Reviewing a stay in Sorrento Italy.

Sorrento seems to be one of those destinations that someone who really likes Instagram created. It offers vistas from its location on the Amalfi Coast cliffs that will make you wonder why you ever spent your twenties staring at a computer screen. The village itself is a lovely maze of small streets, pastel-coloured buildings, and scooters that appear to have no idea of traffic regulations. You go about believing you are finding some secret Italian treasure, only to find that every other tourist in flip-flops thought the same thing and, yes, they are also photographing that same lemon tree you just appreciated.

Regarding lemons, Sorrento is mostly made of them. The aroma of citrus pervades the air, and you soon understand limoncello is more than just a beverage; it is a lifestyle. Get a bottle, they advise. They describe it as a memento. Half an hour later, you find yourself in a small piazza considering life while drinking the liquid sunshine straight from the bottle, since obviously moderation is somewhat overvalued on vacation.

Frankly, trying not to gain ten pounds in three days is like trying to defy gravity; hence, food in Sorrento calls for a whole paragraph all to itself. The pizzas are so tasty you start doubting all you ever knew about tomato sauce, the seafood is so fresh it almost apologises for being eaten, and the gelato is so rich you wonder if you haven't unwittingly entered paradise. Naturally, toward the end of your trip, you understand you have been switching between gelato and limoncello for purely hedonistic reasons unrelated to culture, not anything else.

And then the sea exists. Ah, the ocean. People frequently take pictures of the Amalfi Coast in such a way that you get the impression that someone secretly employs cloud designers to create the ideal sky. Swimming in the pristine waters is almost like a spiritual journey, until you realise that the sunburn on your shoulders now looks like a map of your own personal hell. You still lie there, squinting at the horizon, fully aware that you're being absolutely stereotyped but also quite content about it.

Sorrento likewise has that odd appeal of simultaneously feeling quite basic and very sophisticated. In the morning, you might look about ancient churches; in the afternoon, you could shop for refrigerator magnets formed like gondolas. Though you realise it's absurd, it's your absurdity, and somehow it seems perfectly normal in a place that seems to be built on paradoxes.

You're somewhat sunburned, somewhat drunk, and quite a lot full of delight when you go. Yes, Sorrento makes you reflect, but above all, it makes you appreciate how much you love doing not much while gazing at highly beautiful objects. And perhaps, just perhaps, that's what a vacation is meant to be.