Trip Report-Rome and Sorrento April/May

Old May 4th, 2006, 10:13 AM
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Trip Report-Rome and Sorrento April/May

A number of years ago my sister and I took a trip together to Italy. We flew into Venice, and decided to fly out of Rome rather than back track to Venice. Neither of us were very excited about going to Rome and thought that 3 days was more than enough. Boy were we wrong. We fell in love with Rome—and regretted that we didn’t allow more time. Anyway fast forward. My sister called me after getting back from Russia last fall and wanted to know if I wanted to go back to Rome in the spring of 2006. Of course I did. She also wanted to spend some time south of Rome, but left the choice up to me. My immediate thought was that I wanted to see Pompeii, so after consulting Fodors, I picked Sorrento. So the plan was a week in an apartment in Rome, rent a car and drive to Sorrento and relax for a week after Rome and to visit Pompeii. My sister picked April 15, 2006 as the departure date because of her schedule. After reserving our mileage flights on Virgin, I realized that would land us in Rome on Easter Sunday, but we really couldn’t change the dates, so we hoped for the best.

Finding a place in Sorrento was fairly easy. Through Slowtravel I located summerinitaly and we picked a 2 bedroom place in Colli de Fontenelle, in the hills above Sorrento with a wonderful view of the coast. Finding a suitable place in Rome proved more difficult because of Easter week. But eventually I found a 2 bedroom place through rentalinrome. They were a little slow in communicating, but that didn’t cause me too much concern. It should have. One month before we were to leave I sent an email to confirm the details of the rental, and received a response that they had been trying to reach me because the apartment was no longer available. They offered an unacceptable alternative and were exceeding slow in their communications, which lead me not to have any trust in dealing with them. Fortunately, we were able to locate a suitable place via sleepinitaly.

Because we were flying on Virgin into Heathrow, we had to separately book BA flights to Rome. I also booked a flight out of Naples to Heathrow for my return trip, because BA did not fly directly from Naples to Heathrow. My sister was going to stay a week longer and the plan was for her to take me to Naples airport.

After much planning and the rental mishap we left for Italy on April 15. I left SF on Virgin for the night flight to Heathrow and a few hours later my sister left Newark on Virgin and we were to meet at the Virgin Revival Lounge—my sister was flying Upper Class, I Premium Economy—I’m envious!!! But as she said she was older and had more miles!!!!

Saturday/Sunday: Arrived at SFO 2 hours before flight and breezed through check in and security, so I ended up in the cocktail lounge where I met and had a glass of wine with a charming young South African and his female friend, who were flying Upper Class. We all boarded together and agreed to meet up on the plane. I had a seat upstairs. I have read discussions about whether Premium Economy was worthwhile—from my point of view it was worth the extra miles, especially if seated upstairs. The seats and aisle were wider and it was very quiet. The food was OK, obviously not what is served in Upper Class—the only drawback, if you can call it that, to upstairs was seeing the food, etc going into Upper Class The attendants were somewhat uptight about allowing me to visit my “new friends” in Upper Class downstairs. We went to the bar in Upper Class, but after about 1/2 we were told that I would have to leave.

After I returned to seat I did manage to get some sleep with the help of Benadryl and some lovely Mozart on my Ipod. The flight arrived at 10 a.m. --1/2 hour ahead of schedule and my sister was waiting for me in baggage claim because her flight had been 1/2 hour late, apparently her flight crew had been stuck in traffic in Manhattan!!! We found our way to the Virgin Revival Lounge, which is one floor up from arrivals, to pass the time before we had to go to Terminal 1 to check in with BA--it was very quiet and restful and staffed by some very nice people. BA will not through check bags from other airlines so we had to pick up our bags, clear immigration and schlep them from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. I had read various accounts on how long this would take and considered us lucky to have a 2:15 p.m. to Rome, however, we got our bags and cleared immigration in record time, so we ended up spending awhile in the Lounge.

My sister was concerned about the amount of time it would take to get to terminal 1 and she wanted to change our seats, so we left the lounge with plenty of time to spare—too much as far as I was concerned. We had checked in online on BA and had tried to get seats together but the site would not let us change our seat assignment. The walk ground side to Terminal 1 was fairly straight forward and only took about 15 –20 mins although it did involve quite a few walkways. At the BA check in the ground personnel was able to give us seats together, then we had to hang around Terminal 1 for awhile. As usual Heathrow was very busy—lots of diverse people. Lots of police presence also. When my sister was in the bathroom I became engaged in a conversation with some of the policemen—we were all standing near each other when an outrageously dressed man walked by which elicited the conversation. Anyway when my sister came out of the bathroom and saw me surrounded by heavily armed cops, she had a moment of panic—thought I had been mugged or something. When I came back from the bathroom, she was getting information from one of them about the house he rents out in Florida!!!

