Capri

We could see the Island of Capri from our Hotel and this was also one of the trips on offer, this trip was priced at €81 per person but we could see that the ferry went over quite regularly and managed to get there for €70 for us both. The Queues for the boat were huge and for a while I was convinced that we would not all be able to get on but the boats are deceptively large and we all managed to board. We stood at the back of the boat so I could get some

pictures as we set off and pretty soon we were on our way, once they start they soon pick up speed and if you are not lucky you get the occasional splash of sea water in the face, I was not one of the lucky ones. As soon as you get your first glimpse of Capri you are in no doubt that it is a Millionaires playground, the boats that are moored in the harbour and the buildings built expertly into the hillside leaves you under no illusion that the people who live there are all doing pretty well for themselves. One of the things that caught my attention was the diagonal line that was cut into the cliff, looking closer I caught a glimpse of an orange dot on this line and I soon realised that this was a road and the dot was a bus. I have seen cliff edge roads before but this one looked particularly scary so we decided we would not be using this. Once we had got

off the boat we followed the signs to the centre, this took us up several steep steps that went on forever. A couple of times we heard traffic noise and thought we had made it all of the way up only to find that it was just the road and the steps carried on after we had crossed. Once we had eventually made it to the top we were rewarded with incredible views across the sea and down to the harbour and of Capri itself but incredibly we were only at half of the height of the island. There was still the scary road to negotiate for those that chose to continue. We decided that after the epic climb we deserved a break so we sat in one of the little café’s for a drink and a small cake. I wasn’t hungry but I did try some of my

wife’s cake after she had tasted it and declared it to be one of the best things she had ever tasted. It was a light pastry containing Apple and in one of the corners was a small portion of hazelnut chocolate similar to Nutella. I had to admit that it was pretty special. After a little exploring we found the exclusive part of Capri, this was a paved shopping area full of designer names, the Italian Rodeo Drive. The restaurant on the corner was littered with photographs of Hollywood actors and pop stars but we opted for the deli. We purchased a few Saltimboccas and found a bench for our picnic lunch. To get back down to the harbour we decided to use the Funicular railway as we didn’t really fancy retracing our steps, this was well worth the €1.80 fare as you get some
excellent views on the journey down. To really get a feel for the island I recommend a boat trip, we took a 1 hour journey around the island and the guides pointed out the many caves and grottos that are dotted around as well as the celebrity homes. We saw the home of Sofia Loren as well as some fashion designers houses and they all looked impressively elegant but also a little isolated. Although I enjoyed Capri I was happy to get back into Sorrento, even though we were faced with the prospect on another 130 steps to get back up to the mail town.