A Trip to Italy, including the home of Limoncello
Jul 25th, 2008, 09:18 PM
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A Trip to Italy, including the home of Limoncello
It’s all about the lemons. Who knew that there were huge lemons that you could slice and eat like you would an apple, rind and all? And anyone who has read my previous reports knows that I love Limoncello! 
I just returned from 15 wonderful nights in Italy, 3 in Capri, 5 in Sorrento and 7 in Rome. I had initially debated about whether to spend the first 3 days in Naples or Capri and had decided on Naples. With the garbage problem, I started to change my mind to Capri, then went back to Naples when I read reports that the garbage wasn’t really a big problem in the center of the city. Then I decided that if the garbage were a problem, it would certainly be worse in the heat of July, and decided to spend the time in Capri. While I’d still like to spend time in Naples, I don’t regret my final decision, as I loved Capri and definitely want to go back.
Of course, I realize that July isn’t the best time to go to Italy, but I work in a school and have to take the bulk of my vacation in the summer. I normally don’t do that well in the heat and humidity. While it is very hot the entire time, I do OK. I think this is partially due to mind over matter...I have firmly decided that the heat and humidity will not stop me. I would rather have Italy in July than not have it at all. Carry water with you at all times!
I’m a bit worried about my flight, as I had booked with Alitalia and hoped they wouldn’t go under before my trip. Should I even dare admit that everything goes fine with the flight? We leave exactly on time, there’s a slight delay in my layover in Rome (which was long to start with) before going on to Naples, and they don’t lose my luggage. OK, so the food (and I never expect good food on an airplane) is the worst I have ever experienced. The broccoli is so overcooked that it’s soggy, and the rest of the meal isn’t much better. But that’s a minor thing.
Once in Naples, I had originally figured that I would take a taxi to the port, but thanks to some last-minute advice here on Fodors, I learn about the Alibus. Thank you to those who gave this information! Naples is a small airport. Walk outside, and the bus is right there. Instead of paying around 25€ for a taxi, I am delighted to pay 3€ for a clean, air-conditioned bus with plenty of room for luggage to get to the port. There is a bit of a walk after you get off the bus, plus crossing a busy street (but it’s no worse than crossing the street in Rome) to get to the port. If you want to be dropped off right at the ticket offices, then take a taxi.
I buy my ticket for the hydrofoil to Capri, very easy, and wait for the boat. It takes me to the Marina Grande port on Capri, where I leave my luggage with the porter and take the funicolare up to the Piazzetta. My hotel had offered a service where they meet you at the airport in Naples, drive you to the port, buy your ticket for the hydrofoil, meet you at the port in Capri, and escort you to the hotel. It cost 150€. I just couldn’t justify that expense (over $230). Instead it costs me 3€ for the Alibus, 17€ for the hydrofoil, 20€ for the porter (only because I gave him both my bags, when I probably could have taken one of them) and 1.40€ for the funicolare, or a total of 41.40€. Quite a difference!
I’m staying at La Minerva Hotel, much recommended here. I’ve reserved a single room which I know will be small, because the hotel itself describes it as small, with no view, but it’s only 100€ per night, a good price for Capri. (When I check out later, they only charge me 80€ per night. I don’t know why, but I don’t question such things!) Everything in the room is white, which gives it an airy feeling even though it’s so small. There’s a minibar that actually has reasonable prices. My main complaint about the room is that there isn’t even a chair (and no room to put one), so the only place to sit is on the bed. Oh well, I won’t be spending that much time in the room, so I’ll be OK, but I would really like a chair! Now, I know that Europe is known for small bathrooms, but this has to be the smallest! The shower is so small that it’s difficult to turn around. I can deal with a small shower, but what bothers me more is the water pressure. You turn on the water and it’s OK for a minute, then it drops. You have to keep turning it up to get any water. It’s the first bathroom I’ve ever had in Italy that doesn’t have a bidet, but there’s certainly no room for one!
Still, the hotel has great service. The toilet seat is loose when I arrive, and when it breaks a couple days later and I notify the desk, it is fixed immediately. A nice buffet breakfast is included. It’s a good walk from where you get off the funicolare. I might like to be closer to the Piazzetta next time (mainly due to my arthritic knees) if I could find a good price. A lovely hotel, though, and it has a pool. By the time I get there, it’s around 3:00 pm, and I got up in New York around 26-27 hours earlier. I’m very tired (even though I slept a little on the plane) and hot and decide that the pool sounds really nice. That’s where I spend the next couple of hours, until I want to get ready for dinner. It’s a lovely pool with nice views.
