Sorrento Diary:

This trip that I took last summer was one that ticked many to do's off my bucket list. I was here for 10 days which allowed for us to see all the sights and also take days to drink wine by the pool.

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SORRENTO:

During this visit we stayed in Sorrento in the Hilton Hotel half way up the gorgeous mountains, beautiful restaurants and taking a stroll down by the docks at sunset is a must. From our hotel and much of Sorrento you can clearly see Mount Vesuvius, the volcano responsible for Pompii and Herculanium. This as you can imagine makes for some perfect photos. We were also situated only a short ten minute walk from all the restaurants and the

main town of Sorrento. Taking a day trip to Naples is also possible from Sorrento if you are wanting to explore more of Italy on your visit.

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POMPEII:

Photo taken whilst exploring Pompeii

Something that I had todo when I went to Sorrento was visit Pompeii, as someone who loves and has an interest in history this had a great appeal to me. We managed to get to Pompeii with great ease by getting the train which runs frequently and the station was only a short fifteen minute walk from our Hotel.

Train to Pompeii available from Sorrento station

Although, I would advise that if you are going by train that you get bring some water with you as the train can become very hot, it is also a good idea to have some loose change on you as performers often come on during your journey.

I actually don't believe that anything could have prepared me for the sheer size of Pompeii as it literally is a whole city. To give you an example of how big it actually is, we were there for the whole day and still never saw all that it had to offer. Although, saying this, there are plenty of maps available so we chose what we would like to see and based out route around that. My favourite sights here were the theatre where they held their Olympic Games (we couldn't actually get inside as it was shut for they day when we visited), the brothel (trust me you have to see this) and just walking through their houses and seeing how well in tact a lot of their paintings etc actually were.

The brothel (as taboo as it is) is actually pretty cool although you would have thought the bed would have looked more comfy. Something that also surprised me about this was they they had their own roman porn on the walls. Though, I suppose at the end of the day they're

only human. This is definitely something that is quick to do as there is only one building but worth the visit.

Another aspect that I loved was going to see the theatre where they would hold they Olympic Games and other sports. This was unfortunately shut when we went so we couldn't go inside but the outside still makes for great photos.

Pompeii Poser

I would say you will require at least a day here (we did) although many people go for multiple days in order to see everything. Saying that I believe that we did manage to visit most of Pompeii and saw everything on our agenda. I would wear loose clothing as often there is no shelter from the sun requiring you to have plenty sun screen on demand. I would also advise good footwear (preferably trainers) as Pompeii if nothing else is dusty. I wore my classic old school converse and were completely wrecked and grey by the end of it.

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POSITANO:

Positano is another day trip in which we enjoyed, the small village built on the side of the mountain is one of the most picturesque locations I have seen. This made for a relaxing day where we took photos, spent time by the beach, had lunch by the sea and explored through the shops.

Shot looking up from the bottom of Positano

Wandering through the scenic streets of Positano

We managed to get to Positano by bus which was ideal as the stop was only about a fifteen minute walk from the hotel. However, as we were waiting in line for the bus there was a downpour of rain completely soaking us all and rained the whole bus ride there. Thankfully, it had went off by the time we got off allowing us to dry quickly as figured out our surroundings.

We spent much of our time filtering down the streets, visiting shops, purchasing gelato and picking up souvenirs for back home.

We also walked to the beach and sunbathed for an hour or so topping up our tans. Once again if you visit in July such as we did the heat is intense and you will need to make pit stops as Positano requires walking, keep your water bottle

close.

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CAPRI:

I think its fair to say that Capri completely took my breath away. We reached the island through getting the ferry at the popular port in Sorrento. This was a short journey and the sea breeze made a nice change from the constant heat.

When we first boarded off at Capri we were met by the docks it was then advised that to get to the main town we would have to get the tram which took us further up the mountain (you can see a picture of this below). Once we were off I didn't quite know what to expect but it wasn't this. I have always said that Italy is amongst the craziest driving in the world but with Capri lies the exception. There is absolutely no traffic, we were also notified that it I not uncommon to see celebrities here as many of them own holiday homes and much of the restaurants have photos with the likes of Beyonce greeting the staff.

Capri is very up market and if you're looking to shop Armani then you may be able to splash some cash here (I could not.)

After we had agreed we could not afford the shops here we ventured to which could perhaps be considered the more rural parts of Capri as there is a Roman Emperor's "holiday home" at the peak of a small hill. This makes for a good explore however, you will need to be committed to walking and this was challenging under the circumstances of the heat for me, but I do have to admit it was worth the hike and I would recommend to anyone whom is able to do so.

View from Capri

The photo to the left here doesn't even have a filter over it and believe you and me that is unlike me. But this is something that Capri succeeds in with such ease, the island is full of beautiful drops like this for miles and you can see many of the ferry's and other boats sailing from here. I took this photo from the ruins situated at the peak which we walked to although I am sure there are many other parts of Capri equally as stunning. The sheer blueness of the water was shocking to an extent and if you're also from Scotland then its absolutely nothing like what we have over here.

Capri is an absolute must and something that I am so glad we done. This ties a close second with my favourite trip on the holiday with Pompeii only beating it due to the historical factor but I would love to go here again and perhaps participate in the scuba diving they run in the caves of the drops which is apparently very beautiful as I am sure it is.

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FOOD & DRINK:

Everybody knows that the food and drink in Italy are one of the main attractions to the country and Sorrento is no different. There are enough restaurants and eatery's for you to go somewhere different each night of your holiday or return countless times to your favourite one which nobody would blame you for. For two weeks straight I made a deal with myself that I was only going to order pizza or pasta (not advisable for the diet but advisable for the tastebuds) and honestly the challenge was accepted and completed with no prompting. It really is true what they say that Italy does food right. This leads me to drinks and whilst much of my holiday was spent plugging water although there was no tomorrow from dehydration, wine is a nice addition to any meal. Red is typical for Italy although I tended to stick to Rose because A I like it and B I'm a light weight and didn't want to be twatted off red wine on the family holiday. Last but definitely not least comes dessert and if you have room for it you need to order the gelato, I in particular enjoyed the raspberry ones however Nutella or chocolate are other staple choices, as their gelato is nothing like over here (the UK could never.)