Sorrento
There were some nice views on the train ride to Sorrento.
Every so often throughout Italy, just like Munich, you can look up to the apex of rocky hills and see the silhouette of a cross.
Lots of palm trees planted all over Italy, including these we passed walking from the train station to the hotel.
Lots of sun and sea. The views from Sorrento were beautiful. On the Amalfi coast, I think Sorrento, the land of inlaid wood and limoncello, is definitely the place to visit for a fun, relaxing time.
From Sorrento, we finally saw the mystical Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. Cruise ships too.
Rocks lined the sunny shores.
The beaches to be found in Italy were admittedly puny.
Pretentious little 5 star hotels sat up high over the water, offering what we assume were stunning views. If you try to walk up to see what the view is like, a man will stop you, shouting "Privato!" at you until you go away.
Lots and lots of privato hotels.
This is the most pretentious of all the posh privato palaces. Excelsior Vittoria is known for accomodating many celebrities, dignitaries, and folk heroes.
We found a few lemon gardens in Sorrento, this one complete with a playground. We didn't pass up the opportunity to use the swings, although it admittedly felt awkward for me. I was never much of a swinger in the playground anyway. See, even typing that felt awkward. Moving on...
The urban part of Sorrento was fun. Bars and restaurants, shops, entertainment, boat rides everywhere, and tourists. You won't get "authentic Italy" from here, but you'll have a good time. Save the authenticity for another stop.
Sorrento's known for its inlaid wood. We went into specialty shop and took a picture of some work in progress.
We stumbled upon another beautiful grove of lemon trees. They wanted you to walk to the end actually. We assumed something neat would be down there. I was personally rather thirsty and in the mood for icy lemonade. However, all they sold down there was limoncello, which I had already bought elsewhere in Sorrento. The path was rustic and peaceful though, so we didn't mind the disappointment too much.
In the lemon grove, we saw a lady and her bunny on a leash. She spoke some English, so I asked her what the name of her bunny was.
She told me she named him "Bunny". I scowled and shook my finger menacingly at her, for choosing such a silly, uncreative name, and stomped off. Poor Bunny.
If you're not a fan of stairs, you might wish to opt for the taxi sometimes. This was on the way to the marina.
Here's the marina. It puzzled Miller how people get to their boats, so we watched for a bit and learned what happens. A man at the dock takes you in a little boat to your boat, probably earning a shiny coin or two in the process.
Gratuitous shot of a befuddled Miller, before we learned this.
I didn't really get away from my love of beer when I was in Italy, but I made a concerted effort to sample the Chianti as well, as seen here. We met and chatted with these fun vacationers from North Carolina. In this picture, I was really just edging towards that nice lady's half-finished beer.
After a few drinks, I made sure to capture an Italian sunset. Miller and I tried many camera settings and angles as the sun set. I think this one was the most visually stunning. God bless digital cameras.
After a quick trip to Positano and back, we had one more dinner in Sorrento. I was overjoyed when some musicians filed in and started playing for us. They were so happy. Not as happy as you see here. The guy with the accordion was posing. The girl with the maracas, however, was not.
One more bar trip in Sorrento too. Misleading as it may seem, it wasn't the type of bar you are thinking. Stacked on the bar was a pile of these satirical warnings in the shape of square cards you could keep as a souvenir. They had an advertisement for the bar on the back. Yes, the bartender was quite attractive.