When we got on the BA flight to Rome, it turned out the flight was fairly empty so we were able to move into the exit row for a little more space. Flight was very smooth and except for the incessant chatter of a father and a small child behind us, uneventful. AThis flight also landed 1/2 ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, our car driver was not there to meet us; also most distressingly the TIM card that I had purchased before leaving for use in my cell phone in Italy did not appear to be working. More on this later. After traveling for over 24 hours, the only thing we wanted to do was get to the apartment, so we hired a car service from a counter at the airport. It cost too much, but on Easter Sunday evening we didn’t think there were many options. I was too tired to remember much of the drive into Rome, and I only really began to pay attention as we approached the Campo dei Fiori area where the apartment was located. I do recall that the driver efficiently navigated the narrow streets to deliver us to the apartment on Piazza del Monte di Pieta. I do remember being surprised and sad at the amount of graffiti on the buildings in the Campo area, a saddnest that did not lessen over time. But I was also excited by the narrow streets and lovely buildings.

The apartment is in one of those Roman buildings with massive double doors facing the street or in this cse Piazza and an interior courtyard, so even though it is one block from the via which leads directly to the Campo, it is very quiet. It is a lovely 2 bedroom, recently renovated with a small modern kitchen and bathroom. Very clean and nicely furnished—hardwood floors but no rugs, which seems to be the case in many places we have rented. Only surprises were that it was on second floor not first and the bed in the second bedroom was actually a sofa bed. The owner’s representative showed us how everything worked, but not surprising given how tired we were, we did not take everything in. He did figure out for me that my TIM card had not been registered and would not work until it was. Unfortunately I would not be able to register it until Tuesday because Monday was a holiday.

Before I left I had obtained the TIM card from Telestial because my sister for business and family reasons needed to have a phone number she could give out. In the materials I received they informed me that the card would have to be registered in order to work in Itlay and that I should send Telestial a copy of my passport and order number so that this could be accomplished. The instructions stated that I would be contacted if there was any problem. I was not, but before I left I contacted Telestial’s service number to make sure everything was OK and left a message to that effect. To say I was angry to discover that I could not use the TIM card I had paid $50 for is an understatement. My sister’s anxiety at not having a contact number did not lessen my concern. However, we couldn’t do anything about it until Tuesday, so after checking out the apartment we went out to explore our new neighborhood.

Because it was Easter Sunday, most of the shops were closed, but there were lots of people out and about. We walked towards the Ghetto and found a resonably priced restaurant—Ristorante Il Portico—a bottle of Pinot Grigio (the first of many), a fried artichoke, two insalate, two paste, vin santo and biscotti for 45 E. We then walked back to the Campo which was wonderfully full of young Italians enjoying the evening and had a gelato and came back to the apartment and collapsed.

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Old May 4th, 2006, 05:21 PM
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I'm hanging in there, waiting for the next installment! Anxious to hear more.
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Old May 5th, 2006, 03:08 AM
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Me too. This is a great read, but we're leaving for Italy in about 3 hours! HURRY!

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Old May 5th, 2006, 08:14 AM
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Trip report continues: Monday: Slept late, and awoke to the sound of the clock chiming in the Piazza. After slowly getting up and out, we went to see the Campo in daylight. We had no specific plans for the day, just decided to take it easy after long trip and late night. There was no market in the Campo as it is a holiday. So we walked through the Piazza Farnese and wandered in the general direction of the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele and over to the Piazza Navona, just looking at buildings and down the streets, taking in the atmosphere and just being in Rome. Lots of “artists” selling their wares in the Piazza.

