The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

on the Amalfi Coast
Sorrento, Italy


here, the perfect little lunch spot,
or espresso or an aperitif...

a tiny trattoria perched high above the Mediterranean Sea
...the bluest, most peaceful water beckons.
have you ever wondered what it is about being near
the water that actually calls to all of us?
I have. and I still don't know.
I don't want to be IN the water, just around
the water.

a glimpse of the roadway

walking through a little tunnel/underpass in the town,

up ahead the constant sea...

 

across the way there is Vesuvius,

(where my son & friends climbed early early one morning

before all the tour buses arrived)

imagine living in this splendid villa overlooking the sea,

friendly faces & voices surround you while you're

doing the day's errands.  Total bliss.

Everyone there knows everyone else, and they all seem

so happy, so helpful, so full of friendliness & caring; the

embodiment of the Italian people's generous & outgoing nature.

a cloister garden

the churches are everywhere, and you hear the bells ringing throughout

the day...it is the warmest feeling as it is then that we really realize

how connected we are...it doesn't matter if you are Catholic...

just go in & breathe the sanctuary air,

it rejuvenates your spirit, I promise.

 Sorrento peninsula



a view from the hills behind Sorrento, gazing back to the sea



just one of the beautiful yachts carrying passengers throughout the

Mediterranean, ports of call being Portofino, Sorrento, Positano

the typical architecture of Sorrento & environs,

beautiful soft colors, greenest gardens and the blue of the sea

is what makes me love this place so much.  I haven't found

one spot I haven't loved, or met one person who wasn't lovely.

 photos taken from hotel way up above

 the main square, Piazza Tasso

there is shopping for everything Italian and wonderful, beautiful linens, hand-tailored Italian suits

for the men, beautiful shoes, Italian pottery & china, and the fresh garden vegetables & fruits

that are so plentiful to the region.  it is impossible to be bored, there is life everywhere, music

everywhere and some of the most beautiful products I've ever seen or experienced...and then there is the limoncello...

Bellevue Syrene Hotel

where we always stay if we don't have a large group of

family or friends with us.  I love the place because there is

a view to the sea from everywhere, and this is why I come

to Sorrento.  it is also right in the center of town and we can

walk anywhere easily.  Once in Sorrento, where you will be high

on top of the cliffs, walking is easy as it is mostly flat...nothing at

all like Positano, which is built cascading down the mountainside,

and where one needs to almost be a mountain goat to be

comfortable. I'm serious.

In Sorrento, on the main shopping street, off the Piazza Tasso is

the most amazing cozy and rowdy bar called Chaplin's Pub. It's

air conditioned, which makes it a singular destination at times.

Owners Luigi & Maria & their 2 darling daughters are always

there, a place an English-speaking person needs to go to catch

up with other English-speaking persons. I mean it...every

Brit, Welchman, Scot, Irishman, Canadian or American in

Sorrento can be found at some point at Chaplin's. A

place not to be missed.



like diamonds on velvet, evening in Sorrento...

peaceful, beautiful, charming and spectacular

all at the same time....