Today we spent the day in Sorrento, take two from our train experience last week.

The traffic was fine with the exception of some local dynamics: at one toll booth area a bunch of the lanes were malfunctioning, cars were merging into open lanes…it was a complete mess. At another toll booth area, a car needed to reverse and everyone had to back up as other cars and vespas were whizzing by jockeying for their own space in other lanes. And at another point the GPS rerouted us into some interesting backroads near Pompeii. The drive was quite an adventure!

Once we hit the coast and saw the beautiful Sorrento views and Mt Vesuvius in the distance, all was well.

By 12:30 we were parked and walking through the town in 100 degree heat. Miss M was happy to show us where she hung out, shopped, ate and drank while studying in Sorrento last year. 

First stop was Orbit coffee shop where the lovely shop owner behind the counter recognized Miss M immediately.

Lunch at Frankie’s; Miss M had pizza with burrata cheese, roasted red peppers and prosciutto, I had sausage, broccoli rabe with garlic mayonnaise sandwich, and Paul had a fried calzone filled with sausage, provola cheese and tomato. 

After lunch we walked to Villa Yama – the dorm where Miss M stayed. It was a hot 20 minute walk uphill but the dorm was so clean and modern with a rooftop pool and gorgeous view of Mt. Vesuvius. A great spot to spend the semester!

We walked around Sorrento, popping in and out of stores, gravitating towards stores with fans and air conditioning wherever possible. It was so hot and we’ve never seen such few people in Sorrento. One merchant said everyone was at the beach because of the weather. We had gelato twice!

We went to Chaplins Irish Bar where an Elon U t-shirt hangs signed by the students who study abroad in Sorrento, and The Horse Shoe bar which is covered in autographed dollar bills so we found hers there as well. 

By 6:30pm we were back on the road, navigating the windy Amalfi coast drive, vespas weaving around cars, and SITA buses. And we passed the signs for the eggplant festival.

By 9:10pm Miss M was sitting on our front step, feeding the seven cats while India barked impatiently waiting for Paul to bring her a treat.