tripgirl

thanks all!

So glad to mention Davide, Loveitaly, the shop is super and I've eaten alot of gelato throughout Italy and it ranks right up there. The shop is a gem and I am so glad to recommend it. The only problem was I wanted to try them all!!!

Actually too tired to report on my stuff tonight as I just came home from work, but I wanted to thank SRS and Loveitaly for their nice compliments.

I will be back tomorrow...

tripgirl

Im back...

SORRENTO ACTIVITIES AND FINAL THOUGHTS

Monday May 8th: After a day of transport to Sorrento from Capri and a relatively free day on Sunday, we re-group for our Amalfi Coast Drive Day
on Monday

We are on to a new guide, LeLo ( Lay-low, you can imagine we had fun with his name!)

Anyway, Lelo is very nice, but he is no match physically against Luca! He is also a family man, wife, two kids, so the contrast between him and Luca makes for a nice balance.

Let me start out by saying that the day was pretty great, but I would have done this day differently as I look back.

The first thing that happenend is that one our couples forgot that the time was changed from 10am departure to 9:30 and so we started out late, which caused the rest of the day to slid a bit; no really big deal, but we played kind of catch up all day long.

Our plan was to drive the coast and visit Positano, Ravello ( and have our lunch here as I indicated above , was fabulous!!!!) and then end with Amalfi.

We set out with Lelo and our private bus and the drive is breathtaking. We pass by several famous villas, one Lelo pointed out belonged to Sophia Loren and of course it's perched high above the sea and gorgeous as she is!

We stop for our first photo op above Positano and its magnificent. We then are transported into a small bus to get into town.

Now, I can see ( at least IMO) that Positano can be like Capri; I think it is meant to be experienced day AND night. The town was awafully crowded and we did not stay long, just long enough to walk down to the beach and see some of the shops. I realize we had packed too much into one day at this point, it looked good on paper, but there is no way to really get a hold of each town in one day. Oh well, live and learn.

anyway, I can see Positano would be delightful, if we spent more time there. I did leave the last day of the trip wide open and everyone had the opportunity to visit any of the towns again in more depth( even though no one did)

It was super clear in my Trip Packet that this day was going to be long one, so no one was surprised. It's just that the day was indeed really looonnng and at least for me, now I know how I would have planned this better.

Anyway, I can see why people stay in Positano and perhaps another trip we'll stay there; I actually adored Sorrento of course adored the Bellevue Syrene hotel. If I wasn't so lazy on the last day or if we had more time, perhaps I would have gone back on my own to the towns.

Anyway, after Positano we make our way to Ravello cause its time for lunch. I already shared with you our marvelous experience with Netta, so really the highlight of the visit here was indeed lunch.

But,after lunch ( and again, we are running about 1 hr off schedule, but hey its Italy right??!)we cannot see both Villa Rufulo and Villa Cimbrone, as planned , so Lelo gives us the choice. About 6 of us walk to Villa Cimbrone and actually the rest are content with sitting inthe main square and shopping for ceramics. No one saw Villa Rufulo. But DH and I do see Villa Cimbrone and I am glad I did, what views!!!! Highly recommend.

After Ravello we make our way to Amalfi and we had on the schedule to visit the cathedral and a paper mill; we saw only the cathedral and then only a few wanted to go in; the rest wanted to drink some more on the main square.

To tell the truth, I was kind of upset ( privately) the way the day went as I has envisioned all us together, seeing everything; as turned out we kind of scattered and we did not do all I wanted. But I had to shake this and realize as organized as I am, I can misjudge and things are not going to go according to plan.

Anyway, everyone agreed it was long day, but they knew it would be and that there was an opportunity to come back to any town that struck them. I think I spoil my groups so much with everything taken care of, that even though I gave specific instructions on how to get around on their own on free time, they opted to just stay put on the optional activity day ( my friends however are not timid when traveling, I just think they enjoy the luxury of someone else doing all the legwork that when they have free time, it's just relax, relax!)