This is just a start...much more to come!
I just returned from 15 wonderful nights in Italy, 3 in Capri, 5 in Sorrento and 7 in Rome. I had initially debated about whether to spend the first 3 days in Naples or Capri and had decided on Naples. With the garbage problem, I started to change my mind to Capri, then went back to Naples when I read reports that the garbage wasn’t really a big problem in the center of the city. Then I decided that if the garbage were a problem, it would certainly be worse in the heat of July, and decided to spend the time in Capri. While I’d still like to spend time in Naples, I don’t regret my final decision, as I loved Capri and definitely want to go back.
Of course, I realize that July isn’t the best time to go to Italy, but I work in a school and have to take the bulk of my vacation in the summer. I normally don’t do that well in the heat and humidity. While it is very hot the entire time, I do OK. I think this is partially due to mind over matter...I have firmly decided that the heat and humidity will not stop me. I would rather have Italy in July than not have it at all. Carry water with you at all times!
I’m a bit worried about my flight, as I had booked with Alitalia and hoped they wouldn’t go under before my trip. Should I even dare admit that everything goes fine with the flight? We leave exactly on time, there’s a slight delay in my layover in Rome (which was long to start with) before going on to Naples, and they don’t lose my luggage. OK, so the food (and I never expect good food on an airplane) is the worst I have ever experienced. The broccoli is so overcooked that it’s soggy, and the rest of the meal isn’t much better. But that’s a minor thing.
Once in Naples, I had originally figured that I would take a taxi to the port, but thanks to some last-minute advice here on Fodors, I learn about the Alibus. Thank you to those who gave this information! Naples is a small airport. Walk outside, and the bus is right there. Instead of paying around 25€ for a taxi, I am delighted to pay 3€ for a clean, air-conditioned bus with plenty of room for luggage to get to the port. There is a bit of a walk after you get off the bus, plus crossing a busy street (but it’s no worse than crossing the street in Rome) to get to the port. If you want to be dropped off right at the ticket offices, then take a taxi.
I buy my ticket for the hydrofoil to Capri, very easy, and wait for the boat. It takes me to the Marina Grande port on Capri, where I leave my luggage with the porter and take the funicolare up to the Piazzetta. My hotel had offered a service where they meet you at the airport in Naples, drive you to the port, buy your ticket for the hydrofoil, meet you at the port in Capri, and escort you to the hotel. It cost 150€. I just couldn’t justify that expense (over $230). Instead it costs me 3€ for the Alibus, 17€ for the hydrofoil, 20€ for the porter (only because I gave him both my bags, when I probably could have taken one of them) and 1.40€ for the funicolare, or a total of 41.40€. Quite a difference!
I’m staying at La Minerva Hotel, much recommended here. I’ve reserved a single room which I know will be small, because the hotel itself describes it as small, with no view, but it’s only 100€ per night, a good price for Capri. (When I check out later, they only charge me 80€ per night. I don’t know why, but I don’t question such things!) Everything in the room is white, which gives it an airy feeling even though it’s so small. There’s a minibar that actually has reasonable prices. My main complaint about the room is that there isn’t even a chair (and no room to put one), so the only place to sit is on the bed. Oh well, I won’t be spending that much time in the room, so I’ll be OK, but I would really like a chair! Now, I know that Europe is known for small bathrooms, but this has to be the smallest! The shower is so small that it’s difficult to turn around. I can deal with a small shower, but what bothers me more is the water pressure. You turn on the water and it’s OK for a minute, then it drops. You have to keep turning it up to get any water. It’s the first bathroom I’ve ever had in Italy that doesn’t have a bidet, but there’s certainly no room for one!
Still, the hotel has great service. The toilet seat is loose when I arrive, and when it breaks a couple days later and I notify the desk, it is fixed immediately. A nice buffet breakfast is included. It’s a good walk from where you get off the funicolare. I might like to be closer to the Piazzetta next time (mainly due to my arthritic knees) if I could find a good price. A lovely hotel, though, and it has a pool. By the time I get there, it’s around 3:00 pm, and I got up in New York around 26-27 hours earlier. I’m very tired (even though I slept a little on the plane) and hot and decide that the pool sounds really nice. That’s where I spend the next couple of hours, until I want to get ready for dinner. It’s a lovely pool with nice views.
