Along the Southern coast of Italy among the many cities by the sea, you will find the enchanted town of Sorrento. To reach Sorrento from my family's hometown, it's about a one hour drive. I was incredibly excited when the day finally came to pack ourselves in my cousin's car and venture for this magical place.

I had seen dozens of movies and dreamed over countless photographs of Sofia Loren walking around the streets of Sorrento, and so my mind was overly excited for all of the beauty I was about to encounter myself.

Along the road that leads us by the coast, my cousin pauses halfway and points to the car window, "Guarda che bello....siamo arrivati" Take a look!.... we're here.

I turn to see that image I had seen appear on photos, on TV, in magazines... the Italian coast in all its glory, the mountains with the cobalt blue ocean below it.... right there before my eyes. I was completely astonished, it seemed like a dream. They didn't have to ask me twice to jump out of the car to take a closer look.

The rest of the day, with a map in hand and camera in other, we walked our way through the town. We passed through the colorful streets with markets selling their famous limoni (bigger than both my hands!), handmade gladiator sandals, gelato, and typical seafood dishes.

The streets are filled with various vendors of fruits, clothing, and restaurants urging you to come taste their pizza a legno. We walked and walked, with one place set in our minds to find: the seaport.

When we finally saw the strip of ocean peeking from the roads, my two cousins and I squealed and ran towards it like we were children running to an ice cream truck. It was every term for beautiful you can think of.

The colorful houses stuck together with the small boats in the port, and the countless people splashing in the water added to that la dolce vita feeling.

After, we stopped along one of the restaurants by the ocean side and ate a delicious pizza and acqua frizzante. We then headed through the town again and stopped for souvenirs and a granita al limone.

One day simply wasn't enough to soak up all of the beauty this place had to offer. From the colorful houses that lined the cobblestone roads to the lemon trees and beautiful turquoise waters... it was beyond what my mind had imagined.

If you plan on visiting Italy, make sure you stop along the coast to visit Sorrento... it's a definite must see.