Our Italy adventure continues this week and our next stop is Sorrento. Sorrento is south of Naples and situated on the water as well with beautiful views and charming streets. We stayed in Sorrento for 3 nights and packed in as much as we could in that timeframe. We enjoyed this area so much and my only regret is that we didn’t have more time on the Amalfi coast. I think I could have stayed here for a week and loved it. This might be a good reason to go back some day! The Amalfi coast is breathtakingly beautiful! If you missed the Naples Italy post, be sure and start there first.
Hotel Michelangelo: Sorrento
Our tour company, Go Ahead Tours (affiliate link), had our group staying at the Michelangelo Hotel and it was nice and quaint with walking access to the downtown area, shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our breakfasts here as well, lots to choose from including pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon and plenty of meat and cheeses. We had a cute little balcony with a view of the water in the distance.
Walking Tour of Sorrento
Our tour director, Carmen, took those of us who wanted to go on a little walking tour of Sorrento after we got checked in and we enjoyed strolling the quaint streets, popping in the shops and generally checking out Sorrento.
It’s a very walkable pretty town.
Limoncello is everywhere in Sorrento, so if you haven’t heard of it, it’s an Italian liquor. It’s pretty strong on its own, but they sip it after meals, just a bit. I liked it as a Limoncello spritz, very tasty and refreshing. We didn’t have a lot of extra room to bring home anything, but I liked it and may have to look at home. Citrus trees are everywhere here, so you see lemons and other citrus just growing on the streets, such a neat thing to see.
The fresh fruit here is unreal as well. I remember that from my visit 30 years ago, their fruit stands are works of art.
Doesn’t that look amazing? All the varieties of lemons is amazing too.
We walked down to the water view and it was really gorgeous.
We ate at a restaurant down here while we were there called Soul & Fish & and we enjoyed these views from below.
Mt. Vesuvius in the background.
I love the buildings in Italy. That scarf in the air is Carmen’s wand she used to make sure we all kept up with her. She was mother duck to all us ducklings.
There is so much beauty and ambience to take in while in Italy and I loved it all.
There are those citrus trees I mentioned.
I wondered if people pick from these trees, the locals who live here.
Night view. We felt very safe walking in Sorrento, it was pretty at night.
After dinner gelato, as usual!
Lunch at La Limonaia
The only disappointment of the trip was on our second day in Sorrento. We had been to the island of Capri that first day and the next day we were supposed to enjoy a boat ride on the Amalfi coast, stopping in the town of Amalfi. The best views we heard were from the water looking at the beautiful colorful houses on the cliffs of the Amalfi coast. The weather didn’t cooperate and the boats were not going to run that day, so we were out of luck. The tour company always has a backup plan, but we didn’t get to see this area which was a disappointment, but these things happen unfortunately and you can’t control weather.
Carmen booked a lunch for all of us at La Limonaia, a lemon grove and restaurant local to Sorrento, just a couple blocks from our hotel. They also did a walking tour that day but we opted to rest in the hotel and just do lunch. It rained a bit, so we didn’t get out much that afternoon.
Lunch was enjoyable, with grilled veggies, pasta and a delicious lemon cake for dessert.
They had these HUGE lemons and cut one open so we could see the inside, mostly pulp with a little lemon in the middle. We heard they actually use the lemon rind to make limoncello.
Delicious pasta with lemon cream sauce.
And a tasty lemon cake for dessert. It was a really cute place with lemon trees everywhere.
Dinner at Fish & Soul
On one of our nights in Sorrento, we went to dinner with new friends from the tour, Cindy and Dave to Soul & Fish and it was very good. Located right on the water, we had a nice sunset view. That’s Dave checking out the fresh fish one of them ordered.
On one of our nights in Sorrento, we went to dinner with Cindy and Dave to Soul & Fish and it was very good. Located right on the water, we had a nice sunset view. My meal was delicious and I enjoyed it very much. I had that fish on the left middle, very tasty. This was more upscale Italian, but very good.
