Doing Nothing - 13th May

Doing nothing

The Ross man remains undecided – will he stay or will he go! – the trip along the Amalfi coast is deferred to a later day – the thunder rolls as only the thunder in Italy can roll – the lightening show lights up the predawn skies – perhaps the Ross man has done us a favour.

We lie in well past the rising hour of any pair of respectable tourists – we arise to skies that have transformed from dark grey to light blue and a Via P. Reginaldo Guilliani busily facilitating the transfer of eager tourists from their shopping and strolling along Corsa Italia to their next “must do” – to look out over the Bay of Naples toward Mt V and in doing so prompt a new message from Apple indicating that they have reached the limit of their iCloud storage.

We join them as they return from their photo opportunity and follow them back to Corsa Italia.

We pause to photograph the clock tower at the itnersection of Corsa Italia and vi P.reginald Guilliani that serves as home beacon on our wanders through the lanes and alleyways of Sorrento.

We pause at a street entertainer - was he hidden in the body - did he sit comfortably in a remote location observing and reacting from a distance - is the seated dog a giveaway? - Bernie and I cannot agree - clever! 

Into the Sorrento cathedral – be impressed with the detail of the navity scene - exquitie! - be imressed with the painted ceilings - also impressive - watch the guide instruct their tour group to be quiet and respectful - then watch her as she proceeds to lead her troop in a domination of the place – watch independent tourists wander - some display great interest – some display little interest other than in how quickly their partner will tire of this place - watch others as they others sit – some sit for rest – some sit for contemplation – a nice place!

We explore the old ramparts.

We pause at the vending machine outside the supermarket - we wonder whether the sign has an accurate English translation or whether the original Italian should have been translated as "stuffed" .

Down the Corsa towards the square – slowly – slowly – arrive at the square Tasso approaching mid-day – chaotic – locals trying to do business – locals trying to manoeuvre their cars- their fast tyred electric bike – their noisy Italian motor scooters – they vans – their tourist buses – yes chaotic!

We leave the square as soon as we enter – back along an alley way of the old Town that now serves as a two person wide shopping arcade – jewellery – vegetables – limoncello – lemon as large small basketballs – trinkets – trinkets – clothes – scarves – all manner of merchandise!

It is a stop start progression – the excited tourist sees something inside a shop that catches her fancy  – she stops dead in her tracks to  point the item out to her friend – suddenly they occupy both pedestrian lanes – forward motion in both directions ceases until their curiosity is satisfied or  until a gentle nudge by the shoulder of another tourist suggests to them both that they should either move in the shop or move on.

We stop for lunch off the alley way – pizza and mussel soup – I watch the waiters as they enjoy their work and enjoy their banter.

 

Once again we partake of “the best gelato in Sorrento” although we note that every gelataria in Sorrento claims to be  the best  in Sorrento – we also note with some considerable degree of scepticism that they all claim their gelato is homemade – for all their claims to be true their must be just one enormous home kitchen responsible for all of Sorrento gelato consumption and a fine kitchen it must be!

We return the suite to try to persuade the Ross man to leave but he is still dillying and dallying – not sure whether he is staying it going – Bernie rests while she awaits his decision  - I wander out about the town – I watch the people and I watch the fat tyred electric bike - fat tyres for the cobbles - motors for hill climbing - frames to aid mounting and dismounting - challenging their pedal-only peers for numeric supremacy on the streets of Sorrento - overseeing an improvement in the both the ofactory and the auditory environments of the town as they slowly replace the ever present piaggios!

 

 

The people! - the people! - English - American - Japanese - Chinese - Spanish - German - Canadian - occasionally an Australian - a New Zealander - lots and lots of locals - some more stylish in the manner of their northern cousins - some rustic in the manner of their southern cousins - some sloppy in the manner of their touristic visitors - American and English appear to predominate.