Discovering Sorrento and its traditions
Today we drunk lots of lemon flavoured things, made lemon ice cream and drunk more lemon flavoured stuff. It was a lemon kinda day.
For the first full day in a city we generally try to arrange a walking tour with a local through FreeTour or something like GetYourGuide, so we can get our bearings and work out what we would like to see more of. No need for any of that on this trip, it’s all sorted. On paper the itinerary has got all bases covered, with visits to all the must-see attractions. But it looks like there will still be time to go off the beaten track and soak in the authentic vibe of the area, albeit a very touristy area. There’s a fine balance between organised tours and experiencing local life. It’s easy to get it wrong. But looking at the itinerary, there’s a lot to see and do in this neck of the woods, I’m not seeing much that I would want to ditch. Time will tell.
Day 2: After breakfast, meet your local guide for a guided walking tour of Sorrento, exploring its charming alleyways, scenic terraces, historic churches, and artisan workshops. Highlights include Piazza Tasso, the historical centre, the Cloister of San Francesco, and of course the breathtaking views from the public gardens. Later, transfer to a family-run farmhouse nestled in the hills for a culinary experience: watch a mozzarella-making demonstration, enjoy a light lunch featuring fresh farm products, homemade bread, and local olive oil. In the afternoon, visit a traditional gelateria to discover the secrets of Italian gelato, followed by a stop at a limoncello workshop where you’ll learn about and taste this iconic lemon liqueur made from Sorrento lemons. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
OK, here is a quick peak behind the ‘fourth wall’. I’m a bit pissed starting to write this. We have been out drinking alcoholic drinks made from lemons all day, followed by cocktails around the pool. In twenty minutes we are back out on the lash, so here goes…
Victoria, our German tour guide for the week is knowledgeable, friendly and has a wicked dry sense of humour. There are twenty of us on this trip, and we have everything sorted for us. Minibuses to run us around, and when we get to our destinations, we have private tours and workshops arranged just for us. I think half the group booked together, but there are a few couples that don’t know the others. Half of them appear to be hairdressers from Essex and there’s one of two Lorraine Chase style accents, but everyone seems friendly.
Sorrento is an old sea port. Older than Rome or Pompeii. The city was established over 800 years before Jesus was a twinkle in God’s eye. Very much a seafaring kinda place, there is some disagreement among historians as to whether it was established by the Greeks or some mountain tribe who’s name escapes me.
Catholicism is big in this neck of the woods and Victoria takes us on a little stroll around the old town taking in a few of the most famous churches. It’s Sunday, so when we visit St Antonino church, the place is full of the local branch of the god fan club out in force for Sunday mass. Although I’m not a member of that club I take my hat off to them for knocking up some amazing buildings all over the world. It feels a little inappropriate walking through Sunday mass in full swing to check out the crypt, but we are in and out quite quickly.
Right. I’m off to the pub.
Okay, I’m back. I’m now sat in a bar half way up a hill on the island of Capri, having a swift beer whilst we wait for the others. Half the group, the ones with two functional eyes, have gone up a hill to look at some gardens. Another half of the gang, the tough ones, have gone down to the harbour. As the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Megan an I are just sat in a pub whilst I try to catch up with two days worth of blogging.
We wander around the narrow streets of this ancient town soaking up the vibes and trying to jam some of what Victoria is saying into my head. There was talk of nuns and orphans on a wheel, but it didn’t sink in to be honest. I was too busy taking photographs of lemons which grow everywhere here.
Many moons ago there was a thriving silk business in the town with loads of silk farms. Then the area was devistated by an outbreak of galloping silk worm rot, devastating the industry. Clearly a bit of diversification was needed.
The glorious sun and the rich volcanic soil creates the perfect conditions for growing citrus fruit, so they started growing oranges – a rich source of vitamin C, much needed by the scurvy ridden seafaring community. The problem is, they are only harvested once a year, in the autumn. Then a monk called Jiff The Elder (I might have made that up) came up with the idea of growing lemons. They are constantly producing fruit. You can have blossoms, ripening fruit, ripened fruit and over ripe fruits all on the same plant at the same time. Unfortunately, the trees are not very hardy and need a great deal of care. Orange trees, on the other hand, are tough little bastards. So some bright spark came up with the idea of grafting orange and lemon trees together, resulting in tough trees that produce lemons all year round. And oranges in the autumn.
After our wander around town we head up into the hills to visit a farm where lemons and oranges are grown. And olives, walnuts, apricots and loads of other stuff (but no cider apples I noticed). They also have cows for making cheese. Apparently it is too hilly for buffalo, so their buffalo mozzarella is actually cow mozzarella.
We are given a cheese making workshop and learn about the various produce on the farm. They produce virgin olive oil. It’s only a small farm so they have a fella that shakes the olives out of the trees on his own. It takes two or three days to shake down enough to make it worth firing up to olive press. For the oil to be classed as extra virgin, it needs to be pressed the same day it comes out of the tree, so only big producers with large plantations and machines to shake the trees have the resources to make extra virgin olive oil.
We sit down for what was described as a ‘rustic’ meal, but is amazing. They go out of their way to cater for us veggies, we have an amazing starter. It was only later we discovered it was sliced pumpkin. Turns out it is possible to make things other than Halloween lanterns.
After several delicious courses and a huge bottle of local red wine, we wash it down with limoncello & limoncello cream.
We then slide onto the bus and drive back down into town. We head into the back of snow ice-cream shop and are given a demonstration of how to make gelato. Another fun fact, gelato with milk, is ice-cream (obviously) but sorbet (no milk) is also classed as gelato.
Tracy (without an e) rolls up her sleeves and helps mix the magic juice.
Now I’m sat by the hotel pool sipping long island ice teas.
Our final destination is an urban orchard where we are surrounded by succulent citrus fruits hanging over our heads. After a tour of the orchard we get stuck into a tasting session involving various types of limoncello. We taste an orange version, herbal versions, spicy versions and even a licorice version. All soaked up by bread and various olive oils.
Once back at the hotel we hit the poolside bar and drink cocktails. We then have dinner and head out to explore local pubs. No more fun facts were learned.