Blogs from Capri, Campania, Italy, Europe
May 15th 2012
We had breakfast overlooking Naples and spotted where the ferries left for Capri from our table and decided to catch one. A lovely 50 minute crossing and then we arrived at the island. We decided to just spend the day wandering round the harbour but we needed to find an ATM. We had a cappuchino and the waiter told us there was one 15 minutes along the road so off we went. About an hour and 3000 steps later we were half way up the mountain to Capri town with at least another 3000 steps and a certain heart attack to go so we flagged down a taxi. Getting out of the taxi I caught my shoe and it broke - so there I was in Capri town with no shoes surrounded by the best shoe ... read more
October 19th 2011
Started the morning off with the regular bread and jam around 9 and headed towards CAPRI. I had to take a train to Sorrento and then a boat to the Island. It was a beautiful island and I had no idea where to start and how to get around. The tourist information lady was not helpful at all. I just followed the crowd to some boat slips and bought a boat ticket that went around the island. It took about hour and half to go around the island with a stop at the Blue Grotto in the middle...... This was awesome because when you get to the Blue Grotto, there are little row boats that come up to the boat and three people get in each one. You then get rowed over to this low entrance ... read more
October 6th 2011
Today we were the commanders of our own ship, small though it may have been, we were free! For a whole two hours! We hired a small speed racer, bought some beers and a half bottle of wine (but forgot that we needed a cork screw for the wine, so poor John had to give over one of his beers to his dear mrs. Earlier in the day we decided to visit the Grotto Azzurra (Blue Grotto) by way of 3 connecting buses, so that we didn't waste too much of our time on the boat waiting for our turn to go into the cave. You have to wait to be transferred from the jetty, or a bigger boat (if you have come by sea) into the little timber boats, and squeezed in on top of ... read more
October 5th 2011
We finally made it to Capri, an island off the Amalfi Coast which we had been looking forward to returning to for many years. Tomorrow we will hire a small boat and explore the island from the water, and it's many caves (grotto's) - blue, white and green, named for the colour of the water (blue & green) or the rock (white one). I think the green or white grotto we can swim into, but the blue grotto has a tiny cave entry and every has to anchor and climb into small boats with experienced guides. They time the entry with the tide/swell receding and everyone lays back on top of each other in order to get through the small gap. Of course you have to tip extra if you want them to sing while in ... read more
July 19th 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 Lauren, my Auzzie roommmate, and I booked a trip to Capri for the day. We shopped for jewelry, lounged on the beach (I lounged in the shade), and swam in the Mediterranean Sea.... read more
May 22nd 2011
Day 4 was spent visiting Capri island. We took the ferry from Sorrento which took about 30 minutes. Capri is like most of the Amalfi coast in that it is dramatic cliffs with a town or two build into the side of them. Our favorite part of Capri was taking the chairlift up to the top of Anacapri. The ride was so peaceful and relaxing as you slowly rise through very green, lush, gardens and smell various flowers as you make your way to the top. From the top of the chairlift, you could see just about all of Capri island. We then walked through Anacapri and Capri itself which was filled with souvenir shops, geloto stands, and resturants.... read more
February 9th 2011
Our first day trip from Sorrento was the ancient ruined city of Pompeii. Having both been to Rome and seen the ruins of the Colosseum and the Forum, we were struck by the grandeur of the city and the condition in which it is preserved. We spent a long afternoon on foot touring the city and - with nearly no tourists around - were able to get a fairly intimate look at ancient Roman life. To put Pompeii into words is challenging, as it’s an experience that is easy to live, but difficult to describe. Our second day trip took us to the resort island of Capri. With Joe having been in Europe for 10 days now, and Mike much longer, we had had enough of the ‘continental‘ breakfast and decided we needed some real sustenance. ... read more
October 15th 2010
Turns out there are 50 people on my Contiki trip. Sounds overwhelming, but it isn’t at all! More than half of the group is in their 30’s. There are tons of single travelers, friends, and couples - just an amazing bunch. The tour manager is an Italian woman in her early 30’s who has a trashy sense of humor which is straight up my alley. Jen and I have met some incredible people! Two small worlds in the bunch (that I know of so far) is one of the guys here went to my high school! He is 5 years younger, so I didn’t know him, but very funny. Second is that one of my new BFF is good friends with my friend JR (love Jewish geography and Facebook). Our first stop was Pompeii. It was ... read more
May 19th 2010
Beach. Mountain. Shopping. Food. Beautiful People. Capri is a world on its own. It boasts of beautiful weather, beautiful scenic places, and again, beautiful people... emphasizing that. I went to this island a exactly a year ago, and today i still reminisce the amazing-ness of it all. How did we get there? We took a train from Rome to Naples, then we took a boat or a ferry to Capri. I love the people in Italy. They're so friendly, outspoken, aaand they have the best food, too. I think it's best to go to this island on the month of May... it's no longer too cold, nor is it too hot to walk around. It's just puuuuurfect. The Blue Grotto is probably one of the most visited tourist spot. It's gorgeous. Taking a boat trip around ... read more
October 10th 2009
October 10, 2009 After two days of not having to wake up at a specific time, it was difficult for Judy and I to make it down to the tender at 715 to head to Sorrento. The ship used their own lifeboats this time and they can surprisingly get 103 passengers in just one of them. We were over to the mainland in no time and met up with our guide Antonio. This is the one and only shore excursion we purchased through the ship. We only did it because we did not want to get stranded over on Capri because the hydrofoil was full or the seas to rough to get back. The tour costs twice what it should and was terrible. Our guide contributed little to what we were seeing and was basically useless. ... read more