We did enjoy our time in Sorrento, but I’m sure we only scratched the surface of things to do in this quaint Italian hillside town.
On the way to our final dinner in Sorrento at a rustic farmhouse restaurant we saw some beautiful views. We climbed the mountain to get to the restaurant and it was a fun ride.
Rustic Farmhouse Dinner: Fattoria Terranova
One of the extra excursions that was offered on this tour (for an additional cost per person) was this amazing rustic farmhouse restaurant, Fattoria Terranova. There were maybe 15 of us that went and it was so enjoyable and fun. Wine tasting and very tasty food, but the ambience was like something out of a movie. So wow! This is the patio space coming in.
Our table was inside since it was a bit rainy outside, but it was beautifully set.
The patio area again. Isn’t this gorgeous?
The restaurant manager was so enthusiastic with sharing the wines they have and we enjoyed tasting Prosecco, white and red wines as well as all the goodness you see above. Tiramisu for dessert! It was heavenly! See those tomatoes hanging from the ceiling. He told us they picked those homegrown tomatoes in August and hang them up to use all through the winter. I don’t know how they make it, but they do. Tomatoes are a big crop in Italy and these were gorgeous!
This was definitely my favorite extra excursion meal we had, it was fabulous and delicious and everything I could imagine a rustic farmhouse in Italy to be. I loved it so much! What an experience it all was. Our table felt pampered and well taken care of by the restaurant. Mark was the only man that night at the dinner, so he got extra attention from the manager.
What fun Sorrento was for us! I’ll do another post just on the island of Capri since I took so many pictures there. It’s beautiful and just what you would imagine an island in Italy to be. I’ll share that next week and just take my time on sharing our entire tour with you.
Also stay tuned next week, as I launch my own tour for next year and I hope that some of you will go with us to Italy! Be sure and look out for next Thursday as the tour will launch then. I’ll tell you all the details then! Ciao bellas!
RORY says
Thanks so much for sharing! I don’t think I’ll every get to go to Italy. So I can travel through you. You look so beautiful in the pictures and the outfits you have chosen are perfect. Are you on a tour? What is the name of the tour co? Happy Mothers Day to you.
Rhoda says
HI, Rory, we are back now, but I linked the tour company Go Ahead in this post, see the link. We enjoyed it so much!
MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA) says
Rhoda, thanks for sharing your lovely trip with us! Italy looks so exciting and we would love to visit. So happy that you and Mark went and had such a great trip. You had a wonderful tour guide and the tour company did such a great job with all the arrangements. I am looking forward to reading about the tour you have planned as we would love to go.
Rhoda says
Hi, Mary-Ann, thanks so much, stay tuned for Thursday’s announcement on the tour I hope is a go next year.
Deanna Rabe says
What an amazing trip! The views, the food all looks amazing!
Becky in 'Bama says
Absolutely gorgeous! Funny thing, I know of two other couples who were in Italy about the same time. Not likely that I will ever visit, so enjoying your travel experience. You are lucky that Mark was agreeable to the journey. My husband will NOT go on any trip that does not offer him an option to golf, and he would be bored out of his mind ‘walking and looking.’ Now, he WOULD like all the food, but not enough to go that far. LOL True comment: years ago, I worked for a physician who took his wife on a month long trip to Europe (with another couple). Her only comment about Europe when they returned, “It’s so dusty.” (She was terrified during the long plane ride.) 🙂
Rhoda says
HI, Becky, that is a funny story. I’m glad Mark does like to travel and see new places. He was really like a kid when it came to Rome, so he’s very glad he went. It was worth the plane ride. I can’t imagine that being my only comment after visited Europe! Dusty? I loved seeing Europe and haven’t been everywhere over there, but what I’ve seen is so interesting.
Sue Condoluci says
Hi Rhoda! Your blog popped up on my phone this morning! I was one of the 8 women from Rochester, NY who wrote on this amazing trip with you! Sorrento and Capri were my favorites!
Rhoda says
HI, Sue, that sure is a coincidence! You all looked like you had a great time together. Those were my favorite too!