Adventures in the South of Italy Part II

When we arrived in Sorrento it was about half past 2 and we went on a long, yet hilarious trek to find our hotel/hostel: Hotel Londra.  It was quite lovely with a beautiful blue pool, lovely service and a tiny room that we didn't mind about because we were in the hotel just long enough to sleep.

the beauty of Positano

Before heading back out, we sat by the pool and had some cool drinks and then we started moving again.
We got on a bus with the intention of going to Amalfi but I got a tad motion sick on the bus so we
decided to get off at Positano.  I really don-t love long bus rides, especially on long and winding roads and these were particularly windy.  I will say that the bus ride is absolutely worth the gorgeous views. Luckily Positano was only 45 minutes away from Sorrento and when we got there we were faced with panoramic views of turquoise blue sea and gorgeous buildings etched into rock. It was stunning.
Then began our trek down through the town and to the water.  We walked through narrow streets and under canopies of purple flowers while we window shopped for beautiful things well out of our price range.  We contemplated getting limoncello, lemon liquor, a specialty of the region that is generally quite reasonably priced and utterly delicious.  Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and most of the Campania region
are particularly well known for their limoncellos but  since it was already 4ish I decided not to go into the shop because I am easily distracted.  I probably could have spent ages there tasting and looking at the various limoncellos.

The beautiful bottles of limoncello!

So instead we went straight down to the beach to enjoy a small patch of ston ybeach for free.  It was crowded but we didn't have to pay so we didn't mind.  If you get there early enough I would recommend paying for chairs and umbrellas.
We took turns swimming and sunbathing and I enjoyed reading the 5th Harry Potter book in Italian.  Then when the sun began to sink behind the cliffs, we started our climb back up.
It's a steep hill but the hike was well worth it for the majestic views.
Then back towards the top of the cliff we found a

little restaurant called Ristorante Bruno that I believe I want to with my best friend Angela 7 or 8 years ago.  It's a seafood restaurant with an incredible view overlooking Positano. It is perfectly positioned for a spectacular sunset, and I imagine, it's always a spectacular sunset.  The restaurant is at the perfect angle to capture the shifting colors an the beginnings of the dawning stars.

the start of a gorgeous sunset over paradise

The food is on the expensive side, but not terrible considering the location and the amazing quality of the seafood.  Our waiter was quite friendly and talkative, and wasn't overbearing. He gave us time to enjoy our meal, but cleared the table quickly when we were done and then left us to our own devices to chat and enjoy the waning light.

enjoying our wine and the sunset

Since my stomach was still bothering me from the bus ride earlier in the day, I decided to stick with

Gamberetti al limone

something small and light from the antipasto (appetizer menu).  I got the gamberetti al limone. It was a small but delicious portion of shrimp in a fresh and slightly spicy lemon sauce.  I could absolutely taste the freshness of the shrimp and the beautiful tartness of the lemon. And I absolutely loved the kick of heat. It was present but not the primary taste. I ate and enjoyed every bite of tender shrimp and used a couple of pieces of bread to soak up the remaining sauce.

La spigola with sun dried tomatoes, onion and potatoes

Endira got an amazing fish dish in a red sauce .  She got the spigola or sea bass and it was tender and flaky with an wonderful sauce made with sun dried tomatoes, capers and onions.  I don't usually like cooked fish, but this was so fresh and didn't taste fishy at all.
I was originally going to get dessert since I'd only gotten an appetizer for a meal, but it got late while we were drinking our delicious Falanghina (a typical white wine from the Campania region of Italy)

I am totally enamored with this view

and we wanted to catch the 9:40 bus back to Sorrent so we could explore the night life of Sorrento.
I went inside to pay since we needed to move quickly (note: pretty much everywhere in Italy, they move pretty slowly, so if you need speed... deal with it yourself, or just be patient lol).  We had ten minutes to get to the bus and I didn't want to miss it since the next one wasn't scheduled until 11:40, meaning no exploring Sorrento at night.  So we headed to the bus stop and we waited and waited and waited some more.
We hadn't missed the 9:40 bus, it just never came.
But we made the best of it and went to the first bar down the path. We had another 1 1/2 to enjoy the mesmerizing view and drank some more wine.  They even served us chips and finger foods while we (ok in fairness, while I ) watched the Germany and Ghana game. I love soccer and will watch any team play, especially if they pay well and Germany and Ghana definitely played well that day.
Our waiter was also quite nice and asked all about us and our Italian skills. Sometimes it's hilarious to be an American who speaks fluent Italian.

The view from the second bar

And then we planted ourselves at the bus stop by around 11:20 to make sure we didn't miss it. Even though the bus wasn't till 11:40 we decided not to take any chances.  The 11:40 is the last sumer evening bus to go back to Sorrento and without it we would have been stuck in Positano all night wihout a roof over our heads.
Luckily for us it came!  And even more luckily I didn't feel bus sick through all the curves, maybe because I couldn't see anything. Sadly though, by the time we got back to Sorrento, we were too tired to explore and we just went right back to the hotel to shower and sleep.

