trip report #4: Massa Lubrense -- just arrived back!
Jul 13th, 2006, 11:30 AM
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trip report #4: Massa Lubrense -- just arrived back!
Saturday, July 1
Picked up our car at the parking garage to head to our rented villa on the Sorrento Coast in a village called Massa Lubrense. The drive was uneventful until we hit the Sorrento Coast where the traffic was bumper to bumper with tourists making their way to the breaches on a steamy Saturday morning. We arrived in Sorrento and stopped at Loraley Ristorante overlooking the entire Sorrento Coast. This location was the most picturesque to date and our food of vongole, carbonara, fresh fish was delectable. It was pricey but the spectacular setting made up for it. We continued on through the Sorrento peninsula until Massa Lubrense. The villa we rented, San Montano, was right on the water and the most beautiful setting that words just can’t describe. Our veranda was huge and contained a dining table for 8, a swimming pool and 5 sun chairs. Stairs led down to the ocean with a private cabana, sun chairs and shower. The booking agency, VillaInItalia, arranged for the owners to get our groceries which were a big help for our first night. Bread, eggs, fresh fruit, prosciutto were all we needed to have a wonderful, light dinner on the veranda. The owner, Luciana, and her husband met us at the property and were so kind. She worked out the details for a surprise birthday party for our daughter and we discussed menu, timing and the cook arrangements. We gave them a bottle of wine we purchased in Tuscany to thank them for going the extra mile… it was a great start to a week in Massa Lubrense. We sat out on the veranda until bedtime enjoying the cool breezes and sound of the waves.
Sunday, July 2nd
We slept in and made expresso and a fruit plate for breakfast. We then took the 1 km path in front of the villa to a little fishing village (Marina Della Lobra) where we purchased olive oil, fruit, salami, cheese, pasta and tomatoes for our dinner. We bought a small raft for the swimming pool (4 euro) and we didn’t have a pump to blow it up. The man who ran the little corner store lent us his pump. While my husband used the pump, I commented on how something smelled really good. He yelled through an adjacent door and an elderly woman came out with a piece of fried fish. I told her it was “delicioso” and then she handed out another piece to the kids. We gave her a hug and thanked her so much and we all left with huge smiles on our faces. When we arrived back at the villa and the kids jumped into the pool, my husband put together a lunch of tomato-basil salad, fresh peaches and ricotta cheese and a tray of meat, cheese and bread. We gobbled it all up and then the kids picked lemons and oranges from the trees, used the juicer, and made fresh fruit juice for us all. We spent the afternoon lounging in the sun, swimming and sipping on juice and wine. I don’t think life gets any better…ha!
In the evening (9:00 pm) , we made a dinner of fresh pasta with tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil, bruschetta and salad. It was delicious and we enjoyed the views over the ocean… just spectacular.
Monday, July 3rd
Woke up early to meet the tour guide in front of the villa at 9:00 am. His name was Giovanni and we hired him to take us to Pompeii, Positano and Ravello for the day. He was not as warm and informative as we liked but we had him drop us at the different locations and arranged a time to meet him after exploring. We started our day in Pompeii and found a fabulous tour guide who spent 2 hours providing interesting stories about many of the sights… the kids loved it. Note: when you walk into the gates of Pompeii, many tour guides swarm you and charge all different prices. I suggest that you purchase your tickets and then look for a tour group already established and ask to join. In our case, it was only an extra $10 per person and it was much cheaper that what was being offered when we first entered.
Next, we traveled to Ravello through the mountains and had a light, quick lunch at a pizzeria overlooking the mountains… food was okay but view was just magnificent. We then toured Villa Cimbrone and could have spent a day there. The grounds and views were amazing… this is what I consider “heaven on earth”. The views were absolutely incredible and this is a sight not to be missed!
