Sorrento Villa... Dolce Vita!

"Ciao Bella!" was the first words I heard as I dragged my luggage onto the dock in Sorrento, Hello Beautiful. No wonder people love Italy!

For my Easter break vacation a group of 13 people and I rented a villa in Sorrento for a week to relax and enjoy a small town- Italian experience. The people that went are all studying abroad at the University of Leeds and are from the United States. We had 7 girls and 7 guys;
Cat- NC State
Paul, Lauren, Laurel, Rachel, Natalie, Kyle, Kieven- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mike, Adam- University of Illinois
Jamie, Matt, Ted- Penn State

We were met at the dock by Giuseppina, or housekeeper/mother for the week. When we arrived to our villa I was completely overwhelmed, it was not what I expected. We had a private entrance gate that led us to our 3 story home, 4 if you include the sun deck. There were 7 bedrooms, about 7 porches, 6 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, a huge garden, fire pit/pizza oven, and a gorgeous view of Sorrento. From our porches you could see the entire town, harbor, ocean, and Mt. Vesuvius. Every morning I woke up early just to sit in peace and take in the pure beauty of Italy. It was simply breathtaking, pictures could never do justice.

The villa had a great view yet we were still minutes from town, it was just a steep walk down a cobble stone road. My days were filled with relaxing in the villa and hanging out with everyone. I can distinguish the days by what we had for dinner and the few excursions we had. Let me note that everywhere we went, we went as a group. We stuck out like a sore thumb, we were 14 American college students and it was obvious to everyone.

Day 1- We arrived at the villa, unpacked a little then went into town. We ate lunch outside at a cute restaurant and I shared pizza with Cat and Laurel. After this we explored the town and then went to Conad, the local grocery store. I was convinced to buy my first jar of Nutella. Why have I not been introduced to this before?! I ate toast with Nutella everyday for breakfast, it's definitely my new obsession. Giuseppina made us a lemon/coconut tiramisu and some lemoncello that we had for an afternoon snack. I felt like royalty in this villa. For dinner the girls and guys cooked separately and Cat made a tomato based pasta sauce from scratch with bow-tie noodles and garlic bread. Hmm delicious. The guys ate pasta as well but their sauce was from a jar- we totally won that competition.
Day 2- We took a relaxing walk through town, went to an internet cafe, and ate some gelato. Then we went to the fish market and bought fresh shrimp for dinner. Later on that day I took a long run by myself through the Sorrento countryside. I went in the opposite direction of town in search of a cove that Kyle had found earlier, but I ended up running a couple miles past it. I was relieved to be in the sun and to get some exercise. For dinner, Paul made shrimp scampi with linguine that was covered in a butter sauce. I have reacquired my love for shrimp, it was amazing.
Day 3- I know I enjoyed the day, but I can't quite pinpoint what I did. Haha. For dinner Paul cooked steak in an unbelievable sauce. I helped make fried potatoes but one pan was dropped on the floor (sshh don't tell anyone), we scooped them off the floor and back into the pan. We acted like nothing happened so everyone still loved them! We also had green beans and I ate a whole serving! Can you believe it? My taste buds are maturing! Natalie and Cat made a delicious cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust for desert. We ate like kings and queens this week.
Day 4- The most beautiful day of my trip. It was warm enough to lay out on the rooftop and take in the sun. I sunbathed for hours and have a tan (and sun-poisoning on my hands) to prove it. Everyone chilled and listened to music for most of the day. In the afternoon I took a run with Rachel and Jamie and I finally got to see The Cove. But this experience deserves a post of its own. Then Kyle, Mike, and Matt tagged along to run to the beach that I found a couple days before. For dinner the girls all made individual pizzas... and nope I haven't gotten sick of it yet.
Day 5- Day trip to Pompeii- deserves a post of its own. For dinner Cat made a lemon based pasta with chicken. I made garlic bread with Parmesan to add!
Day 6- Everyone woke up early and walked two miles to the ferry in hopes of going to Capri. We soon realized it was quite expensive and the next ferry didn't leave for another couple of hours. We decided it would be best just to hang out in Sorrento and do a little more exploring. I did some souvenir shopping (so basically I bought a post card). Later on I ran to the cove with few people and the beach again with Rachel, this time to take pictures. Paul with the help of a few people made fried chicken with a potato chip breading and mashed potatoes. One thing I know now is that I need cooking lessons. Hmm I have been spoiled.
Day 7- Another warm, sunny day of laying out. 12 of us went to the cove once again and this time I got to cliff jump! It was my favorite experience in Sorrento-- more to be explained in The Cove post. This was our final night so we went out to eat and I ordered cannelloni, pasta filled with meat and covered in tomato sauce and cheese. I could never get enough of genuine Italian food.

Guiseppina also known as Juicy (not to her face) came to clean our villa every morning. I can only imagine how frustrating is would be to clean up after 14 college students. She made our beds, cleaned the kitchen and everything else that was in our path of destruction. Thanks Juicy!

My week in the villa would not have been as fun and enjoyable had it not been for the awesome people with me! Everyone got along perfectly which is lucky for a group our size. Sorrento is definitely a week I will never forget! Arrivederci!

http://www.villeinitalia.com/houses/IlGioiello.jsp- Check out the villa website :)