As I collect small watercolors of my travels I was interested in what was offered, but it appeared that many were the same if not identical pictures. Decided I would have to come back and take a closer look. Lots of Italian tourists enjoying Rome on this holiday. Continued walk up to Via where we found a TIM store—closed of course. Went by the heavily guarded Palazzo Madama, which houses the Italian Senate and onto the Piazza della Rotonda for a closer look at the Pantheon. We had been to the Piazza on our last visit but had not had time thoroughly explore inside the Pantheon. Very crowded with Italian tourists enjoying their 3 day weekend, so we had a brief visit inside and decided we would come back later in the week. Quite an amazing feat of construction; like many buildings constructed by the Roman Empire. Went on to the Santa Maria sopra Minerva—a rare Gothic church and lit some of the many candles in many churches for a family member in distress. Beautiful church, with lots of Italian art. The Oblisk of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with the Bernini elephant in front of the church is quite interesint. Found an internet point nearby and emailed family and friends to let them know we had arrived safely, since the cell was not working. We ended up introducing two Wisconsin natives to each other who had been there for quite a awhile before we arrived—when we left they were happily discussing their beloved Packers. We continued on our wanders back towards the Campo by way of Via Arenula to have a long, late lunch at a pizzeria in the Campo, then back to the apartment for an afternoon rest.

After long rest, went out for evening passaggiata. Had drinks before dinner in bar on the Piazza Farnese and met some people from Newcastle, in the UK, who were celebrating their 40 year anniversary and who had come for Easter services. They were surprised that we knew they were Geordies, until we explained that we had lived in County Durham.

Whilst having cocktails we decide that after walking around the cobblestones of the Campo that we had to buy new shoes because the cobbles were murder on any shoe with a heel—like we needed an excuse to buy shoes!! After checking out some of the restaurants in the Campo area we chose Pierluigi on Piazza de Ricci. Great selection of seafood, the very charming host suggested we try San Paolo (sic), which my sister did. Had a long leisurely dinner—artichoke antipasti. The San Paolo, sole, grilled vegetables, strawberries and gelato, vin santo and of course a bottle of Pinot Grigio.—89E. Very good food, great service. Strolled back to the apartment through the still crowded Campo, had a night cap and out like a light.
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Old May 5th, 2006, 09:04 AM
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SAB,

Very nice. Looking forward to more....
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Old May 5th, 2006, 09:40 AM
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Bookmarking. Great report.
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Old May 5th, 2006, 11:32 AM
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Thanks everyone!! I have pages of notes which need to be typed up and for some reason my secretary doesn't want to do it!!! Anyway will get more posted this weekend. I have learned so much from others trip reports, I hope I can return the favor.
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Old May 5th, 2006, 11:48 AM
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WE arrived in Rome on Easter Sunday too, and our taxi was late, and our original apartment was cancelled. Spooky! Seriously, I would think again about arriving on a day and time when all offices are shut, just in case. WE found the forum and the colloseum [which we could see from the wonderful terrace to our apartment!] open on the monday, and followed Rick Steves' tip to buy the tickets at the Palatine rather than at the Colosseum. The rest of the week we found so much to do, that we only got to the Campo dei Fiori etc. on the last day; I'd love to go back and stay in that area. looking forward to the reat of the report. [I posted mine on the US forum - don't ask!]
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Old May 5th, 2006, 12:20 PM
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I am so enjoying your trip report SAB. How fortunate you are to have a sister that you enjoy travelling with..wish I had a sister! I love Rome too, my favorite Italian city although I have never been anywhere in Italy that I didn't enjoy tremendously. I am, along with a lot of other Fodorites, looking forward to the rest of your report.
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Old May 5th, 2006, 05:20 PM
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Next installment--Tuesday: I heard a lot of rain during the night, but the morning was clear. Had chores to take care of this morning—I had to go to the TIM store and sister was going grocery shopping in the Campo at a small grocery store that we had located the night before. Went over directions with sister very thoroughly because she does not have a good sense of direction. We each wrote out the address of the apartment and rental agency to carry with us. My sister has made me do this for years, even when I’m visiting her—at first I felt like a big Paddington bear needing a label, but it makes a great deal of sense. So off we set after our morning tea. The TIM store that we had located was near the Piazza Navona (although we later discovered one even closer), but of course it was not open. So I went to take a closer look at the “art” in the Piazza, then decided since it was less crowded to visit Sant’Agnese in Agone and Santa Maria dell’Anima. Wow!!! The marble reliefs in Sant’Agnese are breathtaking and dell’Anima has some interesting paintings. More candles lit—I’m not a Catholic, but my family member needs all the help he can get and it can’t hurt.

