We have now traveled from Rome to the Tuscany region and have arrived at our final destination, Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast!
Obviously this was one of the most stunning regions we visited and, I always feel better when I’m by the water.
However, as I briefly mentioned, Sorrento was a bit of a shit show at the onset. The hotel was completely deceptive with it’s online presence so, what we booked and what we actually walked into, were two very different things. A lot more on that later. For now, I want to focus on all the good that was Sorrento because it was in abundance!
WEEK OF MAY 30, 2016
RUNNING
I was finally able to run free though the streets and hills of Sorrento! And I have zero pictures of it. Well, I have this but it’s awful…
Sweaty post-run selfie complete with the unmade bed that my husband may still be sleeping in.
I did not bring my phone with me because it’s gigantic and, I wanted to just take in the views with my mind and eyeballs and not worry about getting photos. I ran several times during our stay and I did the same route each time. My turnaround point was at the crest of a mountain where I would stop and just look out and be grateful. I will never forget those runs.
SWIMMING
This was probably my most favorite part of the entire trip.
If there’s one thing I want to go back and do over and over again, it’s this. I mean look at that water! And yes, that is Mt. Vesuvius in the background. It was so beyond amazing and, at this part of the vacation, I was actually able to lay back and relax.
It was also an adventure just getting to the water. The coast is built into a mountain so water access is not as easy as one might think.
Step one: Walk about a half-mile from our hotel to another hotel < – – yes this was one of the major issues we had
Step two: Either walk down a very steep and narrow tunnel that leads to steps ORÂ take an elevator that literally goes down into the mountain and then comes out into a tunnel of rock. The boys absolutely loved this part!
Step three: Relax like it’s your job and take in the views that include a friggin’ volcano! Stare in amazement and feel incredibly lucky, grateful and slightly buzzed because, wine.
Taking the long way!
EATING
It wasn’t so much the food (ok, that is a lie) as the views as you were eating the food. I would never, ever get sick of staring out onto this, no matter what I was eating.
But, of course, there was plenty of eating.
On our date night, my husband and I had a table side filleting of a local fish called turbot, because we are super fancy.
And now I will fillet the hell out of this fish with only a fork. Watch and be amazed!
As delicious as it looks and so simple.
Two desserts was kind of my husband’s thing. Yes, those are both his.
Probably the best restaurant we had the pleasure of eating at was ReFood (pronounced Ray Food). Simply amazing and so accommodating.
And, I ordered the Veal Scaloppini strictly because my brother does the best impression of Corey Feldman as “Mouth” in Goonies. Yes I did.
It was amazing.
DRINKING
Have I mentioned the wine?
We wanted to remember this one! I haven’t yet tried to find it locally so fingers crossed.
ISLAND OF CAPRI
This needs it’s own blog post so stayed tuned! Here is a preview…
THINGS I LOVE
Watching other people’s weddings.
At the hotel where we eventually got a room, there was a wedding pretty much every night. One in particular was extremely entertaining! From our perch on one of the open porches my husband and I witnessed gorgeous, drunk and just crazy wedding guests, go back and forth from the bar to the dance floor.
Feet up and just watching the drama unfold… For some reason my husband’s drink had to be in this?
The music from the DJ provided the soundtrack for the display and, the highlight, was watching a guy who we simply called “man bun” (for obvious reasons) steal one woman after another. We seriously saw this dude with like three different girls and, eventually, their husbands or boyfriends would come looking for them.
We wanted to tell some of the more confused and lost guys, “if you’re looking for your date, she’s with man bun.” Hilarious.
THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH
The noise! I pictured Sorrento as a sleepy, seaside community tucked into a quiet mountainside. It was the opposite of that. The streets were extremely crowded and busy, the insanity of the drivers continued and may have even intensified and, the sidewalks were so narrow and cobbled that it was difficult to walk with two kids (both of whom insisted on only holding my hands!) and in platform shoes. I know, but what am I going to wear out on the town in Italy? Flip flops? I have some dignity left after 40.
