Christmas in Sorrento

 

After our great time in Naples, we took a 1 hour train ride to the picturesque town of Sorrento, situated on the famous Amalfi Coast. This small town of approx. 25,000 people was in stark contrast to Naples- uncrowded, laid back and waaaay prettier.

Our hotel, the Relais Correale, was a 10 minute walk from the train station and a real hidden gem. Situated in the middle of a lemon orchard, this hotel oozes character and is all about simplicity, hospitality, peacefulness and great service. Every morning, we woke up to the sound of peace and quiet, isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city.

We spent our time in Sorrento mainly exploring the city center, its markets and port area. The city’s main avenue is called ‘Corso Italia’ and is lined with nice restaurants and shops. Everything is muuuuch cleaner than Naples and the people nicer. I’d also recommend exploring the ‘Via S. Cesaro’, a narrow street that runs parallel to ‘Corso Italia’ but which has a lot more character and a real small town charm.

We were fortunate to be visiting during the Christmas season, because the city center was beautifully and very tastefully lit up. We found a nice restaurant (The Fauno Bar) right in the center (Piazza Tasso) and next to the Christmas tree. We had a first line view of when all the lights were turned out, and the Christmas tree lights came to life and danced to the tunes of famous Christmas songs. I should point out here that most bars charge a slight premium for drinks, but they do include a whole lot of free snacks, so it’s worth it. This seems to be true for most of Italy, as I pointed out in last year’s visit to Bologna.

You will also notice that everything in Sorrento is about limoncello, a digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. Pretty much every other store sells it, and it is completely acceptable for you to ask to taste some before you buy it. I just wouldn’t try too much if I were you because it has a relatively high alcohol content (30%) and hits you pretty fast. Apart from the standard limoncello, stores also sell lemon cream liquor (the Honey Bee really liked it), melon flavored limoncello (I really liked it), and strawberry flavored limoncello (gross!).

One last thing I’d like to point out is that if you’re in the area, it is well worth your time to visit Capri, and other towns on the Amalfi coast like Positana. We were unable to visit due to time constraints, and also due to the fact that it was December, at which time these are all pretty much ghost towns.

Wrapping things up, we really enjoyed our mini-vacation in this part of Italy, especially Sorrento. We will undoubtedly be returning to better explore the Amalfi coast, and of course to get to the top of Vesuvius.

Arrivederci!

Tranquility at Tossa de Mar

Since we have some family visiting, we decided to show them some of Spain’s beautiful beaches. We thought it would be nice to visit Tossa de Mar, a small beach town on the Costa Brava and spend the day there. We chose it because the Honey Bee and I have visited there before and really liked the place. Upon arrival, we sat down for a late lunch at a wonderfully reviewed Italian restaurant overlooking the beachfront. Just so you don’t underestimate how beautiful the view was, above is a picture I took sitting at our table.

This view was accompanied by a mouth-watering and extremely satisfying juicy mozzarella cheese salad accompanied with ripe bright red tomatoes and a fresh tangy pesto sauce. According to TripAdvisor, the restaurant is also very famous for their garlic bread ball, which we tried. It is essentially an inflated ball of thin garlic bread, larger than a football, topped with loads of olive oil and Mediterranean spices. I really wanted to take a picture to be able to share here, but I was too overcome by its delicious goodness. 😉

After some walking around, we decided to spend some time on the beach. Even though the water was nippy, there were quite a few people in it. As we sat there taking in the sun, perched on some rocks at the end of the beach, we couldn’t help but notice how clear and colorless the water was, offering an unobstructed view of the fish swimming around and the sand at the bottom.

Since we hadn’t really planned on entering the water, we didn’t bring along swimsuits. We waded around in the shallow water, with our shorts rolled up as high as they would go. But the Honey Bee saw how much I was enjoying it and shot off, only to come back a few minutes later with a big grin and a pair of really short swim shorts from one of the many beachfront stores.

The feeling of taking a dip in the cool Mediterranean is truly indescribable. As I stood there neck-deep, soaking in the cool waters I felt the sand move around my toes and saw schools of fish swim around my body. I swam around close to the shore, moving with the waves breaking in the shallows. When I got tired of swimming, I let my body float. The cool water on my back, the warm sun on my front, with views of the clear sky, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the ultimate paradise. As I floated, I bobbed up and down with the tide and felt cradled, like a child being lulled into a relaxed slumber.

After spending probably an hour in the water, we got out and sun-dried on the rocks. By this time, it was evening and it had started to get cooler. We walked to a shower on the beach. As the chilled water from the shower hit my head, cool breezes of wind suddenly lashed my body. Initially, the combination knocked the breath out of me. I felt every pore on my body react and had goosebumps.

But as I stood there showering in the cold water, with views of the beach, the Mediterranean sea beyond and the sun setting on the horizon, I couldn’t believe how much I was enjoying just being there in that moment. I was overcome with a sensation of complete calm and tranquility. I took a mental picture of that moment and what I was feeling, all the while hoping that moment could last forever.

 

 

Edit:

We had a chance to revisit Tossa de Mar, and we ensured we took a lot of pictures to share. Click here to see the pictures from the revisit.