How I ended up in a villa in Sorrento
OK, here's a story.
Once upon a time, I was sitting with some friends in this room in the Shoreham Hotel on West 55th Street in Mid-town Manhattan. We'd just spent a long weekend in New York and were biding that awful time when you're waiting for a cab to arrive to take you back to La Guardia. There's not enough time to do anything else, so you sit and stare at your traveling companions and wait.
Now a day earlier, this same group of friends were sitting in the row of pedicure stations at Nails Today, the salon across the street from the Shoreham. Four of us, all in a row. And yes, men do things like get a mani pedi before a three hour lunch at Barney's. Ask around. Really.
Anyhow, we were talking about taking a trip and I'd been lobbying for an Italian adventure for quite some time. I had a client who'd spent a couple of weeks in a villa in Positano and he raved about it. I was hoping for a similar experience, and I was lobbying hard for a villa rental.
So while we were sitting around the hotel room, one of my friends had his laptop out so we started Googling "Amalfi Coast" and "Vacation Rental." We came upon a British site called Summer in Italy and it was brimming with great places for rent all up and down the Italian Peninsula. We made notes to check that site some more after we returned home to Florida later that day.
Summer in Italy has some amazing properties in their listings. And as we researched this potential trip in the weeks that followed, it started to make sense to stay in Sorrento rather than Positano this time around. Now Positano is my idea of paradise, don't get me wrong, but it's rather isolated. Sorrento on the other hand, is a lot easier to get to and out of.
There's a light rail system that loops around the Bay of Naples called the Circumvesuviana. Its farthest-south stop is in Sorrento. Points farther down the Amalfi coast are accessible only by bus or cab. I suppose they're accessible in a private car too, but trying to drive in that part of the world is madness itself. Unless you were born in Italy, do not attempt to drive there. Italians have a strange sixth sense that allows them to drive maniacally and not get killed. It's fascinating to watch, but for this traveler, it's strictly a spectator sport. Sorrento's also close enough to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples, Capri, and the rest of the Amalfi Coast to have all of those places as potential day trips.
So, with Sorrento decided, we settled on a place Summer in Italy called the Villa Azzurra. It was really beautiful and historic and though hardly an inexpensive place, it was a bargain compared to some of the better hotels in that part of the world.
Along the way to deciding on the Villa Azzurra, I learned a whole lot about what's called a "self-catering" accommodation. Self-catering is a whole other way to travel, and after having done it once I doubt I'll ever stay in a hotel again. Especially if it involves travel to Italy. Self-catering means essentially that there's a kitchen on site and that breakfast and housekeeping are not included in your lodging. This makes the cost drop for obvious reasons, but having access to a kitchen while you're in Italy means you get to buy and eat the amazing foods that crowd the markets. I love food markets no matter where I go and I say seeing how people eat is the best way to get a feel for a local culture.
Well, fast forward a couple of months and we were on a plane bound for Rome. We spent a long weekend in Rome (the most amazing city on the planet, but that's a topic for another day). Prior to leaving the US, we made arrangements to hire a driver to take us directly from our hotel in Rome to the villa in Sorrento. We could have taken the train, but the idea of lugging two weeks' worth of luggage across Naples to get to the Circumvesuviana didn't sound real appealing. The company we hired is called Drive Amalfi, and they made the whole process easy and enjoyable. So five minutes before he was scheduled to arrive, the driver pulled up in a huge Mercedes van, we piled in and I practiced my Italian for the next 2-1/2 hours.
Now, I had an idea of what this place looked like from the website, but at the end of the day, we had spent a huge amount of money on something we found on the Internet. When I wasn't practicing Italian on that drive south, I was adjusting my expectations of what lay ahead.
I shouldn't have bothered. When we pulled through the gate at the end of the drive to get to the villa I knew we were in for something good. When the villa itself came into view I thought I was hallucinating. There it was. A huge, four-story, yellow-striped embodiment of what people mean when they talk about an "Italian villa." We had one floor in this old mansion and as it turned out, we were the only ones there.
We were met by Andrea Fumaroli, an all-around great guy whose family has owned what they call the Villa Terrazza for five generations. Andrea's website, Villa Terrazza, does a better job of describing the property than Summer in Italy's site does. As soon as we walked into the apartment, I felt like I'd been transformed into some kind of an Edwardian bon vivant. This is what people who took grand tours a century ago were looking for. Everything was perfect, from the marble floors to the antique furniture. It seemed the only accommodation to the 21st century was an Ikea kitchen.
That Ikea kitchen had a direct view across the Bay of Naples to Mount Vesuvius. For the first time in my life, I walked into a cheap kitchen and didn't make a disparaging remark. At that point, I'd have been happy with peach crates tacked to the walls.
Our humble villa sat on a cliff that extended farther out into the Bay than any of the other points along that section of the Sorrentine peninsula. We'd rented the best view in Sorrento and had no idea we were doing so. The main marina in Sorrento was 350 feet straight down from our patio, and when people arrive by water taxi, they look up and all they can see is our humble accomodations. The whole thing was a dream. Really. I'd heard nightmare stories about people having lousy experiences from making travel arrangements sight-unseen, but ours is not a horror story in the least. I cannot think of a better holiday.
I'll write some more about Sorrento and the wonders that surround the Bay of Naples in the coming days. In the meantime though, here are some of my photos from that Amalfi adventure.
Here's me standing in the Ikea kitchen getting ready to make some coffee.
Here's the view from the kitchen window in front of me in the photo above.
