A Three Hour Tour, A Three Hour Tour

(Sung to theme from Gilligan's Island)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of an awesome trip
That started from a tiny port, aboard a tiny skiff
The mate was a mighty sailor girl,
The skipper brave and sure
Two passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour.....

We rented a boat yesterday! For our last full day in Capri we gave ourselves our own private tour around the whole island! The weather never got rough and our boat was never tossed....and we're still on an inhabited island so we didn't meet the same fate as Gilligan, don't worry. Rich was the captain and I was the first mate (and tour photographer)....but he did all the work, I just really laid on the bow and looked pretty. You can go around the island in about 80 minutes, but we took the three hour tour and at our leisure we got to experience the best part of the island -- the ocean that surrounds it and the natural beauty it has created. We got to drop anchor and swim whenever and wherever we wanted. We got to lay out on the front of the boat and pretend our boat was much bigger than it actually was. We got to see all of grottos that the island has to offer. We got to pass through the famous rocks that jut out of the ocean. We did everything and had we had more time we would have stopped for a meal at one of the many restaurants that are only accessible by boat. I can't even explain how much fun it was except that I took over 180 pictures in the three hours and could have easily taken more. The experience easily ranks within one of the most fun things I've ever done. Ever.

I can now see why people get boat fever and just go out buy big boats. Being out in open water is really amazing. It's even more amazing when you can just jump off the boat into it. It is a little scary though, I will admit. Especially when you know there are things in the water a whole lot bigger than you are. I probably would have enjoyed my plunge near one of the grottos a little more and it probably would have lasted longer had I not become such a fan of "Jaws".

P.S. - We're off to the mainland this afternoon, taking the ferry to Amalfi and then moving into another villa somewhere between Amalfi and Ravello for our final week of this Italian adventure! We'll be on the coast and will be visiting the vacation coastal towns of Sorrento, Positano and then will head a little north for a day trip to Pompeii at some point during the week.

There's our boat!

Looks like a natural boatman!

Does this thing have a radio? Just in case? Because it's a big ocean and we're a little boat.

The rock formations are incredible and the water was as blue here as in the Blue Grotto.

This is wear we dropped anchor and took a dip.
We're not sure if we were really anchored because we seamed to drift a bit...boating is a little nerve-wracking.
Also, the guy we rented the boat from said the biggest problem people have is "loss of anchor." Perfect.

After my 30 second dip into the water.

Um, who's driving the boat?

Headed for the arched pass-through!!

So very cool.

Oh Captain, My Captain....

The lighthouse at the Faro di Punta Carena where we experienced the rocky beach.

This is what you get to do when you're not the captain.

Can we rent that boat next time? Please?

The View from the Summit

On Friday we discovered the most awe-inspiring feature of Capri thus far and perhaps one of the most incredible views I've ever seen -- the panorama from the summit of Monte Solaro (Mount Solaro). Monte Solaro soars 589 meters above sea level and is the highest and most panoramic point on the island. Here the view extends across the whole of the island of Capri, the surrounding Bay of Naples, the Amalfi Coast and as far as the distant mountains of Calabria. It is truly incredible because from the top you see very little land below you, just water all the way around, so you get the sensation that there is nothing below you and you are just floating above the water. It's truly breathtaking and we have both never taken in a view quite like it. Since the view is 360 degrees, it is impossible to capture the expanse of it with a camera. You could keep taking pictures there all your life and never really capture the true view from the top.

Also, as it turns out, the ill-fated nature hike that we set out on during our first day here leads to this summit, so the sheer rock face that is right out our back door is part of this mountain. There is also another path that can be taken from Anacapri and takes about an hour to an hour and a half to hike up. There's also a chairlift. We had all intention of hiking up the trail that starts in Anacapri, just for exercise and then taking the chair lift down, but once again, and this time thanks to the Italian's who often fail  to put signs along the path to show what road to take we made it about 10 minutes up then had no idea where to go so we walked back down and let the chair lift do the work. We're still not sure where the trail up and down the mountain was located as we saw no one summiting from out of the brush.

Enjoy the view!

Monte Solaro is on the Anacapri side of the island.
Nestled in the distance is Capri, the more populated side of the island, where we're staying.

The mountain is on the furthest end opposite Capri, there's nothing to my left but cliffs and water, so
you can see how small Capri really is.

Some of the rock faces are much steeper than this but either
way they're all pretty dramatic.

It's completely amazing how clear the water is. It's completely different than the Caribbean and as
clear as a swimming pool.

