Takin’ It Easy

The next day I decide to wander around town and get a feel for Sorrento during the day. I try to scout out a place for my breakfast, but the decision seems overwhelming and I find myself just stopping at a particularly nondescript bar simply because I’m tired. I try to spend a little time with Rick, sketching out my final week, but I lose interest quickly. I just can’t do it. What’s with me?

I try to find the TI, but discover it is closed on Sundays. Hmph. I wander a bit further down and find a spectacular view. Ahh, now this I know what to do with! I sit and enjoy the water for a while, but I am soon restless and heading back to the main square. Along the way I find a park, so I snap a few pictures. But all the while, I’m just becoming more and more exhausted.

I spot an English pub and decide it would be a good place to camp out with my computer for a while, so I order some lunch and some tea and stay put. This suits me well and after a few hours, my mood has definitely improved. I decide to head back to my room to drop off my computer before venturing to dinner.

But by the time I get to my room I’m really not feeling well. And when I walk in, I discover someone else’s stuff is also now in the room. Great – a roommate. Fortunately she’s not here at the moment, so I head to the bathroom to see if I can instigate feeling better. Unfortunately I don’t accomplish anything other than positive self-talk and eventually come back out.

Shortly after I do, my roomie, Patricia comes in. She is from Singapore and speaks excellent English. She too is on a long holiday (seven weeks) and is spending one week in Italy. She’ll be in Sorrento for two nights. We chat for a while and she tells me she is going to check out the Amalfi Coast tomorrow. I internally cringe because I know I should be doing some sight-seeing as well, but I just don’t feel like it. But perhaps I can talk myself into seeing Amalfi tomorrow….

In the mean time, my stomach has relented a bit, and even though I don’t “feel” it, I know I’m hungry. So I tell Patricia bye-for-now and head out for dinner. Before I know it, I’m at the doorstep of last night’s restaurant. Might as well give it another shot.

As soon as I walk in, I’m glad I did. Everyone is surprised to see me again and very excited that I’m back. This time I really do order the gnocchi and my waiter friend brings me TWO toasty, tomoato-y bread things instead of one. Yes, a very good decision. After the meal comes my limoncello again and this time my waiter (Franco) chats with me for about 30 minutes. I learn all about how this is his restaurant, his son runs a wine bar downstairs, he also rents out rooms, and how he loves Rick Steves (“Very good man!!”). His English isn’t perfect, but where it muddles into Italian, I definitely get te gist of it. He asks about where I am staying and why am I traveling alone (this is actually a popular question). When I tell him I might venture to Naples this week, he gets very protective and gives me some very serious warnings about how to be safe while I’m there. I ask him if it is better that I don’t go. No, no – he says, you must see Napoli, just be safe.

After this I know I’ll be eating dinner here every night, how can I not??