This one road with tons of shopping is shut down on Saturdays during the summer…or something like that. All I know is that is was great to not have to dodge cars on this night!
The only time when the streets were not crazy, loud and busy were during my 6am morning runs but, even then I had to jump on and off the sidewalk to avoid being killed by the occasional car. #frogger
RANDOM PICTURE OF SORRENTO
A woman and her cannoli. A love story.
[Tweet “Experience #Sorrento #Italy though the words of a adventurous #athlete who just wanted to #rest…and #eat! “]
If you think this roadshow is done, you would be very wrong. I have to completely and entirely bitch about the atrocity that was the deception of our hotel in Sorrento and then, rave about the beauty and wonderment that was the Island of Capri. And, if you’re really lucky, I will do yet one more on Pompeii. Brace yourselves.
How was your week?
Do you like to sit on a beach with an ocean view or be really active on vacation?
OH HOW I ADORE THIS.
and you have made ME wanna get to Italy.
I think I told you it was part of the honeymoon plan but we started off volunteering in Africa—-and cancelled Italy and STAYED THERE to volunteer during that week too.
I never thought I missed a damn thing 🙂
NOW I think I missed many a damn thing.
Oh you missed a lot of damn things!!! And, I’m sure your daughter would absolutely love it!!! I can picture her swimming across the sea right now 🙂
Everything about your trip looks incredible from the food to the swimming to the life. I’m interested to hear about the rest of the trip. It sounds like some interesting/unique stuff happened during that time frame. I like a good mix of stuff on my vacations. Some activity but also some relaxation too.
Oh it was “interesting” all right!…but everything kind of worked out so I’m not complaining too much. Thanks Hollie.
The Amalfi coast looks lovely! Imagine how thin everyone would be if they had to do all that walking in the US!
I’m curious about your hotel experience…
Saw a teenage boy with a man bun this week in the clinic and I just wanted to tell him how truly wrong it was.
LOL on the man bun! SO wrong!!
Don’t worry – you will hear all about the hotel experience. Ugh.
Those views!! Whoa!! I can’t believe that a elevator came out of a rock?! Did I read that right?! So much power to you for wearing platform shoes. I am a sandals girl all the way. Anytime I can avoid a heel, I will!! Lol. The food looked amazing and that mid jump pool pic?! That would be my permanent profile pic!! So great!!
HAHAHA – yes, the elevator went right though the mountain and came out in that tunnel the boys are standing. It was bananas!!!
Amazing photos, Allie! Glad you focused on the good stuff first.
Getting to a hotel and finding out it’s completely different than what I thought is one of my hugest travel fears. I’m sorry you had to deal with that!
I had to focus on the good b/c I wasted so much energy already cleaning up the hotel mess. Overall, it was totally amazing so I’m definitely trying to only remember that!!
3 things:
1. I wore flip flops during our entire Spain trip unless I was running (and I’m a shoe girl with hundred’s of heels/platforms)
2. In that cannoli picture, all I can see is an amazing bicep!!!!
3. Bring on the bitch-fest…. can’t wait.
LOLOLOL!!!! I’m also five feet tall – I need all the help I can get!!
And oh, the bitching will come like a tsunami. Get ready 🙂
*** any post with a Goonies reference automatically gets ranked as a favorite, and from Mouth! that kid. LOVE YOU! ****
mind blown away with love by all this awesomeness, so awesome. i felt like i was living through you, and OMG that water. WOW!!! and how amazing that you got to run in that environment, bliss!!!
definitely bringing me back to some trips we’ve taken, funny how the most gorgeous places have their funky little quirks that you don’t even think about, especially when you’re looking at the views 🙂 our recent trip to Spain was epic and amazing, but for some reason all the cigarette smoke was driving me bonkers. i guess it’s all relative. it didn’t effect my trip at all, but i did gripe about it a bit. maybe cuz i was pregnant???? hahaha who knows.
clearly i know who to ask when we plan our trip to Italy!
i love active vacations, i can’t imagine a trip where we just sit around. i guess that’s why the hubby and i work so well together, we both like doing stuff 😀
ok looking forward to your next post.. might be reading it with a baby on my tata!
