This morning we woke up a little earlier so we
could get an early start to the day. We had a fantastic breakfast
on the balcony overlooking the water. We have had a lot of good breakfasts
on our trip but this was by far the best. They even had fresh motz
balls tomatoes you could slice yourself. To die for.
After we ate we quickly got ready and went to catch the shuttle bus to
Sorrento. We had been told that ferries from Sorrento to Amalfi and
Positsno were €7 euro which didn't seem to bad. So we found our way
to the ferry dock and asked about ferry tickets. It was €31.60 PER
PERSON for just one stop the €20 per person for the stop at the
second place. That is insane. We could spend that much money on transport
when we had a car to drive ourselves. So we hiked back to the hotel (it
took 30 min in the blazing heat.) We quickly looked up info online for
driving to each town. The advice was not comforting and we were a little
nervous about the unknown. Not to mention where we would park
upon arrival and if we could find a beach area. But we didn't want to
just hang around all day doing nothing so off we went. Surprisingly
the drive wasn't horrible. It was tight in places and congested
in other places but overall Mike thought it wasn't as bad as people
made it out to be. Must be the Utah mountain driver in him. The
views along the way were incredible and I doubt the camera will capture
its true beauty. We stopped at several viewing points to take
pictures and just stared at the beautiful scenery. At one location
there was a man with a fruit stand selling fresh fruits and fresh squeezed
juice. We bought 2 cups of OJ and it was the best OJ we have had in our
entire life. Words can't describe how amazing it really way! So
delicious! We continued our drive into the town of Amalfi. We had read
parking was hard to find and by the amount of cars parked on the
street we believed it, but we figured we'd try anyway. So down we went
toward the water. By some miracle (aka HF again looking out for us)
we saw a sign for parking and followed it. We pulled right into a
spot by the water and found out it was only €5 a hour which was
really good for where we were. Giddy about our luck and the small price
we had to pay to park
we set off the find a beach area. We quickly
found one and rented two chairs, towels and an umbrella for the
afternoon. We changed and settled in to our beautiful piece of heaven.
Mike swam all the way to the barrier and enjoyed the water while I
relaxed in the shade. Then he came back to sit with our stuff and I went
and cooled off. We ordered a pizza and a lemon soda (my new
favorite) for a late lunch on the beach. After a while we changed and walked
into town to see what it was like. It was very much like a lot of the other
beach towns. Buildings with vendors selling food and souvenirs. Mike really
enjoyed looking around at all the things they sold. There was a lot of lemon
things. They grow a lot of lemons in Italy and especially in this region. They
are HUGE here as well, like the size of a small Mellon. There was lemon
liqueur, soap, candy anything you could think off. We found a shop that sold
lemon sorbetti. We stopped in and I got a lemon slush drink and Mike got the
sorbetti in cream and iced lemon. It was fantastic. I stool some of his
sorbetti and put it on top of slush. It was the perfect treat for a hot summer
day. Once the sorbetti was gone, I ate my slush on its own. It was really
strong, like it almost burnt a little going down. But I couldn't decide if it
was because the lemon was bitter and they added a lot of sugar to it and that's
what was burning a bit OR if it was a liquor. Obviously I don't have a
clue what that would eve taste like. I had Mike taste it to see what he
thought, even though he's just as clueless about that stuff as I am. He decided
that it just might have a little liquor in it and quickly confiscated it from
me. Who knows if it really did, but better safe than sorry. After that our
parking meter was up and sadly we had to leave. The drive back was much more
congested and busy than the way over. Mike is seriously a driving champ. He
drove those roads in his stick shift like a boss. We stopped again to see our
friend at the fruit stand. We took some pictures and got some more OJ. It will
seriously haunt me in my dreams. I will forever want that juice at home and I
guarantee I will never be able to make it that good again. Once we got back to
the hotel we learned we were just in time to catch the shuttle down to Sorrento
to find somewhere to eat. We walked around trying to find something to eat. We
hesitant to get tricked into eating at another tourist trap. We found a hotel
restaurant off the beat and path tucked away into a little hillside area. We
looked at the menu and I noticed it said homemade pasta. I was sold. We walked
into the restaurant to find its tables over looked the Mediterranean. Once
again we had a gorgeous view for dinner. I ordered the homemade ravioli stuffed
with motz, rigatto cheese, basil and tomato and Mike ordered the gnocchi in
homemade tomatoes, basil and motz sauce. When our food arrived I was so excited
because it looked incredible. Once I took my first bit I thought I'd died and
gone to pasta heaven. THE BEST ravioli ever, EVER! So amazing and Mikes was
just as good. While he still claims he liked our meal in Verona better, I say
this was my favorite meal. After dinner we had sometime before we needed to
catch the shuttle back to the hotel so we walked around some more and explored
the shops. We bought some postcards for the nieces and nephews and tried to
find some good souvenirs. We made our way back to the bus stop and waited for
the shuttle. I noticed at the bus stop they have, no joke, a pizza vending
machine. It just made the pizza right there while you waited, dough and all. We
were to full to try it, but it looked pretty cool. While we waited we of course
listened to our book. Upon arriving back to the hotel, we caught the perfect
sunset and took some pictures. Breathtaking sky. Amazing. We wanted to use our
hotel credit so we went up to the dining room to order dessert. I got a divine
chocolate soufflé while Mike stuck with his Neapolitan gelato combo. It was of
course perfect and to die for. After dessert we finally were able to go back to
our room after a long day. We facetimed family and caught up on current events
before bed. A relaxing ending to a wonderful day. We didn't fall
asleep till about 11:30. Then at about Midnight I heard a loud booming coming
from outside. I knew immediately it was fireworks. I jumped straight out of
bed, told mike to wake up and went on the balcony. I was surprised to see that
just 25 yards away from us is where the fireworks were being let off. It was
incredible! They were so close and the backdrop of the city of Sorrento behind
them was perfect. It was beyond words. We both couldn't believe something so
cool was happening. I think it just might have made today the best day of our
trip.
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