Sunny Sorrento

Sorrento, May 2010 - Our last full day in Italy with Carrani Tours on the 3-day Naples, Pompeii and Sorrento tour was warm and sunny. After breakfast, we packed our bags, checked out of our room at the Hotel Michelangelo, and left the luggage in the hotel storage area. We had the morning free to explore Sorrento before departing for Rome in the afternoon.

Sorrento's Gorge

We had reservations at La Serra, the spa at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, for our final day in Italy. We enjoyed the walk down Via Corso Italia toward Piazza Tasso, Sorrento's main square, stopping to take photographs along the way.

Piazza Tasso, Sorrento

Bar Ercolano, Sorrento

We entered the grounds of the Excelsior Vittoria and made our way through the lush gardens to the former greenhouse which was now La Serra for their signature Orange Blossom Treatment.

Now completely restored from our recent weeks of touring, we headed to Villa Communale to enjoy the gardens

Villa Communale, Sorrento

and the views

Sorrento Coastline

of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples.

Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples

Below the terrace, bathing platforms jutted into the sea as Sorrento does not have many beaches.

Sorrento's Bathing Platforms

We did a little shopping before returning to Piazza Tasso for lunch.

Sorrento Shop

Tweety Bird Vending Machine

Sorrento's Old Town

We chose an outdoor table at the Fauno Bar where we could watch the passing parade of people.  The Pizza Capriciosa (mushrooms, artichokes, olives and ham) was the best I had tasted while in Italy.

Pizza Capriciosa, Fauno Bar

This was followed by a cappuccino

Cappuccino

and the ubiquitous free shot of limoncello. I never did acquire a taste for it - rather like lemon-flavoured cough syrup.

Limoncello

There was a station set up for washing the horses who pulled carriages through the town streets.

Sorrento Horse

Soon it was time to return to the Michelangelo to board the bus for our return to Rome, and we arrived back at the Hotel Diana by 8:30 p.m. It was nice to return to familiar surroundings.

Hotel Diana Roof Garden, Rome

And this time the Hotel Diana Roof Garden was open! So we shared a glass of wine here on our last night in Europe, with church bells chiming in the distance.