Michael S. LibermanItaly and Greece Day 8: Rome to Sorrento
July 9, 2024
From the patio bar of the Hotel Central Park in Sorrento …
Today is an earlier start. We’re leaving Rome to spend the day in Capri. A little after 7a we’ve had breakfast, checked out of the Cardinal Hotel St. Peter, and are on the road south on the A1 Autostrada del Sol, the “sunny” highway.
A small island located in the Bay of Naples, off the coast of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, Capri is renowned for its scenic coastline, limestone cliffs, and sea caves like the Grotta Azzurra, where sunlight creates a dazzling blue reflection in the water of the cave.
Getting to Capri is a high-speed ferry ride from the port in Naples to the small island harbor. Seeing the Blue Grotto depends on conditions that day and getting on wooden rowboat to pass under the entrance of the cave. But when we get to Capri we hear there’s a two-hour wait, so we opt instead for a tour around the island to see the caves, coves, and beaches of Capri. It’s stunning! Our boat pilot is Maximo. He is an expert at navigating the boat in close quarters of cave entrances and makes the tour an excellent alternative to the Blue Grotto.
After the tour we take the funicular to the town at the top of the island. Lunch is at Ristorante Longano da Tarantino. I have the best pizza I have ever tasted! And I eat the whole thing! Then Cory, Hannah, and I shop around the town and find a refreshing cup of lemon sorbet.
Around 4p we get in another high-speed ferry back to the mainland, but the return is to Sorrento.
Celebrated for its striking views, scenic cliffs, and lemon groves, Sorrento is a coastal town in southern Italy, overlooking the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast. The town is known for making limoncello lemon liqueur and its citrus-scented gardens. Visitors can walk through the narrow streets with shops selling crafts and souvenirs, dine in restaurants serving fresh seafood, and explore the nearby island of Capri, the ruins of Pompeii, or the picturesque Amalfi Coast.
Dinner is with Marguerite and Juan with a limoncello spritz. And it’s a spirited conversation about working in restaurant kitchens.
Tomorrow we see Pompeii and leave Italy on an overnight ferry to Greece.
Sounds magical. I recall discovering limoncello on one of those Italy trips. I had never heard of it. Then I get home and see it in the shelf right in front of the cash register at TJ’s! Ha! Hi to Bernie and Margarite!
I will probably drink limoncello for the rest of the summer. Enjoyable on the balcony. Will let Bernie and Marguerite know you said hello!
What a wonderful trip you’re having. I love Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri.
Didn’t get enough time in Sorrento, Donna. Might have to come back, maybe when it’s a little cooler!
Not all lemoncello is created equally. When you find a bottle you like, bring one home with you! 😉🍋
Noted a wide variety of flavors, but I didn’t buy a bottle 🙁