Sorrento Moon (Sorrento - Amalfi - Ravello)

The concept of the Amalfi Coast and visiting one town after another seems so simple, dear reader. It is not and our attempts at travel have been hampered by the blockade and lack of fuel on the Sorrento peninsula. Thankfully that is over and fuel and tomato supplies are returning to normal.

From the comfort of my chair in Redfern, I pre-booked many of our experiences. I did this to spread the cost but also to ensure we didn't miss things we really wanted to experience. The problem with this, as always, is you don't know what you don't know. Is it easy to manage the Naples metro? Are the trains from Sorrento the best way to get around? Do the ferries operate everyday to the islands? Sometimes the answer can only be discovered through experience.

Today's excursion was to Ravello via Amalfi. As I mentioned previously, the ferries had not been operating at full capacity and neither had the buses. After some discussion, we opted for a bus transfer to Amalfi and then another bus up the mountainside to Ravello. Spoiler alert, IMHO (and Jayne's) Ravello is overrated. I would not be lying awake at night lamenting the fact that I never made the mountain top had I missed out. Despite the views.

Anyway, October 25 arrived and at some point in the half light, it dawned on Jayne that daylight saving had ended. Yay, we scored an extra hour, but were also awake well before required. As a result, we decided to catch the early bus. The 8:30am bus to Amalfi was also the first bus of the day - it was Sunday. No breakfast today, that would be on the road somewhere.

Amalfi beach.

Tickets, cash only accepted for some reason, were purchased from a very disinterested attendant and we joined the very long queue that stretched the length of the bus and beyond. It was a bus, not a coach and standing was allowed. That meant cramming as many people on board as possible. We made it on board although not into a seat.

From Amalfi port.

The journey seemed long and unusually circuitous in parts. At one point we headed towards Naples and down a street that required a three-point turn, I jest not, to pick up passengers on the other side of the road. We then turned towards Amalfi once again. While it was not 'all stops' we did stop frequently to pick up other passengers and occasionally to let someone off.

Looking up from the port area.

It was crowded enough to ensure that if you lost your grip you didn't fall very far because there was someone very close by. If I'd had milk in my bag it would have been butter by the time we reached Amalfi. The close calls between the buses are legendary on that road and we edged past a number, close enough to touch. The good news was a lot of people alighted at Positano so we scored seats from then on. This gave us an even better view of the perilous cliffs plumeting to the sea, as the bus wound its way along the coast road with only a low stone wall between us and oblivion.

Amalfi was already crowded when we arrived, thanks to cruise crowds that were slavishly following the paddle. Ravello was our initial target and we located a private bus that guaranteed you a seat for €7 each. A nice earner when you consider the public bus from Sorrento cost us €3,60 each.

A random shot from the open air bus to Ravello.

After a short wait, it was a 30 minute trip up to Ravello, including a lengthy contraflow, and we had to make a decision about how long we would stay there because there was bus siesta in the middle of the afternoon. This was compounded by my paranoia that ensured we purchased our return ferry tickets before we left Amalfi. The second last ferry departed at 3:40pm (sunset is now just after 5 pm) and that bookended our day. Again, you don't know what you don't know. We purchased seats on the 12:15pm bus which gave us a little over an hour at Ravello. Otherwise we would have been stranded there till 2:30pm, assuming everything ran to schedule, which in our experience, is not always the case. We did check out a back up plan involving taking a taxi but that was going to cost €60.

Looking towards Salerno.

First stop was a café for an espresso and panini. Good coffee and great panini but we would have happily shared one had we known how filling they were. Then we went into the Duomo which is distinguished by the mosaics inside.

The tiled pulpit.

The stairs to the pulpit.

There are views across the valley to other tiered mountainsides. Very picturesque. And a villa which we didn't have time to explore. The narrow streets containing the shopfronts sold much the same stuff that is in every second store in Sorrento. Obviously ceramics are big and featured prominently. As did cats. They were everywhere (sorry Min, no pictures).

