Day 7:  Sat: Boat Trip to Capri / Sorrento

Today’s excursion started by taking a ferry to Capri, a small romantic island dotted with grottos, olive trees and vineyards. Our local guide, Enzo showed us the highlights of the island including a cable car ride to Anacapri.

We then return to the mainland to Sorrento, for some leisure time to shop some more and then several of us ate together at different spots around Sorrento before returning to Naples that night.  It was amazing as the town was simply overflowing with people on a Saturday  night.

 Sorrento, native city of the poet Torquato Tasso, who was born here in 1544;  Sorrento: land of the Mermaids; Sorrento, the city of the orange and lemon groves, etc. And then why not leave your mind go back in time so that, with a bit of imagination, you can see the Greek ships ride the waves and Ulysses bound tightly to the main mast to listen safely to the dangerous song of the mermaids .... or follow the wake of the Roman ships laden with merchandise and busy sailors, or look around the wonderful palaces that the Roman emperors built on our coasts, among the most beautiful in the world.

The center of Sorrento is extremely rich, in history. Each alley, shop, church and building, has a story to show and tell. Each corner hides a legend to learn and lots of goods to be admired and purchased....just waiting for visitors.

Simple and tasty dishes created with the basic ingredients of the Mediterranean cooking, generally locally produced, characterize the typical cooking of Sorrento Peninsula. The Mediterranean diet is acknowledged everywhere like the most wholesome, natural and complete diet. It varies from the typical fish menus of the coast areas to the robust cooking of the extensive internal areas.

Oil, tomatoes, mozzarella and spices are the basic ingredients of rich dishes like "cannelloni" (once called "strascinate"), "gnocchi", pasta with beans, stuffed pepper (in dialect called "mbuttunat") or of delicate dishes, such as "caprese" salad (tomatoes and mozzarella), pasta with courgettes, pickled anchovies, "parmigiana" of aubergines (fried aubergines with tomato sauce and cheese).

We enjoyed lunch at a small local cafe where many of us ordered pizza. 12 inch pizza for one. Pizza Margherita-plain and light tomatoes with mozzarella and basil. I had a Quattro Formaggio pizza with Mozzarella,Provolone, Scasamore and Gorgonzola cheeses...no tomatoes. Others ordered Insalta Mista- a mixed green salad which is usually always, Arugula, Radicchio, Tomatoes and maybe some shredded carrot. The only salad dressing served is olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And, of course house wine..what else!

It took an hour for us to maneuver the crowded streets to get out of town. The entire length of our trip back the opposite side of the road was bumper to bumper headlights with folks escaping Naples to spend Sat. night in Sorrento!!!

Sorrento is famous for the production of Limoncello, an alcoholic liquor made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. Several of use enjoyed some free samples!

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