Want to read more about my Southern Italian adventures?
Part I here
Part III here

Adventures in the South of Italy Part I

Last weekend, Endira and I had a whirlwind trip down South.  We stopped in Naples, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi during the course of Saturday and Sunday. It was crazy and lots of fun too.
On Saturday we took the slow train (3 hours) at 8:14am. If you ever take one of these cheap but long trains in Rome (or from any of the capo linea, the journey starting point) get on the train EARLY or else you run the risk of standing the majority of the journey.  We planted ourselves in the corridor by the steps and had to keep getting up and down whenever the exit was on our side for the various local stops. It was a long trip but we read our books and had a lot of laughs.
However, when we got to Naples, at around 11am I was just a little out of it (that's what happens
when you stay out late the night before an early morning trip) and I thought it was already noon and therefore time for pizza.  This also just proves that I can't do math.  3 hours on a strain starting at 8, what time do you arrive? Alissa's stomach says noon.

I was insistent on getting this pizza.
Best pizza, but remember it's closed on
Sundays!

And I was quite gung ho about getting my Neapolitan pizza fix so we took a walk and figured out that Da Michele, the best pizza EVER was closed until noon.  So one random conversation with a Neapolitan later (note: they'll try speaking to you even if you don't know Neapolitan. A lot of Neapolitans are wonderful, hilarious people, some are crooks trying to con you into something... soo proceed with caution) we decided to go for a walk and see the churches in the area and get a coffee.  I needed an energy upper and Naples is known for its coffee.

beautiful shakerato

It's known for 2 things Pizza and Espresso.  Their espresso is strong and sweet and pretty amazing (other Italians will say their coffee is better but I'm partial to Neapolitan espresso).  We stopped at a cute coffee shop on the corner and sat outside in the warm sun.  We each decided to get a Shakerato which is a type of ice coffee. In Florence it was quite thin and smooth, basically regular espresso, milk and liquid sugar, shaken with ice (hence the name) and served cold.  In Naples at this caffe it was like melted ice cream made tiwh the best espresso in the world. It was delicious and creamy, but incredibly strong.  Stir it periodically!  Otherwise at the end you're going to get a mouthful of super strong espresso that you weren't expecting.  It was refreshing and quite energizing but a little messy.  I would definitely get it again.
Then we stopped into the Duomo for a beautiful peek and after we kept walking for a while.  We found a photo exhibit and a man raising money for a library so that the kids in the neighborhood would ahve a place to study.  He was lovely and the project was a beautiful idea, especially since he's doing it in honor of his 14 year old daughter who was killed by the Gamorah (Neapolitan mafia) a few years ago.  The school down the block is named after her. He's doing a wonderful job keeping her memory alive and positive.  He was a lovely man with a positive message and spirit.  He's also collecting books for the library in any language, so if you want, you can send books for the beautiful cause (I'll add in the address tomorrow).
He also gave us a nearby restaurant recommendation that I'll have to look into next time because I was utterly fixated on getting pizza from Da Michele again, so we went there next.
We got there at noon and there was already a line at the door so I cut to the front to see what was going on.  I wanted to get our pizzas to go so I figured that there was no hurt in trying and well, it cutting the line definitely paid off for us with quick pizzas but more on that in a minute.
Apparently, Da Michele's had been robbed the night before!!The crooks had broken in from below and ruined the bathroom in the process which is why the restaurant still wasn't seating anyone.  I really hope that the crooks get caught and that they didn't get any money.  The sweet, amazing people working that way didn't seem too concerned right then, which makes me think that it probably isn't the first break in that they've faced.

In any case, they couldn't seat anyone who wanted to sit and eat but since we wanted to take ours as takeaway we were in luck.  I asked the man at the counter and he was very sweet and told the guys by the kiln to make us some pizzas. And we got to watch them making our pizza which was excellent.  The older men were amazingly quick and then the pizza was ready very quickly as well.

We got traditional margarita pizzas. Da Michele's only serves 3 kinds Marinara (no cheese), Margarita (the traditional Neapolitan pie) and Doppio Margarita (with double the mozzarella).
Our pizzas were amazing, especially since they were the very first made that day!
They were delicious with the perfect crust and a wonderful balance of sauce and cheese, with just the right amount of basil.

If you ever have a chance to pass through Naples, I highly recomment Da Michele.  I also recommend you explore the rest of the city because although it's quite nitty gritty and the city is highly underrated, in reality it's a gorgeous city with lots to see (the coast, castel d'uovo, spaccanapoli, the archaeological museum just to name a few) but do be aware of your belongings because there are some shady characters roaming amongst the friendly.
After eating our pizza in the piazza by the train station, we got onto the circovesuviano for 1 hour and 15 minutes of hot stuffy train to Sorrento....
That being said it was TOTALLY worth it.

Want to read more about my adventures down south?
Part II here
Part III here