This is just a start...much more to come!
Jul 27th, 2008, 03:25 PM
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Thanks, everybody. My weekend was busier than expected, but here's some more. I forgot to mention that I didn't see much garbage in Naples. At the beginning of the ride from the airport, there were a few cans that had a small pile next to them, but as you got into the center (the bus stops at Piazza Garibaldi before the port), there was none at all.
On to more about Capri:
I don’t have a map of Capri, except a very general one, but I don’t seem to need one. I had printed out the directions to the hotel but then forgot them. Fortunately, I had read them a couple of times and had a general idea of which way to go, then just asked a couple of times to make sure I was going in the right direction. There are a few signs along the way for La Minerva, so it’s not difficult to find. I wander back into Capri Town for dinner along the streets filled with designer shops. Nice to look at, but definitely out of my price range! Of course, the view from just off the Piazzaetta is gorgeous. All the views on Capri are gorgeous. It’s a great place for relaxing and just enjoying views. There are those decorated cows all over the place, which of course I have to take pictures of. I think I have around a dozen.
For dinner, I decide on Isidoro on Via Roma, just off the Piazzetta. I didn’t have a lot of recommendations for restaurants on Capri and never do find the few I had. (Guess a map would have helped here!) It turns out to be a very expensive meal, really my own fault. I order the Saute of Clams Crostini, which is absolutely wonderful, and the local fresh fish simply grilled with lemon, also delicious. Here’s where the problem is, it’s one of those things priced by the gram. I guess you can chalk it up to jet lag or just being tired, but I wasn’t paying attention. I also find that wine is more expensive on Capri, and they don’t have a house wine when I ask but offer a wine from the area. I do really like the Taburno Falllenghina. With water, wine and dessert of Caprese Cake (chocolate surrounded by nuts), it’s 79.52€, much more than I would normally spend. I do see by my notes now, that price also included Limoncello. Well, I have to have that, right?
One other thing...everybody always talks about how all the Italians go on vacation in August, but there were plenty of Italians on vacation on Capri in early July. I walk back to the hotel and actually set my alarm. I’m very tired and perfectly capable of sleeping past 10:00 tomorrow morning, and I don’t want to miss breakfast. It’s served on the terrace with great views and includes yogurt, cereal, croissants, bacon or prosciutto, fruit, cakes and of course coffee and juice. Very good.
Mt. Solaro is in the clouds, so I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to go up to Anacapri and take the chairlift. I start out back towards the center, taking a different street this time and end up at Giardini Augusto, at the beginning of Via Krupp. It’s a beautiful small garden with benches where you can just sit and be happy that you’re on the Isle of Capri in Italy! Beautiful weather and surroundings. From the garden, there are stairs that take you up to an overlook with more amazing views that include I Faraglioni. There is an American tour group up there, and the leader asks me to take a picture of the whole group. Of course, I’m happy to do so and then ask him to take one of me with Faraglioni in the background. Sometimes I forget to have people take pictures of me and wish I had more from trips, but I always manage to get some along the way.
I’m looking down at Via Krupp from the other side of the lookout, and it’s a long way with lots of switchbacks down to Marina Piccolo. OK, walking downhill is actually worse for arthritic knees than uphill, but I’d really like to walk down there. I can see where it ends, or so I think, and decide to go for it. Definitely don’t start this walk without water! It’s very hot, and the walk is mostly in the sun. However, at the end of some of the turns, there is a stone bench in the wall where you can sit down for a few minutes in the shade. Of course, I sometimes sit down for more than a few minutes! I’m not sure how long it took me, but quite a while, surely much longer than it would take most people, because I just take my time and rest often.
I get to where I thought it would end from up above, but guess what...naturally, it’s a ways further. I pass a British couple who are about to go down a long flight of stairs to a beach, so I ask them if that’s the Marina down there. They say no, it’s quite a bit further along the road, but if I go around the next corner and take the stairs that are there, it will be shorter than going all the way by the road. OK, onward and upward, or in this case, downward! It turns out to be not as far as I expected to the stairs, and I slowly go down, and down, and down...I get to a restaurant just above the bus station and decide I can’t go any further without more water and a restroom, so this is where I’ll have lunch. This is actually how I usually choose a restaurant for lunch, if I’m going to have a sit-down lunch. If I’m hot and tired and hungry, I’ll eat wherever I happen to be. I have to admit that if I had realized how long the walk was, I probably wouldn’t have done it. However, as is usually the case, whenever I walk longer than I really want to, it’s worth it. The views on the walk down were wonderful, and I wouldn’t have seen them from the bus.
