Naples is the gateway to some stunning scenery. It is easy driving distance to the Almalfi Coast, Sorrento and much more. We had an early start with a full day excursion taking in Sorrento and an Amalfi coast drive. Although we considered a room service breakfast we headed to Topsiders buffet on deck 9 for 7am, quickly ate a hearty breakfast (why am I addicted to those Mickey waffles?) and headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for our excursion. The day would take us through Naples, past Mount Vesuvius and on to the coastal road to Sorrento.
Stefano, our tour guide, told us much about the region, the culture and what we were to expected during the day and after an hour and 10 minutes aboard our coach we arrived in Sorrento, a beautiful coastal town but wow was it hot. As we entered the town, Stefano came through the coach and gave every child their own apron with the ingredients and instructions on how to make the Pizza they would be creating in half an hours time and by the time they were off the coach, each child was proudly sporting their new accessory.
After a short walk through town we stopped at Tasso, the restaurant the children would be staying at ready to make their pizza. It was great to have an a giving they could do while parents were able to do something a little more grown up. Upon arrival, each child was given a baseball cap to match their apron and lead straight to the restaurant kitchen to start their cooking. Not only did they get to enjoy a unique experience but the Youth counsellors took photos of the experience which they printed off and gave out to parents (for free!)
This gave the adults some free time to wander the streets of Sorrento. Not before we were taken to a traditional wood carving shop and given a demonstration of the oldest craft in Italy. Queue the chance to buy expensive, but stunning furniture. A wooden inflated games table would set you back a mere €6000, although it did include free shipping.
Sorrento was a defence, authentic Italian experience. The town seemed almost unspoilt by tourism and the narrow streets made for a great shopping experience. Most shops had more Limoncello than you could shake a stick at as well as other traditional Italian faire. The hour we had to look around flew by and next was lunch back at Tasso. We arrived to find some very happy faced, ground kids as they presented the pizza they had made to the adults. We were seated at tables ready to enjoy a traditional lunch. Harry was pretty pleased with his result.
He tucked in to his pizza happily as we enjoyed buffalo mozzarella, parma ham and bruschetta, followed by pasta and tomato sauce. We were hoping for pizza next but instead it was cake. Unaware the pizza was supposed to be for all to try, Harry had polished off the whole thing. This meant that on my second trip to Naples I may once again leave without trying pizza in its true home town. After lunch we were ushered on to the coach for an hours drive along the Amalfi coast to Amalfi itself. This was a long, winding road that offered some stunning views, including a 5 star hotel that cost in the region of €8000 per person, per night
Due to the length of the drive back to the ship we had an hour in Amalfi. Number one on the list was to find pizza. That didn’t take me long and it resulted in a walk through the town. By now we were in the heat of the day and the temperature had risen. It’s was seriously hot. We took shelter in a nearby bar and had a drink in the shade. It was then back on to the coach for a 90 minute drive back to the ship. The rest of the Amalfi coast was curve after curve and I never thought I would be so pleased to see a straight bit of road but we all cheered when we hit the motorway.
We returned to the ship around 4.30pm and had just enough time for a swim and scrub up before going to see ventriloquist, Glenn Johnson. His family show was hysterical! Dinner was at Animator’s Palette and tonight was the classic show dinner. The way the room changes is spectacular enough, let alone Sorcerer Mickey coming out at the end! After a long day, it was straight to bed ready for our day at sea.