Sorrento and the Isle of Capri

Trip Start Jul 27, 2007
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Trip End Oct 22, 2007


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Thursday, October 11, 2007

After meeting the Contiki tour group we headed off the next morning for Sorrento near Naples. We arrived around lunchtime at the ruins to Pompeii and walked around the excavation. It was amazing to see very well preserved remains of a Roman city and how technologically advanced the Romans were for their time. After lunch (which included pizza) we reached Sorrento and our hotel. The hotel itself was a little old but my room was big enough for 3 people so I had plenty of room. The one big plus for this hotel was that it was situated right on the beach so as soon as I had put my bag in my room I grab a towel and went for a swim. Unlike the south of France a few weeks ago the water was quite warm but still very salty. After the swim we headed out for the first of our optional dinners. These dinners cost extra on top of the tour but are organized by Contiki some people believe them not to be worth the cost but they are great to meet your fellow travellers more. The meal we had was on a cliff top over looking the seas and was a really nice spot. The food was OK with the pasta being very nice but the meat nothing special. After dinner we head back to the hotel where a few of us grabbed a beer and headed down to the beach.
The next morning was an early start as we were heading to the Isle of Capri for the day. We had a small amount of rain the night before and the weather didn't look good on the horizon and sure enough as the ferry headed to the island the rain came down. Once on the island I headed to the small town of Anacapri and had a quick look around as well as a early lunch (which was Spaghetti Bol). Here there was a small chair lift that took you to the top of the highest point on the island but due to the rain was not running. I then hopped back on the small bus and headed back to the main town of Capri where we started. I was joined by several of the Americans on our trip at this time as well. I should also mention the bus trips to and from Anacapri as the road sits right on the edge of the cliff and there were a few spots where I thought the bus was heading over the edge (luckily I have my will completed back home and my travel insurance paid up). When we got back to Capri the sun finally showed its face and wee had great weather for the rest of the day. We walked over to the opposite of the island from Capri to get a glimpse of 2 giant rocks that stick out of the sea. On our way we found an abandoned monastery nestled in a small valley with a few large (and old) paintings of there walls. When we passed through the monastery's gardens we found several viewing spots on the cliff faces that looked right along that side of the island. Our next hike when we returned to Capri was to see the ruins of the Villa Jovis which sat at the east end of the island closest to the mainland. The Villa was constructed to be the house of one of the Caesars who would rule the Roman empire from Capri and not Rome. The walk there was all up hill but when finally there the view was worth it where you could see right back to the mainland and all along the northern side of the island. The ruins themselves were OK but you could make out that at its prime this building would have been amazing. On returning to Capri we headed back to the marina to sample some more gelati and wait for out ferry back to Sorrento. We had an hour to kill before heading back to the hotel so myself and a fellow traveller Jamie (engineer from Melbourne) had a few quite beers at one the local cafes. We had dinner back at the hotel which featured both halves of your typical Italian diet - pizza and pasta. After dinner Jamie and I had a few more quiet drinks before heading back to our rooms and packing for the trip the next day to Florence.
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