Blog by Tony (Thursday 15 August, 2019)
After a day filled with mixed feelings yesterday…we were unsure what to do today. Kellie had always wanted to sit at a cafe or restaurant with views of the Amalfi coast whilst having a cappuccino…and this had been Kellie’s dream to do since planning our trip 12+ months ago….but unfortunately we were left uninspired from yesterday and woke up with nothing locked in…and had left it too late to book any kind of excursion to one of the popular towns (Positano, Ravello etc.) that boasts such views Kellie was hoping for.
Instead Kellie had to settle for her cappuccino + bread + half a pizza at a popular restaurant in the heart of Sorrento’s main square. Although disappointing that she didn’t get to experience her cappuccino the way she’d dreamt…she did thoroughly enjoy having a relaxing cappuccino and meal whilst watching the world go by.
With our bellies content we decided to go for the 5 minute walk up the road to find where our bus stop was for tomorrow mornings 6:00am departure for Rome to see where we need to meet with our bus …and then time just how long it would take from there back to our apartment…to allow enough time in the morning so we don’t miss our bus.
We were confident that 30mins would be plenty of time for us to make it comfortably…even with dragging our luggage through the cobble stone streets. On the way back we enjoyed strolling through the narrow streets with the touristy vibe…and I decided to have some mango, coconut and strawberry sorbet…but Kellie told the lady who served me that she didn’t want any. It was bloody yummo and after Kellie had a taste she was fast back in the shop telling the lady that she had changed her mind.
I scoffed down my sorbet before it melt…and as I’m such a nice fella I even helped Kellie with hers so it didn’t melt all over her. A little down the road and we came across a nice little souvenir shop where we bought some souvenirs to bring back home.
We arrived back at our apartment and rested up for a bit and to cool down. After an hour or so Kellie wanted to make herself some toasted sangas for dinner…so we went back out to try and find some sliced bread. It’s one of the things that has stood out for us in Italy…and that especially in Sorrento…that there are no places where you can buy sliced bread. Even unsliced rectangle loafs…nothing. So Kellie had to settle for some oblong shaped buns and we made our way back to the apartment.
I made myself a tuna salad…and Kellie made her toasties that she was keen on…but after going to all the trouble in finding a shop that sold the bread, buying it, bringing it back home and making her dinner she scrunched her nose up and didn’t want it. So…me being the nice fella that I am…again…I helped her out and ate it. Kellie ended up having jam on her funny shaped toast 🙂
We spent the rest of the night packing and called it a night. Not long after laying down to get some sleep…there was a big BANG! Kellie grabbed my arm and said ‘did you hear that’? Still half a sleep I said ‘yeah it sounded like fireworks’. She said that she thought that it sounded like a bomb and had me get up to check.
The noise continued and was getting louder…and sure enough…I looked out the window and there straight out our window I could see fireworks which looked as if they were coming from the port area.
We had thought that Sorrento was saying goodbye to us and putting on a show with all the fireworks…but after Googling we found out that the real reason was because of ‘Ferragosto:
‘Ferragosto is a public holiday celebrated on 15 August in all of Italy. It originates from Feriae Augusti, the rest of emperor Augustus, who made the 1st of August a day of rest after the weeks of hard work of the agricultural sector.’
The fireworks must have lasted for a good 15 minutes or more…and once finished and after taking many pictures we went back to bed for some much needed sleep before having to wake up at 4:00am in the morning.