apartment Gelsomino
ReservationLast minute
A random photo taken from our book.
Maria, Giovanni and Antonio - thank you for all your hospitality during our
holiday in your apartment. It was too short. If you want to put the following
appreciation on your web pages, please do so.
OUR HOLIDAY IN MASSA LUBRENSE
Many thanks to a very friendly
family, Signora Maria Persico and her sons Giovanni and Antonio (who both
speak excellent English), for a delightful holiday in their villa in the
hills above Massa Lubrense, close to Sorrento. We stayed for one week in June
2001 and enjoyed every minute. The apartment was spacious and modern and
fully deserved the description "of optimal quality". Outside, the terrace was
thankfully well shaded and the Bay of Naples with the island of Capri was
just visible through the olive and lemon trees.
The roads are very
narrow and access would have been difficult for anything but the smallest
car, but public transport is easy if you are prepared for a little walking.
Fifteen minutes down to Massa, and then buses about every hour to Sorrento,
costing 1 euro for the single journey. Giovanni very kindly ferried us and
our luggage between Sorrento and the apartment. From Sorrento we visited
Pompeii and Capri with ease on the train or hydrofoil. There are many
well-marked local walks, and we enjoyed one of them which took us from near
Massa's semi-detached small port, up a hill overlooking Massa itself and then
down into the town. In common with the rest of the coastline, the port was
rocky and had no real beach, but this didn't stop people from sizzling in the
sun on the big flat slabs of stone laid along the shore.
There were
several reasonable restaurants and plenty of small grocery, vegetable and
delicatessen shops. We much appreciated the artichoke hearts bottled by the
mother of one of the shopkeepers and the local red wine we tasted was
enjoyable, although the only bottle of white we bought was poor. The one time
we would have been grateful for a car was when carrying our bulk purchase of
water and wine up the hill!
We hope to return in a few years to do some
more of the walks, see the amazing Pompeii again, visit Naples and Vesuvius,
admire the Amalfi coast, and enjoy again the hospitality of Maria, Giovanni
and Antonio. Oh yes - and buy another bottle or two of Maria's smooth
home-made limoncello.
Martin and Maryce Shepherd, Norwich, UK
