Campania ( Sorrento )

SORRENTO

Sorrento, located between the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi coast is a favourite spot for the summer crowd. In autumn, Sorrento enters into a sleeping mode and the streets were filled with more locals than tourists. There are daily buses and trains arriving in Sorrento which makes it an ideal day trip from Napoli.

A visit to Sorrento is incomplete if one did not try their famous Limoncello which Sorrento produces the best in the whole of Italy. Along the way from Pompeii to Sorrento, we saw orchards with large citrus fruits ( lemons and oranges ) which are probably due for plucking in December. Owing to her excellent Mediterranean climate, the lemons are extremely big and perfumery.

There are many local producers of Limoncello but we were told to buy from reputable stalls. Walking along via Correale, we chanced upon this store called I Giardini di Cataldo ( The Gardens of Cataldo ). The store was already filled with lots of tourists waiting to be served by the friendly middle aged store assistant. She let us try the famous Limoncello and also other liqueurs made from liquorices and clementines. The store has Limoncello in various cute bottles and different volume. Besides limoncello, she let us sample Baba, a sponge cake soak in rum.

We were invited to visit their orchard tomorrow morning. However, we were disappointed as we had to leave Sorrento early morning the next day for Napoli. Suddenly I start to recall this melodious Neapolitan song Torna a Surriento and perhaps one day I saw return to Sorriento to visit the orchards of I Giardini di Cataldo.