Our last couple of days were more relaxed – I didn’t want to overschedule us and I was conscious I’d been packing in all in, non stop since we arrived. I had one excursion booked for this evening, but other than that, no trips organized for the day so time to investigate the shops!
ManpanionTM and I split up – I hit the shops while he wandered off towards the harbor. Sorrento is a very picturesque town – when its not stuffed full of tourists like yours truly. The narrow passageways and alleys are all very old and charming – but its character completely changes by mid-morning when all the various stores have set their wares out on the streets and when there are so many people thronging the streets, its difficult to maneuver around. I do (vaguely) remember the streets and shopping from my last couple of trips way way back – think tons of ceramic shops, linen stores, leather goods and limoncello simply everywhere! No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t really find anything that I wanted – with the exception of a very stylish green art-deco style serving tray, beautifully handmade by this lovely old chap I met in the store. https://www.mgfineinlaid.com/ (see his Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/MGInlaidWoodDecor) Other than that, the shops basically have the same stuff in them and – while ceramics covered in lemons works out here – you know the minute you take them home, they’ll look completely crap! I did find a couple of nice fashion stores so bought a couple of fun summer dresses as everything is getting a little… err… tight. Can’t imagine why after almost a week of non-stop pasta and pizza gorging!
I met ManpanionTM for lunch – we tried to go back to our little place Azz – but they didn’t open til 1pm so instead we headed to La Paruchhiano – the companion restaurant of our hotel. Its one of the most historic places in the city with a gorgeous upstairs area filled with vine trees and covered bamboo canopy roofing. The food wasn’t all that great tbh but it was a lovely location.
After lunch, we chilled out at the hotel as it was again really hot but by the evening, it had cooled off somewhat so that it was actually quite pleasant to go for our last excursion, a sunset food and wine walking tour. We met our guide, Tamara, at 6pm on the Corso Italia and soon about a dozen of us had gathered, ready for some local eats! Tamara had moved to Italy from the US about 10yrs ago and so was now an interesting blend of American attitude with some Italian diffidence thrown in. We couldn’t quite figure her out. She was complaining about people being late while we were waiting for the last two people to show up – I mean, I get it – I hate tardiness too but…. really? Doesn’t dealing with the general public with all their various terriblenesses kinda go with the territory if you are a tour guide??
Anyway, we headed off just after 6pm to our first stop – a intimate little basement wine bar in the old town where we were to taste 3 wines and enjoy some charcuterie. The first wine was a bubbly – a delicious prosecco by Franciacorta which certainly hit the spot! It paired beautifully with the various cheeses and meats so was a great start to the evening. Tamara had given us a little cheat sheet to the wines of Italy, showing all the various regions and quality tiering system. The lowest tier is VdT or vin de table (table wine), rising then through IGT to DOC to DOCG. The difference between the tiers (roughly) relates to how much of the winemaking process is regulated -for the top tier DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garanitta), the grape varieties, yields and aging times are all tightly controlled. DOC is the second tier and there are over 300 DOCs, each with their own local rules. IGT refers solely to where the wine was grown and – according to Tamara – this designation was created partly due to the rising popularity of “Super Tuscan” wines The term “super Tuscan” was coined to refer to Tuscan wines which violated DOC(G) rules due to the use of Bordeaux varieties in their blends such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. As these wines won worldwide acclaim in the early 1980’s, the VdT labelling became confusing and so the IGT labeling was introduced in 1992 to remedy this situation. I love me a good Barolo or Brunello wine – really heavy, chewy and substantial and pairs beautifully with steak or a solid bowl of lamb ragu. Yum. Anyway, we didn’t get to taste any super Tuscans on this tour (probably because they also tend to be super pricey!) but the red and white we tried were also pretty good – unfortunately, I didn’t write down their names – sorry!!
Next up was a local craft beer hall called La Bottega Della Birra where everyone got to enjoy one of the local brews. I don’t recall how many beers they kept there – I’m sure it was in the hundreds! Now I’m not a beer fan – I’ve tried sooooo many times but the taste of hops just makes me shudder, so I passed on the beer and instead was given a good old fashioned English cider to keep me company instead. Result! No food accompaniment to this stop but we were only there for about 15 mins in total, so soon it was time to head off to our next stop.
The next place I was very excited to try as it was the same restaurant that had been recommended by our e-bike tour guide the day previously! He’d raved about the burrata cheese platters here, so we were happy that Inn Bufalito was one of our tour stops! https://www.innbufalito.it/
The restaurant was charming inside, with the walls lined by the street art photography of the artist whose work was being displayed in an exhibition in one of the churches in town (I later went back and bought a few prints). And I was soon in seventh heaven as the first course was – indeed – a big ball of burrata cheese! Served with sweet cherry tomatoes and some crusty bread, I was a very happy bunny! And – after the cheese – things got even better as we were then served a delicious pasta and buffalo ragu dish – SOOO GOOD!! It was actually the same style of dish that I’d ordered at the restaurant for lunch (large flat tube style pasta) but so much better!!!! We had a choice of a glass of red or white wine to go with our meal, so it was actually a proper dinner rather than just little snacks.
After the Inn Bufalito, we were pretty full – but the tour wasn’t over yet! We actually had 3 more stops – one to a chocolate store along the main shopping drag – and which I’d already been in earlier that morning! They’d foisted free chocolate bonbons on me which – out of sheer politeness you understand – I’d accepted – but then I’d managed to eschew my British sense of obligation as I’d left without buying anything!! And now I was back in there, (damn you karma!) desperately hoping they wouldn’t remember me as that Ungrateful Customer from before. Of course, they didn’t – god knows how many of those bonbons they hand out on a daily basis, but probably hundreds so they really didn’t care! After that, we went to a kitchen/wine store where we tasted a couple of digestifs (including – of course – limoncello) before capping off the night with an Espresso martini in the lobby bar of this lounge/apartment complex. As Tamara led us around and schmoozed with all the various shopkeepers and bar owners, you really got the sense of it being a small town with everyone knowing everyone else and their business. It tickled me that at least half of our itinerary I’d already visited or had recommended by other folk.
After our martini, the tour was over so we said goodbye to Tamara and ambled back to our hotel. We didn’t need to go for dinner as we were stuffed from all the delicious feed we’d enjoyed so instead we headed up to the roof bar where we were just in time to catch the sunset. It was glorious (again) and the temperature had dropped enough so that it was very pleasant to sit out, sipping on our prosecco (or Peroni’s) as we watched the sun dip down below the horizon. There was a jazz (I think?) pianist playing so it was a nice chill vibe and one of the waiters brought us some free snacks to go with our drinks (being a resident obviously has its perks!). Then time for an early night – our last full day tomorrow!!
