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| Orange trees lined some Sorrento roads |
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| It's behind you - Vesuvius |
Wednesday –
sunny – could get used to this! This was
a free day so we chose to walk into Sorrento.
We went down all the little lanes looking at shops and cafes. We found a supermarket (why are foreign
supermarkets so much more interesting than ours?) and we picked up a few items
to make a picnic. It was difficult
finding somewhere to sit by then as it was really busy but we did find a shady
spot in the end. It was nice to have a
day to just wander and not have to get up so early (Tuesday was a 7.30am pick
up) but I still woke about the same time, of course! The reason for the early starts was mainly to
avoid the worst of the crowds and the cruise ship tours (ships were docked in
Sorrento most days). It did work, so it
was worth it.
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| Former mill in Sorrento |
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| Arriving at Capri |
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| View from ski lift |
Thursday –
noooo, rain! It was overcast and rainy,
though it had stopped by the time of our pick up. We had shuttle buses down to the harbour for
our 30 minute boat trip to Capri. Our
guide for the day was Nello. As we
waited for the boat to depart the heavens opened. The boat had no cover so it was umbrellas at
the ready. Then the rain stopped again. A few drops began as we reached Capri but
then the sky cleared and the sun came out.
That’s more like it! This was to
be one of the best days. We drove to
Anacapri and being so early we were first on to the ski lift there. Wow!
The views on the twelve minute ride were spectacular and so peaceful
apart from the squeak from the wheel winding the ski lift up. At the top it was beautiful. Pathways with wonderful views and so
quiet. I could have happily stayed there
all day. Back down on the lift to the
town where we quickly headed for Villa S. Michele. What a lovely place. I wish there had been more time as the rooms
and gardens were beautiful but we couldn’t miss our coach! There was just time for an orange slush
(hubby had a lemon one so we could try both).
The taste was so intense, orgasmic!
Worth every euro! Then it into
the Funicolare down to the Marina Grande for an hour’s boat trip around the
island. Again this was lovely, seeing
all the villas perched on the hillsides, the little grottos with stalactites or
the one with coral and lovers arch at Faraglioni. Coming back we had half an hour to spend
before our return trip so there was just time for me to have a quick paddle in
the Mediterranean. I can tell you that
it was cool but not cold. In fact it was
lovely!
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A view from the top at Anacapri
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| One of the grottos |
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| Fresco at Herculaneum |
Friday –
sunny, yipeee! A 7.45am start to
Herculaneum with Nello as our guide. We drove out the same way as we did to
Pompeii with Vesuvius dominating the skyline.
I could not find the place on the Italian map until I realised that on
there it is called Ercolano, its Italian name.
It is closer to Naples and was once right by the sea but now about a
mile away. Herculaneum is much better
preserved than Pompeii due to the fact that mud filled in so much (Pompeii was
ash and heat) so many of the buildings still have their upper storeys and there
are more frescoes. It is amazing that so
much has survived. It is a much smaller
site with new Ercolano clinging to the borders, but there is much more under
the new buildings. I loved it here and
prefer it to Pompeii. The baths are
pretty cool! This was a seaside resort
in those days, a place to come and relax as opposed to Pompeii which was a town
living in the fast line with eating establishments on a par with today’s
McDonalds (fast food – no one really cooked).
After Nello had taken us around we had about half an hour to ourselves
following one of two routes back to the coach.
It was over all too fast. We were
back at our hotel by lunch time and then we sat on the terrace with a pot of
tea watching the road repairers laying tarmac and the crazy drivers trying to
go over it! Much heated language and arm
waving!
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Herculaneum
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| Second floors are still evident - this is above a shop |
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| Nello, our guide, is left of the picture, in blue shorts. He is standing in front of a wooden screen now burnt to charcoal. |
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| The road outside hotel (taken from the terrace) |
Saturday –
going home, (sniff). We had almost the
whole day to ourselves as transfer time to the airport wasn’t until
5.10pm. The day was again sunny and hot
(temperatures had been around 25/26 degrees all week). We strolled down to Sorrento, sat and watched
the world go by, had lunch in the Mayflower Restaurant and shopped for last
minute goodies. I had the chance to
visit the church near the gardens where a wedding was due to take place that
day. The order of service was in place
on the pews and the flowers were still being finished off. What a lovely church for a wedding. I took photos and bought a bookmark from the
little shop next door and went to the courtyard (like cloisters). We walked slowly back to our hotel and once
again had tea on the terrace. Near the
time we were to leave I opened the suitcase for a change of clothes (for
English weather – everyone was doing the same) and went to change in the
toilets. When we got to the airport
there was a problem with the tickets – our flights didn’t match and the
boarding passes wouldn’t go through the self-service gate. Finally someone came and let us through. We were about an hour late leaving. We came on Easyjet and were going back on
Small Planet (who no one had heard of!) – basically it’s a Russian franchise, I
believe. When we took off our pilot told
us the route we would be flying, including some part of the UK! Naples looked great by night as we ascended
into the sky. Lights all over the
place. It was a clear night so we could
see much more and it was even clear as we landed at Gatwick. Home wasn’t far now but it was about 1am when
we walked through the door and in bed about 2.30 after a good English cuppa!
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| Tea on the terrace - how civilised |
I miss Sorrento; the weather (felt like we had gone back
a season here in the UK) and I even miss the euro and the language. I took over 500 photos and am busy
editing. This was a special holiday and
the memories will remain for a very long time.
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