Years ago we were in Naples and it was a very busy city with cars, scooters, a view of Mt. Vesuvius and really good pizza. This time we decided to take a shore excursion to Sorrento, The Amalfi Coast, Amalfi City and Salerno. That was the plan anyway. We got to see Sorrento and spend some time shopping there. We were served lunch too. The Cannallonis were good but the rest of it left much to be desired. The turkey breast was like a frozen pressed turkey and the fruit salad was from out of a can. That was disappointing. Sorrento on the other hand was a lovely city and we ended up buying most of our souvenirs there for our friends.
We visited a store that made inlaid wood products, linens and jewelry. In case you ever travel there, here is the website. http://www.gargiulo-jannuzzi.it Sorrento, Italy
There is a statue in Sorrento of Torquato Tasso. I found his story rather interesting. He was an Italian poet of the 16th century known for his 1591 poem “Jerusalem Delivered” in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099. Tasso had mental illness and died a few days before he was to be crowned on the Capitoline Hill as the king of poets by Pope Clement VIII. He remained one of the most widely read poets in Europe.
So leaving Sorrento we climbed back on our buses and were about to drive the Amalfi Coast. Now, I’ve always wanted to take this drive but after seeing it from the wrong side of the bus, I think I would like to go back and rent a car. Most of the pictures we took have a glare on the window or blur from the bus traveling WAY to fast. We made do until we got to Amalfi City where we were to get off and sightsee. However, our bus, going down the hill, and another bus, going up the hill, got stuck. No one was going to move. There was a lot of yelling and cursing in Italian and the Polizia (the Italian police) got involved. This put us behind schedule by an hour. We did get off in Amalfi City but didn’t have any time for Salerno. To make matters worse, after we got back on the bus in Amalfi City and back on the freeway, there was an accident ahead. We had to be rerouted. If you have cruised before you know there is a hard “time to be back on the ship” rule. Well, we missed that and the ship had to be held for our group. I’m just glad it was a Holland America Excursion. Anyway, here are some of the pictures we took of the Amalfi Coast (my apologies if they are blurred or have a glare) and some pictures of the city.
This is a beautiful part of Italy, I’d like to come back and see it in a car and not on a time schedule. This is what cruising affords you to do – see an area then return on your own.
Ciao !