We then traveled the Amalfi coast and stopped in Amalfi for an hour of shopping. It was bustling with tourists but a lot of fun. From there, we traveled the rest of the Amalfi Coast back to Massa Lubrense with our guide providing some interesting facts. By this point, it was almost 6:30 pm and we were all tired. It was great to get back to the villa where we dined on prosciutto and melon, caprese salad and homemade Panini… we ended the day with a swim in the pool.
Tuesday, July 4th
Woke up late and traveled to Nerano which is high up on a ridge overlooking Marina del Cantone below. We sat at the beach, people watched and enjoyed beautiful views. We tasted a local favorite of granita limone (shaved ice with fresh lemon juice). We then traveled to Positano which was filled with tourists. Temps were in the high 90’s. We parked at the top and traversed the many stairs down to the beach and restaurants. We grabbed a light lunch which was just okay but the a/c was much appreciated. We then visited a beautiful church, Santa Maria dell’Assunta and window shopped before taking the bus back to our parked car.
We drove the Amalfi coast back to the villa in time to meet our hired cooks, Margarita and Christina. They were preparing a meal for our daughter’s 12th birthday. As we took a dip in the pool, they called us to the table and brought out caprese salad and fried Zucchini. The zucchini was wrapped in mozzarella and deep fried… absolutely delectable. Next, came the spaghetti vongole which was in a red, spicy sauce… the clams were so fresh and again, the taste was incredible. This was followed up with roasted chicken and potatoes and then a fresh salad. We took a break and then came back to the table where they placed a homemade strawberry and fresh whipped cream cake… enormous and wonderful! It was filled with a yellow cream. We sang happy birthday, exchanged gifts and sipped expresso. The ladies cleaned the kitchen, wrapped up the leftovers and departed. The whole experience was fabulous and memorable! We then moved the television to the patio, invited over all of the neighborhood kids and watched Italia defeat Germany 2-0 in the world cup semi finals. We served cake and coke and the entire town went crazy when Italia scored… all of the families partied in the streets in celebration of this exciting win to secure a spot in the world cup finals. Our daughter said it was “her best birthday ever.”
July 5th
Woke up late, took a swim and relaxed before heading out to Sorrento for sightseeing and lunch. It was packed with tourists. I asked a shop owner in Italian if he could recommend a local trattoria for locals only and he gave us directions to a place several blocks away. Ristorante da Gigino on Via Deli Archi, 15 was a local hangout. We had grilled fish, fresh vegetables and the kids enjoyed homemade pasta dishes. The staff and Italian patrons were still buzzing about the previous night’s win in the world cup and everyone was in great spirits! We then did some shopping, grabbed some wine for dinner and headed the 4 km back to the Villa. We lounged by the pool, and ate left over roasted chicken and potatoes, salad, and cake. The temps remained in the high 90’s so we took a late walk to the tiny fishing village (Marina della Lobra) for a late night gelato. We sat on the veranda listening to the waves as our children played soccer in the street with the local children. Massa Lubrense was the perfect choice for a week’s stay in a rented villa!
July 6th
Met the boat at 9:00 am to take us to Capri for the day. The boat met us at our dock in San Montano and we arrived on Capri only 25 minutes later. The five of us were on a small zodiac and we had a blast jumping the waves. Our driver gave us info about some of the sights and dropped us off at “marina piccolo”. We then got on a bus from the marina to Capri, another bus from Capri to Anacapri and then one more to the Blue Grotto. As an aside, the Blue Grotto is a rip off for a 5 minute cave ride but a tourist trap “must see”. We then headed back to Anacapri and took the chairlift from Via Caposcuro
up to Monte Solaro which provided panoramic views. We stopped at the top, took photos and after exploration, took the chairlift down. We then meandered over to the villa and church of San Michele. There were several lookout spots where the views were magnificent. We then asked a local for a good place for lunch and we were referred to one in Anacapri. It definitely was filled with locals but one of our worst meals of the trip. We then grabbed a local bus to take us back to Capri and window shopped amongst the thousands of tourists. We had enough at that point and headed back on the zodiac to our villa. Again, the temps were high 90’s so it was great to get back and take a swim. That evening, around 9:00 pm, twenty of the local kids (including our three) headed down to Marina Della Lobra for pizza and gelato. Our children practiced their Italian while the locals practiced their English. The kids reported that their friends ordered for all of them and they had a local favorite pizza: tomato, cheese, basil with French Fries and pieces of hot dog on top. The restaurant cut each of the pizza’s in four pieces and the kids grabbed a piece, bent it over and ate it like a sandwich. They all had so much fun and really enjoyed seeing how the local kids live. Around 11:00 pm, they all returned back to our street and played soccer, chatted and giggled until midnight. My husband and I sipped wine and enjoyed the marvelous views from the patio and relished the two hours of solitude.
