To the Beautiful Island of Capri

So our tale begins when we get off the ferry at Marina Grande. We didn´t quite get a chance to appreciate the beaty at first because the bus situation was a little bit confusing for us...but that can´t be too surprising for you. Long story short, we waited in line for over an hour, entertained ourselved by taking some pictures, until we caught the bus and unknowingly walked the long way to our bed and breakfast. Now THAT is a story unto itself.

We were so relieved to arrive. The place was breathtaking. Flowers everywhere. The most adorable welcoming us with homemade sweet tea. Villa patio with a view of the ocean and the surrounding islands. Private room with a double bed (sans bunkbeds) and great bathroom. We were speechless and so excited to finally be there...minus a bag haha. We just sort of looked around in awe at the paradise we were in.

We took the recommendation of Sabrina (the cute woman who greeted us and ran the bed and breafast along with Luciana) and had lunch at Cafe Michelangelo and walked around Anacapri (above Capri) for a while. During our walk after lunch, Liana met some new friends. They loved her just as much as she loved them. Ashley sat giggling in the background taking pictures while she gave them a snack of their own.

Next, we decided to follow another recommendation of Sabrina´s and check out Monte Solaro, which is basically a chair lift to the top of the island. Really, just an individual wooden chair connected to a wire, rope and pulley system. A little nerve-wracking at first, but once we were on our way, the view took our minds off of any fear of heights we might have had.

Little did we know, when we got to the top of the chair lift, we were able to get off and explore the top of the island, seeing a 360 degree view. We were so excited, we had to commemorate the occasion - what better way than a glass of Capri´s famous limoncello? Two glasses actually. It burned going down, but left such a sweet taste in our mouths...perfect. While we were taking pictures of everything we could, hopelessly trying to capture in pictures the beauty we knew we never could, we asked a local to take a picture of us. Little did we know, he would get really into the idea of playing photographer, and would lead us all around the area on what we like to call our Capri photo shoot.

Believe it or not, a little tipsy off our limoncello, we made our way down the chair lift right before it was closing. The view going down might have been even better than the view going up. When we got down, we grabbed some lunch at a little cafe at the bottom of the chair lift. Had we known what we would pay for our panini, small quesadilla-like sandwich, french fries, and water, we probably would have gone hungry...but hey, that´s Capri for you.

That night we decided to lay low and enjoy our gorgeous bed and breakfast. All we could think about was looking at the sunset and relaxing and reading...after all, our bed and breakfast was called Il Tramonto (The Sunset)...and let me tell you, it didn´t disappoint. When we thought our evening couldn´t get any better, Sabrina comes out to the patio where we were reading and says in her thick Italian accent, "Would you girls like some limoncello??" We looked at each other, back to her, and simultaneously said, "Sure!" A few minutes later, she came out bearing gifts...ice cold limoncello...mmmmm.

Day two, where we should be checking out, we were eating breakfast under a terrace draped with jasmine. Yeah...one day was definitely not enough. So when Sabrina offered, "Would you girls like to stay a second night?" we said..."SURE!" Satisfied with fresh juice, coffee, toast and jam, we set off back down the mountain (on some of the scariest buses ever) to Marina Grande. So by scary, we mean the road down the mountain was a series of hairpin turns that the bus driver took at 60 miles an hour, and the scariest part is how narrow the roads are. Buses came within inches...no, milimeters of hitting each other every trip we made.

Down at Marina Grande, we got tickets to the Tour of the Island by boat. We had no idea exactly how incredible and absolutely worthwhile it would be. Just to let you know, there´s no way we´ll be able to describe the experience. We left the port and began tour of the complete perimeter of the island with a humorous English-speaking tour guide. Along the way, we encountered the Grotta Bianca (White Grotto), the Grotta Verde (Green Grotto), the Faraglioni (three rocks featured in a picture above), Sophia Loren´s and Georgio Armani´s villas, the natural arc, the past residence of Mussolini, and the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto), which much to our dismay, was closed due to high tide. The weather was...perfect. Cool enough that we never felt hot, but warm enough that we were standing there in our bathing suits taking picture after picture without thinking twice.

After our tour, we had our first pasta dish in Italy...cheese, pasta, tomato, fresh basil...so good. Then it was off to the beach to lay out and catch some rays. The most interesting thing about this beach is that there was no sand. Where there would have been sand was an area completely covered by smooth gray rocks. We soaked up some sun, cooled off a little in water that if it had been any warmer, would not have been refreshing, and decided to head back to get ready for dinner.

For dinner, we went to Materita (yet another suggestion from Sabrina) and had a delicious vegetable pizza, adorned with zucchini, eggplant, peppers, onions and mushrooms. The service was great...and handsome. Guido was his name, and although he invited us out that night to join him at the club, our plan was to buy some provolone and wine...and to have a romantic evening watching the sunset (again...it doesn´t get old) and relaxing under a blanket on the patio, catching up on our reading.

Before that, we grabbed our first gelato in Italy. Capri was a place for a lot of firsts. Ashley grabbed pistacchio and stracchiatella (chocolate chip) while Liana got Panna Cotta, which in Italian means "cooked cream." It doesn´t sound good, but it´s delicious and tastes a lot like a better version of whipped cream.











So as we planned, we stopped by the grocery store, grabbed some provolone, crackers and wine...also some breakfast food for the next day...and made our way back to Il Tramonto. The sunset rivaled the one the night before, as we enjoyed it, book in hands. Then Sabrina comes into the picture and asks, "Would you girls like some limoncello??" You know the answer. Biscottis came with our ice cold glasses this time. We were so comfortable and so happy, we could have stayed there forever.

Unfortunately, we had to check out in less than 10 hours. We felt that we truly enjoyed and appreciated our stay in Capri. It was exactly what the doctor ordered after the baggage debaucle and the numerous sleepless nights preceeding.

Our ferry back to Naples the next morning was quick...still no bags to be found at our Naples hostel. So we changed the address and went on our way. There were better things to experience in Rome.