Finally the TIM store opens—find out that TIM never received my registration, Telestial will be getting an earful—and that it will take 24 hours for the registration to become effective. No phone until Wednesday—thank goodness we have not needed the phone. Big tip to those considering getting a TIM card in Italy—remember it will take 24 hours for the phone to be usable.

Back to the apartment to pick up my sister, on the way back, find a bakery, internet store, wine shop, cheese shop and salumeria right near apartment now that the stores are open and can see what is available the Campo is proving itself to be a great area to stay. Sister has picked up some wonderful fruit in the Campo market.

We set off for the Capitoline Museums—saw the wonderful Michelangelo Piazza del Campidoglio on last visit but I really wanted to see museums. Walked through the Ghetto, past the Fontana delle Tartarughe in Piazza Mattei where our original apartment was located. Fountain is completely covered for renovation. Explored streets randomly and eventually arrived at the Teatro di Marcello on Via del Teatro di Marcello. Great remains of an amphiteater upon which successive generations built. Three lovely columns from the Temple of Apollo are in front—just a beautiful view arising from a field of poppies!!!

On to the Capitoline to see Caravaggio’s St. John the Baptist, the Spinario, the original Marcus Aurelius statute, and much, much more. Great exhibition on the history of settlement on the Palentine Hill. When we came out it had started to drizzle, but we kept to our plan to go back to the Campo to have lunch so that I could see the market. Oh yes on the way back we spotted a great shoe store that we vowed to return to. Had lunch at the Restaurant Campo dei Fiori—artichoke, yes again, because it’s Rome, asparagus fettucine bolognases, gnocchi, chocolate gelato and of course, wine. Only 1/2 a bottle at lunch. 70E with tip. We had promised each other that we would have a long visit to the Pantheon in the afternoon, so rain or no rain off we went. Still crowded at the entrance, but not inside. It was still set up from Easter services, as it is after all a church—the reason it survived intact. Just an amazing place, still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that the dome is poured tufa concrete and the engineering it took to build it in 118 AD.

Sister wanted to go to Trevi, since we had only seen it at night before. Since the Capitoline was my choice, I gird myself for the crowds and its onwards to the Trevi. On the way stopped to see inside the Sant’Ignazio di Loyola—another wow. Amazing ceiling! Trevi was jammed, majority seemed to be teenagers—so we stayed long enough for me to take some daylight pictures and then got out of there in a hurry. Meandered back towards the Campo area. Viewed the Columns of Marcus Aurelius, stopped into La Maddalena near the Pantheon and Sant’ Eustachio. On the way back we decide we would not go out for dinner because of late lunch and the need to get up early the next day for a Context Rome tour of the Palentine, Forum and Colosseum. So we went to the bakery and bought bread, the cheese store and bought Asiago, the salumeria for prosciutto and of course the wineshop!! It all made a lovely supper along with the wonderful strawberries from the Campo. Set up my iPod with some small speakers to have some Mozart with supper. Perfect.
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Old May 6th, 2006, 10:03 AM
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More report: Wednesday: Up early to have a decent breakfast before we meet Context Rome guide at the Palentine at 8:30. Walked over to Largo di Torre Argentina to catch a cab to the entrance to Palentine, tour group of six person—all from US. Two sisters from Southern California and a lovely couple from Sacramento, CA—sister got all details about couple. Our guide was Elisabeth Fuhrmann-Schembri,who is originally from Austria and who was absolutely delightful. The four hour tour went all over the Paletine, Forum, and into the Colosseum. The Palentine Hill is amazing and without a guide we would have not understood much of what we saw. View on to forum and the rest of Rome is quite spectacular. Lots of great in depth information from Elisabeth about history of civilazations on the Palentine. Glad we saw some of this in the Capitoline Museums, to put it all in context. Forum was crowded but Elisabeth guided us through it. We were able to by pass the long ticket lines at the Colosseum because of the combined Paletine/Colosseum ticket. Again lots of great information from Elisabeth. Great to see Colosseum again. Can’t recommend the Context Rome tour highly enough—great experience.

We sat on the wall outside the Colosseum for a awhile after the tour was over, just people watching. Sister and I disagree about the “gladiators”—I think they are tacky and detract from that experience, just like all the street vendors, she thinks that they are great and thinks her sons, when they were young, would have loved to have their pictures taken with one. We decide to cab it to the via Coronari and have lunch over there. Sister’s knee is acting up badly after all the walking and Colosseum steps, but she is hanging in. Were able to easily get a cab. Explored via Coronari shops and some side streets and finally decided on lunch on a restaurant –La Sterghe—it had an outside patio as well as inside dining and looked promising. Started out well, with two fairly good antipasti, but service was appalling, they forgot my primi, my sister’s was cold and we had to get up and begin to walk out before we could get them to bring the check. Needless to say I wouldn’t recommend it.

