Boo & Rat's An Unexpected Journey - Italy 2022: Italy - Sorrento Days 1 & 2

The first 2 days are a whirlwind in my mind. 12 or so hours in airplanes, packed in-between 2 rather large cousins for the 10 hour flight from Atlanta to Rome with no leg space, or really any space to move (even though we had upgraded to the Delta Comfort Zone DCZ). Sleep evaded me most of the flight over so I watched two movies that were filmed in Italy (Venice and Rome), and attempted to play their in-flight games. Our flight home we are in the front row of the DCZ so we’ll have pentyl of space to stretch our legs.

Once landed in Rome, Customs was a breeze, then off to find the train station and begin the last leg of the long day to finally be in Sorrento, even thought it was only 9 am their time. It was tricky, but we found our first train which took us from the Rome Airport to the Roma Termini, then easily found our connecting train in the Roma Termini to take us to the Naples train station. The 2^nd train was a bullet making the trip in just over an hour, and I was able to catch a decent, and much needed nap.

So we get to the Naples train station and look at each other as in to say “Now what”? We don’t have working phones and no way to loo at bus schedules, or even where to find the bus station. I started walking looking at the front of buses in hopes that I’d find one that had Sorrento on it. Nope. So I’m standing there looking like a lost dope, when a very energetic taxi driver comes up to me to ask if I need a taxi. I asked if he could take us to Sorrento. “Si”! was his immediate response. Then the next big question “Cuanto”? “120 euro, or so depending on traffic”. Kevin and I look at each other and say “what the heck – it’s an adventure”! Antonio, I find out later, is his name, he tells us to wait there and the next thing we know he’s driving his taxi between the concrete pillars intended to keep vehicles out of the area we’re standing, and zips over to us, jumps out, loads our bags, and then next thing we know we’re on a roller coaster ride to Sorrento! And I do mean a roller coaster ride! Several times I closed my eyes and reached for Kevin’s one free hand (his other hand was white knuckled and gripping the “oh shit” bar on his side of the car! I have to hand it to Antonio, and the other drivers that were smart enough to get out of his way! That man was an aggressive driver, but we made it without a scratch on us or his taxi.

Finally! We’re checking into the hotel. Shew! Checking in after walking the cobblestone “road” (more like paths) for about half an hour looking for the hotel. Kevin finally does a recon mission to see if he can find the hotel, while I wait with our bags. He came back to me triumphant and with a big smile on his face (as he admits he actually asked a store owner where the hotel is). OK, now finally we’re checking in! The first thing we did in our room was to turn the AC down as low as it could go (17c) and crank up the fan to the unit. Ahh! We ponder a nap, but were too excited so off we went to find a glass of the infamous Lemoncello and see what we could see.

The shops are filled with beautiful land colorful art, clothing, pottery, wood carvings, and much, much more. Too much to take it all in at once. And then there is the FOOD! Oh my! Everywhere you look you see gelato, bars, pastries, and signs announcing the fresh pasta and homemade dishes for the day. Boy oh boy – this is going to be good! And the ocean! Beautiful!!!! I can't wait until Sunday when we are out on the water!

Alas, I was very disappointed with my first meal. The Lemoncello spritzer was zingy, cold, and refreshing, my fresh special of the day, Tuna and homemade pasta of some sort, was a huge disappointment. The pasta was more like a rice pudding and the tuna was raw. I love tuna, and I was envisioning a tuna steak on top of a pasta I was familiar with, but nope, got neither. Even the pigeons hovering around our feet didn’t want the tuna, they were more interested in the pink toe nail polish peaking out from my sandals.

Back to the room to settle in for the night. This was probably 6 pm. We slept until almost 1 am. We both woke up wanting to go out and walk the town. The path our hotel is on was deserted, but when we hit the main part of town – BOOM! It was hopping with people and their dogs. We got a gelato, some photos, and then I saw a sign that said “Best fish and chips around”. It was another hopping bar and the kitchen was closed, but the owner said for us he would cook us up some fish and chips! Sweet!! And their sign was right – it was the best fish and chips we’d ever had. We thanked him with a nice big tip and came back to the room to promptly pass out for several hours.