July 7th
For our last full day in Massa Lubrense, we decided to sleep in, do laundry and let the kids hang with their friends. Dark clouds gathered over the water so we decided to head into town and grab some fruit and last minute provisions. We passed Restaurant Il Tritone and stopped in for some lunch. It is located in the center of Massa Lubrense on Via Massa Turro, 2/A and what a great choice! My pasta with fettucine, sausage, capers and cream sauce was heavenly. My husband enjoyed his with swordfish and smoked mozzarella while the kids ordered pizza. Everything about our meals was terrific. Even when the skies opened up and rained like crazy, we ran inside and spoke with the owner, enjoyed expressos and gelato. This restaurant was one of the best of the trip!
It rained like crazy for most of the afternoon so we began to pack up the suitcases and organize all of our belongings. Our son played soccer with his friends, despite the rain, and our daughters delved into a good book. Even though we were disappointed there was no sun, the Mediterranean sea was moody and beautiful. It’s hard to believe that this was the only day that it rained throughout our 2 ½ week vacation… no complaints!!! The kids spent the evening playing soccer with their friends while we enjoyed wine and ocean breezes. Tomorrow we are off to Napoli. Ciao, Lisamarc
Picked up our car at the parking garage to head to our rented villa on the Sorrento Coast in a village called Massa Lubrense. The drive was uneventful until we hit the Sorrento Coast where the traffic was bumper to bumper with tourists making their way to the breaches on a steamy Saturday morning. We arrived in Sorrento and stopped at Loraley Ristorante overlooking the entire Sorrento Coast. This location was the most picturesque to date and our food of vongole, carbonara, fresh fish was delectable. It was pricey but the spectacular setting made up for it. We continued on through the Sorrento peninsula until Massa Lubrense. The villa we rented, San Montano, was right on the water and the most beautiful setting that words just can’t describe. Our veranda was huge and contained a dining table for 8, a swimming pool and 5 sun chairs. Stairs led down to the ocean with a private cabana, sun chairs and shower. The booking agency, VillaInItalia, arranged for the owners to get our groceries which were a big help for our first night. Bread, eggs, fresh fruit, prosciutto were all we needed to have a wonderful, light dinner on the veranda. The owner, Luciana, and her husband met us at the property and were so kind. She worked out the details for a surprise birthday party for our daughter and we discussed menu, timing and the cook arrangements. We gave them a bottle of wine we purchased in Tuscany to thank them for going the extra mile… it was a great start to a week in Massa Lubrense. We sat out on the veranda until bedtime enjoying the cool breezes and sound of the waves.
