Italy's Lemon Capital
Sorrento
is just a little bit south of Naples on a peninsula that juts out into
the Tyrrhenian Sea. The south side of the peninsula is the world famous
Amalfi coast. The tip of the peninsula points towards the
Isle of Capri. On the northern side is the city of Sorrento
connected to the mainland by a narrow, winding road suspended between
the cliff face and the deep blue sea. If that weren't bad enough there
is heavy traffic and all the drivers are Italian!
Yes, the views are spectacular. At the beginning you see the whole bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius in the background. Then you get to the center of the coast where a broad plain, dotted with villas, slopes down towards the sea. When it gets there, it suddenly drops 150 feet straight down to the beach.
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Sorrento is a tourist town. When we arrived, there were two cruise ships in the harbor tendering visitors to and fro: The 1,000-passenger Crystal Serenity, and a smaller Azamara ship. The next day we enjoyed the anachronistic sight of the 5-masted Royal Clipper. The shops were busy, the sidewalk cafes were full, and everybody was having a good time. Lubricating all of the felicity were shots of the local high-proof lemon-flavored alcohol, Limoncello.
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The Sorrento Peninsula
We were getting hot under the midday sun, so a local suggested that we head over to the railroad station and take the open-top sightseeing bus tour of the peninsula. It was a nice ride, cooled by the breeze, climbing ever higher until we reached Termini which had a wonderful view out to the Isle of Capri. Once we left Sorrento, there were many olive groves and vegetable gardens that supply Sorrento with really fresh produce.
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