Walked over river to Castel Sant”Angelo, but did not climb to the top because sister’s knee just couldn’t manage to stairs, but still enjoyed seeing some of it. Walked back to the apartment, along the via Guila—one of Rome’s first renaissance streets. Lots of palazzos with lovely interior courtyards. Lots of antique shops. Ending in Michelanglo’s archway from the Palazzo Farnese. Stopped in the Campo dei Fiori to have a gelato and then went back to the apartment for a long nap.

After resting, we decided to take our evening passaggiata in part of the Trastevere and walked over the Ponto Sisto through the Trastevere to the Ponto Cesto over to the Isola Tibernia and over the Ponto Fabrice. Lovely, mild evening and a nice relaxing walk. Saw the Synagogue and the Portico of Octavia and looked at some restaurants in that area of the Ghetto, but decided to head back to apartment for a light, late supper and a quiet evening of rest.

Thursday—Beautiful weather. Up early to head over to Largo and get a cab to the Vatican Museum. When we got there at 9:00 the line was over an hour and half wait, we debated whether to wait and decided not to. As much as I love fabulous art I cannot enjoy it crammed up against others or see it in a crowd, so I passed on seeing the Sistine Chapel. We decided to go to St.Peter’s instead. A number of services were being held inside and it is impressive in size and decoration, but the best piece of art in St. Peter’s is the Michelanglo Pieta. Fortunately even though it is behind protective glass it was still possible to view in relative peace and quiet. After being the St. Peter’s we sent the obligatory postcards via the Vatican postal service. We then went to have cappuccino and watch the every increasing line for the Vatican Museums. Then browsed the craft markets in the area.

Took a cab back to the apartment to pack a lunch to take to the Borghese. Had a pinic lunch in the grounds and took a walk in the peace and quiet of the grounds until our ticket time for the Borghese Galleria. You have to pick up your tickets downstairs and check your bags, and everything appears pretty organized until at entrance time everyone congregates in a mass at the door upstairs. But it is an amazing museum—a must see as far as I’m concern. Fabulous Carravaggio paintings, Bernini sculptures, mosaics, Greek and Roman sculptures in an amazingly decadent setting. The 2 hour entry, is just enough time. I really like the timed entry—prevented overcrowding and the art could be enjoyed without having to look over a crowd 3 deep. After retrieving bags, we had an afternoon cappuccino in the museum café—I know very American—but very needed. We able to grab a cab outside the Borghese entrance and we returned to the Via Arenula to visit the lovely shoe store we had seen earlier. Then I discovered that I had misplaced my reading glasses, but fortunately I had my prescription with me so off to see if I could get a new pair. Found a great store just off the Campo—and picked out some great Italian frames, and amazingly they said the glasses would be ready by 5p.m. the next day.

After returning to the apartment to clean up, we went out for drinks in the Piazza Farnese again—waiter greeted us like old friends. Based on someones recommendation—I don’t remember whose—we went to Monserrato on Via Monserrato to have dinner. Neither of us had a great first impression—not very many customers and very few, if any Italians. After receiving no acknowledgement of our presence, we left. We went to check out Al Bric on Via del Pelligrino, which I recall was recommended by a poster on Slowtravel. Fabulous place. There were lots of Italians, which for me is a sign of non tourist restaurant. There a lovely American woman/girl working there, who was very helpful with the menu and was just great to talk to—she was living and studying in Rome, but not as an exchange or year abroad student. She had just decided to go to school in Rome. Anyway had a wonderful pate maison di terra, fois gras d’anatra in terrina con gelatina, risotto con Zafferano e carciofini, pollo al camembert, pere e calvados, sarcofage Bretone ( a faux beef stroganoff over artichoke), a chocolate cake with chocolate gelato and the ever present bottle of Pinot Gris. I have no idea how much this meal was –there were no prices on the menu and my sister picked up the tab as a treat. Nice sister!!! I know we didn’t leave until 11:30. There were still people eating when we left. We loved the meal so much we made reservations for the next night. We then waddled back to the apartment.
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Old May 7th, 2006, 09:48 AM
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For anyone who is interested here is the last part of my trip report on Rome. I probably won't post the rest dealing with Sorrento, unless someone wants me to.

