Today was a ‘day off’. It started out incredibly chilled and slowly, but very surely, descended into an alcoholic mess.
Day 4: Sorrento at your leisure: After breakfast in hotel, enjoy a free day at your own pace.
Relax by the pool or beach, shop for ceramics, leather goods, and limoncello, or sip espresso at a local
café. Optional excursions available: a boat trip along the coast, a cooking class, or a visit to the nearby
town of Massa Lubrense. Dinner and overnight at the hotel
There’s loads to see and do in this neck of the woods, but sometimes it’s useful to stop, smell the coffee and soak in a destination. It would be a shame to spend a week in Sorrento and be constantly visiting other places. Today we had a day to relax and chill – although writing this twenty-four hours later, it turned out to be quite exhausting.
As the old saying goes, ‘what goes on tour, stays on tour’, so for today’s blog, names have been changed to protect the guilty. As we didn’t do any guided tours or anything, today’s episode is going to be light on ‘fun facts’, although it will have tips on where to drink.
As part of my research, as well as watching things like Up Pompeii and Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, I put a call out on Facebook for live music suggestions and contacted a local musician that I found on Bandcamp who I liked. His response was the most comprehensive and useful.
I’m afraid you’ll be a bit disappointed in the music options, here. Sorrento is a *very* touristic place, which means that when it comes to live music you’ll pretty much only get piano-bar options at a few places. You may occasionally find traditional Neapolitan music (mandolin, tarantella, etc.) but you’d have to hunt for it as they’re typically dedicated shows, and not something you’ll find wandering around (even I don’t know their typical schedule). There are usually more events during the summer, especially classical music in beautiful open places, but it’s too early in the season for that. I have a few friends who play from time to time, but in the same spirit: more “piano-bar” oriented, where they’ll be playing acoustic guitar and sing popular tunes on it. Should I know of dates they’ll play somewhere in the next week I’ll let you know. I’m a “couch” musician myself, so I never perform live, sorry .
You won’t find decent record/CD shops either, as the few that existed pretty much vanished: the only option may be “The Jack” in Viale Nizza, which is owned by a friend, but he pivoted heavily to selling videogames stuff too, so the music section will not be as rich as it once was.
I’m also afraid you won’t find any specific vegetatian restaurants here: they may be easier to find in Napoli, which is a big town, but here there’s nothing of the sorts. But that shouldn’t be much of an issue, because our cuisine is very varied, and pretty much all restaurants will have vegetarian options: many of our dishes could be considered vegetarian anyway, as long as you’re find with cheese for instance.
Not sure how long you’ll stay around here, but I’d be glad to meet for a drink or something one of these days, if not just to say hello. Should you need any tip on things to see, don’t hesitate to ask, as Sorrento is an excellent hub for visiting pretty much the whole surrounding area.Lorenzo Miniero.
With this in mind, we resigned ourselves to the fact we weren’t going to find any interesting gigs.
We skipped breakfast and were up at the crack of noon. Our first stop was Piazzetta Marinella: a restaurant perched on the edge of a cliff with spectacular views up and down the coast. We partake in a leisurely, delicious (and bloody expensive) lunch washed down with light alcoholic beverages. This prompts travel tip of the day number one. Bring money. This is a very expensive town. We are talking Scandinavian beer prices. Don’t be surprised to see salads on a menu rocking in at twenty quid. If they offer you water with your meal, be aware that it will be bottled water and you’re probably going to be paying for it. The silver lining is that this is Italy. Apart from our hotel, everything we have eaten has been top draw. As Lorenzo has pointed out though, veggie options are thin on the ground.
After an hour or so we wander towards the old town and stop off at the Grand Hotel Exccelsior Victoria. Built in 1834 it is one of the town’s most exclusive and luxurious hotels. It is where royalty, movie stars and opera singers lay their heads when in the hood. They do allow non-guests and riff-raff in to use the veranda bar though. Again, perched on the cliff overlooking the harbour, it presents a very pleasant backdrop for ale supping. The ale rocks in at £8 for a half-pint bottle though.
The weather is warm and dry, but not unbearably hot. We spend a chilled hour or so, delicately sipping our drinks, taking care not to spill any.
After two drinks common sense prevails and we mooch deeper into the old town. Just like Spain, many businesses have a siesta in the afternoon – taking a long break before opening up again as it gets cooler. We find a restaurant that I think might have actually been closed, although there is some young lad hanging around just waiting for Brits who only want booze. The pub is situated in one of the towns many narrow alleyways and we watch the locals going about their business.
I’m sat opposite Sgt Pepper Anderson and Frank Poncherello (I told you I was changing names to protect the guilty). I look into Pepper’s eyes and it’s like looking into an alcoholic one-armed bandit. I can see the first reel of the jackpot click into place.
Just as our restaurant starts coming back to life and getting ready to serve food to civilised people, we head off in search of adventure. Not far down the alley we spot a bar with a sign that suggests live music, we head in and order beers.
Day Ciro Taverna is a long narrow bar with a mic stand and a collection of musical instruments in the middle of the pub. There’s no stage, whoever is going to play will have to play in amongst the drinkers.
After an hour or so we are on the verge of leaving, but we notice someone starting to get ready to play. He has a guitar, banjo, accordion, mouth organ, kazoo and saxophone. And a bell. I note that he has a loop pedal so he can lay down a rhythm then pick up another instrument to add another level. This could be interesting.
It doesn’t take long to establish that Salvetore Stellaro is an accomplished musician who can confidently turn his hand to many very different instruments and has a warm manner that it is impossible to dislike. In a conversation later I learn that he writes and performs original material in a traditional style, but for tonight he rolls out a selection of cover versions with his own stamp on them, making the show far more than just regurgitating old standards. There’s a wide variety of tunes from artists as diverse as The Doors, Neil Diamond, The Eagles, Johnny Cash, Oasis, Dean Martin and Ben E King.
Initially people wander in off the streets, have a drink and wander off after a few songs. We think he deserves more respect than this and make a point of showing our appreciation. Any thoughts we had of leaving melt away.
Then he launches into the anti-fascist folk song, Bella Ciao. I love this song and have heard hundreds of versions. Right there, then, in that moment, I cannot think of a better rendition. He lays down the rhythm on guitar, loops it, picks up his acordion and walks around the room getting everyone to join in.
Around this time the mood changes. More people are coming in and they are staying in. Salvetore starts taking requests and even invites people up to sing. Ponch gets up to sing, although I have no idea what he is singing. I look at Pepper. The second reel of her drunken jackpot has dropped.
Some Americans drop in and buy shots of Grappa for the entire pub, a large gang of people all dressed head to toe in white drop in and are soon dancing on the tables. Salvetore takes it all in his stride and has the pub in the palm of his hand. He is the Pied Piper, taking everyone with him on his musical journey.
I look over at Pepper. Before the third reel of her drunken jackpot dropped, someone must have kicked it. I look at her eyes and they just say ‘TILT’. In fairness, we are all three sheets to the wind and, despite the hotel being a straight ten minute walk down one road, none of us are in any state to walk home. We bid farewell to Salvetore, fumble about looking for lost phones and somehow manage to book an Uber.
We had been having an almost perfect chilled day, then when we had peaked and knew we should probably stop drinking, carried on regardless. The civilised day came to a messy end, but all four of us got home in one peice – well, three and a half of us did. But hey, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our ‘day off’ to relax had in the end been exhausting and we were knackered getting up for our next adventure. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog, Popeye goes to Pompeii.