Isn’t it amazing what a good night’s rest can do to the mind, body and soul? We collapsed early (Italian television has NO English channels) and slept soundly. What a difference between the noisy, honking Parisians, and the quiet scooters of Italy. Thankfully we fell asleep early because BRIGHT and EARLY the local church bells started ringing!!
First they started at 7:30 A.M. with about 15 gongs. Then 15 minutes later they started their playing, a duet of some kind. It was very melodious and inspiring. I almost got up and got dressed for church. Then at 7:58 A.M. a sort of dissonant ringing went on for 2 minutes or so. Jim equated it to the snooze alarm on our clocks: first one gentle, second one a bit bolder, and the last one as harsh as you can get!
Then it continued again, 8:15 A.M., 8:30 A.M. and finally 9:00 A.M. I suspect the bells serve as a conscience for everyone. You wouldn’t need Mom or Dad to nag you to get ready for church because the bells do it for you! Not a bad idea!
We turned on the TV and watched a few minutes of Mr. Rogers Italian style. Today’s lesson was the numbers one and two. Then he started talking too fast for us to figure out what came next. We flipped to another channel and found cartoons Italian style. Just our speed.
I have come to the realization that all the simple necessities of life are what make me happy. A nice, warm shower, a comfortable bed in a nice safe home is just about good enough for me at this point.
Since the bells continued tolling all morning long, we figured a nice stroll to the cliff would be a good idea. There would be no going back to sleep for us today. Those bells had their morning concert all planned out and we needed to hear it.
There is a great little park that overlooks the water’s edge and imagine our surprise to see 3 cruise ships there today; one was our most favorite, Oceania Regatta, which we took last year on our Mediterranean cruise. Of course with so many ships in port, the town was again crowded with tourists.
The town of Sorrento spans a gorge that divided the town until the 19th century. The old town (on the right as you are looking out to the ocean) still has some surviving ancient Greek streets. The new town (where we live) was farm country until 200 hundred years ago. Walking inland about a block are steps from the 5th century B.C.
We walked up streets, down streets, around streets, back over the same streets again and everywhere we have gone we have encountered friendly, happy people.
At night, the main drag, Corso Italia, closes down to cars and families are everywhere. Parents are out with their children, new parents are showing off their babies to the neighbors, kids are playing soccer, couples are walking arm in arm, teens are hanging out with their parents, friends are chatting with one another and people are just strolling up and down the streets. Some are dressed very nicely; some are just in nice clothes. Occasionally a scooter comes by, but mostly everyone is walking up and down the street visiting. It made for a very pleasant stroll after dinner.
Speaking of eating, we immediately noticed a difference in the restaurants here than in Paris. First of all, the tables are a little more spread apart so you aren’t rubbing elbows with your neighbor. The waiters are very friendly and chatty. People are talking with one another. It is generally a much happier place.
Our dinner this evening was excellent. Jim had a Calzone with sausage, ricotta and gorgonzola cheese. The marinara served with it was filled with whole, cherry tomatoes. I decided on the comfort food, pasta. I had gnocchi with a tomato, cream, and cheese sauce. Both dishes were very good. Our dessert was WONDERFUL. It was a traditional Sorrentino dish; a light sponge cake topped with lemon cream. (This area is known for its lemon production). If we keep eating like this we will gain all the weight we lost in Paris!!!
While we are here, we will be sending our blog out in the mornings. It works best with the Internet café we are using. We are heading for Herculaneum on Monday, October 16th. Since we did so well with the local train the other day, we will take it again. This train runs between Naples and Sorrento with stops at Pompeii and Herculaneum on the way. We are bypassing Pompeii this year as we saw it last year but Herculaneum is supposed to have the same kinds of ruins, if not better. Print this post
3 comments:
I've always thought Italians are amazingly full of charisma and life...but just look at your first impression of this town. Don't you wish our culture here enjoyed each other's company as much as they do there?
Good food, friendly locals, and such amazing little streets! What more could you want?!
No eggs on the food...sounds better already!!
Yeah- or tuna! I can't imagine how good the Italian food must taste in Italy.
And what a quaint little town! That is so cute, how they close down the roads so that everyone can walk around!
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