Limoncello in Sorrento

Italy – May 2022

After a few days filled with sightseeing and long nights in Napoli, I’m looking forward to a quiet stay in Sorrento. I specifically decided against staying on the Amalfi Coast, on the other side of the peninsula, and hope to escape the tourist crowds. On my trip to the coast, I am accompanied by Vera from Prague. We met a few days before and she wants to spend a day at the beach. So she has only a small bag with her, while I carry all my luggage with me.

The original plan is to drop off my luggage at the hostel and walk from there to a nearby beach. However, the train passes through so many picturesque villages that we spontaneously decide to get off a few stations before my stop. On the map, it looks like it’s only a few minutes walk from the train station in Vico Equense to the beach. What we didn’t take into account, however, is the steep cliff we have to go down first to finally reach the sea.

Unfortunately, none of the Italians who catcall us want to give us a ride us, and so we arrive exhausted at the beach. We get a delicious lunch and 2 Aperol Spritz at the little snack bar before spending the rest of the afternoon sunbathing and swimming. Around 5pm we head back out with a way Aperol, up to the train station. I only have to wait a short while, the train that goes to Sorrento arrives. Also, Vera’s connection back to Napoli is already on the way, and so we say goodbye at the track.

When I arrive at my hostel, an Australian woman dressed in a towel opens the door. We talk only briefly before I hop in the shower. When I lie down on the bed exhausted, Ripka comes back from her day trip. She also treats herself to a shower before the three of us make plans for the evening. Page and I want to try a well-known pizzeria in the center of town, while Ripka wants to take a nap after a long day of hiking.

Page and I make our way along the main road and get to know each other between murderous overtaking maneuvers of the Italian drivers. The evening is warm and there are many people on the road. When we finally arrive at the pizzeria, there is already a line of hungry mouths waiting outside the door. Fortunately, however, it goes relatively quickly and soon we are sitting in the air-conditioned restaurant with pizza and 2 glasses of red wine. During the meal I tell Page about the Limoncello Spritz that I drank a few days earlier.

Without further ado, we decide to buy a bottle of Limoncello and a bottle of Prosecco on the way back to the hostel. Ripka is also enthusiastic about the idea of enjoying the drink on the roof terrace of our accommodation with a view of the sea. One glass quickly turns into 2, then 3 and when the Prosecco is empty, Ripka diligently pours Limoncello shots. We are all 3 well drunk, as the terrace gradually fills with other hostel guests. At some point, the idea of going swimming suddenly comes up. And so a small group slowly makes its way down the steep slope to the harbor.

*The Napoli area is notorious for its poor water quality. But at 2 in the morning, it doesn’t matter. After a short jump into the cool water, however, we soon return to the hostel and go to bed. The next morning I wake up at 7 slightly hungover as Ripka gets dressed and heads out for her day trip to Capri. (Minor spoiler: she throws up on the boat filled with couples planning a romantic getaway). An hour later, Page is also on her way to her adventure to the Amalfi Coast. (She, too, leaves her mark next to a bus stop after the winding ride).

I myself am glad that I have not made any big plans. I set off at about 10 o’clock in the direction of Sorrento, and eventually continue to the Bagni Regina Giovanna. A wonderful stretch of coast with a picturesque Roman ruin overlooking the sea and a stony beach. I eat my sandwich, sunbathe, watch the Italians cliff jumping, and return in the afternoon with pox and a sunburn. After we have exchanged about the respective strains of the day, we make it clear that there is no drinking today.

The only reason why I’m halfway okay because I already threw up the night before. And when the waiter offers us a Limoncello for dessert at dinner with a view, I almost come up again. So it is also easy to turn down the invitation of the guys in the hostel to go to a club. The next day I continue by boat to Amalfi and in the evening by bus to Salerno. On the way, I’m glad that I didn’t drink at least the day before and swear to do without Limoncello for the rest of my stay in Italy.