Nerano, Italy
Keith and I flew in to Seranto, picked up the rental car and then picked up Scott and Kristy at the train station. It was early evening and we clearly under-estimated the traffic. It took us hours to get down the coast. It was almost midnight when we finally arrived and our host graciously met us with the keys and helped us get settled. We knew we were up a hill but couldn't see much of anything below until the following morning.
Wow - we wanted a view and boy did we get it. This was a wonderful apartment in the little town of Nerano, high on the cliff and overlooking the ocean. But we weren't there yet, we still had 70 steps from the road up to the apartment - it was quite the trek and so worth it.
Day two - we all went down to explore Sorrento and enjoyed the community. This was a Sunday and the streets were packed. We ended up at a leather shop where the family had been making leather bags for three generations. Yup, we bought some leather purses (even a man-purse). We were stylin' now!
Our host recommended dinner on the waterfront at an amazing restaurant. It was so charming with a thatched roof, white linens and an amazing wait staff. There were six courses, served family style, and each was fabulous. By the fifth course, we were all stuffed and then they delivered a beautiful whole fish (about 18 inches long) with boiled potatoes. We just couldn't eat it so we took it home as leftovers. Of course we had to eat dessert - that is always a given, no matter how full you are. Note: Italy's boiled potatoes are the bomb - they come with a very light broth and I could eat them all day.
Top -mixed seafood appetizers, left - ravioli filled with fish, right - octopus on pasta, bottom - tiramisu. The head waiter was quite the character and joked about how he refered to the dessert as Tirami-sushi, to fit in with the rest of the fish dinner. We laughed about that for several days.
Day three - Scott and Kristi took the train over to Pompei for the day, and Keith and I had planned to do a spa day. Unfortunately, we were not able to get in, so we just relaxed in the apartment until late afternoon and then met the other two in town for a light meal. Too much food and little to no exercise makes one _______ (fill in the blank).
Day four was a trip down the Amalfi coast. It never ceases to amaze me how they build houses right into the cliffs and rocks. I think that is why Italians are so healthy, they have to hike to get to their homes. Not really, there are roads up those cliffs and rocks.
There were so many people, cars, and buses. Keith was our driver and he learned quickly that 2-3 inches between passing vehicles was normal, even on the curves and at full speed. He was great and the rest of us were happy to let him drive. It was un-nerving - we just closed our eyes 😆. At the end of the trip, there wasn't one scratch on the car… impressive.