Sunday, July 2nd
We slept in and made expresso and a fruit plate for breakfast. We then took the 1 km path in front of the villa to a little fishing village (Marina Della Lobra) where we purchased olive oil, fruit, salami, cheese, pasta and tomatoes for our dinner. We bought a small raft for the swimming pool (4 euro) and we didn’t have a pump to blow it up. The man who ran the little corner store lent us his pump. While my husband used the pump, I commented on how something smelled really good. He yelled through an adjacent door and an elderly woman came out with a piece of fried fish. I told her it was “delicioso” and then she handed out another piece to the kids. We gave her a hug and thanked her so much and we all left with huge smiles on our faces. When we arrived back at the villa and the kids jumped into the pool, my husband put together a lunch of tomato-basil salad, fresh peaches and ricotta cheese and a tray of meat, cheese and bread. We gobbled it all up and then the kids picked lemons and oranges from the trees, used the juicer, and made fresh fruit juice for us all. We spent the afternoon lounging in the sun, swimming and sipping on juice and wine. I don’t think life gets any better…ha!
In the evening (9:00 pm) , we made a dinner of fresh pasta with tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil, bruschetta and salad. It was delicious and we enjoyed the views over the ocean… just spectacular.
Monday, July 3rd
Woke up early to meet the tour guide in front of the villa at 9:00 am. His name was Giovanni and we hired him to take us to Pompeii, Positano and Ravello for the day. He was not as warm and informative as we liked but we had him drop us at the different locations and arranged a time to meet him after exploring. We started our day in Pompeii and found a fabulous tour guide who spent 2 hours providing interesting stories about many of the sights… the kids loved it. Note: when you walk into the gates of Pompeii, many tour guides swarm you and charge all different prices. I suggest that you purchase your tickets and then look for a tour group already established and ask to join. In our case, it was only an extra $10 per person and it was much cheaper that what was being offered when we first entered.
Next, we traveled to Ravello through the mountains and had a light, quick lunch at a pizzeria overlooking the mountains… food was okay but view was just magnificent. We then toured Villa Cimbrone and could have spent a day there. The grounds and views were amazing… this is what I consider “heaven on earth”. The views were absolutely incredible and this is a sight not to be missed!
We then traveled the Amalfi coast and stopped in Amalfi for an hour of shopping. It was bustling with tourists but a lot of fun. From there, we traveled the rest of the Amalfi Coast back to Massa Lubrense with our guide providing some interesting facts. By this point, it was almost 6:30 pm and we were all tired. It was great to get back to the villa where we dined on prosciutto and melon, caprese salad and homemade Panini… we ended the day with a swim in the pool.
Tuesday, July 4th
Woke up late and traveled to Nerano which is high up on a ridge overlooking Marina del Cantone below. We sat at the beach, people watched and enjoyed beautiful views. We tasted a local favorite of granita limone (shaved ice with fresh lemon juice). We then traveled to Positano which was filled with tourists. Temps were in the high 90’s. We parked at the top and traversed the many stairs down to the beach and restaurants. We grabbed a light lunch which was just okay but the a/c was much appreciated. We then visited a beautiful church, Santa Maria dell’Assunta and window shopped before taking the bus back to our parked car.
We drove the Amalfi coast back to the villa in time to meet our hired cooks, Margarita and Christina. They were preparing a meal for our daughter’s 12th birthday. As we took a dip in the pool, they called us to the table and brought out caprese salad and fried Zucchini. The zucchini was wrapped in mozzarella and deep fried… absolutely delectable. Next, came the spaghetti vongole which was in a red, spicy sauce… the clams were so fresh and again, the taste was incredible. This was followed up with roasted chicken and potatoes and then a fresh salad. We took a break and then came back to the table where they placed a homemade strawberry and fresh whipped cream cake… enormous and wonderful! It was filled with a yellow cream. We sang happy birthday, exchanged gifts and sipped expresso. The ladies cleaned the kitchen, wrapped up the leftovers and departed. The whole experience was fabulous and memorable! We then moved the television to the patio, invited over all of the neighborhood kids and watched Italia defeat Germany 2-0 in the world cup semi finals. We served cake and coke and the entire town went crazy when Italia scored… all of the families partied in the streets in celebration of this exciting win to secure a spot in the world cup finals. Our daughter said it was “her best birthday ever.”