Friday: Got up late after late night and decided to take care of some chores such a attempting to wash clothes. Should have paid more attention to how to set washer and dryer. Took all day to wash and dry a small load of clothes!! Went to the nearby internet point to connect with family, to TIM store to add more minutes to cell, and to bakery, cheese store and salumaria to pick food for lunch and for the next day when we (make that me) were going to drive to Sorrento. Hopped a cab over to see San Piedro on Vincoli, which was not open when we came out of the Colosseum—great Michelangelo sculpture of Moses. Then cabbed it over to Piazza Navona so we could pick up some watercolors and go to the Museo Nazionale Romano, which we had seen the previoius day. Great sculptures!!

Sister was getting a little worn out, so we walked back to apartment and had lunch. Sister took a rest and made confirmation phone calls for car, car service and house in Sorrento and I went to the Campo for gelato and just take a wandering walk by myself. When you travel with someone you have to know when it is time to take a break from one another, Checked out some more shoe stores and leather good places, headed over to the Victor Emmanuele monument to take pictures of it for sister, who loves its over the top look. Visited Gesu and stopped by the cat sanctuary in Teatro Argentina to donate some money. Basically just soaked in the atmosphere on my last day in Rome.

Picked up sister at apartment and we went to the Campo for one last stroll around, to pick up my glasses and to sit and have a cappuccino and people watch. We decided that as much as we loved the meal al Bric, it was probably better not to overindulge as much as the night before and that there was no way we wouldn’t if we returned—so we regretfully passed on going again and decided to find a trattoria in the Trastavere instead.

After cleaning up headed over the Ponte Sisto to the Trastavere for the evening. Very lively, young atmosphere, lots of bars and piazarias. Less intense version of the Campo. Headed for the Santa Maria in Trastavere with its amazing external and internal mosaics. As we came out it started to rain, so we headed for a café to sit and have a glass of wine before venturing on to dinner. Sister did some exploring and came back with a report on a few places. We chose a Hosteria la Canonica, on Vicolo del Piede, which specialized in seafood—good basic food, good service (I forgot to write down what we had—but I know it was local fish and of course wine.) Sister too tired to walk back, so we grabbed a cab. This was the only time that I noticed that the cab seemed expensive for the distance we traveled. Tomorrow we leave for Sorrento!!!

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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:14 AM
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Topping for Jean.
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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:17 AM
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Hi SAB,

Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to Sorrento.

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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:32 AM
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I'm impressed that you are able to travel so well with your sister!

Sounds like Largo Torre Argentina is the place to catch cabs in the Campo dei Fiori area, huh? Was it always easy to catch a cab?
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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:34 AM
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Thanks, SAB. I took my sister to Rome last year (her first visit) and we did many similar things. A wonderful trip. I only wish we had had time to visit
Sorrento also . So I certainly hope you'll continue your trip report!

And I haven't been to Al Bric in years--glad to know it's still good.
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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:36 AM
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Great report - Yes, please report on your Sorrento portion of the trip.
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Old May 10th, 2006, 10:41 AM
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missiepie, there's a little island in the middle of Largo Torre Argentina with a taxi line, and there are usually several taxis lined up there, so it is a good place to nab one.
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Old May 10th, 2006, 11:04 AM
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Missiepie: We had no trouble getting cabs at Largo Torre Argentina and since it was about a 5 min walk from the apartment, it was the most convenient place when we planned on taking a cab. However, we also had no problem getting cabs on the street when necessary.

BTW My sister and I have basically over the years worked out our differences, learned to accept those things about each other that drive us nuts, and now actually enjoy each others company. I won't deny that we still have times when we get annoyed with each other, especially when we are tired, but we accept it and move on.

Leely: Al Bric is still great!!!
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Old May 10th, 2006, 06:41 PM
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OK on to Sorrento--the main purpose of going to Sorrento was to relax and to go to Pompeii--not to do the Amalfi coast. So there is not going to be anything about Amalfi or Ravello in my notes.

Saturday—Travel day.

