We arrived in Sorrento and decided to take on its road system head on. The Blonde had the confidence and decisiveness that you want in a navigator, bizarre considering we had no map or clue where we were going. Still . . . we weren’t going to let such trivialities stand in our way.
It was as we carefully backed our way out of a street barely as wide as our car that we decided to review our navigational policy of ‘Ooh let’s try down here and see where it takes us’. If only we had one of those motorised wheelbarrows that the locals were tootling around in.
Sorrento occupies a dramatic position on the southern side of the Bay of Naples. It is an incredibly popular resort, particularly with the British, and is crammed with hotel and apartment accommodation catering mostly to the package tour crowd. For the most part, the bars and restaurants of downtown Sorrento are geared towards this clientele. Corso Italia, the main road through town, is home to an English Inn and a Chaplins amongst its motley collection of themed pubs. Many of the restaurants offer a formulaic collection of dishes that seem to appeal to many judging by the crowds.
It would be very easy to dismiss Sorrento because of its leanings towards popular tourism but it has a lot going for it if you can see past the souvenir paraphernalia. The town’s main square, piazza Tasso, straddles a dramatic gorge and the streets on the seaside of Corso Italia are a pleasant jumble of tight bustling lanes. ‘Real life’ is still proceeding here at a leisurely Mediterranean pace amidst the beach towels, lemon-oriented souvenirs and purveyors of limoncello (the local liqueur that can be found in a mind-boggling array of novelty bottles).
Sorrento is also a marvellous place from which to explore the region. The more exclusive resorts of Positano and Amalfi lie on the other side of the peninsula along a stunning (and frankly petrifying) coast road. The famous islands of Capri and Ischia lie a short hydrofoil ride out into the Mare Tirreno and sprawling, intense Naples lies across the bay. And then there’s Pompeii and Herculaneum some 15 or so miles away with Vesuvius lurking ominously behind them as you gaze inland.
Sorrento will not appeal to everyone because of its populist leanings but there isn’t the brashness that you would find on the Costas in Spain (or the all day English breakfasts). There are good meals to be had – we relied on the Rough Guide and really enjoyed ‘Sant’Angelo’ on the Via Santa Maria della Grazie and Il Giardiniello (Via Accademia 7) – and watching the world go by on the piazza Tasso is suitably relaxing. Sometimes it's nice not to have to work at being on holiday if you know what I mean.