The restaurant is called Ristorante la Piazzetta. When I sit down and the waiter comes over, I just say acqua, still. I think he realizes I need it right now! He brings me a big bottle, which I dive right into, and then start looking at the menu. I have the Seafood Salad, which has octopus, squid, clams, mussels, shrimp and tomatoes. With water and 3€ cover, it’s 18€, which is also more than I would usually spend for lunch. But it’s very good, and I needed food and water.
After a leisurely lunch, I’m tempted to just take the bus back up to Capri Town, but after coming all this way, I decide I have to go the rest of the way down to Marina Piccolo. It’s more stairs, but again I’m glad I do it. The beach is all large pebbles. I just have to cool off my feet in the water. It’s quite warm, and my feet sink way down in. Oops, I better pull back out before I’m completely in! I buy more water and just sit and watch the swimmers for a little while, then go back up the stairs to the bus. Fortunately, I’m at the beginning of the line and get a seat. It’s packed, with most of the people standing. There aren’t very many seats on those buses. You can buy your ticket on the bus from the driver. Back to the hotel, and all I want to do is get in the pool. I do wish there weren’t 36 steps down to the pool! But that’s not enough to stop me. It feels wonderful, as this pool has nice cool water. I can’t stand it when it feels like bath water, I want to be refreshed.
I walk back into town for dinner and try Ristorante da Giorgio, also on Via Roma, but they are full, so I go one down to Capri’s Ristorante. I have the Beef Carpaccio and Pizza Capri, which has tomato, smoked cheese, basil and Parmigiano. I probably could have gone with just the pizza and had enough to eat. With water and ½ bottle wine (again more expensive than elsewhere in Italy), 56.35€. The wine was again very good, Aglianico del Taburno Fontan Avecchia. The price also includes Crema Melone, which I had been wanting to try. Very tasty, but I still like Limoncello better!
More to come.
On to more about Capri:
I don’t have a map of Capri, except a very general one, but I don’t seem to need one. I had printed out the directions to the hotel but then forgot them. Fortunately, I had read them a couple of times and had a general idea of which way to go, then just asked a couple of times to make sure I was going in the right direction. There are a few signs along the way for La Minerva, so it’s not difficult to find. I wander back into Capri Town for dinner along the streets filled with designer shops. Nice to look at, but definitely out of my price range! Of course, the view from just off the Piazzaetta is gorgeous. All the views on Capri are gorgeous. It’s a great place for relaxing and just enjoying views. There are those decorated cows all over the place, which of course I have to take pictures of. I think I have around a dozen.
For dinner, I decide on Isidoro on Via Roma, just off the Piazzetta. I didn’t have a lot of recommendations for restaurants on Capri and never do find the few I had. (Guess a map would have helped here!) It turns out to be a very expensive meal, really my own fault. I order the Saute of Clams Crostini, which is absolutely wonderful, and the local fresh fish simply grilled with lemon, also delicious. Here’s where the problem is, it’s one of those things priced by the gram. I guess you can chalk it up to jet lag or just being tired, but I wasn’t paying attention. I also find that wine is more expensive on Capri, and they don’t have a house wine when I ask but offer a wine from the area. I do really like the Taburno Falllenghina. With water, wine and dessert of Caprese Cake (chocolate surrounded by nuts), it’s 79.52€, much more than I would normally spend. I do see by my notes now, that price also included Limoncello. Well, I have to have that, right?
One other thing...everybody always talks about how all the Italians go on vacation in August, but there were plenty of Italians on vacation on Capri in early July. I walk back to the hotel and actually set my alarm. I’m very tired and perfectly capable of sleeping past 10:00 tomorrow morning, and I don’t want to miss breakfast. It’s served on the terrace with great views and includes yogurt, cereal, croissants, bacon or prosciutto, fruit, cakes and of course coffee and juice. Very good.
