On Friday, we took a small sport boat from our hotel to the Isola di Capri with 2 other couples from the hotel. The 2 hour trip to Capri took us by a private island (rental is only $85k a week including the small church), several interesting grottoes with turquoise-colored crystal clear water including the famous “Blue Grotto”. Unfortunately, the Blue Grotto is a real tourist trap but has become THE symbol of Capri.
Heaven on earth as been located. The search is over! Lesley gasped as we inched closer to the Grande Marina on this magical island paradise. The marina is awash with tourist’s boats and is even bustling in April. We can’t imagine what it would be like during the summer months. We took the steep funicular up to Capri Town which sits on a high plateau looking down to the sea and the marinas. Capri is a gorgeous island with a focus on high-end retail (Gucci, Prada, etc.) and numerous fine dining establishments. Fresh pesce (fish) is the star of the show at all restaurants. With its maze of traditional white washed buildings, there definitely feels like a huge Greek influence here in terms of the color palette and architecture. This classy island is ridiculously attractive and reminded us of a combination of Sea Island, Georgia and Bermuda. You really can’t blame celebs and high-rollers for making it their Mediterranean playground! The island is tailored to affluent travelers and the prices reflect that fact.
Lesley purchased 2 pairs of hand-made Italian shoes from a 75-year old small local shoe store. (She now has 4 pairs of Italian shoes she has to drag around for the next 3 months.) The very elderly Italian shoe store owner spoke English and was absolutely adorable and funny. His father owned the shop before him. It was a very tiny shop with lots of stunning sandals and flats displayed in a rather chaotic fashion. Their inventory storage method was basically keeping similar shoes in shopping size plastic bags. Interesting – but it worked for them.
The weather was a bit spotty. We had lots of dark clouds after lunch and the possibility of rain. Due to the precarious weather, we held off on our original plan to hike (it didn’t help that our legs were still sore from the Path of the Gods hike & the thousands of steps to get to the “Path”). We wandered off the beaten track through some beautiful little cobbled streets, had a delightful lunch and strolled on the “Belvedere of Tragara” which is a wonderful promenade lined with villas and lovely hotels offering high panoramic, jaw-dropping views over the island.
We decided to walk back to the boat after our 4 hour self-tour and were heading down the hill (Capri Center is at the top of the island). After being stumped by the trail/roads down, we evaluated our situation and discovered that we were walking down the wrong side of the island! We were going to the wrong harbor on the opposite side of where we landed. What a mix-up! If we had completed that walk, a taxi driver would have been delighted.
On the shorter boat trip back (less sightseeing), it was raining and the sea was very choppy. We loved Capri and we must return. For such a small island, Capri has so much to explore and experience. Between the weather and only 4 hours on the island, we weren’t able to do our hikes or visit the village of Anacapri – a major disappointment, but we had an absolutely glorious day.
