Slowing Down in Sorrento and Sant’ Agata
We had a wonderful time in Rome. It is the kind of city that you can return to again and again and leave with plenty of reasons for another visit. In fact, we are already thinking about which neighborhood to stay in the next time we are in town! Still, after a month in this intense big city we are ready for a change of scenery and a slower pace by spending a week in Sorrento and Sant’ Agata.
Leaving Rome for Sorrento and Sant’ Agata
We both really enjoy travelling by train. You see a lot more from a train window and it just seems easier to go by train. We use a website called The Man in Seat Sixty-One to help plan train travel and we recommend this as a resource to other travelers…it is very comprehensive and helpful. Through our research we realized that the high speed train from Rome to Sorrento involves switching to the local Circumvesuviana train in Naples. We are travelling with two large rolling duffel bags that each weight about 45 pounds and we didn’t like the idea of having to lug them off one train, change platform levels and then lug them onto the local train which might be crowded with commuters.
FlixBus
We looked for other transportation options and found a bus service called FlixBus. The Flixbus route took us straight from the Rome Tiburtina train station to the Sorrento train station in around four hours. The bus turned out to be a good solution for us, it dropped us off in downtown Sorrento right about lunchtime and we simply walked to the adjacent restaurant and had lunch on the outdoor patio while we waited for the hotel shuttle to arrive and take us back to the hotel.
Grand Hermitage Hotel
The ride in the hotel shuttle from downtown Sorrento to our hotel took us up a very narrow road filled with hairpin turns. It’s only a mile from town but the road really isn’t walkable due to the blind curves and lack of shoulder. We are glad the hotel runs a regular shuttle schedule for guests to get to and from Sorrento and Sant’ Agata. The Grand Hermitage is built on the side of one of the hills above Sorrento and has an absolutely stunning panoramic view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. Since it is still shoulder season the daily rate is affordable…about 72 euros ($89 US) a day for a room with an amazing view.
At The Grand Hermitage we are greeted first by the resident dog, Rock, who is very sweet-natured. He is usually stretched out somewhere in the lobby. Whenever he wants to go outside he walks to the automatic entry doors to get them to open and then moves outdoors. Pretty smart doggy. The Grand Hermitage is a family owned hotel that was built circa 1960. The original owner’s grandkids are now running the place and they seem dedicated to providing a great experience. The hotel coordinates some daily excursions for guests to Sorrento, Capri, Naples and the Amalfi Coast. The front desk staff were always willing to answer our many questions and made numerous phone calls to track down details in order to help us make decisions on where to go and what to see. They really went above and beyond.
We loved our room which was on the fifth floor with a large balcony and a positively breathtaking view of Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples.
The property has a beautiful pool and outdoor patio with the same view. In late March it was still too chilly to make use of these amenities but we can imagine how lovely it would be to spend time by the pool or relax on the patio with such a drop dead gorgeous view.
Breakfast is included in the daily rate and its a big spread including just about anything you would want except oatmeal (which is what we eat everyday). We are still surprised that oatmeal isn’t a typical breakfast food in the European countries we’ve visited. Even so, the restaurant manager didn’t let us down. He ordered oatmeal for us from his supplier. They kitchen staff didn’t know how to prepare it so with Google Translate to the rescue we were able to provide directions in Italian. Yay! We got our favorite breakfast food.
Traditional Italian Music
One evening the hotel provided strolling musicians during dinner. They serenaded us with “Comeback to Sorrento” and after learning where we are from, they played “California Dreamin'” for us!
Sorrento
We spent most of a day in Sorrento walking down the narrow lanes so small you can’t imagine how a vehicle could make it down one. We saw some interesting sights while walking around. One was the beautiful verdant Valley of the Mills. This photo is of one of the centuries-old wheat mills tucked into this almost hidden gulch that we just happened to notice while looking down from an overpass. The mills were powered by water that ran through the gulch. The mills were abandoned a century ago and today this area is a popular place for hikers. To us it looks like a place where a hobbit or Shrek would live
Positano and the Amalfi Coast
We took a white-knuckle bus ride to Positano one day. This was the last week of March and we’d been told the tourist season hadn’t begun and the busses would not be full. Nothing could be further from the truth! The busses were standing room only…but the views are marvelous! The road to Positano is unbelievable narrow and windy as it skirts sheer cliffs. We have nothing but admiration for the bus drivers who skillfully negotiate these congested hairpin curves with nerves of steel and grace.
