Oct 21 2017
Read Previous Episode:
Montecorice
We had the most difficult drive of our Italian
Odyssey getting to Sorrento. The morning started out well. We were
packed and left Villa Il Pina just before 10 AM, having read all the
meters and settled up with the managers. Surprise! We got a small refund
and there were no issues.
We had stayed on the Amalfi coast for three days just a few weeks ago
but we had not visited Sorrento. It seemed like the perfect opportunity
to spend a day in Sorrento rather than stay overnight in the Naples
airport. We hadn’t counted on the traffic on the busy roads.
We left the villa and drove as far as the favourite lunch restaurant in
San Marco and stopped for a coffee and a shared croissant. We were
feeling good. Off we went, using “maps.me” as a guide. All was well,
until we hit Saturday shopping traffic coming into Solerno, and after we
left the A3 Autostrada to head to Sorrento. Maps.me must have thought it
was directing us along the shortest route instead of the fastest. They
forgot that the road went through all the towns crowded with Saturday
shoppers. Next we took the wrong entrance onto the main road to
Sorrento. We turned around at the next available exit and were back on
track. That was fine until we were 20 km from Sorrento when the traffic
started backing up; shades of Amalfi traffic.
Finally we got into to town and tried to follow the directions to our
hotel, Ulysse Delux Hostal. We made it part way down a narrow pedestrian
street before reaching the gates stopping cars from coming in or out. We
had to back out, with help from locals, turn around in an impossible
entrance to a car park, resulting in minor scratches to the rear bumper
before we were headed in the right direction. We stopped trying to
figure out where we were in relation to our hotel and finally realized
we had to take a hidden switchback under the main street. We stopped in
a large car park and got out. We finally hit pay dirt. This was the car
park used by the hotel and there was even an elevator right into the
lobby.
It turns out Ulysse Delux is built into the hillside and topped with the
car park. It is really a hotel, miles above a traditional hostel. We
checked into our room, got a map and went out to find a recommended
restaurant still open. We did find something for lunch, and of course, a
gelato shop nearby. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking to the
Piazza and along the streets above the marinas. It really is a very
interesting town. Ray declared the “beach”, mostly large piers with
chaises and umbrellas to rent, rather than a long sandy beach, an
imaginative use of the sea shore.
We took the excellent recommendation of the hotel to go to a restaurant
favoured by local Italians. Da Filippo also had a free shuttle service
to get us there and back again. Ray had thought we might be able to walk
home ourselves. While in the car being driven to the hotel we realized
the shuttle home was much safer. We would have been totally lost in the
dark on our own. We had asked for a reservation at a much earlier hour
than Italian diners, so that is why we were able to get a reservation
for a Saturday at the last minute. The selections were very tasty and
not overpriced. Ray and I shared a green gnocchi with salmon sauce,
scaloppini with lemon sauce and a rocket and tomato salad, all washed
down with a bottle of local red wine, an excellent meal. The shuttle
that took us there was waiting to take us home again; great service!
Now it was time to leave Italy and return to visit our daughter and her
family in Paris. We were awake early and had a good breakfast in the
hotel. The drive was easy, using “maps.me” again until we hit Napoli and
missed the turn to bring us to the airport. Instead, we found ourselves
at a gate leading to the port. An attendant helped us turn around and
take the 2nd exit back to town again. This time we made it
quickly to the airport but couldn’t find where the car rental return
site was. Our friends had already emailed us that they had the same
problems the day before. Ray circled back to the passenger drop-off spot
and I ran in to ask information where the car-drop off was. I followed
the woman’s directions, back out of the airport to the circle, and
stopped at the right hand exit to try to see the car rental drop offs. I
jumped out to ask a person stopped there. In the meantime Ray spied a
small sign pointing to the right. We followed the sign and missed the
driveway once, turned around, and made it the 2nd time. It
was easy to get rid of the car, especially as neither Ray nor the
attendant mentioned the minor bumper scrape. We were glad to have time
to relax before flying to Paris.
Return to Southern Italy Intro
Return to Italy Intro
Return to
Travels
Return to
Introduction