Capri!!
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
15
19
Trip End
Sep 20, 2008
Capri,
Campania,
Italy
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
9:32 PM
Wow! What an amazing day! I had a typical European breakfast and headed out at 8:10. We then took a short drive to Salerno's port which I can see very easily from my balcony. This morning was quite chilly - I was cold even in a sweatshirt. As a group, we boarded a ferry bound for the Isle of Capri. I got a window seat, but the windows were too dirty to get pictures of the Amalfi Coast, but they were clean enough to take video. It was a 2 ½ hour ferry ride, which made me sleepy; I had to stay awake otherwise I might miss the stop. So at around 11:00, we arrived at the posh yet touristy Isle of Capri (pronounced: caw'-pree). Our boat docked in Marina Grande and that's where we met our fantastic guide, Sabrina, for a tour of Capri
Pizza!!!
. (By this time, it had begun to warm up.)We started by taking a "funiculare" from Marina Grande to Capri (the small city, not the entire island). Grandma and I then took an optional tour led by Sabrina around Capri to see the Gardens of Augustus "on the other side of Capri" which was only a 20-minute walk because Capri is not that "thick". When we arrived at our destination, we saw some fragrant gardens and took pictures of the "guardiano" (guardians) or "lighthouses" of Capri - giant rocks off the coast of Capri. The weather had turned to beautiful - undeniably wonderful. Clear blue skies, 83° degrees out, a gentle breeze - the most perfect weather we've had in Italia. After I took some pictures and video, we walked through the posh streets lined with Gucci, Armani, Fendi, and many other high-fashion shops. We then met up with Granddad at the piazzetta ("small square") and then drove to Anacapri.
"Ana" is a Greek prefix which means higher, we headed up to Anacapri. The ride was definitely much scarier the Amalfi Coast, let me tell you. A regular bus would be too big and bulky to drive along the twisting cliffside roads, so we took 2 minibuses.
I got to ride shotgun. (Gary, our Collette tour guide, told me that the seat's view terrified him, so I thought I'd give it a shot.) Boy, was that an experience
Arriving in Capri
! I'm sitting there, taking pictures of the Bay of Naples, when Gary tells me to get out my video camera and hold on tight. I oblige, and as soon as I hit the "record" button, I start flipping out. The road just drops 600 ft to the sea - and there's only a thin guard rail to keep you on the road!! Now, mind you, this is on a 75-degree turn, in which the driver is going 60 mph in a minibus with no seatbelts and big open windows which is filled with now freaked-out-of-their-socks tourists - and he doesn't even slow down! He was nearly as insane as the taxi drivers in Rome. The view - terrifyingly beautiful. I loved it but I was relieved when finally left that brief section of highway. We were in a minor fender-bender with an oncoming vehicle but no one was going fast and no one cared anyway.Then we finally made it to Anacapri - in one piece, no less. Anacapri is the highest town in Capri and doesn't have the designer shops that Capri had. Grandma, Granddad, and I first ate lunch (yay for a tuna sandwich with no mayonnaise) and then took a sky-lift ride to the top of the highest mountain in Capri, Mount Solara. Each seat held only one person and it took about 12 minutes to get to the top. It was about 15 feet off the sloped ground (we were going up again). At first, I was really nervous but I got used to it pretty fast. When we made it to the top, we walked up to a small terrace and enjoyed the view. SO COOL!! I could see for (at least) 100 miles up there
Boats in Marina Grande
! I saw the entire Bay of Naples, Sorrentine Peninsula, Isle of Capri, and many miles of the blue Mediterranean Sea. Fabulous!! I loved it! It was definitely the highest I've ever been (airplanes don't count). After many pictures and much video, we headed back down the mountain which wasn't so bad because I knew what to expect. We then had some gelato (mine was chocolate chip today) and did some speed-shopping before boarding the mini-bus to go back to Marina Grande. The drive wasn't as scary as the way up. When we arrived in Marina Grande we had a much better boat that we quickly boarded. It was an open-roofed one, so I took a lot of great pictures of the Amalfi coast on the way back. I love boating and that was a wonderful ride in perfect weather. The ferry made brief stops in Amalfi, Positano, and Minori before we arrived in Salerno. I'll tell you a bit more about the boat ride. It was a gorgeous day anyway, which gave us smooth sailing. The Mediterranean was a brilliant blue color which contrasted the pale blue sky. Since the ride lasted 2.5 hours, I stayed on the top deck the whole time and met some nice British people. As the sun set behind the Apennine Mountains, I took some gorgeous shots and just enjoyed the day. I loved today - it was my favorite day of the whole trip.
We got back to our hotel and got ready for dinner at the hotel. It wasn't that great, but I hear tomorrow's will be good. I'm writing this on my balcony, lit by the full moon and whatever light hits my pages. I love it here. Definitely the most perfect day ever.