But everyone said it was a great day, but agreed, it was too long and it would have better to do less.

I'll be back later with more Lelo and POMPEII( Great!)

TexasAggie

Fabulous trip report, tripgirl!!! I'm going nuts trying to plan a 10 day trip to Germany/Austria with 6 relatives... If you ever want to quit your dayjob and go into business as a full-time travel coordinator let me know, LOL!

SeaUrchin

Wow, dont even think of blaming yourself for the long day. It started when the couple was late which got you all off on a late start. I just love those long days on the AC, glad you enjoyed it anyway. Great report!

LoveItaly

Hi tripgirl, you don't have to feel bad about anything!!! As always having been the one to arrange everything I would have been in seventh heaven if I had had the likes of you planning all the details of my trip. I think you did an awesome job!

I am sorry to hear that the dinner at the O'Parruchiano was not that good. I always loved that restaurant but often success can cause a restaurant to lower their standards, and as you said you are in the food business I am sure you know how that goes.

We actually became acquainted with that restaurant years ago as it was recommended by the owner of Davide's.
SeaUrchin, the owner is a relative of my late husbands friend in SF that was born and raised in MassaLubrense.

Tripgirl, I was telling my daughter about "your" Luca yesterday..she had a good giggle as her very first love was a darling, handsome and charming young gentleman born and raised on Anacapri..she was seventeen at the time Her Dad spent half of his time on Capri/Anacapri trying to keep track of the two of them, LOL.

Thanks tripgirl for sharing this fantastic trip..I mentally have been travelling with you!

tripgirl

thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Yes, I was surprised in O'Parruchiano's food given such a nice setting. Like I said another one of our friends picked it. DH and I agreed to meet them there as we went shopping that morning by ourselves. When we got there I could see the look on Jay's face. When I asked, what's wrong, he said" Sorry Robyn, I think we got ourselves into a tourist trap". Then he pointed into the next room, a very large room filled to the brim with a huge( and I mean huge) tour group. They know how sensitive I can be about restaurants. But no worries; the company was good and like I said the food was not terrible, just so-so.

LoveItaly,, what fun your daughter must have had. After Luca described the life of a teenager on Capri, I would have loved that kind of life as a young teen. We know our parents were protective for a reason and we love them for that, but Luca's carefee days seemed so appealing to me!

TexasAggie: Thank you. Actually it is something I have been thinking about for quite sometime. I've had my own business for about 16yrs now and while it has been tremendously rewarding, frankly my passions are somewhere else. Awhile back I actually posted here asking you good folks about my specific interests in the travel business. You can see the post for yourself. Basically what I'd like to do is one of two things. Since I LOVE research and planning so much I'd to either design itineraries for an upscale luxury travel company ( but not actually escort groups). Just go on the trip myself, make contacts and design the itinerary from A-Z. I don't even know if such a career exists like that and not sure how to even find out.
Although when I posted about this, folks here of course were helpful, but of course ultimately I need to figure this out.
The second and related interest of mine is to be on a research team for travel magazine or travel books such as Style City. Have you seen these very stylish travel books? They have them for Paris, Barcelona, New York, etc. My interest in travel is of course obvious: I like the upscale market and unique events.

My DH is retiring in 1 year and at that time, I can scale back and do what I would like. I still have to bring in some $, but basically I can cut way back.

The food business has been great, but I really love travel. But I am clear that I don't want to be travel agent. and I don't need to take on a "big" job anymore as well.

Anyway, I will be back with more of my trip report later and tell you all about Pompeii.....

LoveItaly

Hi tripgirl, I didn't mean to give the impression that we lived on Capri/Anacapri. That time we stayed on the island for about two weeks. That is when our daughter met the charming young man..who still lives there.. while we were on vacation. We always have had lots of friends in Italy.

I truly hope that you can work out your future career..I would imagine whatever you decide to do you will be successful! Best wishes.

tripgirl

What fun anyway to meet someone on vacation....

But doesn't a life as a teen on that island sound like fun.....??? Not that my teens weren't, but.....

