Lemons and Sunshine in Sorrento

Last weekend was the first of two Bank Holidays we have in May, and we decided to extend it into a five day weekend and head to the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

The last time we were in Italy was at Christmas in 2011 when we went to Rome, that same year we also visited Tuscany and Venice. We've always loved our visits to Italy, alongside Germany it's one of our favourite places to visit, the food is amazing and the people are always so friendly, so we were looking forward to exploring more of the coast.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon in Naples, and got straight on a bus that took us along the coast, past Mt Vesuvius and on to Sorrento.

The views of the coastline between Naples and Sorrento were amazing, the road goes right along the side of the cliffs and some stretches are extremely high and a bit scary as the bus drivers drive so fast!

We arrived in Sorrento in the late afternoon and checked into our apartment before heading out to make the most of the sunshine. The weather was lovely and sunny and about 26 degrees, much warmer than it had been when we left London, where it was cold and rainy!

We came across these amazing old Roman ruins, they were once an Old Mill, working up until the beginning of the 19th Century, down in a deep gorge within the town.

We wandered down towards the Marina, and had some amazing views out over the Gulf of Naples. We could see for miles, all the way to Capri and over to Naples.

We decided to head down to the Marina to get a closer view, but to also confirm the ferry times to the Amalfi Coast, where we were planning to go for a day trip the next day.

While the weather was warm, the sea was really cold, so there was no-one in the water.

The views from the Marina up to Sorrento town

After exploring the Marina we started to head back up to Sorrento. We figured the stairs would be the best option, however halfway up I started feeling very dizzy and lightheaded. I stepped off to the side of the stairs to clear my head, and the next thing I knew I woke up sitting on the steps with lots of people staring at me.

I don't remember anything, but Bradley says I fainted and he managed to catch me before I fell down the stairs, but I still got a big bump on my forehead from hitting the corner of the steps.

It was mostly embarrassing and my head didn't start hurting until later, I was really confused and felt like I was waking up in bed from a deep sleep! We think it was just a combination of too little food and water, and the heat.

We decided to just head straight home and get some ice for my head, but stopped at the Market on the way for some bread, meat and cheese for a makeshift dinner in our apartment!

Nursing my sore head.

So not a great end to our first day in Italy, we could only hope that the next day on the Amalfi Coast would be better.