Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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....


 





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17 comments:

  1. We're going to Italy in May. This looks fantastic. Thank you for sharing your photos. Cherry Kay

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  2. ok... whens the next trip?
    Smiles~
    Cricket

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  3. This is on my bucket list! So gorgeous!!!!
    Thanks for the virtual vacation.
    Yvonne

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  4. Oh Marsh! Thankyou SO much for posting these beautiful pictures...I have enjoyed a walk through Sorrento and imagined you and your family there and all the happy times you've had together. As you know not being in tip-top condition these days I don't get to go many places except 'by armchair'and this mornings post has been an absolute delight!!

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  5. Well heck,
    I would love to go one more time. Loved Sorrento and Capri. My cousins boy friend has a house other side of coastline in Positano, She said the steps almost killed her. So the best I can do is Park Lane hotel NYC and a broadway play. Keep the bucks in the states. We should all think about saving the USA.

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  6. oh my!!! i am speachless... gorgeous shades of blue!!! kisses your way marsha!!!

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  7. Marsha I have spent time in Italy, not on the Amalfi Coast though....gorgeous images. I love the sailing yacht on the sea!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  8. OMG - I'm in heaven!! You have no idea - I have always wanted to go there. I have been many places in Italy and my sister lived on the coast in Liguria so have been there several times and it is beautiful. But the Amalfi coast has long been a dream of mine. Your photos are absolutely stunning - clearly your son came honestly by his photographic talents!!

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  9. Dear Marsha, what gorgeous pictures! I adore the Amalfi Coast. I am desperate to go on holiday, even more so now after seeing these. We were trying to go before The Actor started work but couldn't fit it in. We will go when he finishes in June now xx

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  10. Marsha dear, your photos are breath-taking and some literally took my breath away! What a gorgeous place and the view, oh my heart has skipped a couple beats! I don't know what it is about the sea either but it calls and I listen. I think that I could just get lost there, a paradise like no other. Thank you so much fofr sharing your photos with us and I am putting this on my bucket list!!! SO worth the agony of flying. :)

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  11. What gorgeous photographs!! Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my blog lately!! Kisses from Paris Isabelle xxx

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  12. Oh Marsha, these photos are stunning, so beautiful!!! You have really made me want to visit this area :)

    I have to comment on the person above who said "keep the bucks in the US".....wouldn't the world be a dull place if we all took that view and never travelled, what a terrible shame that would be.....

    Happy Friday my friend xx

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  13. Hi Marsha
    This post is: "perfeito...maravilhoso..belissimo...amei!!!"
    Beijinhos
    Mirella

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  14. Thanks to your inspiration, we'll be spending several nights at Bellevue Syrene during the first week in May. I can hardly wait. Cherry Kay

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  15. My Sweet Mister agrees...we can hardly wait to return to the Bellevue Syrene and Sorrento. Every moment was absolutely magical! Thank you, yet again for the reference. Cherry Kay

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