Our hotel was farther inland in the town of Anacapri. Since Capri is such a thriving tourist destination it tends to be a bit pricey and busy. In comparison, Anacapri offers the lovely charm of a small Italian village with tiny winding streets, local residents and lots of scooters. Anacapri cannot be more than a kilometre or two away from Capri, but since it is up a mountain it is advisable to take the bus. I don't think I have ever taken that many 180 degree turns on a road before. The buses are a tale to themselves! They are small orange things which can cram in about twenty people, and the bus-drivers have loads of character. One had a Vespa bag and would sing aloud to Italian music on the radio, while another had a print-out of a girl in a bikini taped to his glove-box. The drivers have mastered the art of honking. They tap their horn going around tight corners, signalling hello to pedestrians, and whenever the heck they wanted as far as I could tell.
There were some fabulous things to see in Anacapri so I'll be sharing quite a few pictures. First, our hotel owner recommended a viewing point overlooking Capri.
We entered one fabulous church, St Michael's (Chiesa San Michele), which has one of the most artistic floors I have ever seen. It was created by Leonardo Chiaiesa in 1719 out of majolica, a glazed pottery. The scene depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and is so precious that you must walk along the border via a wooden walkway.
We also visited the top of Monte Salerno. Conveniently this can be accessed by chairlift, though there is a walking trail if desired. As I've mentioned before, Laura and I are "hard-core" tourists and do not mind walking, however when tackling a mountain we got smart. We decided to take the lift up and then walk down ... which was a good idea until we started on the rocky trail and realised our sandal footwear was less than suitable. Oh well, a few stubbed toes did not tarnish the fun! Here are the pictures to illustrate the "ups and downs" of our mountain climb.
Can you see me?
Bet you can see Laura!
Alright so maybe we had a bit too much fun on the walk, but we had to get serious right after as things turned a bit romantic... we decided to go watch the sunset off the point, Punta Carena. The sun at our front, lighthouse at our back, and pointy rocks as our seats; it was almost perfect (except for the rocks).
The next day we visited perhaps the most popular tourist attraction on the island, the Grotta Azura or Blue Cave. When inside the cave the sea water illuminates a vibrant blue colour due to the way the sunlight reflects. The catch is the cave's small entrance; you must lie flat in a row boat to enter and if the waves are too large it is inaccessible. Luckily the cave was open on our second day, and we had a skilled Italian man to shuttle us inside. The system of entering the cave is fairly humorous because of the large quantities of people it serves. Rowboats collect passengers from larger boats, then crowd at the entrance. When everyone is ready, each takes a turn shooting into the cave (the Italian men have to limbo under the wall), you make a quick circle inside the cave, bunch up again near the exit and everyone takes turns shooting out. It was hard to get good pictures inside the cave, but at least you can see the colour of blue.
Before leaving Capri we visited the Gardens of Augustus, built by the rich German business man Friedrich Krupp in the early twentieth century. The weaving walking path is a quick way to access the Marina Piccola (small harbour). Unfortunately we did not have time to descend this cliff as we had a ferry to catch to Naples.
Looking the opposite direction from the Gardens.
The weaving path of Augustus Gardens.
Pulling into Naples harbour via the ferry. Check out the size of that cruise liner (it had at least three waterslides on deck).
In my travelling this year, I have really enjoyed all the places I visited. I hate to admit it now, but I disliked Naples. It has an accurate reputation for being a "dirty" city, as litter fills the streets and graffiti covers the walls. The old city was definitely worse than the new city, which is almost a shame as the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We entered one old, plain-looking church, only to be surprised at its magnificence inside. The interior was such a contradiction to the disorder outdoors I was shocked.
You can't judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed indoors.
Despite its downsides Naples is a very important city historically and has a lot of monuments which we did not get an opportunity to visit. Another benefit is how cheap it is in comparison to other places; a pizza was half the price as in Rome. When we spent some time walking along the harbour my impression of the city began to improve, but unfortunately we returned to Rome before it could redeem itself, and I do not think I'll make an effort to revisit.
This massive building is the Church of San Francesco di Paola, located in the Piazza di Plebiscito.
The glass-domed Galleria. I've been in one very similar to this in Milan in 2010.
Our flight back to Ireland was on the morning of the 30th, so as a way to celebrate our last evening Laura and I attended a ballet at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome's Opera House). The ballet was La Sylphide, about a Scottish farmer who falls in love with a fairy though already betrothed, and loses everything when tricked by an evil witch. The ballet was not the most exciting I've seen, but the splendidness of the theatre compensated. I believe our favourite part was the costume display in the lobby, showcasing previous productions including Barber of Seville and Faust.
Both Laura and I loved our trip to Italy, and as I have written these blogs I have enjoyed reliving our travel stories. Glad I could share so many pictures and I look forward to writing more in the future!
Ciao for now!
Shannon
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