LoveItaly

LOL tripgirl, I didn't think we were going to be able to drag our daughter off of Capri and onto the hydrofoil. We then drove across Italy from Naples to Bari, I swear she cried during half of the roadtrip and most of the night in her little room next to ours in Bari.

Oh yes, life as a teen on Capri/Anacapri would have been so wonderful I am sure!! And my daughter still thinks so!!

mv_rd

saving

kangamom

Hi Tripgirl,

Have you ever seen the Louis Vuitton City Guides to European Cities? They are great guides for insider shopping and dining recommendations. Of course they have all the very upscale recommendations, but they also have wonderful recommendations for stylish locals only type establishments. We had a wonderful time in Rome with our City Guide and have lent them out to others. Even the stylish Romans were very impressed with some of the suggestions in the books.

tripgirl

I'll have to get the LV guides, many thanks for the tip!

POMPEII; Tues May 9th: We set out with Lelo about 8;45 to got to Pompeii; all are excited.

Before we left some us including DH and I watched the Discovery Channel's show called the Last Day of Pompeii; a docudrama all about Pompeii. It really help set the mood for our visit.

On the previous day while on the AC, Lelo gave us good information, but it is here in Pompeii he really shines. He lives in Ercolano and so he is passionate about Pompeii.

Many of my friends had not been to Italy before, so they were not used to Italian accents. Lelo had a few words her pronounced that struck a funny chord with the group. For instance he pronounced mountain as moo-tain and fountain, as foo-tain and church as shersh. I'm used to the accents so I really did not notice it, but the rest of the group had a ball politely imitating Lelo after we left him.

So that we did not have another really long day with a break, we stay at Pompeii for 2 hours, a good introduction to understanding what has happened here. I'm astounded on how large the public forum was and that the frecoes of homes are still left intact. It's almost as if some just put a large blanket over Pompeii and then took it off and voila.. here is the city! Amazing. We actually could have spent longer here. The day was overcast and a little cooler than what we have been having, so it was perfect for Pompeii, not hot, but no rain.

I would implore anyone going to Pompeii to hire a guide or at the very least walk around with the guided headsets. Although if you had read alot about Pompeii, but simply closing your eyes, you could envision life in Roman times. If we had more time there, I would have liked to go back into some of the smaller streets and linger.

The rest of the day is free to enjoy until dinner up in Monterpertuso and Il Ritrovo of which I already described.

Wed, May 10th: FREE DAY! Most of us woke a little later than the other days and simply wandered the streets of Sorrento in search of shopping gems.

DH and I did a little damage. We purchased an exquisite inlaid wood box from Stinga Tarsia( Via de Maio). We met the owner and designer and it now sits proudly on our coffee table. I bought another pair of shoes, sneakers actually, sort of like Hogans design,but by another company. We bought a few more gifts and I bought some pashminas.

Later on, a bunch of us took advantage of the bathing lidos at our hotel. Although not really warm enough for a bathing suit, we sat on lounges in our clothes. It was dramatic to then look up at our hotel resting on cliffs!

Then of course as noted in the section above, we ended the trip with dinner at Caruso's.

DEPARTURE AND FINAL THOUGHTS

True to form ( at least for many of my Italian trips, it goes this way), getting out of Naples was a hoot. We were delayed one hour and not sure if we'd make our connection Paris.

But AF was great. As we landed at CDG, an announcement was made on the plane that anyone going to Washington, please identify yourself. Well in addition to the 18 of us there were about 20 more people! So they held that plane, escorted us right there as quick as they could and all the luggage arrived at IAD ( except mine, go figure it would happen to the group leader!!! It came the next day, needed nothing from it anyway).

Our limo is waiting and were all tucked into our beds once again!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The trip was sensational. The AC and Capri are truly exquisite and I feel so lucky to have have experienced it. It is one of the few places in Italy I have not been and I loved it. We all needed a vacation that was a little more "resorty" than our usual heavy dose of history, museums, etc.