Across the valley.

The gateway to the Villa Rufolo.

The view driving up and down the mountain provided some spectacular coastal views. Maximum respect to the cyclists who rode to the top.

Back in Amalfi, it was even more crowded. Again taking our lives in our hands, we crossed the main road into the piazza that housed another Duomo named for Sant'Andrea, the apostle Saint Andrew. The steps were steep and crowded with people having a rest or taking selfies. It too has a Byzantine influence and is a church built on the site of numerous other churches. The last religion standing wins.

The Duomo of Amalfi.

Byzantine arches.

We paid for entry and tried to dodge the tour groups and their loud-speaker guides, not always successfully, although they tended to move on more quickly than we did. There were frescoes dating back centuries, some still in excellent condition, others only partially visible and religious artworks in the museum before you enter the church itself.

One of the many frescoes.

Again I was surprised by the crypt. It was much more ornate than I expected. A painted ceiling with lots of gold and an extremely ornate altar with a large bronze statue of St Andrew. My favourite piece was a painting of one of the saints with a finger to the lips to endorse the "silence" sign. Naturally the tour guides ignored this.

The ceiling in the crypt.

St Andrew.

Shhh!

Inside the main cathedral above the crypt, a side altar behind bars, houses the relic of Saint Andrew's skull which is venerated in celebration each September on his feast day. On that day as well, manna, a thick liquid is said to be collected from his tomb under the altar as a continuing sign of his protection of the town.

St Andrew's wasn't the only skull on display.

Sadly the bell tower was receiving some special attention and was shrouded in blue plastic and scaffolding. A pity, because the fish scale tiles would be worth seeing.

The bell tower.

We wandered the very crowded streets for a little. There was nothing much to see, the usual tourist shops and lots of places to eat and drink. Back towards the port we walked and turned towards Atrani. It was supposed to a 5 minute walk according to one pundit but would have been closer to 15. We didn't go all the way because there was no footpath and while some were happy to disregard their personal safety and walk two and three abreast with their back to the traffic, we were not.

Ceramics are everywhere.

Just beyond the halfway mark we stopped and made our way back towards the port. However, en route we were suddenly distracted by a sign advertising birra all spina. It was a message. We had time so we grabbed a table and were entertained by watching the death defying pedestrians while we enjoyed a beer.

Another sculpture by Roggi who featured at Matera.

The ferry journey back to Sorrento was a longer, if less death defying, affair than the bus trip but it also provided a different perspective from the water. Jayne was a brave soldier and stayed by my side all the way to Sorrento despite becoming increasingly cold as the sun dipped and the wild chill increased on the open deck of the ferry. 

Here are some random shots from the trip back up the coast. In reverse order because of Google.

Our apartment building in the background to the left of the Hotel Vittoria.

Vesuvius near sunset.

Interesting stair case.

A church.

Buildings cling to the cliff along most of the coastline.

Back in a twilight Sorrento, we disembarked the ferry at Marina Piccola and headed up the cliff stairs to home and a quiet evening on the balcony. Tomorrow would be an early start and another adventure in taking the train to Napoli for our food and history tour, starting with a 7 am Circumvesuviana train which hopefully would not be as crowded as the Amalfi coast bus.

Despite returning home after sunset we have yet to see the Sorrento Moon that Tina Arena sings about.

Alla prossima.

Pizza Power (Sorrento)

The weather forecasters nailed it. Morning showers greeted us when we opened the shutters. Regardless, we were not straying far from Sorrento itself. While we had sorted how to get to Naples on Monday, I was still to bed down how we were getting form Sorrento to Napoli Centrale on our day of departure. I wasn't keen on a private transfer and the Circumvesuviana didn't look like an option during the peak period when we have luggage.

My search turned up a shuttle service from Sorrento to Naples but nowhere on the web site did it specify where the pick-up point was. My guess was the station or the bus depot a few hundred metres down the road, but I wanted to be sure before I booked. We opted to walk to their office and ask the question.

