Tuesday Travels: Sorrento and Positano, part one (Sorrento)

Photo: Taken from an overpass while on the bus, the view is of buildings on either side of steep cliffs, with a road between them which leads out to the beautiful light blue waters of the sea

I've learned something since returning from my vacation to Italy--I need to be more punctual in recording future travelogues, because the details of the places fade over time. Fortunately for today's post, my visit to the towns of Sorrento and Positano was less about remembering informational details, and more about soaking up the natural beauty of these coastline places. As such, this post and next week's will be photo-heavy.

Sorrento was a brief stop on our tour, but we had enough time to walk around town a bit (and buy some conditioner, as oh-so-organized me packed two bottles of shampoo instead of one shampoo and one conditioner--and yes, it took me this long into our trip to notice!) and make our way down to the water. Sorrento sits on the Gulf of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The water was stunningly beautiful, and as we caught a glimpse of it from the bus, we knew we wanted to make the hike down to the sea.

Once we departed the bus, we started meandering through the town to find the way down to the sea. We were there in the later part of January, and were surprised to see Christmas decorations still up in the town plaza. We were even more surprised to notice that the decorations were Disney characters. I guess it truly is a small world after all! 

Photo: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, (and a barely-visible Donald Duck--to the far right--and Goofy--behind Mickey) stand in a grassy area among palm trees in Sorrento, Italy

We continued wandering until we found an overlook of the Gulf of Naples. We still needed to find the way down.

Photo: A panoramic view looking down on the Gulf of Naples, and the winding road that leads to the water. The buildings of Sorrento line the steep coast line.

We finally found a steep path of stone stairs that led us to the water's edge.

Photo: Old stone steps, with mossy stone walls on either side, lead from the main town of Sorrento down to the blue water of the sea

The hike down (and even back up!) was worth the views. 

Photo: Recreational boats are docked in the water. Sheer cliffs rise from the water's edge, and mountains loom in the distance. Some bare-trunked trees with umbrella-like canopies (stone pines?) grow along the top of the cliffs. Low-lying clouds float in a blue sky.

Photo: (My favorite view!) John smiles toward the camera, as he stands by the sea.

As much as I enjoyed the many museums and historical sites we encountered in Italy, I loved the stops in smaller places, too, where the focus is on nature itself. Next week, I'll share some photos of Positano. (The fact that we were there during the off-season is not lost on me. I imagine that the experience might have been very different if we had been there with crowds of people.)

What kinds of vacations do you enjoy? Are you more comfortable in busy cities, or do you prefer quiet spots in nature?