Day 11, Sorrento

After we left Pompeii, we were driven round the coast via a very pretty but hair pin bend road to Sorrento, a small place known for holidaying, and, apparently, woodcarving. We were taken first to a shop where we were shown how inlaid furniture was made. (These shops that we were taken too obviously have an "arrangement" with the shipping line - they provide water and free bathrooms, while the shipping line provides potential customers!)

We would have bought an exquisite workboox, inlaid in the best tradition of 18th century craftsmen if it had not been for the price E6,000, plus shipping. And the table Keith likes, with several layers, for playing card games, roulette, backgammon etc - a mere E8.000!! Oh, but they were very beautiful. Needless to say we found some (cheaper) trinkets in the jewellery department!

We then moved on to a restaurant, where we were eserved a vetry good, proper, Italian meal, with pasta as a first course. There was a light sparking wine served, which was excellent, and I wrote the name down. The first time I visited Italy, over 40 years ago, the currency was in lira, and we paid 1000 lira  (about 50 pence - 75c) for a very large bottle of a local wine called Asti. Asti was always a cheap wine, with no good reputation, but more recently, it has become acceptable, and a bottle of the wine we had could be about £20.00!! (I did find a cheaper source - it is very, very nice!!)

We were then let off the hook, as it were, to wander the streets and look at the pretties, and taste Limoncello - a liqueur type lemon flavoured yummy drink, a bottle of which followed us home!

In Spain and Italy, there are wonderful tiled decorations everywhere, even on an empty shop.

 Very narrow streets to keep you cool in the summer

Like this would!

We bought some wonderful muti-colour striped farfalle, and some very rude shaped pasta with those phalluses amoung the shapes, and carried our spoils back to the boat, after another drive along the pretty coast to the not so pretty port of Naples, whence we left for Cagliari.

Tiger farfalle!