Before we ventured out for breakfast, the usual rabble of tour groups went marching down the street. The school groups are the loudest. I don't know from whence they come or where they go because we never see them around town. There are a number of cruise ships in and they start early, to the extent that one group was leaving well before 9 this morning.

The usual ruckus they make reached a crescendo to the extent that we thought there was a protest march down in the street. What had occurred, as this particular group walked back to its waiting bus, was two of its number were hit by a car. Who'd have thought it? Walking on the street, where the cars belong and you get hit. I am amazed it doesn't happen more frequently. It would, if I was driving over here. While I will grant you that the Neapolitan drivers are out there, their behaviour is far more rational than that of a tour group blindly following a flag, walking down the centre of the road.

The rain cleared quickly and breakfast was at the usual gelateria/pasticceria, espresso and chocolate muffins. Little ones, not like the oversized version you see at home. Interestingly, although probably not surprising, the muffins were flavoured with lemon.

Ducati time pieces.

From there we navigated past the pick up point for our pizza class and, after a short detour, arrived at the office of Sorrento Coastal Shuttles. They were non-committal about the pick-up point, here or your hotel, depends, was the reply. The office was less than 10 minutes from our apartment so it wouldn't be an issue for us. We booked our seats, supplied the details of our accommodation which is on the road back to Naples and it was decided they would collect us there. Bonus.

Home via the supermarket in case we require a light dinner after making our lunch time pizzas and then, it was time for domestic duties. Reconciling the credit card with the receipts. This is a relatively simple task at home, a glance down the page usually does it, but when your life revolves around your card for every purchase and in a foreign language, it takes time to make sure things are ok. They were and dozens of receipts went into the recycling.

By the time we left for our pizza class, the cloud had returned and the wind had picked up. We dusted off our apron's from Matt's tour, stowed them in our bag and walked the few minutes to the Plaza Hotel. Chef Luigi was already in fine form when he collected us and a Canadian couple for the 10 minute drive to his restaurant/cooking school. There was another Australian couple, a mother and daughter American pair and an Italian father and his two sons.

The Plaza Hotel, our pick up point, is located next to the gorge. Down in the depths, there is a derelict building that was once a mill, among other things. Once the piazza was established above it, the humidity became unbearable and people couldn't work there so it was abandoned. Since then, it has become a sort of open air terrarium and has fostered the growth of numerous varieties of ferns.

Tirabuscio Restaurant is perched on the hill above Sorrento, beyond some ageless olive groves and lemon orchards. Inside the restaurant tables were set for lunch and two other, longer tables were set up to make pizzas. We sat around and chatted while the mini-van made another trip back to town to collect the last of the participants/students.

Before we got our hands dirty, we watched Maria make bocconcini balls while drinking a glass of their red wine. The process looked so simple I am keen to try it at home. It is really just milk, rennet and a little salt. We shall see if it is so easy. The bocconcini was lovely and we sampled it with some foccacia and a variety of flavoured olive oils. What an excellent way to commence a class.

Watching the magic happen.

Ushered back inside, we assumed our places around the long table where ingredients had already been 'measure' out. Yeah, not so sure about that. I am unusually meticulous when making pizza dough and follow the recipe closely. Everything is weighed. Not today. It blew my mind.

Take your stations.

A glance down the table suggested the amount of flour in front of each person would be roughly the same. Roughly, not exactly. Luigi talked about the process and the importance of 'double 00' flour, Caputo is best. I'm changing brands, Caputo is much higher in protein.

The recipe, if you like a lot of pizza.

The process begins. Make a well in the centre of your flour. Add a good pinch of salt. Unmeasured.

Add water to fill the well and then add a pinch of fresh yeast. All unmeasured.

Add some olive oil. Unmeasured.

