Sorrento The Town

From our hotel it was a short walk to the sea even if it was still probably 20 Mt's above it, from here we saw some smashing sunsets.

One of the places we visited for lunch was a restaurant that claimed to be the only one with hand made paster on the premises and Mumma was making the pasta, Standing in the window overlooking the street so every one could see it was hand made. Dad front of house and the kids waiting. I think every bit of china in the building was made specifically for them including the toilets.

Our walking tour took as to the cathedral but only a very fleeting visit so we returned on or free day to explore. Just inside the doors there is a large miniature display, these are common in churches in this area some more elaborate than others.

 

Also stone was reused and repurposed, there are several examples where pillars and alters have been found in walls etc.

The internal of the building is as you would expect quite amazing.

Externally the building is not so grand, it has a separate bell tower which stands proud but you could walk by the main building

The area is very famous for its marquetry and a disused church has been turned into a showroom with the items being exported all over the world

Sorrento sits high above the sea for most or the time with stairways , lifts, slopes and a very twisty road leading down to the sea

At the north of the town there is a small area at sea level with cafes, bars etc. and also a fishing community. There is road access via a tunnel with no footpath and to the south end of the area steps going up through gates and arches that protected the town . It was here we got caught in a very heavy rain shower

Like most of the towns in this part of Italy it is build in the hills around a valley and river that ran into the sea, today the river has been diverted, it use to run where the horseshoe road is in the video and on its banks it had mills, long abandoned but the ruins deep below the road level .

In the old town the streets are very narrow and cars are banned, locals use scooters and as you walk around they are deadly. Even some of the roads that would be wide enough for a car they are banned. 

We visited one of the churches in the square and it has a large selection of small brass arms and legs in the cript. People give these when they are praying for that part of their body to be cured, there were small efergies of other parts as well.

There are lots of gardens and also lemon farms right in town, there long before it became a popular holiday destination. Of course the rich in commers with thier large houses have also planted lemons as well as other trees.

This area is where people gather, normally elderly males, bit like me to chat, drink coffee and play board games. The walls are flat but the murals give a strong feeling of 3D

Below are a few random photos we took around the town.

Sorrento Italy

 

We had 7 days staying in Sorrento on a half board holiday with Newmarket Holidays visiting Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast, we also added an extra tour visiting a farm for a demonstration of cheese making complete with lunch.

We started our holiday by driving to Cophall parking to leave the car and then a 15 minute bus trip to Gatwick Airport where we stayed overnight at the Hilton before heading into the north terminal at 5am the next morning. Our reason for choosing the Hilton is that it is within the airport complex and its just a matter of catching the monorail to the North terminal for the flight.  Checking in was easy and we boarded the flight and even took off early.   

 

         As we flew out the sky’s were clear blue and not a drop of cloud until we were well into Italy. We could see the ground all the way and a very clear view of the mountains, I think this was Switzerland. We made good time and landed half an hour early, however it took us an hour to clear immigration. I could see the queue outside the airport building when we landed, unloaded and 2 buses full of people were taken to a large marquee with 13 electronic entry terminals in it, we all filed passed as none of them were working,the queue then went back outside zig zagging to the main doors of the terminal building, inside and up to two booths with chaps stamping passports.    
Once cleared we had an hour to wait for the Heathrow flight. We were aware we may have to wait an hour and it gave us the opportunity to have some lunch and also visit the loo where I spotted this notice.

Another thing about the toilets in restaurants and bars in Sorrento is that hardly any had a toilet seat, they were all spotlessly clean where ever you went but apart from our hotel we only saw two more with seats .
Then it was a coach trip to Sorrento dropping guests off at each of the three hotels. We were staying at the Eliseo Park's Hotel which was less than 100 mt. from one of the other hotels being used by Newmarket holidays.
The Hotel was very welcoming and spotlessly clean, the staff truly friendly, The hotel has had a recent makeover and I suspect we were in one of the original bedrooms, again spotless and very roomy, but the bed was a tad to firm for my taste, it was however very wide. 
Another thing of note was the instant hot water from the taps and shower, no standing while the shower above the bath went from cold to warm and then hot.

At first we thought the hotel was quite old with a modern bedroom block built on and we were in one of the few bedrooms in the old part but it turned out the who;e building had been revamped a few years previously  by the present owner’s parents. Dad was now in a wheelchair probably following a stroke but they came to the hotel for diner every evening. Being Italy glass is very high on the décor and was designed and made specifically for the hotel.

The new block all with balconies overlooked the swimming pool, but it was too early in the season for it to be in use. Of course there were also lemon trees in the garden. 

 

The only down side really was that the hotel was a bit too far out of town to find a bar for a drink after diner, We did visit a couple of the other hotels for a drink that were right on the cliff top.

Farm

We did a full day excursion which involved a walking tour of Sorrento in the morning.  This was  followed by a coach ride through the countryside, ending up at a traditional farm where we looked at the rather ancient olive crushing equipment. the farm is famed for its cheese making which was demonstrated with the milk from their own cows and of course they grow lemons to make Limoncello, I didn’t know you got three crops a year from the lemons and the trees have flowers, young fruit and ripe fruit all at the same time . After the demonstrations and a wander around we were giving a tasting menu meal, I was so busy making sure I didn’t miss out as the food was passed round the table I completely forgot to take photos.
Below are photos from the farm and a couple from the coach . The ones from the Town are in the page about the town.