Mt. Solaro is in the clouds, so I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to go up to Anacapri and take the chairlift. I start out back towards the center, taking a different street this time and end up at Giardini Augusto, at the beginning of Via Krupp. It’s a beautiful small garden with benches where you can just sit and be happy that you’re on the Isle of Capri in Italy! Beautiful weather and surroundings. From the garden, there are stairs that take you up to an overlook with more amazing views that include I Faraglioni. There is an American tour group up there, and the leader asks me to take a picture of the whole group. Of course, I’m happy to do so and then ask him to take one of me with Faraglioni in the background. Sometimes I forget to have people take pictures of me and wish I had more from trips, but I always manage to get some along the way.
I’m looking down at Via Krupp from the other side of the lookout, and it’s a long way with lots of switchbacks down to Marina Piccolo. OK, walking downhill is actually worse for arthritic knees than uphill, but I’d really like to walk down there. I can see where it ends, or so I think, and decide to go for it. Definitely don’t start this walk without water! It’s very hot, and the walk is mostly in the sun. However, at the end of some of the turns, there is a stone bench in the wall where you can sit down for a few minutes in the shade. Of course, I sometimes sit down for more than a few minutes! I’m not sure how long it took me, but quite a while, surely much longer than it would take most people, because I just take my time and rest often.
I get to where I thought it would end from up above, but guess what...naturally, it’s a ways further. I pass a British couple who are about to go down a long flight of stairs to a beach, so I ask them if that’s the Marina down there. They say no, it’s quite a bit further along the road, but if I go around the next corner and take the stairs that are there, it will be shorter than going all the way by the road. OK, onward and upward, or in this case, downward! It turns out to be not as far as I expected to the stairs, and I slowly go down, and down, and down...I get to a restaurant just above the bus station and decide I can’t go any further without more water and a restroom, so this is where I’ll have lunch. This is actually how I usually choose a restaurant for lunch, if I’m going to have a sit-down lunch. If I’m hot and tired and hungry, I’ll eat wherever I happen to be. I have to admit that if I had realized how long the walk was, I probably wouldn’t have done it. However, as is usually the case, whenever I walk longer than I really want to, it’s worth it. The views on the walk down were wonderful, and I wouldn’t have seen them from the bus.
The restaurant is called Ristorante la Piazzetta. When I sit down and the waiter comes over, I just say acqua, still. I think he realizes I need it right now! He brings me a big bottle, which I dive right into, and then start looking at the menu. I have the Seafood Salad, which has octopus, squid, clams, mussels, shrimp and tomatoes. With water and 3€ cover, it’s 18€, which is also more than I would usually spend for lunch. But it’s very good, and I needed food and water.
After a leisurely lunch, I’m tempted to just take the bus back up to Capri Town, but after coming all this way, I decide I have to go the rest of the way down to Marina Piccolo. It’s more stairs, but again I’m glad I do it. The beach is all large pebbles. I just have to cool off my feet in the water. It’s quite warm, and my feet sink way down in. Oops, I better pull back out before I’m completely in! I buy more water and just sit and watch the swimmers for a little while, then go back up the stairs to the bus. Fortunately, I’m at the beginning of the line and get a seat. It’s packed, with most of the people standing. There aren’t very many seats on those buses. You can buy your ticket on the bus from the driver. Back to the hotel, and all I want to do is get in the pool. I do wish there weren’t 36 steps down to the pool! But that’s not enough to stop me. It feels wonderful, as this pool has nice cool water. I can’t stand it when it feels like bath water, I want to be refreshed.
I walk back into town for dinner and try Ristorante da Giorgio, also on Via Roma, but they are full, so I go one down to Capri’s Ristorante. I have the Beef Carpaccio and Pizza Capri, which has tomato, smoked cheese, basil and Parmigiano. I probably could have gone with just the pizza and had enough to eat. With water and ½ bottle wine (again more expensive than elsewhere in Italy), 56.35€. The wine was again very good, Aglianico del Taburno Fontan Avecchia. The price also includes Crema Melone, which I had been wanting to try. Very tasty, but I still like Limoncello better!
More to come.
Looking forward to the rest.
Jul 27th, 2008, 06:02 PM
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Here's a little more. I'll try to do more tomorrow:
The next morning, Mt. Solaro is again in the clouds, but since this is my last day, I decide I’ll go up to Anacapri anyway. I can still see Villa San Michele and everything along the way. After breakfast, I walk into town to catch the bus. Hmmm...I’m the only one in line for the bus, which seems strange. After I wait a short time, I see a man taping a sign on the ticket office (which was closed), so I go over to see what’s up. The buses are on strike. In all my trips to Italy, this is the first time a strike has affected my plans (guess I’ve been lucky!). He tells me that they will start running again at 5:00 pm. OK, so maybe I’ll go up a little later this afternoon. That way, I’ll only have to pay for the taxi to get up there and can take the bus back down. I wouldn’t mind having a swim first!
