Thus, after helping us haul our luggage up three flights of stairs to our villa, Fabrizio and his friend, hopped in the van with me to scout for a parking spot somewhere else (something that is not easy to do in Sorrento or its neighboring towns, which are attractive destinations, and every conceivable square foot is consumed by some structure. We were gone for at least 30 minutes, trying to find a spot to park our van for the three nights we would be there.
Meanwhile, Lisa and the kids were back at the Villa with no money, no credit cards (I was carrying Lisa's because she refuses to wear a money pouch like I do), and no passports (Italian law requires that hoteliers take the passport number of all of their guests, and Fabrizio had grabbed our passports shortly before we left the villa to hunt for a parking spot). All they knew was that Dad left the villa "forever ago" with two strong young men, who probably could easily take their old dad. How can it possibly take this long to find a parking space? they said to themselves, as tension mounted. At first, they joked that I had become kidnapped, and then their turned to concern, and then genuine worry--particularly because I wasn't answering my phone. After repeated attempts to call me (my phone was on silent mode and I didn't pick up) they were about ready to call the police. How they would have done that, I'm not sure even they knew, but at least that was their intent. They were both irritated and relieved when I finally walked through the door of our villa.
We spent three nights in the Sant' Agnello in a spacious place that had a few oddities but was also very nice in many ways. It had a big deck where one could sit and see the Bay of Naples, and smell the strong scent of lemon trees and blooming jasmine in the garden below. We didn't spend too much time at our apartment, as we only had two full days in the area: the first of which was spent touring the Amalfi Coast; the second of which was spent on the awesome island of Ischia.
The Amalfi Coast, with ts cliff-side road that is large enough for about 1.75 cars, its postage-stamp, hillside towns, and it's crystal clear, light-blue water was as good as advertised. At the recommendation of many, we left our car parked in Sant Agnello and had hired a driver to take us on a tour. That was recommended for a reasons:
- The road literally is big enough for 1.75 cars, and its tight corners can be tough to navigate, particularly when you and a passing buss are going in opposite directions.
- Parking is near impossible along the way.
Our driver, Alex, picked us up at 9:00 on June 9, Jeffrey's 16th birthday, and dropped us back home at 5:30 pm. We spent the day stopping at little towns along the way, taking pictures at scenic look-outs, and we had lunch in a charming town called Ravello that is perched up in the hills above the coastline road. When we got home, we had our own church service in our villa (there wasn't an LDS ward within an hour of the place), which included an opportunity to take the sacrament, a conference talk viewed over the internet, and a nice ensuing discussion. It was quite pleasant actually, thought we're all looking forward to "real" church this Sunday somewhere it Tuscany.
The Island of Ischia
We spent the next day on Ischia, an island that few Americans visit (they all go to Capri, just off the coast of Sorrento, which is like Catalina Island on steroids). Capri is a beautiful (and packed) island that Rick Steves recommends, but warns that it can be terribly touristy. If you're into high fashion and high prices, and you're hoping to get a look at the rich and famous, Capri is the place to go. However, we weren't much interested in window shopping at stores where we couldn't afford to purchase anything. Capri apparently has some great stuff, such as a chair lift that takes one from the beach to the top of the Island's "mountain" summit. It also has beaches (full of pebbles, not sand), great water, and very pristine country.
I happened upon Ischia while listening to a podcast from a Rick Steves' show, and some Italian guy that he was interviewing mentioned that he preferred it over Capri. Ischia isn't even covered in Rick's books. As I checked it out on various online forums, the common thread was that Ischia--though harder to reach from Sorrento--is much less touristy, contains better beaches (real beaches with real sand), and some very cool thermal baths (Ischia was formed by a volcano, and ongoing volcanic action produces a significant output of natural hot springs all over the island. To me, this seemed unique and interesting, and much more fun than the over-visited version of Rodeo Drive on Capri.
But when I asked a few Italian people over email, as I was booking places to stay, and even when I asked Alex, our driver for the Amalfi coast, which island was best, they all said Capri. That made us waffle all the way up until 10 pm the night before, when we finally went with our gut, and took the "road less traveled by" to Ischia. It was the best last moment decision we made all trip. The island is very lush, quaint (though still fairly large--probably about 1.5 hour to circle it in a car), and the hot springs and beach did not disappoint.
We spent the day at a thermal water park, appropriately named "Poseidon," which boast 22 pools with varying degrees from very cold (59 degrees) to very hot (104 degrees), a natura steam-room in cave, and a surprisingly great (sandy) beach. We had a blast: a little vacation from our vacation. I hope to get back there someday. Pictures below:
Poseidon requires the use of swim caps in their pools.
Daphne doing a cartwheel at the beach.
Look closely and you'll see the make-up of the place: lots of old people, germans, and italians. Interestingly, most of the posted signs at the place were in Italian and German (not English).
Jeffrey and Sam, pool hopping.
This chair, over which flows hot water, also massages the shoulders.
Sam, at the top of the resort, next to the natural steam room. The haze toward the middle of the photo is not a smudge but steam rising.
Notice how lush the island is.
When we got home from Ischia all of us just wanted a home cooked meal. Funny how eating out gets really old fast. We ran to the local market, picked up some pasta, pesto, fresh veggies and fruit, and Lisa made us the best meal of the trip at our villa (plus, we didn't have to spend $100 feeding the family). Nothing like home cooking. Good night.
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