Serene Sorrento - 'jewel of the Amalfi Coast'

"Perched on the shores of the Amalfi Peninsula like a white dove in a olive tree, serene seaside Sorrento lies on the southern curve of the Bay of Naples, with the famed Isle of Capri a few miles off its rugged coast, and volatile Vesuvius looming nearby."

Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sorrento, Italy
Depart: 6:00pm
Sunrise: 5:31am • Sunset: 8:32pm
Forescast: Sunny; 81ºF / 27ºC

I don't believe that I mentioned in the last post, that the eruption of Vesuvius occurred in AD 79.

Even Sorrento was buried under tons of volcanic pumice and ash. It took a while, but in AD 200, the survivors had restored Sorrento and it was restored as a thriving little gem on the western Italian coast. (if you can't tell, I'm paraphrasing the pamphlet we received on the city)

This was a simple day of relaxing and browsing the street venders, then the ally shops. We had to make a run to a grocer for me, where we found all sorts of non-touristy things, and still lots of fun. Tessa found her favorite treat, Bueno Bars, which she discovered on her trips to Spain; I loved them once I finally tried them. Turning our direction back to the touristy spots, we found some more gelato; though never again, did I find the gelato flavor I had in the streets of Rome, which will remain my favorite of the entire trip. Anyway, I found the kids Italian metallic balloons (I cannot blow them up for the life of me), string-pulling ornamental dolls we will hang on the Christmas tree, toy tractors for Mont and a vespa toy for both. Tessa found bottled up olive oil, after which we found some matching bracelets (we always used to match as kids!).

We ended the afternoon sunbathing, listening to the splashes of kids in the water below the pier. It was a moment where I wish I could have bottled up the scents, sounds and sights, always to remember the feeling.