Sorrento and Positano

Asian tourists walking down to the beach

Italian guys don't change their pants size either- resulting in this.  Sexy . . .

View from Sorrento 

This is the Excelsior Hotel, where the rich and famous stay.

We got into Sorrento yesterday around noon and by 1:00 PM I was in bed.  Usually we stay awake till dinnertime but yesterday I was so bone ass tired from that long flight over I couldn't do it.  I slept until 7:30 this morning, despite waking up in the middle of the night.  Bob assured me I would do that and not be able to go back to sleep, but I did and today my body is on Italian time!

We started the day with a 2 hour walking tour around Sorrento.  We have an Italian Program Director named Stefano.  He is adorable.  His English is good but heavily accented, so I miss a lot of what he says.   I have no idea what we saw but I took lots of pictures!  Sorrento is a great town for walking around, stopping for a cappachino in the morning or wine in the evening, topped off with limoncello cream (limoncello made with milk.  Its a little less strong than the regular lemoncello.  I think my tastes must have changed in 15 years because this time I found the limoncello to be drinkable, and the cream limoncello is actually very good!

We had the afternoon free so 9 of us caught a bus to Positano (where the tour buses can't stop any more).  The bus dropped us at the top of the 'Hill" and we walked down.  And down.  And down.  Do you know your hams and gluten can scream pretty loudly going downhill when it's that steep and that long.  With every step we wondered if we'd have to go back up on foot.  Fortunately, we got to the bottom and strolled up to the main drag, where we found a seafood and pasta restaurant where we dined outside with a lovely view of the Bay.  I ordered water.  We got 2 large bottles for the small price of 5 euros.  Worth every Eurocent!  I ordered a seafood pasta which was good.  Not anything special, although the homemade pasta was outstanding.  After an hour of recuperation at Bruno's (the restaurant) we walked another 50 yards uphill to the lower bus  stop, where our bus arrived as soon as we did.  Perfect timing.

Rick Steves says Positano is a nice picture stop, but there's no much else there.  He was right.  Positano is a vertical town, with houses built on the cliffs.  It's quite stunning, but not all that pretty.  The buildings are a bit rundown, crammed together, and not really matching architecturally.  Their appeal is where they are, not how they look.  Still, it was a nice afternoon outing and we were back in the hotel by 4.  Time to rest up, take our SNAP (Senior Nap) and get ready for dinner and a Taruntella show (Italian music) at the Teatro Tassa, I think.  Stefano's taking us so I don't need to know the details.  Positano photos follow: