Capri

Capri- Tuesday October 31
This morning we got up at 7am with an alarm(ouch!). We had to get up early so as to eat breakfast and get to the boat to Capri. From our hotel we had a brisk five minute walk into the center of Sorrento and then we descended down several flights of steep stairs to sea level and walked to Marina Piccola. The ferry ride to Marina Grande, Capri cost 24euro round trip per adult and 15 for Sarah. The ride was about a half hour and, despite the wind, fairly smooth. We had a nice view of Sorrento from the water. The hotels really sit right on the edge of the cliffs that plunge right into the water.
Arriving at Marina Grande

Once off the boat we really had no idea what to do other we knew we wanted to get from the town of Capri to the town of Anacapri. Not having a clue as to how to do this, we bought a map of the island and started walking up and up and UP. Winding our way higher and higher through narrow streets and cobbled walkways we arrived at the town of Capri. From here we were instructed to take a bus to Anacapri. Little orange buses provide the public transport for the island. Our 30 minute ride to the other side of the island was truly death defying! Down from one mountain village to the top of another and a frightening part in the middle. Nick and I were all the way aft and on the starboard/water side of the bus. When we drove on the part of the road next to edge of the land, looking down you knew if the bus swerved even slightly too far to the right first of all, the guard rail couldn’t hold a moped, let alone a bus and second, if you did go over, it WAS over for you!! The road is just wide enough for two of these buses to pass one another with hardly a hand's width between them! We were truly relieved when we arrived in one piece and decided not to ride the bus back to the ferry!



In Anacapri, we found a quiet little enclave of tourist shops selling local pottery, Limon cello, t-shirts and postcards and little cafés and restaurants selling pizza, coffee, pastries and drinks. I loved the way this shop arranged their tiles. Nick decided to have a coffee (although he probably needed a scotch to take the edge off our hair raising bus ride!). One difference about the shops in Capri is that you find, and we were searching for, the sandal shops this area is famous for. You go into the shop, choose the style and type of leather you want and someone makes sandals exactly for your feet. We went into several shops but didn't really find what we were looking for, didn’t like the attitude of the shop keeper or didn’t like the prices.

We wandered around town a bit and then Nick set off on an interesting chairlift ride to a high peak above Anacapri while I stayed behind with acrophobic Sarah. The chairlifts were only single seaters (as you can see here) and she didn’t want to go alone. He said that it was a fantastic ride and the views from the top were spectacular.




This view is looking East. the town of Capri is in the forground and the land mass in the distance is the Sorrento/Amalfi Penninsula.





While he was gone, she and I went through a sort of high end designer mall and looked at the Armani, Henry Cotton, Prada, etc collections. With Nick back on the ground, we were headed to the bus when we found a great looking little sandal shop, La Bottega Caprese, right on the main square. After watching the young man at work for a few minutes and looking at the styles we decided to go meet him and check it out.

The proprietor, Francesco, was an adorable, 27 year old, Capri native who is passionate about his profession of sandal making. He proudly showed us his different styles of sandals and assured us we could do no better anywhere else. While we were there we learned that he had been making sandals for 6 years and had learned this trade from his grandfather. He made each of us custom fit sandals and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He and Nick got to talking about poker chips after he informed us of his love of playing Texas Hold ‘em! He will probably be on the Nevada Jack’s website tonight deciding which chips to buy!

We took a 20euro cab ride all the way back to Marina Grande(avoiding all buses) where we just barely made the 13:50 boat back to Sorrento. Had we missed that one we would have had to wait 2 hours. Nick thought 20euro was cheap compared to what we would have spent to entertain/feed ourselves while we waited for the next boat! Many of the launch boats that take the tourists out to the famous Blue Grotto were at the dock. It was a slow day either because of the heavy winds that morning or the off season. Nick really liked them. We rode back topside on the ferry, as the weather was warmer and the wind had died down since the morning.



We talked about our day and the plans for the rest of our trip on our walk back to the hotel. We decided that we were ready to leave Sorrento a day early and reworked our itinerary. We'll go to the Amalfi coast tomorrow as planned but continue on our way north to Orvieto, rather than coming back to Sorrento for a third night.

We went out about 7:15 for our last dinner in Sorrento. We decided to go back to a spot, La Lanterna, where we'd had a wonderful lunch and enjoyed the waiters. The restaurant is on the via S. Cesareo,23/25 Tel. 081 8781355, just a short walk down from the main Piazza T. Tasso. There are lots of little shops and restaurants in this area. Tonight, we realized as we were walking, was Halloween! Everywhere were families with little witches, goblins and devils. Here, it seems, they trick or treat at the stores, not the homes. We were in one shop and several groups of kids came in to the front desk for their little piece of candy while Mom and Dad waited just outside the door.


La Lanterna is built on top of ancient Roman baths and the excavated site can be viewed through the plexiglass covering floor in one of the dining rooms-fascinating! It’s up a little alley and has outdoor tables but we went inside as it was chilly out. This was the first night we’d really needed a sweater or coat to go out. Sarah and I decided to share a meal of Caesar salad, calamari and muscles which were all delicious and Nick had their special “pepper and cheese” spaghetti which he liked so much he asked for the recipe and wants to make for us soon.
We got back to the Hotel Grand Royal did a bit of packing and went to bed.