Made sandwiches for drive. Took a stroll around Campo and picked up some groceries and fruit to take to house. Car arrived promptly to take us to the airport to pickup car. Drove out of Rome via Janiculum hill so we had a wonderful view over Rome as we left. Airport was a mess and the driver could not take us all the way to where the rental car desks were so we had to haul luggage up escalator and down walkways to the rental desks. Lesson learned, picking up car at airport not that convienent—I should have just bit the bullet and driven out of Rome. Of course, sister may have had a heart attack in the process.

Had reserved a compact, automatic with Thrifty, and although the counter people were very nice, it turned out they had no automatic—one was due to be returned but had not arrived. Sister is a former executive for a rental car company so she knew the scenario—we could be waiting awhile and the place closed at 2:00 p.m.—she had made reservations with other rental car companies, they had higher quoted rates, which is why we went to Thrifty first. National was in the same boat as Thrifty awaiting return of automatic, so we got one from Avis—which was obviously the most expensive. Got a nice Mercedes compact (subcompact?) which drove very nicely and easily exited the airport and were off on the A1.

Fast and fairly scenic drive went smoothly until we mistakenly took the A30 instead of the A3—bad signage, But found a route back to the A1 and all was well again until we started to follow the rental agency directions to the Sorrento Penninsula and the signage was obscured by construction on the A3. Rectified that mistake, and we were on our way. Sister became very nervous about the busy, narrow roads and somewhat anxious about the turnoff we were looking for in Piano di Sorrento, but we found it and started up towards Colli di Fontinelle and the house. Colli di Fontinelle is on the ridge line above Sorrento, the houses in one direction overlook Sorrento, in the other the Bay of Salerno and the beginning of the Amalfi coast. Our house is located on the dead end street surrounded by farms and vineyards high above the coast. Although it is called a villa, it reminded me more of the farmhouse we rented in Tuscany—but it is a farmhouse with multi million dollar view of the Bay of Salerno, the coast to Praiano and of the I Galli. And on a clear day the Salerno coast. Lovely kitchen with eating area, dining room, living room and two bedrooms. No rugs!!!

We were met by the owner and her mother who showed us around and how everything worked—this time we paid attention!!! Both very charming. After they left we explored the garden and just sat and looked at the view (we would be doing a lot of that). Finally we roused ourselves to go into the village and do some grocery shopping and to become familiar with the surrounding area. A very agricultural smell greeted us our return—the vineyard across the road had spread manure—we hoped this was not a evening event.

After reading comments in the guestbook for the house extolling the local restaurant, Stellucia, we decided to give it a try. At 8:30 it was fairly empty, but as the evening worn on it became more and more crowded and noisier and noiser. The décor is nothing to comment on but the food for the price charged was amazing, fresh pasta dishes for 5E, pizzas for 4.50E, wine at 11E was one of the most expensive items on menu. We were tired, and sister was stressed out from thinking about having to drive the roads after I left, so although the food was good, the noise really got to us. Reminder don’t go to a restaurant that is popular with locals on a Saturday night!!

Sunday—somewhat foggy early on. We decided to have slow day. Had late brunch with fresh eggs, prosciutto cotto, fresh tomatoes and lovely bread, just enjoying the view. Why drive to have a meal with a view, when you have one of the best views from where you are staying. Got organized, as my sister is fond of saying. Then just read, painted a little, napped—took it easy. Sometimes you just need to stop and admire the view.

Later sister drove to village to get accustom to the car, and then I drove the very scenic, well from the top of the hills, narrow back road into Sorrento. We parked in the eastern end , quite a bit away from the center—Piazza Tasso—and then walked towards the harbor. Fairly quiet part of Sorrento at that time, took in the views. Sister went into a hotel to get a map of Sorrento, so that I could navigate back thorough the one way streets. Desk clerk kissed her hand—she was charmed.

Sister decided that she didn’t want me driving the narrow road back to Colli di Fontinelle at night—she had been very nervous when we drove in. She told me she wasn’t worried about my driving, but the other drivers just worried her. Since we hadn’t come to enjoy “nightlife”, it was OK with me and after getting a general sense of where things were in Sorrento, we drove back up the hill, taking in the spectacular views.

Decided to give Stellucia another try, as we certainly didn’t have to change for dinner. It was less crowded and far less noisy. Had the house antipasti—lovely combination of cheeses, different kinds of proscuitto, salumi, fresh anchovies, fresh pasta with tomatoes and one with funghi, an insalata mista , bottled water, and a bottle of Pinto Grigio for 28E!!! Turns out they only charged us 3E for the wine. The food was excellent and the price couldn’t be beat.
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