If I were to turn to my left and look out those windows, I'd see Mt. Vesuvius. It's not possible to describe what this kind of history and scenery does to one's psyche.
The great unwashed on package tours who arrive by ferry see this when they disembark in the Sorrento Marina. Every time I went down into the marina and looked up, I couldn't believe that that was where I was living. "Whose life is this?!" I kept asking anybody who was standing still.
So here's the sun setting behind the Isle of Capri as seen from our patio. Again, whose life is this?!
If you're interested in some more of my Italian traveler's tales, go to Kitchen and Residential Design and search the keyword Italy. Thanks!
Paul, I am sold! Now I just have to figure out where I will fit it in this summer. What a wonderful story! I was expecting a nightmare tale of how the Italians had done you wrong. I would probably ask myself the same question and I too would overlook the kitchen. Because really who cares with a view like that! I am enchanted and cannot wait for more! Please don't take long. I am going to sleep now and expect to find the 2nd part:-) just kidding...till tomorrow then. And by the way, Rome is definitely THE BEST city in all of this world, hands down! Cannot wait to hear about that. OK I will sign off before you kick me out.
Buona notte!
Just one more thing before I go...Mani/Pedi a MUST before you do lunch at Barneys. If not they'll 86 you. 4 realz...
Posted by: Charlie | May 04, 2009 at 05:34 PM
Charlie, I'm glad I'm not the only one with a deep and abiding love for the Eternal City. It was funny at Barney's that day. Sure, I went in with a mani/ pedi but I was also wearing my $17 Wrangler jeans from Target. I'm a pretty notorious cheapskate, except when it comes to Italian villas that is. But really, that whole trip was a series of perfect alignments. It's amazing what a lot of planning and some solid advice can do to ensure a successful holiday.
Posted by: Paul Anater | May 04, 2009 at 05:58 PM
What a story! And I know those views! Sorrento is unavoidable if you plan to go to Capri...but I did not myself enjoy the spectacle of a fabulous villa there. WHAT a tale!
Posted by: franki durbin | May 05, 2009 at 06:26 AM
great story
dallas
http://dillydallas.blogspot.com
Posted by: Dallas | May 05, 2009 at 06:53 AM
Ok this bit of loveliness has been enthusiastically added to my "Things To Do" this year list. Do you have a similar suggestion for Paris..the next stop on this vacay train?
Thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Zena | May 05, 2009 at 07:01 AM
I kept reading and HOPING that there'd be pictures of this gorgeous tale - lovely! Just lovely! So dreamlike! It must have been an unforgettable experience. Ugh, now I'm itching with a bit of wanderlust myself...
Posted by: MC | May 05, 2009 at 12:14 PM
MC, I'm working on a walking tour of Sorrento kind of a thing now. I'll post it shortly. Zena: Paris huh?: Let me see what I can cobble together. Paris is my pal Fifi's forte though. Have you ever read Fifi's blog, Fifi Flowers Design? She writes about Paris regularly. Dalls --thank you and Franki thank you too!
Posted by: Paul Anater | May 05, 2009 at 02:56 PM
oh my dear. I might actually start crying right this second. we were in Italy in March but didn't go any further than Rome...the weather was too cold down there so we stayed in Tuscany and it was divine but our hearts still yearn to know southern Italy. We want to go back to Tuscany and rent a villa but now I am thinking Amalfi. Honestly..I would move there and stay forever and your blog posts are not helping! well, they are helping...I need a vacation!
ps--you are so right that men get mani/pedis. of course! this is NY after all...
:)
Posted by: Chessa! | May 07, 2009 at 12:13 AM
Paul, I just keep coming back to this post thinking...you know..I know the EXACT villa. I have photos of it from when we were among the great "unshowered" disembarking from our ferry to and from Capri...and we opted to stay in Sorrento as well for the very reasons you cited: a jumping point to all things Amalfi Coast.
Sadly, the villa we rented was on the hill - yes, up those terrifying curvy roads where you're sure you'll die at any moment as you take your 6am walk (I think you are my twin, by the way, separated at birth...I walk early every morning when I travel to get a feel for the place - without fail).
We rode to town early each morning and walked the streets - the same streets - and enjoyed our cafes and quiet moment with shopkeepers and locals. Our secret thrill is vacationing in October...most tourists are gone yet the weather maintains it's distinctly Mediterranean perfection. Hard to believe the idyllic life those dear souls enjoy.
And your views of Mt.V! WOW! Didn't you feel like you'd travelled back in time to the days of Pompeii? WOW!
I must look for photos of our own Ikea kitchen from Rome. I agree...the one silly kitchen I'd never complain one bit about! :)
Amazing posts, Paul. Amazing!
Posted by: franki durbin | May 07, 2009 at 06:30 AM
Chessa, if you get your choice of places to rent a villa, Sorrento's a good choice if you're planning to explore the area. If on the other hand you want to just go and sit for a week or two, go for Positano!
Franki, thanks for the traveler's tales of your own. All it takes is one good look at the Bay of Naples to understand the appeal of the place. I have been around quite a bit, but no where I've ever been has left so profound a mark on my soul. I need to go back. Now more than ever and writing these Amalfi Coast posts has made that need more immediate. Thanks for waking up the dragon Franki!
Posted by: Paul Anater | May 07, 2009 at 07:34 AM
Hi Paul,
I'm a friend of Andrea as well. Did you notice he put up a new beta site for his villa? It's incredible. Villalaterrazza.com
Best,
Demir
Posted by: demirucb | March 10, 2010 at 09:27 AM