Then, using one finger start mixing the ingredients together. There was a bowl of flour on the table to add to the mixture to obtain the correct consistency. Some of us required more of the flour than others depending on how much water or oil we added. We worked the dough, gently.

Because dough needs time to prove, our efforts were all collected and slapped together. It would become tomorrow's bread. We were using dough prepared yesterday. Unlike at home, Luigi did not allow the dough to prove at room temperature, the pizza balls we had shaped were to go straight into fridge for 24 hours. At least I got that bit right.

At home I would wait for the dough to come to room temperature before I work it into a pizza shape. Wrong. Work it straight from the fridge. Use your hands and fingers to stretch the dough into shape and then use closed fists to stretch it to about plate size.

The topping was, as usual, crushed tomato with a little sauce and then additives, the fresh bocconcini pieces, salami, ham, marinated mushrooms. Then into a pizza oven the size that Cait and Luke have in their backyard.

Two minutes later your pizza is ready. It is now time to add oregano and chilli flakes, post cooking. Serve with red wine. It was seriously good.

It might not be the cheapest pizza I've had, but I learned a lot that I will try at home. Using a stand mixer would make it even simpler. We even scored some bread making tips. It was an excellent day. No dinner required.

If you are young enough to remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles you may remember their song, Pizza Power. Memories.

Alla prossima.

Lemon Tree (Sorrento)

Breaking news: Flixbus have "carefully reviewed" my request again and decided a refund is warranted. A win for the good guys.

After a couple of big days, we decided today would be a day of consolidation, dear reader. It would be an opportunity to enjoy some better weather and have a closer look around Sorrento.

First stop was the gelateria/patisseria that Giovanni introduced for an espresso and pastry. The Italian way to start the day, something strong and something sweet. You need something strong to help you battle the tour groups. Apparently the season ends next week but there is no end in sight of the tour groups, although many of them are from cruise ships docked at Naples.

A beautiful day after the rain cleared.

The corso was wet underfoot after the morning rain, but the cloud was clearing to a beautiful blue sky day. After breakfast, we located the tourist information centre to obtain a paper map of the town and to inquire about the public transport situation, given the fuel blockade. We were advised to go to the SITA bus office near the station for the most up to date information on buses. 

Looking down, I imagine it would be packed in summer.

I loaded the Port into maps and off we went. Sorrento, despite being on the bay with stunning water views is not at sea level. It is a cliff top community so the 12 minutes to get to the port on foot we found a little incredulous. It was, however, accurate, at least on the way down.

It looks calm from a distance.

There is a lift that costs €1,20 per person regardless of which direction you travel, and luggage is extra. We used the ramp/stairs and arrived on foot. The port ticket offices were very busy and most had queues, but the big numbers were at piers 6 and 7. It was a mass of people. A ferry arrived and picked up a few people and left. The crowd numbers were undiminished.

We walked over to try to make senses of what was happening. There was no signage of course and from what we could see, two official people working with the hordes that were waiting. People with sizeable luggage, people without, any number of tour groups following flags on sticks. One man was walking the multiple lines asking to see tickets, with no hope of being to verify them. The crowd dutifully held up pieces of paper when asked if they had a ticket. They could have been waving a restaurant menu.

None the wiser, we returned to the office area to discover an arrivals/departure board. There were not a lot of ferries running. In fact all trips to Capri were suspended for the day. I guess that may have accounted for the numbers waiting. Hopefully things would improve later in the day.

A different perspective of the buildings we see from our balcony.

Once again we used maps to get us back to Sorrento on high. It did not suggest the lift and directed us towards the road that snaked up the cliff face. We missed it directing us to stairs half way up and continued to another set of stairs etched into the cliff face. They didn't look very safe and thankfully the authorities had agreed as they were closed.

Upwards ever upwards, we located another set of stairs that led through a tunnel and out near the main piazza. The timing would work for our trip to Naples on Monday, but the uncertainty of the ferries is an issue. They were suspended earlier in the week because of rough seas, but today's issue was fuel related we later found out. The blockade is over so hopefully the fuel supplies will be replenished quickly.