Love that you are pretty much the ONLY one who loves Goonies as much as I do!! xoxoxo
And oh the smoke was driving me bonkers too. It’s so strange how unused to cigarettes we are in the U.S. and practically everyone smokes in Europe. Didn’t they get the memo??
Good luck with the final days? Weeks? of being pregnant! Cannot wait to see the little newbie 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed your posts on Italy for a lot of reasons, but not the least of which is because AJ really wants to go to Italy, but I find the planning totally overwhelming (shockingly). There seems like SO much to see and do that every time I even think about going, I panic, because there is no way we can see it all. So I have decided that I am just going to snatch your entire itinerary (this particular hotel not withstanding) and not worry about it.
I would happily hand it over and seriously, we did not miss a thing!! I even covered some hiking for you in Tuscany! What else could you want? Or, I could just go with you 🙂 Either way, it needs to happen. You must Italy.
That picture of you doing a somersault into the water is THE. BEST. EVER. And we all know a “man bun” or two. 😛
LOL on both counts!! Thanks Suzy 🙂
That tunnel and trip to the beach- wow! The boys look like they had such a blast. And I love how you kept yourself entertained with the wedding! That is definitely the tricky part about vacationing with kids… what to do after they’re in bed.
As for relax or stay active, I like a good mix of both. Looks like you nailed it!
My dad and stepmom had the boys that night and, most nights we all fell asleep around the same time because we were exhausted! But yes, that is definitely a tricky situation when traveling with kids.
Thanks Laura and totally did get my share of rest and adventure!
Ooooh I want to hear about Pompeii! Your photos are gorgeous – the water, the volcano, and of course the food! I like a mix of active and relaxing, as in I want to climb a mountain/run a lot/walk everywhere and then relax and enjoy food and drink.
My husband and I attended a wedding last year where a man bun was stealing a lot of the girls…and he was a bridesmaid (brideslad, as the bride called him).
OMG that is so funny about the man bun wedding woman stealer!!! Is this a thing?? HAHAHA!!!
Pompeii was pretty amazing and our tour guide was stunningly knowledgeable. I don’t think there was a question asked that he could not answer. I have to at least do a short one on it. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
Please, let the bitching start, sounds so much like Paris!
HAHA – you will know when it begins!! Thanks Claude.
That pic of you flipping into the amazing water with Vesivius in the background tho… LOVE IT!
Thanks Angela!!! It was pretty sweet when I was actually doing it. Take me back!!!
It all looks heavenly! My husband and I like to active vacations. There’s so much to do and see and I want to do and see it all. The occasional sitting on the beach mixed in is perfect.
Agreed! My husband cannot sit on a beach for more than about 15 minutes so…I hear you! Hope you’re having a great summer 🙂
I am GREEN WITH ENVY!!! We go back in September and it can’t get here fast enough.
Sorrento was one of my favorite places the first time I went, but I was very young and right in the middle of the party. We stayed in the swanky Hotel Michelangelo totally by accident and drank and danced the night away at Elizabeth Inn. It was glorious. But Pompeii was too. and Capri! OMG. I can’t wait to read more.
Man bun cracked me up… I think I met him on the dicso tech. HA!
P.S. I showed Vegas the cannoli pic and she said “that’s a big one!” TWSS
I am dying over the cannoli comment – LOL!!! Love that!! And, at least you’re going back in the fall – that is truly amazing!!!
Ahhhh so gorgeous! I really would love to go back to Italy. I was way too young when I went. Amalfi looks amazing. That water! It reminds me a bit of Greece. We had to take an elevator to the (rocky) beach but it was so worth it because the water was the absolute best!
The walk/elevator was totally worth the trip! That water was amazing – I have never swam in anything like it. You absolutely need to go back!!