Italy – Sorrento

When last you read, we were leaving Venice to board a plane to Naples.  I am continually amazed by just how cheap it is to fly within mainland Europe.  We landed tickets on EasyJet for a mere $51 per person.  Granted, it’s best to think of EasyJet as a flying bus rather than an traditional airplane (no assigned seats, no food or drinks, really nothing but a seat unless you pay extra for it), but for $51, I’m not going to complain one bit!

After an hour flight, we landed in Naples, picked up our luggage, and found the bus to Sorrento.  Driving through Naples gave us a quick glimpse at the city and confirmed our decision to spend as little time there as possible.  After another hour on the bus, we were dropped off at the Sorrento bus station.  We made the very long and confusing walk to our hotel, got checked in, and took a second to rest our tired feet before devising our plan for the next two days. 

Our first stop – a centuries old orange and lemon orchard in the heart of town.  The owner was on hand to give us samples of her family’s homemade limoncello and to give us a brief history of the orchard and the town. 

We strolled through the orchard, surrounded by the sweet smell of ready-to-open blossoms, until we came to the family’s gelato stand.  The. Best. Gelato. Ever.  The tart lemon gelato was even better will a little drizzle of sweet limoncello on top!  We may or may not have shared the first helping and then each ordered our own to go.  Maybe.

Gelatos in hand, we continued back toward the town square to start our Rick Steves walking tour through the historic town center.  We walked down ancient Roman streets, past a neighborhood shrine to Mary, and peeked into the courtyard of the city’s men’s club before ending at a park with a stunning view of the Sorrento harbor.  We arrived just in time for sunset – perfect timing! 

Once the sun had set, we made our way through town and down to a small fishing harbor that was supposed to be home to several good seafood restaurants. 

Restaurants that were closed for the winter.  So, we walked all the way back up the steel hill and found a nice place tucked back into the neighborhood just a few blocks from our hotel.  This restaurant's menu was centered around buffalo mozzarella.  Chris is all about ordering whatever the restaurant is known for, so of course, we had to sample a big ball of buffalo mozzarella… and the smiley-face-shaped chocolate cake.

Day two in Sorrento was an action-packed sightseeing whirlwind.  We started the day with a ferry ride to the island of Capri and a trip to the world-famous Blue Grotto.   According to our research, getting to the Blue Grotto was half the adventure.  From Capri’s harbor, we boarded a small boat for the ride to the cave’s entrance. 

Once at the cave, we stepped from our boat into an even smaller boat.  With expert timing, our guide squeezed us through the tiny cave opening and into the Blue Grotto. 

The Blue Grotto gets its name from the amazing blue color of the water inside the cave.  The cave walls are made up of light-colored limestone, so when the sun shines through the cave opening, it reflects brightly off the submerged cave walls causing the water glow. 

The cave wasn’t nearly as breath-taking as we expected (our guide said the summer is the best time to come – if you can stand the crowds), but it was beautiful.  We were even treated to a short serenade compliments of our guide.

Back in the town of Capri, we decided to follow another Rick Steves walk through the town.  Capri is obviously built around tourism and high-rent tourism at that.  The streets were squeaky clean and every major designer from Gucci to Prada had a store lining the street the locals call Rodeo Drive.

Our best find of the day was a small bakery that made the best lemon shortbread cookies I have ever tasted.  I bought a couple because they looked good, and then we went back and bought more because they were so amazing. I’ve been scouring the internet for a recipe, but no one seems to have one. Darn adorable Italian grandmothers and their secret family recipes! 

We eventually made our way to the bus stop for the short ride to Anacapri (creative name, I know).  Anacpari is located at the foot of the island’s tallest “mountain”.  A quick ride up a chair lift, and we were on top of the island, with views of the Mediterranean and the Amalfi coast stretching out in every direction. 

We stayed at the top of the hill for quite a while before making our way back to the bus stop and then back to Capri’s harbor.  A short ferry ride later, we were back in Sorrento and headed to the bus station to catch a bus to the town of Amalfi.  One of the “must do” activities in the Sorrento area is drive the road along the scenic Amalfi coast.  We’ve both been on narrow, winding mountain roads before, but nothing prepared us for this bus ride.  I have no idea how our bus fit down the roads, let along how it made some of the corners along the route.  Many times I looked down, out of the bus window, only to see nothing but blue water hundreds of feet below us.  It was well worth the anxiety for the unforgettable views. 

Two American college students, on a spring break trip to Rome, ended us sitting behind us on the bus ride.  We got to talking and they mentioned that this was the first outside the US for both of them.  They had really wanted to come to Europe, even if it was only for a week, but their parents had told them it was a crazy waste of money.  They had been saving all year to be able to make the trip, but just two days in, they had no regrets about their decision.  I couldn’t help but tell them a little about me.  How I’ve been traveling since I was in high school; at every opportunity, for any reason, and yes, even against the wishes of my parents.  How I’ve never once regretted a single dollar I’ve spent to just go somewhere.  Have I spent too much on a hotel or a souvenir - sure, but on an experience or a chance to see someplace new - never.

