Sep 3, 2011 - Amalfi Coast

Saturday, September 3 - A Day on the Amalfi Coast with Raffaele Monetti Thanks to Rick Steve’s and his guidebook on the Amalfi Coast, I found Raffaele Monetti. What a knowledgeable driver and guide. This long day of touring would not have been so relaxing without our guide. Raffaele was waiting for us with our name on a card when we got off the tender boat. Off we went in his Mercedes van through Sorrento and onward along the famous Amalfi Coast highway with its more than 1,000 curves to arrive in Positano where we got dropped off for...

Jul 4, 2011 - Pompeii

Pompeii is an old Roman city that on 24th August 79AD was destroyed by the explosion of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii was a thriving city that was quite wealthy. It had two theatres, an amphitheatre, the people had quite big homes with baths and the first toilets, it had fountains in the streets and a large forum where people met and held their markets. When Vesuvius erupted the explosion went on for 3 night and 3 days. We hired a tour guide to take us around Pompeii. He showed us steps that were used to cross the road because there was...

Jun 23, 2011 - Sorrento and Capri

This has got to be a quick entry just cuz I haven't really eaten anything all day and we need to get outta here to find a restaurant! Firstly, Sorrento is not to be confused with Santorini, although many of us in the family have made that mistake in the past 3 days. Sorrento is across the bay from Naples and a nice, touristy cliff/beach town. It's our last full day here and it's been great! We lounged on the beach, walked through town, and I ate the BEST seafood pasta dinner last night (while being serenaded by an accordian, clarinet, and...

Jun 20, 2011 - Sorrento

Sorrento is a beautiful place!!  Situated high up on the cliffs above Naples Bay it is a mixture of summer tourists, sunshine, blue skies, bright buildings, lovely narrow streets, Vespas, romantic restaurants, and chicly dressed women, often riding Vespas. It is also a city of beautiful baroque churches, lemons for which Sorrento is famous,   and lovely flowers especially bougainvillea. We had a leisurely breakfast in our hotel, and then followed a Rick Steves walking tour around town which took much of the day.  We saw many churches, many...

Jun 19, 2011 - On to Italy

Today was a big travel day. We had to get up early, 0530, to get to the airport after sleeping only about 2 hours. Carol got, maybe, 3-4. My mind was spinning as it usually does for the first several days of overseas travel. We flew to Milan, and after a long layover, on to Naples. We then took a bus along the coast to Sorrento where we'll stay for 2 days. The trip along the coast, along a narrow winding road often several hundred feet above Naples Bay, was spectacular, and just what you see in the postcards. Lovely homes and hotels built...

Jun 17, 2011 - Sorrento, Italy

June 17, 2011 Our arrival in the beautiful cliff top city of Sorrento was breath-taking. Many of our group were heading off on excursions from Sorrento to either Pompeii, a ferry to the Isle of Capri or a boat ride to nearby Positano. Brenda went to the gym, feeling she was getting a bit behind in her workout routine. We had decided to skip the excursions and just see what the day would bring. The tender delivered us to the quayside at the base of the cliffs from where we climbed the 300-odd steps up to the city level. The climb was really...

May 24, 2011 - Pompeii

Entry #10 May 24, 2011 We felt more rested and recovered from our intense week with Classic Journeys after a couple of days in our own "home" in Sorrento. Tom's Spaghetti Bolognese last night was real food and in the smaller quantity we are accustomed to at home. Sorrento is a perfect location for exploring some of the great places in southern Italy. First on our list is Pompeii. We got up somewhat early and after breakfast walked to the train station in Sorrento to board the 9:30AM train to Pompeii. Of course we boarded the wrong train...

May 22, 2011 - To Sorrento and our first day

Entry #9 May 22, 2011 We rose early on May 21 and boarded our van to take us to the Alghero airport. The entire Classic Journeys group (all 4 of us!) had to make the 11:15 flight to Rome and it was a 3 hour drive to the airport. We bid farewell to Luciano and George and Chris. We found our Eurostar train in the Rome Termini and headed to Naples. The ride was a smooth one hour, and our driver picked us up and drove us to Sorrento where we would be staying (and resting up from the CJ adventures) for the next week. We ate at the restaurant...

May 2, 2011 - Sorrento-Capri

We drove along the winding Amalfi Coast and then cut across inland to the other side of the Peninsula to Sorrento. We have a beautiful hotel overlooking the harbour and city. We took the high speed jet boat to Capri. Maureen was amazed at all the high end shops there. All the top end designers etc. She looked but did not purchase anything (hooray!!!) Staying low key tonight after a two hour drive and a half day in Capri. We must be getting old. I have plenty of pictures from today but this PC is way too slow so it will have to wait until...

Apr 4, 2011 - Amalphi Coast

We took the bus up the coast to Amalphi. The ride was everything that everyone says it is, not for the faint of heart. We had the chance to sit in the front seat beside the bus driver. The certainly earn their wage on that run. Road is very near in most parts and single lane in others and passing approaching vehicles is quite an experience. A few places the bus had to back up to allow approaching vehicles to pass. As to the scenery it is spectacular have not seen any other to match.

Mar 29, 2011 - Sorrento Italy

We are now in Sorrento Italy. Spent a day strolling through town on Sunday. Very interesting to see the families all out strolling along the sidewalks. Spent a day at Pompeii. What an amazing site to see a city 100's of centuries old preserved in time. We are presently staying in a single small studio apartment that is in the middle of an orange and lemon grove. Where we are located you would not know that we are in a large busy city it is just like being in the country.

Mar 9, 2011 - Sorrento

Today was definitely an adventure with a capital A!!! I started the day in Rome. After a quick breakfast (I booked all hotels with free breakfast by the way) I hit the road. I could NOT find my way back to the highway. After about an hr of driving in circles I found it. The drive to Napoli was beautiful. I stopped for my daily rest stop cappuccino and also bought a naples map before getting to the city. That helped alot! I still got lost of course but only for an hr instead of the usual 4. My hotel is on the 5th floor of a huge apartment...