July 5th
Woke up late, took a swim and relaxed before heading out to Sorrento for sightseeing and lunch. It was packed with tourists. I asked a shop owner in Italian if he could recommend a local trattoria for locals only and he gave us directions to a place several blocks away. Ristorante da Gigino on Via Deli Archi, 15 was a local hangout. We had grilled fish, fresh vegetables and the kids enjoyed homemade pasta dishes. The staff and Italian patrons were still buzzing about the previous night’s win in the world cup and everyone was in great spirits! We then did some shopping, grabbed some wine for dinner and headed the 4 km back to the Villa. We lounged by the pool, and ate left over roasted chicken and potatoes, salad, and cake. The temps remained in the high 90’s so we took a late walk to the tiny fishing village (Marina della Lobra) for a late night gelato. We sat on the veranda listening to the waves as our children played soccer in the street with the local children. Massa Lubrense was the perfect choice for a week’s stay in a rented villa!
July 6th
Met the boat at 9:00 am to take us to Capri for the day. The boat met us at our dock in San Montano and we arrived on Capri only 25 minutes later. The five of us were on a small zodiac and we had a blast jumping the waves. Our driver gave us info about some of the sights and dropped us off at “marina piccolo”. We then got on a bus from the marina to Capri, another bus from Capri to Anacapri and then one more to the Blue Grotto. As an aside, the Blue Grotto is a rip off for a 5 minute cave ride but a tourist trap “must see”. We then headed back to Anacapri and took the chairlift from Via Caposcuro
up to Monte Solaro which provided panoramic views. We stopped at the top, took photos and after exploration, took the chairlift down. We then meandered over to the villa and church of San Michele. There were several lookout spots where the views were magnificent. We then asked a local for a good place for lunch and we were referred to one in Anacapri. It definitely was filled with locals but one of our worst meals of the trip. We then grabbed a local bus to take us back to Capri and window shopped amongst the thousands of tourists. We had enough at that point and headed back on the zodiac to our villa. Again, the temps were high 90’s so it was great to get back and take a swim. That evening, around 9:00 pm, twenty of the local kids (including our three) headed down to Marina Della Lobra for pizza and gelato. Our children practiced their Italian while the locals practiced their English. The kids reported that their friends ordered for all of them and they had a local favorite pizza: tomato, cheese, basil with French Fries and pieces of hot dog on top. The restaurant cut each of the pizza’s in four pieces and the kids grabbed a piece, bent it over and ate it like a sandwich. They all had so much fun and really enjoyed seeing how the local kids live. Around 11:00 pm, they all returned back to our street and played soccer, chatted and giggled until midnight. My husband and I sipped wine and enjoyed the marvelous views from the patio and relished the two hours of solitude.
July 7th
For our last full day in Massa Lubrense, we decided to sleep in, do laundry and let the kids hang with their friends. Dark clouds gathered over the water so we decided to head into town and grab some fruit and last minute provisions. We passed Restaurant Il Tritone and stopped in for some lunch. It is located in the center of Massa Lubrense on Via Massa Turro, 2/A and what a great choice! My pasta with fettucine, sausage, capers and cream sauce was heavenly. My husband enjoyed his with swordfish and smoked mozzarella while the kids ordered pizza. Everything about our meals was terrific. Even when the skies opened up and rained like crazy, we ran inside and spoke with the owner, enjoyed expressos and gelato. This restaurant was one of the best of the trip!
It rained like crazy for most of the afternoon so we began to pack up the suitcases and organize all of our belongings. Our son played soccer with his friends, despite the rain, and our daughters delved into a good book. Even though we were disappointed there was no sun, the Mediterranean sea was moody and beautiful. It’s hard to believe that this was the only day that it rained throughout our 2 ½ week vacation… no complaints!!! The kids spent the evening playing soccer with their friends while we enjoyed wine and ocean breezes. Tomorrow we are off to Napoli. Ciao, Lisamarc
Jul 13th, 2006, 12:07 PM
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Lovely trip report! You brought back memories of our 2001 stay in the little fishing village of Nerano at the edge of the marina in rooms above a restaurant there. It was definitely off the beaten track and a great respite after three days in Rome. I had read about it on this board.