There was a nice tiny railing, about waste high,
to keep visitors from falling off. 

Floating above the water!

When the only obligation of the day is to visit the shoemaker...

After all the walking of the island's steep terrain of the last two days and the trip to the grotto we decided to take the day off and enjoy our house and view. I made much more progress on my second book of the summer, Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth", before falling asleep in the sun. I'm not sure what Rich did all day, all I know is that his choice of clothes was a pair of boxers. He did finally put on some shorts around 4:30 to go into town so we could pick up my sandals. Oh, how sweet this brief taste of a life of leisure is.

Third trip back to pick them up!

Mission officially accomplished.
While Capri sandals are usually characterized by bejeweled and bedazzled straps I just rarely do sparkle
so I opted for clean and simple but chose colors that to me represent Capri;
The green represents the beautiful vegetation, the blue the water, and the pink the fashions and style.
Such fun, don't you think?

The Blue Grotto....Eh (shrug).

Let's talk about the Grotto Azzurra or better known as the Blue Grotto. I don't think I've ever experienced anything more anti-climatic. Everyone says "make sure you see the Blue Grotto". My advice? While it is interesting and perhaps mysterious if you put pretend it's 2000 years ago and you're an ancient Roman expecting to encounter water nymphs, you're better off saving the $30 (PLUS tip (!!!) for the row boat operator) and spending it on a couple of really good drinks. A postcard would definitely have sufficed. First of all, I've never seen more boats in one place....that right there knocks the whole experience down a notch. Then, it was a 30 minute wait to board the row boat. Finally, it was a two minute tour. Literally. Two minutes. And to be really honest (and Dad, this is for you) our pool emits the same kind of light at night. And at least I can swim in that and stay as long as I want to....and I don't have to pay or tip. Thanks Dad, for our own grotto that I must admit is almost better than the famous one.

So after the tourist trap we boarded the local bus to a place just as beautiful that didn't cost a penny -- Faro di Punta Carena. One of the island’s most famous bathing establishments and located on the Anacapri side of the island, Faro di Punta Carena lies at the foot of a lighthouse (the second most powerful in Italy) and here the sun is guaranteed from dawn until dusk. The "beach" of Faro is small and is formed by a series of concrete platforms created in the rocks, directly above the sea. There are lounge chairs for rent higher up on the cliffs or you can find a spot directly on the concrete, right next to the crashing water and rocks to put your towel down at no charge. We chose the concrete and what entertainment we had watching the young Italian's fresh out of school on summer vacation leaping off of the rocks into the crystal blue water below. It was quite the social scene as they all dared one another to jump in. The water was freezing but Rich took the plunge and even took a leap off the high boulders. We didn't make it to sunset at Faro, which is supposed to be spectacular, but we plan on returning in the next couple of days to witness it.

The single most exciting part of the day though, hands down, was our lovely encounter with a young Korean couple on the bus leaving the Blue Grotto. We heard them speaking Korean so Rich started talking to them in Korean and I think we might have made their day or maybe their whole European vacation. I have never ever seen anyone as excited or as shocked as they were to learn we knew so much about Seoul or knew so many words in Korean. One of their actual comments was, "We never thought we'd meet a foreigner who would be able to say 'hello' to us in Korean." It made them so happy which in turn totally made our day. They were  also shocked to find out that we kind of like kimchi and when we asked if they miss their Korean food while here in Europe they told told us that they are staying with different Korean families while travelling so they don't have to go without their beloved Korean staples.  Yes, they really must have their kimchi wherever they go. This now makes two Korean couples we've had interaction with on this trip and also proves our theory that wherever we go, the Koreans will be there...and this couple was so friendly that it made us miss it all, just a little.

This is what it looks like inside the Blue Grotto...on the two minute tour....and good thing the pictures came
out because I barely remember what it looked like after the two minutes were up.
During the Roman period, under the rule of Tiberius, the interior of the Blue Grotto was used as a
marine nymphaeum. For many centuries, the islanders believed that the cave was inhabited by sirens and devils
and were too scared to enter. It was not until 1826 that the local fisherman Angelo Ferraro accompanied
the German scholar, August Kopisch, and the painter Ernst Fries in to the cave.
Their tales of the magical blue sea cave led to the grotto becoming Capri's number one tourist site.

