The rest of my friends head home early tomorrow morning. We spent the day in Sorrento taking in everything the city has to offer; some last minute shopping (Sandy even had her sandals made while we watched and I picked up Pop’s Provolone Picante), a mozzarella party on my room 505 balcony at the Minerva including Pastries from Monica’s (best in Sorrento) and dinner at Z’intonio Mare down in the Marina Grande.
Thanks again to all my great friends for an incredible time! Let’s do it again soon!
Bill and I made a day trip to Amalfi by bus (boats were not running due to rough seas) which the well know drive along the Amalfi coast and a surprisingly interesting tour of a paper museum, Jim and Sandy hung out by the pool and the shopping crew was up to their old tricks. We ended the day with a nice dinner at O’Parrucchiano (an old favorite).
The weather looked really nice in the morning so we decided to make our day trip to Capri. Later in the day it did start raining but we still had a great time. We took the fast boat over so it only took a half hour. When we got there, we took the finiculare to Capri and then walked up to Anacapri (what a serious hike – 9200 steps!). We earned the pizza that we then proceeded to eat at our favorite pizza place in the main square. It turns out that Grace and the gang had planned this lunch as my 50th birthday celebration (the latest of many). I can’t think of a better place or better group of people to celebrate with (just wish my Mom and Dad could have made it). Bill, Jim, Sandy and I then took the chair lift up the mountain (really cool ride but not much to see with the low cloud cover).
After breakfast at the Minerva, we took a great walk to the Nobleman’s bath, a Roman ruin on the sea. Then we walked back to town and had a pizza at the Aurora in the main square followed by a visit to Standa and a walk back up the hill for happy hour on our terraces at the Minerva. Then wrapped up the evening with a walk back to town for dinner at St. Antonino’s and Gelato.
We drove from Cortona to Sorrento today and I can now share one of the most beautiful places on earth with my friends….
Ristorante La Pentolaccia: A very small, family owned restaurant in Montepulciano with some of the best food in Italy. The care that the family takes in preparing all the Tuscan favorites is surpassed only by the friendliness of the waitress who cares for all the patrons. We tried this restaurant originally during our trip in 2011 and again in 2013 and the quality has not waivered. Pici pasta Alla Cinghiale (boar), Ribolitta, fresh fish, everything we tried was amazing! Via di Voltaia nel Corso, 86. Tel. 0578 757582. Closed on Giovedi.
We took a day trip to Montepulciano and despite the constant drizzling rain, we had a great time exploring the town, tasting wine, shopping and eating. This trip has had everything from great old friends re-uniting to new friends getting to know each other. I have to give a shout out to Bill for his willingness to keep us all safe while driving us all over Italy. As anyone who has tried it knows, driving in Italy is often not the most enjoyable thing to do. Thanks Bill!
We took the train to Florence for a great day followed by yet another amazing dinner!
We had 3 excursions from Cortona yesterday; a trip to San Gimignano, a long 17,000 step hike up the mountain and a shopping extravaganza. Then we wrapped up the evening with a nice dinner.
After a challenging flight on RyanAir (crazy luggage rules and 1.5 hours late), I met up with Bill, Sandy Antica, Grace, Susan and the Smitty’s. We had a nice day walking around the city, lunch in Piazza Navona, drinks at the Gusto wine bar and dinner at Otello. I think the trip is off to. Great start!
There & Back Again - A Traveler's Tale 