19/03/19 (The European style of writing dates) was our day of departure. The night before I told Joyce I felt like a kid at Christmas. It was not just that I was excited, but I wondered if after two years of planning I might feel the actual experience would be somewhat of a letdown. I can truthfully say as I write this on the second full day of our Sabbatical that the actual experience has exceeded all of our expectations!
We flew Lufthansa Airlines out of Charlotte. European airlines put our airlines to shame with their customer service. They still believe in pampering you and it makes flying fun. They actually sent the menu of our meal to us a few days before our flight. However, the flight was late leaving Charlotte and we had a tight connection in Munich. I was concerned but we made up time in the air, landed in Munich early, and we were sitting at the gate for the flight to Naples 45 minutes early.
The Naples Airport is small and after we retrieved our luggage we saw a man waiting for us with a sign that read “Ray Howell.” When I told our driver Benjamin that we had a grandson by the same name he laughed and said, “So you name your grandson after me!” Like most Italians Benjamin was friendly, engaging, and spoke perfect English. He loaded our luggage in his Mercedes and we were on our way to Sorrento, comparing notes with Benjamin on family and grandchildren! He lives in Pompeii and used to have a shop there, but now drives for tourists like us.
It is only an hour drive to Sorrento, the first stop of our Sabbatical. After much research, I decided to stay in a small, five-room, boutique B&B in the heart of the historic area of Sorrento—the Palazzo Montefusco. Everyone talked about the wonderful staff who made you feel like family—we have not been disappointed. Benjamin drove to one of the main squares in Sorrento, but there were no parking places, so he drove around a second time. Finally, he stopped in the middle of the street and we unloaded. Angela was there to greet us. She took two of our big suitcases and we snaked through narrow streets and alleys until we came to a charming courtyard, then climbed several flights of stairs to the Palazzo Montefusco. We met Anna, who works with Angela, and they told us we had been upgraded to a mini-suite. They didn’t even ask for a credit card!
We went to our spacious room with a small balcony overlooking the Corso Italia, the main street in historic Sorrento. Sorrento predates the time of Christ. Wedged on a ledge under the mountains, with a stunning view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, Sorrento is a charming city full of lemons and olive groves. Without question, this was the perfect place to begin our Sabbatical.
The day was overcast, cool, and rainy. We found a pizzeria thinking that our Margherita Pizza would be as good as the last time we were in Naples—but it was not. We were exhausted from the overnight flight and by 5 p.m. we were in bed.
Fourteen hours later we were greeted by a perfect, cloudless, sunny day in beautiful Sorrento. Whenever we travel I get up and go find us a cup of coffee. I went downstairs where Anna (the second Anna of the Palazzo Montefusco) was preparing our breakfast. I asked if I could get two cups of coffee to take to the room. “No,” she said. “You cannot take coffee to your room, I will carry two cups of coffee to your room!” And so, a perfect day began!
Anna had prepared a typical European breakfast with fruits, vegetables, cheese, meats, breads, and cakes. But I had read that she would also fix delicious omelets and she did—we were not disappointed. We had another cup of “Americana Coffee” and orange juice. We finished our first breakfast in Italy with an Expresso!
One thing I was looking forward to on this Sabbatical was not to have a schedule, not to have an agenda, not to have to be somewhere in 30 minutes, not to have a deadline, etc. With no agenda, I went walking, exploring the town of Sorrento. I walked around 3 miles, including a jaunt down to the marina—easy going down, a challenge climbing up—and stopped in a shop where several grizzled old Italians were making beautiful small boats. Thinking they did not speak English, I pointed to my phone asking if it was okay if I took a picture. One of the guys answered in perfect English, “You want to buy it?” I took the picture anyway.
We found a sidewalk café where we enjoyed a tomato salad and a Margherita Pizza (still not as good as Naples), then went to a lemon grove where Limoncello is produced. We held huge lemons in our hands while our host took our picture and explained how Limoncello is made.
Thursday night we celebrated the beginning of our Sabbatical with one of the most remarkable and memorable meals I have ever experienced. Our destination was the historic L’Antica Trattoria. This amazing restaurant has been in the same family since 1930. We were greeted like royalty as we were led, as if walking through a labyrinthine, to our seats. The rooms are adorned in historic furniture and you had the feeling you were dining in your great-grandmother’s house. I was spellbound.
The L’Antica Trattoria promises that their restaurant in the heart of the ancient center of the city is “a dream corner, a blissful oasis, where one can lose sense of time and place, a magical little kingdom, where the happy visitor can imagine, or re-live his dreams and fantasies.” “So come, come with persons precious to you to discover the joy of an unforgettable evening, an evening with the warmth, hospitality and the perfect blending of superlative food and wine that only L’Antica Trattoria of Sorrento can offer.”
This was not hyperbole—we found it to be literally true. We sat for a long time savoring the experience even more than the meal.
Friday morning dawned bright and beautiful. Anna again delivered delicious coffee to the room and prepared delightful omelets.
Our original plan was to have a light lunch and have dinner in an old historic wine cellar, but my how plans can change. We decided to find a place on the waterfront since it was another gorgeous, cloudless day. But we couldn’t find the waterfront restaurant we were seeking and we wandered into the historic, five-star Imperial Hotel Tramontano. This historic property has hosted guests from Milton, Longfellow, Byron, Scott, Shelley, Keats and Harriet Beecher Stowe. In 1862 the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, King of England visited here.
We walked into the main dining room that was stepping back in time. It was elegant and spacious with a stunning view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. We were greeted like a King and Queen and had some of the best onion soup we have ever tasted along with a dish of gnocchi pasta. As we prepared to leave the head waiter gave Joyce a copy of an 1820 painting of the coast of Sorrento.
After two amazing meals we didn’t want to think about dinner. We had a late afternoon gelato and I went down to a deli where I got us some Parma Ham with pecorino cheese plus bread. It was all we needed for dinner.
Tomorrow we say good-bye to the lovely town of Sorrento but we will always hold this beautiful place in our hearts as the place our Sabbatical began.
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