Europe Day 24: Sorrento

Welcome to Sorrento!

Here, we have a plethora of shopping oppurtunities, a wide variety of restaurants, and an entire coast line of beach front!

Well, the beach is actually a lot of rocks and piers, except where hotels have made sand beaches for their guests.  And it is raining.  Lots and lots of rain.

First thing this morning I showered and got dressed so I could have my suitcase down stairs, ready to go by 7 am.  7:40 found me ready to go, with our busy arriving early.  Oddly, the bus would not fit in the piazza in front of our hotel, but since the road had two lanes in both directions, we were pretty okay.

Most of the trip I spent in a state of comatose.  Earbuds in, hood sheilding my face, eyes closed, with Kayla's shoulder for a pillow.  Most of the trip from Rome to Sorrento we were traveling through the lush green country side, accented with deep red and orange houses, but the last 45 minutes found us on the coast line.  Our big huge bus drove along the skinny road on the edge of a shear cliff, over looking the spectacular mediterranean sea.  Except for one or two beaches in Norway, I have never seen ocean water so clear that the bottom is visible for more than a few feet!  The dreary weather made it perhaps more lackluster than usual, but my roommates and I could not help but admire it from several vantage points as we explored the city.

Getting out of the bus and into the hotel was a real experience!  In Sorrento, all of the roads barely fit two itty bitty European cars-our huge bus took up most of the street! Before we arrived, we were instructed to get off the bus with our luggage in two minutes or less.  Even I was impressed with how fast we moved!  The moment the brake was set, all thirty of us leaped out of our seats, and rushed to the door.  The bus driver quickly pulled the suitcases out from under the bus and all the girls drug them between the closely parked cars on to the sidewalk.  Tyler climbed under the bus and was shoving out luggage as quickly as he could! Just as the horns of blocked cars started honking, the bus driver was returning to his seat, closing the door on our Professor who was trying to give him his tip.  Dr. B later gave us all altoids, in honor of our spectacular effort.

Our hotel here is so great!  The internet is much sketchier than I first thought, but there is so much comfortable furniture in the lobby!  My personal favorite are the oversized red chairs.  Kayla and I can comfortably sit side by side in one, but I prefer to lay with my legs over one arm and my head supported by the other.  I am sure that by the end of the week I will end up with my feet on the back and my head dropping towards the ground in front-exactly how I like it.  But I'll have to work up to that; I need to prove myself a respectable individual to the front desk first I think.

Sorrento is a delightful town.  It is much smaller that Rome or Paris, and unabashedly much a touristy place.  I did a little googling to find out what things I should do while I'm here.  All I could find was shopping, tanning on the piers, and making trips to the island of Capri. I have already found several little shops I want to visit, and I will spend time on the "beach"-regardless of the sun.  A ferry ride to Capri isn't too much, so we are hoping to make a day trip over the weekend.  This is going to be a really relaxing, comfortable, delicious week.