days in 2002, and Sam had visited me every day while he stayed in Sorrento with our then new friends. But we had never really walked around and gotten to know Naples, mostly because many people, including Marco, had made us afraid to do so. Supposedly, there is a lot of mafia activity and lots of bad guys in the streets, ready to rip you off.


ANYway, we decided we wanted to see for ourselves, to visit the National Museum of Archeology (where so many of the treasures found at Pompeii are kept), and to taste pizza in the town where it was created! We were advised to leave our cameras and valuable jewelry in Sorrento, and it wasn't just Marco who said that. Sam also read some things online that made us feel paranoid, so we did leave our cameras behind, and hopped on the Circumvesuviana (the commuter train) from Sorrento to Napoli!


When we arrived at the main train station, we made our way to the metro station and got off at the stop that should have lead us straight to the museum. But when we reached the street above, we looked around and did not see the museum. I guess we looked a little confused because a nice young woman came up to us and asked what we were looking for. She told us we just needed to walk a block farther and we would see the "red palace" that is the museum. OK. So far, Naples is not very scary. In fact, it seems pretty friendly.

We found the museum, paid our admission and checked out the exhibits. The whole time, we were both saying, "I wish I had brought my camera!" There are so many incredible sculptures, and the "Secret Cabinet," where the erotic art from the brothels of Pompeii is kept, was pretty interesting, but my favorites were the amazingly detailed mosaics found in the ruins of Pompeii. Since I didn't get any photos of my own, I found some online to share with you.

The detail in these mosaics was incredible! And to think they were created before 79 AD!!!

Some of the columns and wall fountains were just too beautiful. Thank goodness they escaped destruction by the the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii nearly 2000 years ago!

As we left the museum, we walked around trying to find a place to eat a late lunch, but all we seemed to find were bars and places that were closed until dinner. We stepped into one of the bars and asked the man behind the counter where we could find a restaurant that served pizza. He stepped out the door, rubbed his chin, looked from side to side, and then in Italian, with hand gestures, told us to go down a block and turn left. We did so, and found an amazing restaurant and sidewalk cafe called La Tana dell'Arte, where we ate delicious, authentic Napoletana pizza! Maybe the best pizza we have ever eaten! 


La Tana dell'Arte is a very interesting place, and although we ordered traditionally shaped pizza, they had some very unusual creations. Here are some of the more interesting pizza found on their menu: crocodile, crab, my sun, and turtle. (Except for the O'Sole mio, which was provolone & parmigiana with eggplant, these were all filled with "insalata di mare" or seafood salad.)

Not only was the food creative and delicious, but the restaurant staff was terrific! We left with our bellies full and big smiles on our faces - and not just from the wine! Naples didn't feel any "scarier" to us than any other big city in the world, and we can't wait to return, with our cameras, for more of that marvelous pizza!