Positano is pretty much built straight up and down the sides of rocky cliffs. The bus drops you off on the highway at the top of the town. You then walk down lanes and many steps to get to the bay. If you want the view without all the steps there are a couple of restaurants just a few yards from the bus stop with awesome water views!
It took a lot of walking to get down the hill but at the end we were rewarded with a beautiful seaside experience. The weather was a bit chilly and dark and many establishments hadn’t yet opened for the season yet, but we had a good time. We found this tiny little café located near the pier. They provided great customer service. When the sun went behind clouds they wheeled out a portable heater and placed it next to us which kept us nice and warm.
Capri and Ana Capri
We took a guided boat excursion to Capri. Most of the other passengers were Swedish and had their own guide. It was an interesting experience. First the Boat provided Guide would speak in Italian, then the Swedish guide would repeat the information in Swedish and afterwards the information would be repeated in English. We kind of like the feeling that we are just part of the visitor mix sharing the experience with people from all over the world.
We like Capri but it was a really cold, windy day that went from foggy to clear to foggy again. It reminded us of Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California but with a much longer history. Roman emperors kept vacation palaces here and there are reported to be some great ruins. We didn’t have time to see them on this visit but may return.
Sorrento and Sant’ Agata Dui Golfi
Sant’ Agata Dui Golfi is a little village on the hill high above the town of Sorrento where the Grand Hermitage is located. The town’s name means Saint Agatha of two gulfs. It’s an appropriate name because the village is positioned on the ridge of the hill. The town has views of both sides of the Sorrento Peninsula — the Gulf of Salerno in one direction and the Gulf of Naples in the other.
Easter Processions – A Sorrentine Procession
We are visiting during the week leading up to Easter Sunday and we learned from our hotel front desk that there is a special cultural and traditional event called the Processions taking place that we can watch. we can as we visited towns on the Sorrento Peninsula we’ve seen posters for something called the Easter Processions. In the week leading up to Easter, religious fraternities — called confraternities — organize parades that reenact the passion of Christ. Some processions are done in the evening around 9 p.m. and some occur in the early morning hours around 3 a.m. All the processions include a male chorus, musical instruments and robed individuals carrying artifacts of religious significance.
The procession was something we had never heard of and we were very interested in observing one that was held on Good Friday in the little village of Sant’ Agata. The Grand Hermitage has a paved walking path from the hotel to the village that takes about seven minutes by foot. This little path took us past citrus and olive trees and had some nice views of the surrounding hills, ocean and some abandoned ruins. Completely charming!
We planted ourselves on a bench on main street right in front of the town’s church about 30 minutes before the Procession starting time. As we waited families began gathering on the sidewalks. About 9 p.m. we heard trumpet peals and the sound of a drum in the distance, a bit later the first participants in the Procession came into view. It was a rather eerie experience to watch a few hundred people dressed in black silently and reverently march down the street. Each person carried a religious symbol relating to Jesus. The procession was completed with a marching band and a male chorus. As the Procession passed on the street, the people standing on the sidewalks fell in behind until it looked like the entire town was taking part in the Procession. We enjoyed seeing this local event, especially in a small village.
We made the walk to Sant’ Agata several more times to have lunch a dinner. There are several really good restaurants that we enjoyed dining at very much. One was a place that specialized in seafood called Lo Stuzzichino and the other was Da Mimi a traditional ristorante with amazing bruschetta.
Looking back on this week we were very pleased with the experience. Despite the unseasonably cool weather we were glad to have visited the beach towns of Positano and Capri. However, the more memorable experiences took place in Sant’ Agagta. Walking the little path, taking in the evocative Procession and trying great local restaurants are things we truly enjoyed and the memories will stick with us.
As we pack up to leave our thoughts turn to the next stop on our adventure, the ancient hill town of Orvieto.
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Read about our 5 days in Orvieto