...and this is what it looks like on the outside...another tourist vortex.
The cavity is approximately 60 meters long and 25 meters wide. The roof of the entrance is situated
approximately 1 meter above the level of the sea and, for this reason, passengers must lie down
in the boat while passing into the cave. The boatman sets down his oars and maneuvers the boat inside
with the aid of a chain attached to the vault of the entrance.

The concrete-platform-beach of Faro di Punta Carena.
This is the width of the whole thing and there's not much concrete behind us so one of the
most popular sun bathing spots on the whole island isn't really that crowded at all. Just how I like it.

Rich took the plunge into the icy, crystal clear,  blue water.
It wasn't quite icy but it was way too cold to actually be enjoyed in my opinion. I only do 85 and above.

Only 10 more days to go of being with each other 24/7. Awww.

Choose the Paved Trail, Not the Ancient Mule One

Good news to report -- the month-long consumption of Italian food WILL NOT be getting the better of us...all thanks to Capri. The island beats out all other stops on this trip with number of miles logged, elevation climbed and stuff hauled while climbing. That being said, Capri has simply some of the most dramatically beautiful landscape I've ever seen and we are absolutely loving it here!

On our our first full day here, two days ago, we set out on a hike that we had read true nature lovers and walking enthusiasts must do once in their life, called Il Passetiello. It was once an old mule trail and connected Capri to Anacapri. Capri and Anacapri are the two towns on the island, on opposite sides. They are very close to each other since the island is so small but are not easily accessible by foot, as the narrow road that connects them clings to sheer rock cliffs (the bus ride is short but quite harrowing). Capri is bigger, fancier, has more places to stay, eat and shop and Anacapri is smaller and just seams more "normal". So this hiking path supposedly allows you to get there by foot and SUPPOSEDLY gives you an amazing view of the island and a nice experience amongst the vegetation of the island. And it went right up behind our house so we figured this was a good first activity.....Let's just say I have never been more ill-prepared for a hike in my life, like ill-prepared in the sense that I wore a skirt, sunhat and flip-flops as I thought it was going to be a nice path that would slowly wind it's way up the hill....That, it was not and I will sum it up with I climbed a 90 degree angle in a skirt and flip flops....and we didn't even make it to Anacapri.

After that ill-fated experience we stuck to the paved roads of Capri and found a much more populated and scenic path that wound its way all the way down to Marina Piccola (one of two marinas on the island, the other is Marina Grande). It ended up offering some of the most stunning views I've ever seen of ocean and rock. We also discovered what the beaches in Capri are like and if you come here expecting white, soft, sandy beaches, you won't find them. There are not miles of long wide sandy beaches here as the coastline of the entire island is made of sheer limestone rock faces and cliffs. The areas where you can walk into the water, which are very few and small, the sand is replaced with smooth white rocks, like the size of the stones used in hot-stone massages, for reference. It's free to lay on the rocks but if you want a chair and a little more privacy you can pay upwards of 20 Euros for one at one of the many "beach clubs". So we just dipped our toes in the water, which is probably about 65 degrees, and took the bus back to the center of town in search of a grocery store to stock up for the week. We cooked dinner later that night here at the house and enjoyed it outside along with our view. It was a good first day.

This was the first stop on the "nature walk" above our house and that's Marina Grande down below where we arrived
on the ferry from Naples. The 90 degree part of the "walk" started here...

...and this was after Rich made the executive decision to turn around and was
trying to figure out the best way to head back without just sliding down on the leaves.
Clearly we are the only ones on the entire island who felt the need to see this trail.
We would definitely have kept going had we been a little more prepared.

And here's a really nice paved, well-travelled path that goes all the way
from the center of town to Marina Piccola.
It was so dramatic, beautiful and a really peaceful walk.

Benvenuto a Capri!

First and foremost, I must apologize for the incredible amount of typos in my last post. I just now actually re-read my writing and what terrible grammar! I was trying to write about five days in about an hour the morning we left Rome.

Anyway, we've made it to the Isle of Capri! We've rented an amazing two bedroom villa with the most incredible view of the center of town, a mountain and the ocean. The couple we've rented it from lives in Rome and we actually met them a couple days ago at their apartment after closing the deal via email to pick up the keys, maps, floor plan and other info about the island. The couple was Dutch and Italian and the Capri villa has been in the husband's family for years. The wife was wonderfully informative and thorough about everything regarding the house and the fact that she didn't have to actually meet us in Capri to open the house and show us around I think made her extremely happy. We left Rome yesterday morning on the 10:50 train to Napoli (Naples in English). First impression of Naples? Eww. Rich's actual comment was "this looks like what I think the real Italy is like, like Godfather-type stuff." Agreed. Although, in their defense we did only see the area between the train station and the port where the ferry to Capri was located. Regardless, we've also heard it's a little more dangerous than any other city so I think it's just best to steer clear.

