Sorrento, Italy

***CULTURAL HIGHLIGHT***

We “passagiato’d” around the center of Sorrento and got to know each other.  It was great and we were practically best friends by the end of the night.  She told me ALL about her boy problems and surprisingly, I listened to every word.  I had also learned that Michele knew Hivo from Bar Centrale in Cinque Terre.  She told me that he had asked her out also and that he’s married.  Now I wonder if he was really telling me the truth about his wife and two lovers.

18 August, 2007

Michele left the next morning to go to Amalfi.  Sandra and I hung out together for the day.  We stopped at a wood-inlay store and that’s where I met Ivan, a salesman, with grayish balding head, in his late 40’s or early 50’s.  He spoke nearly perfect English because he’d lived in California for ten years and he use to travel to Seattle twice a year for the Gift Show, lodging at the Edgewater Inn when he was there.  He knew Seattle really well and it felt nice to talk to someone about Seattle again.  Right off, he told me I was really pretty, very nice.  I thanked him.  He invited me to tour their factory and I thought Sandra would love that since it was her idea to look at the wood store.  Ivan saw me coughing and suggested I have a Mandarin Punch at the bar next door.  It’s made with Mandarin liqueur and brandy and something else and it’s served hot.  He said it would help soothe my throat.  So he took us next door and ordered us two punches.  Except that they didn’t have Mandarin so they made it with Frutti di Bosco (mixed fruit).

The drinks were really hot, but tasty.  I felt a good buzz by the time I finished, although I don’t know that it actually helped my throat any more.

We returned to Ivan next door thank him for suggesting the Mandarin punch.  I lied to Ivan when he asked if I felt better.  When we mentioned we were hungry, he suggested we dine at La Basilica and told us where to find it.  The owner was Paolo and he’s a friend of Ivan’s dad.  Ivan asked us to bring some brochures over to Paolo, something he’d been meaning to do for awhile.

Sandra and I found the restaurant and we asked for Paolo.  The gentleman led us through the kitchen into La Basilica and we met Paolo, a portly older man, who makes me think of …..  We delivered the brochures and Paolo asked if we wanted to eat.  We told him we’d love to.  La Basilica was a little overpriced for our budget, but we felt the splurge could be justified.  I ordered gnocchi and Sandra ordered ravioli.  Paolo personally took the order.  The gnocchi was fantastic, as was the ravioli, but I thoroughly enjoyed EVERY rich bite of the gnocchi.  I woke up after siesta craving more gnocchi. 

The bill came out to 29EUR which we paid.  Sandra and I were leisurely drinking the rest of our water while talking, when Paolo saw the bill folder on our table.  He said, “No!  You no pay!”  He took the bill folder although we told him it was OK and he insisted.  He got our money back and we left a large tip of 8EUR.  We were so thankful for the generosity and we left with nothing more than a “grazie mille” to Paolo and an extremely full stomach.

We didn’t go back to Ivan and we never made the trip to the factory.  I was in need of siesta and Sandra was happy to oblige.  I think I slept for four or five hours.

For dinner, Sandra and I ate at the pizzeria Michele and I ate at last night and took it to the view of the Bay of Naples to watch the sunset.  We had caught it just in time as it was starting.

Later we found the cheapest Internet point in town (3.50/hr) to send out some emails.  I was thrilled to see that I had emails from Kyle and Dave from the ferry to Greece, Mackenzie, Darrel, and several friends from home waiting in my inbox.  Kyle and Dave apologized for not meeting me in Athens and explained their absences.  Mackenzie’s email was dated the day after she left and she said she missed me already.  Darrel said he had a blast with me in Athens.  I emailed the Australian smurfie from the smoothie bar, Kyle, as promised.

After Internet time was over, the owner, Tomas, charged me only 45 minutes of time (3EUR) although I was on for nearly an hour.  Then he asked me where I was staying and told me he had an apartment for 20EUR per night.  It included a kitchen, washing machine, and private bathroom, but it was located further out of town, probably as distant as Hostel Sorrento had been.  He showed me pictures online and they looked decent.  He gave me the website address and his email so I could keep him in mind for the future.  Then he helped Sandra sort out her transportation trip to Salerno the next day so she could catch her train.

When we left Sandra said, “There is something about you that the men love.  Everywhere we go they all want to talk to you.  We get free lunches and info on bus schedules.  They’re always checking you out.  You’re the person to know in Italy.  Italy loves you.  You’re kind of a big deal.”

I made a day trip to Mt. Vesuvius.  The hike up to the crater was a little painful for me as I coughed and sniffled all the way.  Damn Manchester!  I persevered, made it all the way to the top, and got back down to the bus with ten minutes to spare.  The view from the top was disappointing because it was so hazy and unclear.