Jul 18th, 2006, 11:09 AM
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Greetings
Just got back from a week in Sorrento and more time in the Cilento area. To add to your wonderful post, the highlight of our week in Sorrento was Massa Lubrense. On World Cup final day, we decided to go to watch the WC in Massa Lubrense rather than Sorrento and were rewarded with a truly local, crazy, wild evening. We watched the game in the main piazza on a large screen packed with Italians. Someone had a great projection and sound system, and we had good seats (got there 2 hours ahead and kept going out for panini and gelato to bring back). Families came. Kids waved flags. The old men in the back were crazed. And after the final win on penalty kicks, it was total bedlam, hugs, smoke bombs, fireworks, screaming. Someone brought out a 4' diameter cake with a world cup trophy in the middle and served pieces to the crowd. Trucks packed with revelers paraded around the square. People danced on cars. The buses and taxis we were told would run after the game didn't run, of course, so we had to hitchhike back to Sorrento to continue the celebration. Sorrento was even more wild, but a lot of tourists were mixed in.
Massa Lubrense was part of a once in a lifetime experience for us and kids!
Just got back from a week in Sorrento and more time in the Cilento area. To add to your wonderful post, the highlight of our week in Sorrento was Massa Lubrense. On World Cup final day, we decided to go to watch the WC in Massa Lubrense rather than Sorrento and were rewarded with a truly local, crazy, wild evening. We watched the game in the main piazza on a large screen packed with Italians. Someone had a great projection and sound system, and we had good seats (got there 2 hours ahead and kept going out for panini and gelato to bring back). Families came. Kids waved flags. The old men in the back were crazed. And after the final win on penalty kicks, it was total bedlam, hugs, smoke bombs, fireworks, screaming. Someone brought out a 4' diameter cake with a world cup trophy in the middle and served pieces to the crowd. Trucks packed with revelers paraded around the square. People danced on cars. The buses and taxis we were told would run after the game didn't run, of course, so we had to hitchhike back to Sorrento to continue the celebration. Sorrento was even more wild, but a lot of tourists were mixed in.
Massa Lubrense was part of a once in a lifetime experience for us and kids!
Jul 21st, 2006, 01:54 AM
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Lisamarc,
I enjoyed reading your report. Sounds as if it was terrific! I am glad that you enjoyed ML as much as we did.
We seemed to have crossed paths - we arrived in Sorrento on the 8th. On one day, we drove down to San Montano to see the Villa Bouganville - everything was just as beautiful as we remembered it! However, I had forgotten how hard it is to drive down that winding road to the villas. We went to Marina Della Lobra for a light lunch.
We also had a wonderful trip. I have posted a report so you might want to read it.
Welcome back!
I enjoyed reading your report. Sounds as if it was terrific! I am glad that you enjoyed ML as much as we did.
We seemed to have crossed paths - we arrived in Sorrento on the 8th. On one day, we drove down to San Montano to see the Villa Bouganville - everything was just as beautiful as we remembered it! However, I had forgotten how hard it is to drive down that winding road to the villas. We went to Marina Della Lobra for a light lunch.
We also had a wonderful trip. I have posted a report so you might want to read it.
Welcome back!
Aug 10th, 2009, 04:18 AM
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A wonderful report ! However, we had dinner at Tritone restaurant in Massa lubrense and we had a terrible experience. The food was mediocre and very scarce. The size of the portions was ridiculous. For instance, my main entrée of moscardini (baby octopus) consisted of 4 (four) tiny pieces ! After we ate this (and paid the bill) we had to get elsewhere to have dinner !
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