There are two ferries to Capri -- a slow one and a fast one. The slow one takes an hour and 40 minutes We took the fast one and arrived in 40 minutes, right after a heavy rain so the island was thick with fog and clouds. The island is like no other island I've been to. It is made up of the most beautiful, massive limestone rock jutting high out of the ocean, covered with greenery. The sheer rock faces are unbelievable! It doesn't feel tropical at all really. First impressions were that it was just mystical....and after a walk through town, very very fancy.

After we docked we found the little local bus and took it up the road about 10 minutes. Rich chatted with a lovely woman from the U.K. who gave us some local recommendations for things to do and places to eat. She should know, she's been here for 50 years! After exiting the bus at our stop we began the hike up to the villa. It wasn't terrible, but I'm about to either pay someone to pull my suitcase the rest of this trip or just drop it off at the post office and ship it home...the wine and cheese we're hauling seems to get heavier with each stop. However, the hike was completely worth it. All I can say is that I fell down the stairs and off the porch as we discovered every part of the house, I was that excited....yes, the view is that awesome that I forgot there were stairs. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, just see the pictures below. It was evening so it's a little dark but I'll post more when it's sunny and there are of course more amazing views of the terrain and water from other locations on the island so stay tuned.

After settling in, figuring out the boiler situation and emailing the owner to tell her the pictures online don't do the property justice and that everything was perfect, we walked down to the center of town (it's about a 10 minute walk) and discovered the other reason everyone comes here, besides the water and scenery. The streets of Capri are closed to cars and to sum it all up it's like a mini version of a low-key Palm Beach or Beverly Hills, full of wonderfully tiny streets that don't seem real, housing miniature versions of everything couture. Everything was quietly fancy and expensively understated and the jewelry stores were more numerous than gelato stands, but never mind all that. I've had one mission since arriving in Italy and that was to pay a visit to the Canfora sandal shop to have a pair of "original Capri sandals" custom made (as suggested by the April issue of "Town and Country"). I'm happy to report that the quest is over, it was pretty exciting and they'll be ready tomorrow.

P.S. Rich's "personal hotspot" for internet connections is working here in our cottage but I've been warned that I have to limit the number of pictures I upload as the usage of our internet each day is being rationed in order to have enough on the Italian SIM card for the rest of the trip. Since the thought of not being able to connect is very scary for some,  I will be limiting the number of posts over the next week since we actually might need the bandwidth to connect to navigation next week when we have another rental car. I wouldn't want to end up in the wrong part of Naples or worse, Sicily, by accident.

The gate for our villa.
The villa is perched above this limestone wall and it took us about 25 minutes and
a conference of  a couple neighbors to find it. 

Right at the top of the stairs, this is what you see!
The cluster of buildings nestled in the valley is the main part of Capri.
We're only about a 10 minute walk down to the main street and shops,
even though this makes it look much further.

And this is the view to the left.
At the very top of the hill is a castle that's much more visible in person and the famous "Blue Grotto" is
just around that hill on the other side of the island.

This is the view looking straight off the front.
I took these pictures the following day when the lighting and view was better.

And here's our home for the next week!
The inside is wonderfully charming with beautiful arched doorways, blue tile floors and wonderful
art and photographs. It is much bigger than it looks but is two bedroom/two bath and on the next level up above the house is the pool and sun deck. We can tell it was a beloved vacation home decades ago for the family we're
renting it from. Due to the internet rationing, the tour of inside will have to wait

An example of what the streets of Capri are like....or the streets for those who have
parked their yacht off the coast and need a little Madison Avenue fix
while on vacation. Everything is perfectly kept and perfectly luxurious...and
I've never ever seen so many fine jewelry shops in one place, not even on the
real Madison Avenue.

Even every restaurant is just perfect.

Foot measured, colors chosen, mission accomplished.
According to "Town and Country", one hot summer night in 1962, the owner and shoe-maker Amedeo Canfora
received a request for a private midnight appointment. Jackie Kennedy, on a holiday tour of the Amalfi islands,
wanted a pair of his handmade sandals. This was the only time he made special accommodations for a customer.
His shop, which opened in 1946, also served Grace Kelly and Princess Margaret and he can be credited for creating the three-strap sandal that you see above...could all be magazine legend and I most certainly
bought into the marketing, but I can't wait to pick them up!

