Sorrento

We were all ready to get to the beach and were thrilled to arrive in Sorrento! G even got to see Mt. Vesuvius out the window from the train on the way there!

We walked the narrow street from the train station to our accommodation, where a sweet lady showed us to our place. One of the boys used the bathroom and locked the door only he couldn't get back out. The kind lady went looking for more keys while the rest of us tried to figure out another way to get him out of the bathroom, but there weren't any windows or other options. Ten minutes later, with much finagling of the lock, he was out!

After the commotion died down and we unpacked a bit, we walked to the private beach area that our apartment was associated with. We tried to learn what type of discount we received and how everything worked. Basically we received a free elevator ride down to the private beach (instead of paying 1 Euro) and we got a half Euro off for our entire family to enter the private beach! However, this was basically the only beach option we had near where we were staying as we are on the outskirts of the city. We decided to wait and pay to go to the beach on a day where we would be able to stay longer. The kids returned to the apartment to do school and nap while Mom and Dad went to the nearby supermarket to stock up. We marvel at how long it takes us our first trip to the market in each new location as we figure out how certain things work, are arranged, and advertised. For example, here in Sorrento, to purchase any fresh fruits or vegetables, you don't get a plastic bag and the option of selecting your own, you have to wait your turn for the produce worker to assist you and pick them and weigh them for you! One thing we'd observe over our time in Sorrento is that there seems to be a person here for everything, an elevator operator, a beach chair assistant, even a person to open the cooler and hand you the ice cream snack that you want from inside a freezer!

We walked into town and reminisced about the many aspects of Sorrento that we loved 19 years ago. Mom lived on a base outside of Naples during the summer of '97 and ran an art camp for the US Navy kids. She had her weekends to travel, and Sorrento was her favorite place in Italy. That summer her parents came to visit and they celebrated her 20th birthday here, and not long after, Dad came over and proposed. Of course, Mom brought him to this special place as well! We looked out over Leonelli's beach and commented on all that had changed and how touristy the area had become. We had dinner down on the water and witnessed a beautiful sunset on our way back up the cliff to the city center, which has now become a night market. One thing that is still the same are the different shops offering limoncello samples, while they aren't as frequent, they can still be found. However the flavors have expanded to everything from meloncello to pistachio cello!

Dinner here? Yeah, that'll work

View over Leonelli's beach, where we hung out back in the summer of '97

Everywhere you look, it's beautiful!

Sorrento is the Lemoncello capital and
where our love for it originated 19 years ago

We spent the majority of Saturday at the beach. Our daughter swam and made friends to dig in the black sand with, while the rest of us soaked up the sun and enjoyed some rest.

Enjoying a Magnum on the beach!

Sunday was Father's Day in America, so we were eager to celebrate Dad and all he means to us. We'd planned on going to the island of Capri for the day, but the weather was supposed to have afternoon storms, so we opted instead to rent bikes. However, being that it was a Sunday, the bike store was closed. Thankfully Mom had a hike in her back pocket, and so off we went. No one was really sure we were on the right path as it was up some steep windy streets and roads in the middle of nowhere. Finally we entered this incredible area with houses and orchards and we could tell that we were onto something. We ended up in Massa Lubrense with a great lookout and had our picnic lunch that we'd brought along. We made our way down to the water and hurried back up just as the storms were coming in. We caught a bus back to Sorrento and were held up for over an hour because an accident had just occurred on the narrow, twisty, cliff-side road ahead of us. Once back and tired from our just-shy-if-12-mile-hike, we opted to eat dinner at the beach club, which unfortunately was a bit of a disappointment for a celebration dinner. All in all it was a fun day of exploring and seeing some sights off-the-beaten-path as we celebrated the amazing leader of our family and all he's sacrificed for us.

Celebrating Dad with an Italian leather journal gift and personal notes

Walking among orchards off-the-beaten-path with frozen juice boxes as a surprise treat!

Sports area built into the cliffs for the school we passed on our hike

We arrived at our destination!

Accident on the narrow road from Sorrento to Amalfi

Sunset for our Fathers Day dinner

From Sorrento we took a day trip to Capri and to Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii, which will be separate posts.

During our 8 nights in Sorrento, Mom was treated to a night away at a hotel by one of the missionaries we met along our travels who felt the Lord leading her to bless us with a night alone, so this was her gift. It's been humbling to receive things this year as we set out to give, but it has been such a good lesson for us. Mom's night away really revived her for the last leg of our journey and was truly a gift to us all!

We spent the rest of our days in Sorrento enjoying the town, sneaking in a couple of date nights, getting school done, and visiting the beach. It was a dream-come-true for us to bring our family here and we enjoyed every minute of it.