Our travel companions got off the bus several stops before us.  Their tight schedule didn’t allow them time for the bus ride all the way to Amalfi, but ours did!  We were able to spend just enough time in Amalfi to make a walk through downtown, stop in a couple little shops, and take some pictures on the beach before getting back on the bus back to Sorrento.  On the way back, we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the ocean.

Entirely too early the next morning, we walked through the eerily quiet streets, suitcase wheels clicking on the cobblestone sidewalks, to the bus station (again).  Destination: Rome!

Italy - Venice

With more than a little reluctance, we boarded the train in Varenna and headed south to our next destination, Venice.

Apparently, we’re getting good at this whole European travel thing because promptly upon arrival in Venice, we were stopped by an American couple asking for the best way to get to St. Mark’s square.  Due to our research on the train, we were able to answer their question with ease.  When the couple walked away, Chris and I looked at each other and laughed.  We always feel like we’re lost, but I guess we’re better off than most people!

So, how do you get from Venice’s train station to St. Mark’ square?  By boat of course! 

There are no cars and not a single road on the island of Venice, so if you want to get somewhere, your options are limited.  The city runs bus-like boats called vaporettos up and down the Grand Canal, allowing for quick and easy travel from one end of town to the other.  If you want to reach a location not along the Grand Canal, get ready to walk.  While there are side canals throughout the city, they are only accessible by private boat, gondola, or water taxi.

Our hotel was located just a few stops before St. Mark’s square, near the Accademia Bridge.  We took a ride on one of the vaporettos, absorbing the sights of Venice as we passed through the heart of the city. 

We arrived at our hotel, checked into a ridiculously narrow room (I could touch both walls at the same time!), and sat for a few minutes enjoying the view of the Grand Canal from our window.

After a quick pizza snack, we decided to take a walk around the area near our hotel.  We enjoyed winding our way through the narrow canals and walkways. 

We also enjoyed the view of St. Mark’s square from across the Grand Canal as well as views of some of the neighboring islands.  We stumbled upon a beautiful church called La Salute.  This church was the first of many Italian churches in which the floor was as amazingly detailed as the walls and ceiling.  I guess you can make amazing floors when your country supplies all the marble.

We finished up our afternoon walk with a stop at the Accademia museum.  Located immediately adjacent to our hotel and the Accademia Bridge, the museum is home to a collection of historic art.  As with most art museums we visit, we were more interested in the building than the art.  We did notice, however, that we are starting to recognize paintings by certain artists and are able to identify certain styles of art.  Maybe we won’t need that art history class after all.  As with most of the buildings in Venice, the Accademia museum continues to experience significant settling (this is the problem with building in a swamp).  We saw strain gauges placed all over the building to measure the movement of cracks.  Based on what we saw, it’s a wonder that place is still standing.

By the time we finished our tour of the Accademia, it was dark and the old buildings along the canal were beautifully lit.  Our guide book recommended a night-time gondola ride down the Grand Canal.  However, the 80 euro an hour price tag and the high potential for not-so-clean water splashing onto us from our seats a mere 6 inches above the water, we decided a nighttime ride of the vaporreto was more than sufficient for us.  Our vaporreto ride ended at St. Mark’s square, so we decided to take a stroll through the square and the surrounding streets before settling on a restaurant for dinner.

The next morning, bright and early, breakfast was delivered to our room on a lovely silver tray.  We set the tray on a small table near the window and enjoyed another breakfast with a beautiful view! 

Stuffed full of Nutella, cream cheese, and croissants, we set out once more for St. Mark’s square.  Due to the rather long line at the entrance to the Basilica itself, we decided to start out with a ride to the top of the adjacent bell tower.  The engineers in both of us really like looking at cities from above.  There’s something about the way people move around a city that fascinates us – not to mention the design (or lack there of) of the city itself.  We watched boats and people scurry around the island for at least a half an hour before descending the tower and moving on to the Basilica.

Venice was the dividing line between eastern and western civilization for thousands of years.  Because of this position, St. Mark’s Basilica has a decidedly eastern feel (Byzantine architecture, says the guide book).  It is much closer in appearance, both inside and outside, to the Aya Sofia in Istanbul than it is to most other European churches we’ve seen.  Much like the Aya Sofia, the interior of St. Mark’s is covered, floor to ceiling, with beautiful carved stone and gold mosaics.  I can’t even imagine placing all those tiny little tiles by hand!  Our tour of St. Mark’s also included a walk around the outside balcony of the building and a quick walk through the Basilica’s museum.

