Do you ever get Travel Channel envy? You know, where you are watching some cute
young thing prance around visiting gorgeous sites with beautiful views and,
even if you have been there, it looks better than anything you have seen? Where you are watching a movie, like Under
the Tuscan Sun, and you are sure that it is impossible to find spots so lovely,
just waiting to be discovered?
I often feel that my photos are never truly representative
of what we have seen; that they either look way better than what we saw while
visiting a place, or that they can never capture the beauty and majesty of what
we have seen. But a couple of weeks ago,
while touring around with my sister Mary and her husband Bill, we found some
places of such extraordinary beauty and simplicity that we had to pinch
ourselves to be sure we were really there.
Some of the photos I am attaching to this piece may give you an idea of
what a treat we had.
When Mary and Bill landed at Capodichino Airport after a
very long series of flights from the States, we headed immediately down to the
Sorrento peninsula. They wanted to take
advantage of every moment they had here in Italy and so we wasted no time in
getting them into tourist mode. We
arrived at our hotel, the Ulisse Deluxe Hostel, after an adventurous drive from
the airport and were immediately pleased with our accommodations. For 79E a night, including breakfast, we had
lovely rooms with large bathrooms, AC, and free wi-fi.
Our first meal was memorable in that we prepared it in our
bathroom! Mike and I had stopped at a
mozzarella shop on the way to the airport and bought a kilo of the good stuff,
some rolls and some tomatoes, that we sliced up and garnished with evoo and a
sprinkle of salt and pepper. Mary and
Bill were ready for something to nosh on but were totally unprepared for our
little feast. It really hit the spot. Our first evening in Sorrento was spent
walking through the lovely narrow streets that have been trod upon since the
Greeks first came and settled there. We
stopped for photos at the Villa Comunale, a public park with fantastic views of
Vesuvius and the beautiful Bay of Naples.
A visit to the cloister of St. Francis and Santa Chiara was restful and
restorative. We finally stopped for
drinks on a roof-top garden and then supper sitting in a piazza in the center
of town.
Tuesday morning found
us on a boat to cruise the Amalfi coast.
We were picked up at the hostel and were escorted to our port in Massa
Lubrense and were immediately boarded onto a nice boat for our day-long
excursion. We have driven the Amalfi
coast highway several times but had never done it from the water. How lovely it was to be able to relax and
enjoy the view without any white-knuckles on a steering wheel! We stopped in Amalfi for a lunch break where
we rented some umbrellas and lettini and enjoyed a nice swim and our
sandwiches. We also had a stop in
Positano where we indulged in more sightseeing and some fresh pistachio and
peach gelati. After that it was back to
the hotel.
So, where does the travel channel envy come in? We have seen beautiful coastline views
before, we have swum on nicer beaches than we did in Amalfi, we’ve eaten great
gelato all over Italy. Well, of course,
it involves food! And water views! And great wine!
La Tavernetta Restaurant was recommended to us by our hotel,
and Trip Advisor had a majority of positive reviews, so we decided to give it a
try. We were picked up by their shuttle
service at 7:30. On the website, there
is a picture of a modern van with lots of seating, but in reality? The car that met us was reminiscent of a cab
ride we once took in Cairo. It was none
too roomy, no AC, quite rickety and gave me pause. If this is the ride to the restaurant, what
will the place be like? What will the
food be like?
No worries! I
understood the need for the tiny car when we headed down to Marina di Puolo, a
seaside section of Massa Lubrense. There
was a series of switchbacks such as I have never seen before. At one point, even our tiny car was unable to
manage the turn, so we just went down that stretch in reverse! After a 10 minute trip, we arrived at the
scene and we knew that every part of the trip was worth it. There lay in front of us a sheltered little
cove with white sandy beaches. There
were several restaurants that fronted up to the lungomare, and la Tavernetta
was one of them. Tables were set up
right on the sand by the waterfront, but after some discussion we opted to sit
on the terrace where we gazed out at the most beautiful sunset imaginable. Soft music was playing in the
background. A couple of young boys were
frolicking in the water, enjoying the limpid, warm sea at sunset. It defined perfection.
Toninio, our waiter, was helpful in picking out our choices,
which were fresh and delightful.
Whenever we go to a small,
family-run restaurant like this one, we just ask them to bring us what’s
good. And boy, did he ever! We had sea-food salads with octopus, squid,
fried sardines, clams….every kind of seafood imaginable. We then moved on to a variety of seafood
based pastas; every one of them was out of this world. After desserts, out came the limoncello,
homemade of course. Accompanying the
sweet liqueur was a cutting board full of roughly chopped dark chocolate. This wasn’t a combination that I would have
thought of myself, but it was so good!
When my brother-in-law asked to buy a couple of the restaurant’s shot
glasses as a souvenir, Toninio presented them to him gladly, at no cost. He also brought out another round of
limoncello and chocolate as we waited for our shuttle home! We rolled out of there, fat and happy with
the choices that we had made.
So often, we watch something on TV and are never able to
duplicate what in our mind’s eye must be a perfect spot. That night, Mary, Bill, Mike and I
experienced a spot just this side of heaven, and we will never forget it. So, when you are in Sorrento, forgo the tourist-area
restaurants and search out something out of the way and more interesting. Make it La Tavernetta for a night you will
long remember, and then, as we did, count your blessings that you too were able
to have a Travel Channel moment!