The Last 5 Days

Where did the week go! We leave Rome today for Capri and I still have four days to show you! So below are highlights from the rest of the week here in Rome which consisted of the Pantheon, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the Borghese Gallery and lot's of wandering the streets. I'm sorry I don't have time to write more or any captions to accompany the pictures.

Oh, how I will miss Rome! The thick crowds of tourists and the restaurants hawking their menu's to get us to eat there I will not, but Rome was amazing. I week here was definitely long enough, considering we saw all the sites we wanted to see in three days, but the extra days left many hours to wander and get away from the masses to really experience the peaceful, more local parts of Rome. Every meal was fantastic, we did have our first experience with some terrible gelato, and I finally got to have some authentically Roman spaghetti carbonara.

We are now off to the Isle of Capri where we've rented a little cottage for a week. The owners were lovely as they live here in Rome and we had to go to their house the other night to get the keys, maps and information. It will be a two hour train ride from Rome to Naples where we will then take a boat from Naples to Capri. We can't wait for the peace and quiet. Also, the cottage does not have internet so unless Rich's "personal hotspot" on his phone works, there won't be any posts until our second week at a different rental. I think this makes Rich a little nervous. I think it's fantastic. Time to pull out the deck of playing cards I brought and have some good, old fashioned, non-connected fun!

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

A Pantheon Column for scale.

The Spanish Steps...you're suppose to climb them, but we're not sure why,

The piazza below the Spanish Steps was beautiful.

This is supposedly in the top 10 best pizza places in Rome, a family-owed bakery.
That's the caprese pizza and each pizza is about 4 feet long and they chop off square slices
with one big chop of the knife. It was wonderfully fresh and delicious.

The pilgrimage is over! We've made it to the Vatican.

Mailing a postcard home....like everyone else does, since the Vatican
is it's own country. It was more of an experiment to see if it makes
it home before we do.

St. Peter's Basilica through the Vatican Gardens.

Two interesting facts: The sculpture is supposed to represent the world in the outer sphere and the Vatican
City in the smaller inner sphere. The entire sculpture is also the same size as the ball at the very
top of the spire on St. Peter's Basilica dome which is in the background.

Our wonderful tour guide in the sculpture gallery of the Vatican Museum.

An unknown fact to me: Most of the ancient sculptures once had color whereas
now they're all natural stone color. On some sculptures the eye color will survive, like
on this one of the Goddess Athena.

Inside the tapestry room of the Vatican Museum.

The Map Room, where frescos of all the different regions of Italy are painted along
the walls.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.
One of the most amazing places I've ever been in.

Part of the ceiling.

The entrance. Look how tiny everyone appears!

We were there at 5:00 a mass was going on behind this giant pulpit structure,
so we got to have some mood music with the organ during our tour.

It was the prettiest church I've ever been in.

So long Vatican City! It was a pleasure!

The Villa Borghese, home of the Borghese Gallery.
If you see one museum in Rome make it this one. It was absolutely amazing.

And then Rich found a buffet for lunch.

After the buffet we went back to the Trevi Fountain to toss a coin in with a wish.

There are vines like this all over the city.

Then we found a whole street of stores selling priest attire and church accessories.
We had no idea such places existed but I guess how else would a priest get his clothes.

On Saturday we went to the Borghese Park right next to our hotel to escape the crowds.
It was like Central Park just less crowded.

I read and Rich flew paper airplanes.

St. Peter's at night.

One of the more interested dinners in the old Jewish ghetto, but highly recomended on Trip Advisor and Zagat.
The fried artichokes as an appetizer are famous but it was a little strange eating the whole leaf.

At one of the top beer bars in the world, according to Rate Beer.com
I have to say, the "Weird Grape" was really good, and I hate beer.

And perhaps this sums up just how touristy Rome is.

Love.

On our last day we decided to make a stop by one more church, for good measure....
we picked one that's down the street from our hotel that always seamed to have a
waiting crowd out front. Reason for the crowd? The crypt, with the remains of
over 4000 friars, none of which were actually six feet under. The bones were everywhere.
On the ceiling, the walls, stacked. Some full skeletons still had their friar robes
on. It was wonderfully creepy but what had been done with the bones incredibly
creative and artistic. Pictures weren't allowed. Sorry.

Last dinner in Rome!

Arrivederci a Roma!