As we made our way back to the main piazza, we passed a church. No we didn't, in we went. It was the Basilica Sant'Antonio. Nothing out of the ordinary at first glance, side altars, false decorated ceiling, gold embossed altar, a grate that permitted viewing of the crypt. Well that's different. And the crypt was not the usually staid, understated place of worship. It was quite bright with the statue of Sant'Antonio taking pride of place.

The crypt.

The grate looking into the crypt.

The main altar.

Back in the corso we walked to the Cathedral dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo, or Saints Philip and James. It had the usual array of side altars, although some were, is 'decommissioned' the right word? The altar remained but there was no saint above it. The stations of the cross and several other features were made of inlaid wood. The exquisite craftsmanship was on display everywhere you looked. In terms of the competition between Basilica and Cathedral, it was a close run thing. The bell tower gives the win to the Cathedral.

The ceiling and the organ.

The main altar.

Inlaid wood depicting the crucifixion.

An unassuming façade for the cathedral.

Next stop was the garden of the Villa where the Sophia Loren exhibition was happening. The garden left us underwhelmed. There was the display of impatiensaround a pond  on the drive and the rear garden was lawn and lemon trees.

The search for the deli that was on Giovanni's list proved somewhat more challenging. We spent a great deal of time searching our memories and wandering back lanes to no avail. Eventually we happened upon it by chance. It will be easier to find next time.

After all that walking, it was birra time and we located a small bar on the corse and sat and watched the passing parade for a while. We were still discussing Monday's trip to Naples and whether we could brave the elements or the lack of fuel and attempt a trip to Amalfi and Ravello. The only place that could provide the answer was the SITA bus representative so that is where we headed.

The best view of Vesuvius so far.

She confirmed the ferry suspensions were fuel related and not to do with the weather. Buses were running to a revised schedule but they were guaranteeing Friday and Saturday only. Tomorrow's weather was not good enough for a trip south so we thought we would wait and see how things were after the weekend.

A quick detour to the supermarket on the way home restored our supplies. We spent the remainder of the afternoon planning our future excursions. The more time we spent looking at Naples, the more difficult the options became. In the end we decided that on Monday when we have a guided tasting tour, we would try the Circumvesuviana train to Napoli Garibaldi and then use the Metro to get to the old town.

We have pushed the Amalfi trip back to Tuesday when the weather should be much improved and tomorrow we are going to a pizza making class in Sorrento.

O'Parrucchiano towards the front door.

Beautiful by day.

Earlier in the day, we had sought out a restaurant that our host had recommended as a locals haunt for good food.  O'Parrucchiano La Favorita on the main corso, has been in existence since 1868 and, apart from its food, it is known for its decor. The tables are set out under a grove of lemon trees, all lit up with fairy lights at night. The restaurant is on several levels and can seat hundreds of patrons if all areas are open. We made a booking for the evening and returned at 7:30pm.

Fairy land by night.

A tranquil place for dinner.

The ambience was lovely, the menu was extensive, as was the wine list and we settled on sea food for both our starters and main courses. Jayne had a chef's plate of prawns, calamari, courgette flowers with ricotta and leaf wrapped mozzarella, followed by barbecue prawns and squid with roast potatoes. My 'tasting plate' was a meal in itself with octopus, calamari, prawns, anchovies and mahi-mahi. Followed by paccheri pasta with langoustine, squid and prawns. No, dear reader, no dessert. That is the most either of us has eaten since we left Matt's food tour.

As far as 'local's favourite' goes, I'm not so sure. We were surrounded by Americans and when we went to survey the gardens, British accents were common. The most Italian I heard spoken came for the wait staff and one other couple. The prices were also tourist oriented.

Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul and Mary is today's title song. Lemons are a big thing in Sorrento, not just in the restaurant where we dined.

Alla prossima.