I think you can't go wrong with lodging in any of the towns whether it be Sorrento ( but do stay cliffside), Positano, Ravello or Amalfi or the smaller towns we passed too such as Priano. But I would dig into the wallet and spring for at least one night in Capri, a day trip just does not do justice. Like I mentioned DH and I said we could stay there for a long time; it's our kind of place.
Have no ideas about Ischia or Procida, but someday perhaps I will explore those two.

I think if you stick with dining on seafood, pizza and pasta for the most part you will be satisified. If we had more time, I would have for sure ventured into the smaller towns in search of real mom and pop places.

I think you have to relax on the AC and just like anywhere in Europe but especially I believe in Italy, try not to get uptight about things. Whatever will be, will be.

I hope you all enjoyed this report and feel free to ask any questions at anytime.

Now on to getting the details for my upcoming trip to Slovenia/Croatia for this July sorted out; can't wait!

Ciao!

SRS

Tripgirl,

Any chance you could share the contact information for Lelo or his company? DH and I are going to the Almalfi Coast with my SIL and BIL this summer and I would love to find a great guide in advance for Pompeii.

Thanks in advance,
Sally

annabelle2

Still enjoying your report, thanks. Great descriptions. Last year I finally made it to Pompeii after many trips to Italy and it exceeded my expectations.

We opted for the hand-held audio guides, and combined w/ pre-reading and maps, we really like the flexibility that using the audio guides gave us.

You mention Ischia -- we spent 4 nights there on last year's trip and really enjoyed it. We went for several reasons, one of which was because we love hot springs. It is a pretty laid back kind of place (when we were there, late May; summer must be nutty), which is what we were looking for.

tripgirl

Sally,

The land company we used was Russo Travel who are based in Sorrento. I am not sure if they deal with individuals or are wholesalers. I was never quite sure

In any event, here is the contact info for them:

you can e mail one of their staff. Her name is Marianna. [email protected]

If you need a phone number: 39 081 8781629. The manager is named Giuseppe Langella, so if Marianna is unavailable or you need action right away, ask for Giuseppe.

and if you need a cutie pie, have them set you up with Luca for Capri!


annabelle: sounds like you enjoyed Ischia. Glad you had a good time!!!

butter924

tripgirl,

What a great recap! I must reiterate, your friends are very lucky to have you - you seem like a very joyous, happy person!

Bellevue Syrene sounds amazing, and I'm glad you had such a wonderful experience. However, there are alot of really scathing reviews on tripadvisor about the hotel....do you think you and your group were treated so well and had such a positive experience due to your connection/friendship? Or do you think the hotel has changed and worked out all the kinks?

tripgirl

butter,

I know! I'm just not sure what all those reviews were about. I grew up in the hotel business, so believe me I am very very very picky about hotels and I usually know where "fault" lies somewhere when things are not working in a hotel.

Perhaps, yes making friends with the mananger I suppose helped and that my agent is also friends with her, I'm sure we were given a nice advantage. But I saw others guests who looked content with the hotel too.

The hotel has been operating for years and years and years, but I am not sure when Simona took over as manager.

I think too sometimes when I read reviews on TA and other sites you really have to read between the lines. some reviews show an utter lack of knowledge for a hotel set in a different country where there might be differences that they really could not control.

Anyway, I am glad our experience was a positive one. If I know I am going to a hotel for more than 3 nights, I typically try to make a contact with a staff person before I leave and strike up a little relationship. But that's just me; I'm all about the relationship!!!

Thanks for your kind words, I am a content happy person, why be anything else!!

Tulips

Tripgirl; what a fabulous trip, and I admire you for your organizing skills! Am planning a trip without kids, and now decided we must have that room at Bellevue Syrene! Thank you for your great report.

tripgirl

Tulips,

Let me know if you need any assistnace with your reservation. I have an "in" with Simona ( wink, wink!!)

Anyway, seriously if you like modern, you will like room 501.

Tulips

I will send them a mail. Was thinking Positano first, but for visit to Pompeii Sorrento is more convenient I think.