Weekly highlights

These past few days have been fantastic.

»Our trip to Capri (apparently Tony Bennett is there right now.  TONY BENNETT.  I may have completely flipped my switch when I found out)

Marina Grande di Capri

»Sunday, I went to mass at the lovely Chiesa di San Francesco di Assisi, and then Katie and I walked up our favorite street to have breakfast.  I had a (I quote) "big cappuccino" and a croissant with nutella. Mi piace ♥

Mmm...

»After a long nap, we went out Sunday evening to one of our favorite spots for dinner.  I had mad cravings for some gnocchi.  However, it was so crowded that we ended up moving down to another of our favorite spots on the same street.  Periodically we heard cheering, and after wondering aloud what was going on, two (hilarious) British ladies at the table next to us informed us that it was a "football match," Italy verses Spain.  So after dinner, we walked up to a small bar to get some gelato and watch the rest of the match.  It ended in a draw: 1 - 1!

Go Italia!

»Monday I didn't have class, so I got a cappuccino at my usual spot, Bagni Sant'anna, and read some more of 1984, sat in the sun, washed and hung my clothes, and then puttered around the apartment until it was time to meet Katie at school.  We walked up to possibly our favorite spot to eat, BluWater.  Not only is the food and service good (and there's no coperto - a cover charge that most restaurants in Italy tack on), but the guy who works there is hilarious.  Our first week in Sorrento, he coaxed us away from a neighboring restaurant to eat there.  He's so dynamic and SO funny; we instantly adopted him.  This time, he sat with us for a while and asked about where we lived and how long we were in Sorrento.  And then he told us that this was our place, and we must come back frequently.  No problem, signore!  Next time we may even catch his name.

»Tuesday I walked into class expecting to take a test, and found out it's not until Thursday (giovedí).  Huzzah!  Instead we learned about possessive articles.  Afterwards, Katie and I ate lunch at the apartment, make a quick cappuccino stop at Bagni Sant'anna, and then sunbathed on the adjoining pier for an hour.  I listened to the soundtrack to Memphis: A New Musical and got sunburned, and it was glorious.  Later, we wandered around our little Marina area in search of dinner, and ended up at a... let's say, less than authentic Italian restaurant.  We're pretty sure Katie's lasagna was microwaved, and I'm not exactly sure what sort of "tomato," if any, was used in the flavorless orange sauce that covered my spaghetti.  At least the wine was good!

After that, gelato was in order, so we hiked up the steps to the center, and I led Katie to my favorite gelateria, Davide Augusto, where we got gelato and watched the calcio match.  Mmm!  I got dark chocolate (cioccolato fondente) and Nutella, and Katie got lemon and strawberry.  Katie immediately saw the light and announced we would be making several return trips to Davide.  Katie comes from Houston, Texas, and knows what good food is. 

Our pretty view

»Wednesday - today - there was a gelato making class offered.  We didn't so much learn how to make it as watch it be made... but we got to eat a ton of gelato free, so mi piace.

  

Lemon

Extra dark chocolate and Nutella hazelnut

It's been an excellent week.  Coming up for this week, there's an Italian film night (this week's selection is Ieri, Oggi, e Domani - translated, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow), lunch at the Trattoria da Emilia for the graduating students of Sorrento Lingue, and on Saturday, I'll finally make it on the excursion to the towns of Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello.

Ciao! xx