Two days ago I was having a typical Italian breakfast: brioche and cappuccino. And when I’m sitting in my office 1400 km further north it is really hard to believe. Especially when this morning temperature dropped below zero. But here I am. I got back after 2 weeks of a combined car, train, scooter and bike voyage. What can I say? Italy was awesome. As always. (Just like the last one). Drive The drive is long. It takes about 12 hours to drive through Germany, Austria and Italy, to cross from Poznań to Ferrara. And if the traffic is heavy or the road works are carried out then it can be 14 hours. So it is rather challenging in terms of driving. How to survive a long drive? Well, I found a good way to stay focused on the road: I listen to the audiobooks. This time I was listening to a book by Bulgakov The Master and Margarita. This is not my favorite book but you know what? I am still thinking about it. About the cat, Russia, Moscow that I have never visited and the main plot. I can tell you this: this book gets into you and it is very hard to stop analyzing it, remembering the crucial events, trying to imagine the main characters. Train Thanks to the book I drove safely to Ferrara where I joined some of my Italian friends and we went further south by train. With 2 changes – one in Bologna and one in Napoli – we arrived to Sorrento. This was a Frecciarossa train which meant it was a really short journey. The train goes with a galactic speed of almost 300 km/h and it crosses numerous tunnels. As a side effect of this fast journey and many tunnels you get your ears clogged. This is very similar to a feeling of being aboard of a plane that takes off. While on a plane it takes few minutes at most in the italian Frecciarossa it takes hours. So think twice before you decide to use this mean of transportation. My personal preference? Scooter, what else? Scooter This was one of my big dreams: to drive a scooter in Italy. So when I received a scooter as a gift for my birthday I was unbelievably happy. I was proudly driving it in Italy for couple of years and loved every minute of it. So when I went to Sorrento I knew I would love to do it again. Plus, there was my birthday. And the route from Sorrento to Positano is one of the most scenic routes in the world (Costiera Amalfitana was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The weather was fabulous that day so I had an absolutely wonderful time! I had my GoPro camera with me and shot more than a hundred short clips. I will share them with you when a short movie was created (later, I mean…). Bike The final stage of this journey was done by bike. In one of the hotels I stayed in Ferrara the bikes were available to the guests so I took a long ride through my favorite Italian town enjoying the sun and the spring air. It totally convinced me that Ferrara is a bicycle town, very friendly to bikers. I participated in an extraordinary feast of the Hebrew literature (La Festa del Libro Ebraico in Italia) and joined a guided tour around the town, focused on Jewish traces, that are numerous and well preserved. So here is what I’ve been doing for last two weeks. I hope to share it with you in few episodes in next few weeks. Keep in touch! …and start from the first post about Sorrento. Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

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When I’m writing this post it is snowing here and outside my window everything is white and peaceful. And it’s really hard to believe that there are places like Sorrento: full of sun, warm, noise and energy. No doubt Sorrento is one of the top holiday destinations in Italy. It gives you everything what traditional holiday is about: the sun, the sea and the exceptional traditional food. Yes, you can also pay a lot of money for fake products but if you make a little effort you can spend wonderful holiday of a lifetime. In 1997, the Amalfi Coast was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape. Sorrento – a small town in Campania with breathtaking views on Vesuvio and Napoli – is accessible by local train called Circumvesuviana so think twice before you go there by car. You might be less comfortable and less flexible BUT taking into account narrow streets, limited parking place and crazy traffic it might be a good idea to use a public transportation. Make sure that your hotel PROVIDES a parking place for the guests, otherwise you get totally fed up with searching-for-a-parking-place routine. And you wish to escape from your everyday routine, right? It might be quite enjoyable to rent a scooter instead of using car. Think about it and ask in a hotel for the nearest rental office. Regarding the best season to visit Sorrento I would strongly recommend late April, May and beginning of June in the summer and late September in the autumn. If you are not a fan of the sea and sun baths you can come to Sorrento in October and it is still mild and warm. Forget about the beach with white sand! You will find wild cliffs and rocks instead. If you consider paying additional fee for the sea view I would say: YES! Off season you might even have it without additional fee but in any case the view on Golfo di Napoli in early morning and late evening is priceless. I went to Sorrento in early May and it was around +25 degrees and even though it might seam to be cool the sun in southern Italy burns. It was warm and sunny enough to stay at the beach or the swimming pool. I stayed in a charming hotel named Mediterraneo Sorrento which I can recommend. It is located in marvelous place with stunning views. Just outside the hotel there is a terrace from where you can observe the bay. The hotel has its beach down at the sea level and you need to take elevator (sic!) or stairs. I found it most unusual but got fascinated with the views of wild cliffs and ample nature around. The hotel has also its own swimming pool in a backyard (with a bar;-). It’s absolutely lovely to spend evenings in the garden with big lemon and orange trees above your head. Dinner eaten at the roof level with spectacular views of the sun at dusk was always a perfect conclusion of each day. Sorrento and other small towns at the Costiera Amalfitana despite being a popular touristic destination keep the atmosphere of small villages. Even though the infrastructure is relatively well developed you can still sense this climate. I got friendly with a cleaning lady in a hotel and she told me amazing stories about the local affairs: about the weddings in a nearby church, flowers brought for this occasion just before the ceremony (because of the heat the flowers are kept in a cool place to the very last moment), towns around, local feasts and she even told me a story of her family. She advised me where to buy the best limoncella and other local stuff. For me it was great to learn the stories told with a particular southern accent. This lady was just like from an old movie, with her gesture, voice and laugh. It was a short moment of getting insight into her reality, like if she opened a box with precious jewelry inside. Her life totally depends on the tourists who arrive to Sorrento and she told me that although the job is not the easiest one she is quite content that she didn’t have to leave her homeland for the job. This was stunning that she meets people from all over the world without even moving 10km from home! It was truly memorable time, filled with simplicity. Let me say it in Italian: INDIMENTICABILE! Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

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