Next, we stopped for lunch at a busy little café and enjoyed sandwiches and the company of some fellow American travelers, also toting a bright blue Rick Steves guide book.  Fed and slightly rested, we decided to tackle the Correr Museum (more art).  Although the building itself was beautiful, our resounding advice would be to skip this stop on your next visit to Venice.  It wasn’t even worth the number of steps we had to take to get through the never-ending building!

To round out our St. Mark’s Square touring experience, we ended our day at Doge’s Palace.  The Doge was the highest elected position in ancient Venice, and the palace was certainly fit for a king Doge.  We toured various personal rooms throughout the palace as well as enormous senate and court rooms.  The Council Chamber, capable of holding meetings for the hundreds of elected council members, put any modern meeting room to shame.  Carved wood panels ran around the lower portion of the walls, while the entire ceiling was decorated with paintings surrounded by carved wood frames. 

In addition to housing the Doge’s apartment and various government offices, the palace was also home to the city jail.  Prisoners were moved from the courts in the palace to the jail located just across the canal via the Bridge of Sighs.  Our tour followed the prisoners’ path from the palace to the jail, but luckily for us, we were able to find an exit.

While planning our trip to Italy, we both agreed that it would be fun to see an opera at some famous opera house.  When our guide book mentioned La Fenice as the most famous opera house in Venice, we decided to see what they had to offer.  Unfortunately for us, our options were a piano concert or nothing.  We decided the piano concert would allow us to see the inside of the theatre and experience some kind of show while keeping things relatively short. 

Oh, how wrong we were!  We listened to a lovely concert by a very well-respected Italian pianist (or so we gathered based on our limited Italian reading skills).  After just over an hour, the playing came to a close, there were several rounds of applause and profuse bowing on the part of the pianist.  When he left the stage and everyone started leaving the theatre, we assumed the show was over.  Just was we were getting ready to leave, the lights flickered and everyone returned to their seats.  Another hour later, the show was finally over!  The nice thing about the concert was that there was no need to actually watch the show. This gave us an opportunity to really appreciate the beautifully restored theatre interior.  I’m sure this was quite the place to be see and be seen in 18th century Venice.

The next morning, after another wonderful in-suite breakfast, we hopped on the vaporetto for the long ride to the island of Murano.  I’m sure at least some of you have heard of Murano glass.  Anyone??  The island of Murano is home to a multitude of world-famous glass making factories.  We watched a brief glass blowing demonstration at one of the factories before spending the next several hours searching the town’s many shops for the perfect souvenirs. 

We spent much longer than we intended on the island of Murano, so we decided to skip the trip to the other nearby islands and headed back to Venice.  The only major sight we had yet to see in Venice was Rialto bridge.  From the description in our guide book and the many trips we’d taken under the bridge since arriving in Venice, I was expecting a series of high-end shops situated on a beautiful stone bridge.  The stone bridge part was right, but the only shops we found were filled with tourist junk.  Disappointing to say the least.  We decided this was one sight that was much better from a distance.

With most of the afternoon left to enjoy, we decided to walk through the less-touristy part of Venice toward the Frari Church.  The Frari Church was originally built by the Franciscans in the late 1300’s and has an excellent collection of in-place art.  That is, art that is still installed in the location for which it was intended.  Every altar piece and sculpture is viewed in context rather than hanging on a plain white wall next to ten other works of art just like it.  It really did make a difference in our appreciation of the pieces, something we didn’t expect.

Thoroughly exhausted and out of “must-see” sights, we decided to have a snack in a charming little neighborhood piazza before embarking on our evening adventure: Italian-style tapas.  Of course, they don’t call them tapas, but the idea is the same.  Our guide book listed a series of little bars and cafes that offered an assortment of finger foods and glasses of house wine for just a few euros.  We went to five little bars, sampled an assortment of yummy fried snacks (mushrooms and stuffed zucchini flowers were our favorites), and generally had a great evening.

Our final morning in Venice was short.  We packed, checked out, took one last ride down the Grand Canal, and hopped a bus to the nearby airport to catch our flight to Naples. 

Overall, we thought Venice was nice, but it wasn't nearly as grand as we expected.  In reality, it was a little dirty and not particularly well-maintained.  Although the history surrounding the city is undeniable, if we ever want to see a city filled with canals again, I think we'll go back to Amsterdam.

Still waiting…

For those of you who are still waiting patiently for me to post the rest of our pictures from Italy, you’re going to be waiting for a while longer.  I have no excuse; I’m just being slow.

In the mean time, go check out Lindsey’s post about our meeting in Florence.  Thanks Linds!!
As for the rest of the trip… I’m working on it, and I promise to hurry.