A Southern Gem…Sorrento

The next adventure that we began was in beautiful Sorrento. We saw some ruins and some coastal cities along the way. These next 2 days were definitley the less touristy of all of the cities that we went to. I loved visiting the southern coast of Italy and all that it had to offer!

The hotel that we stayed at while we were in Sorrento was breathtaking. The Grand Hotel Europa Palace was by far the best hotel that we stayed at in the whole vacation and is somewhere where I would stay again if I ever came back. The exterior of the hotel was spectacular as it was on the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. The trees lining the entryway were so inviting and you truly felt that it was a special place. The rooms were very large and we had our own private patio with a view as well. All of the decor was beautiful and really made the experience extra amazing!

Naples

We took the train from Florence to Naples and it was not as glamorous as I thought. The buildings began to lose their charm and once we arrived in Naples, there was a sense of dirtyness to the city. Graffiti covered the buildings and we were told countless times to keep our belongings extra close becasue pick pocketers were very prevelent there. We did not stay in Naples, but we had to drive from there to our hotel in Sorrento. Naples was not my favorite experience, but was definitely interesting to witness!

Pompeii

One of our first stops in Southern Italy was Pompeii. Pompeii is still considered a city, but it is mainly known for its ruins and museum for tourists to explore. We had a guide take us through Pompeii which helped me understand the history and what the ruins tell us about this place. He took us up and down the streets, through houses, restaurants and theaters as well. The setting is amazing as well since you can still see the active volcano in the background. The museum is very well done and it was so amazing to imagine a vibrant city taking place here many years ago.

Lemon Groves

To experince some of the local culture of Sorrento, we went to lemon groves where they are famous for making homemade jam and lemoncello. They also make their own olive oil as well and we got a tour of the warehouse and learned about how to make olive oil as well. One of my favorite parts of this experince was seeing how they make mozzerella (and trying it!). This was defintely the best mozzerella that I have had and it tasted so fresh. The views from this farm were also amazing and everything surrounding it had so much of a local flare. Learning about what Sorrento is known for was very interesting and was a great experince to have done while we were here.

Capri

Capri was one of my favorite spots on the entire vacation! You take a water taxi from Sorrento to Capri and as you approach, you see this beautiful island with boats lined up along the shore. Once we got onto Capri, we went on a private 2 hour boat tour around the island on Capri to give us a sense of the history of the island and all of its wonders. It was amazing to be on the water and feel like you really experienced the whole entire island. We then took a bus up to the main street of Capri where we enjoyed delicious mozzerella and salami sandwhich and lemon gelato. The best part about lunch was the amazing view! We then walked around the main street and poked into the many stores and shops along the way. It was so fun to just get lost in all of the alley ways and to  experince the island. You really felt like a local!

Downtown Sorrento and Tarantella Dancing

Our hotel was in a great location as it was a short walk away from the main street of Sorrento. Sorrento had some very quaint and charming shops, but also a more market style to its downtown as there were many vendors through the streets as well. This small town was definitely refreshing and it was amazing to wander around! For dinner we had bruschetta and pork with peas which was delicious. Later that night, we decided to take dance lessons! We learned how to dance the Tarantella which is a typical Italian dance. This was definitley a very comical experience as we were all horrible dancer, but it was neat to learn something that was so important to the culture.