Last but certainly not the least was the picturesque Amalfi Coast located in the south of the country.
We boarded the high-speed train from Rome to
Naples Central , where we had arranged for a private transfer to Sorrento from Di Nocera Car Service.
Our chauffeur cum guide, Paulo described the
various sights during the one hour journey to Sorrento, our base for the next
two days. Naples was truly an urban jungle and it was the first time that we
had seen modern buildings since our time in Italy. It somehow reminded me of
Mumbai, with the bustling traffic, uniform apartments and the sight of laundry
hanging in the balconies. Paulo also showed us the active volcano- Mt Vesuvius
and told us that the highway we were travelling on, was built by Mussolini
during the world war.
We were breath-taken with the first glimpse
of the Amalfi coast with the azure blue Mediterranean sea and the stunning
coastline.
We soon arrived at Sorrento, which was a
small town but definitely far less touristy than Rome and Florence.
People generally seemed to be more relaxed,
shops open for longer durations and during the night, it seems that like the
entire town was one large party with street performers pulling funny pranks on
passers-by, roads closed out to vehicles and pedestrians strutting around demonstrating
the art of “passeggiata”. One could notice young teenagers,
honeymooning couples, families with kids and elderly people all relishing the
slow pace of the city.
Lemons were found to be growing in abundance
in this region due to which it was incorporated into almost every aspect of the
local lives, such as food, drinks and even perfumes and soaps.
We stayed at a small B & B called Old Taverna Sorrentina, a family business including a gelateria run for more than three generations, a restaurant and a cooking school.
We also got to spend some time with the owners where they explained that these days it was not easy run the business and we could see them wooing the passing tourists with free samples and inviting them to the gelateria. The main owner who also was the chef- William could be heard saying cheesy comments- “One spoon will not make you fat”. And as we bade him goodnight, he wished -“Go to bed, but not to sleep.”
We had signed up for a private tour of the
Amalfi Coast again through Di Nocera and we were pleasantly surprised when we
were met by Paulo again.
The landscape was pretty as a picture with
white yachts dotting the blue seas, colorful buildings on the coastline, dome
shaped churches and multi-coloured umbrellas on the beaches.