So I do a little shopping first. I love the coral jewelry, and I’m actually surprised that the prices aren’t quite as high as I expected, especially if you look at the coral set in Sterling Silver. The gold is much more expensive. Fortunately for me, I love Sterling Silver and find a great ring and pair of earrings that I love. I also have to buy some Limoncello. Now, it would be smarter to wait until I’m in Rome, but I want one of those bottles that has Capri on it along with little pictures. I also get a small bottle of Crema Melone, also with Capri on it.
On to the hotel for my swim. As soon as I’m in the pool, I know I’m in trouble. I’m not going to want to leave! After all that walking yesterday, it doesn’t really take too much for me to decide to spend the afternoon at the pool. I suppose lots of Fodorites would be horrified to learn that I spend most of a day in Capri this way when I could have been out “doing something,” but I thoroughly enjoy it. And I can see Mt. Solaro from the pool (at least the part not covered by clouds). Isn’t that enough? Of course, it isn’t, but I’m definitely coming back, and now I have even more of a reason…I didn’t see Villa San Michele, or the view from Mt. Solaro, or the Blue Grotto, or a few other things. I guess that in 2½ days on Capri, I do less than a lot of people do in a daytrip, but that’s OK, because I have a great time. That’s probably the biggest benefit to traveling alone…you can do whatever you want whenever you want, without worrying about someone else’s goals.
I walk back into town for dinner to try Ristorante da Giorgio again. This time, they have a table. (Note that the buses were still not running. I think it’s unusual for a strike not to end when they say it’s going to end.) I have the Prosciutto with Figs (delicious) and Pizza Margherita with Artichokes, good but not great. With water and ½ carafe of house wine, 42€. Still more than I usually spend for dinner. Capri food and wine are definitely more expensive than Rome. I go back to the Piazzetta to have my Limoncello at one of the cafes on the square and just enjoy the lovely, warm evening with a slight breeze. I’ve really enjoyed my time on Capri. I realize that it’s much different than the time I would have spent in Naples if I had gone there for the first three nights but have no regrets. I guess I just like both things, churches and art and history on the one hand, and beautiful views and swimming and relaxing on the other. This trip combined both, a very good thing!
The next morning after breakfast, I’m off to Sorrento. I had made arrangements the night before to have the porters take one bag down to the port for me. I took my smaller one. So you just reverse the order: walk into town, take the funicolare down to the port, buy your ticket for the hydrofoil and sail off to Sorrento. Note that you want to leave perhaps a little more time than you think. I think I have plenty of time, but my boat leaves from the farthest gate, a bit of a hike from the ticket offices. I make it, but not with much time to spare, and I’m the last one to get my suitcase from the porter. Not to worry, I’m on the boat, that’s all that is important.
In Sorrento, I have no intention of fighting to get on a bus (and I confirm later that all the buses from the Marina Piccolo in Sorrento are packed, difficult to do with luggage) and take a taxi. I’m staying at the Hilton. Now, I know lots of people think you should stay in Positano, but with Positano’s vertical landscape, Sorrento is probably better for me anyway. The main thing is, the Hilton would not be my first choice (mainly due to the location), but I have Hilton Honors Points and my five nights here are free. Hard to beat! It’s the only reason I can afford to come to Italy for over two weeks. I’m figuring I’ll have to take a few more taxis than usual, but this will be far less than paying for a room for five nights. The hotel is beautiful, all the usual amenities you expect from a large chain, gorgeous pool. My reservation was for two people, not because I thought anyone was coming with me, more because when I booked it, it comes up for two people and it’s no more points to book for two people. So I tell the desk clerk that it’s just me. He says, well, due to that, I can upgrade you to a single room with a view, plus I’ll throw in breakfast (normally not included). Sounds good to me! I have a slight view from my large room with the King-size bed and big bathroom (a pleasure after the tiny one in Capri).
The next morning, Mt. Solaro is again in the clouds, but since this is my last day, I decide I’ll go up to Anacapri anyway. I can still see Villa San Michele and everything along the way. After breakfast, I walk into town to catch the bus. Hmmm...I’m the only one in line for the bus, which seems strange. After I wait a short time, I see a man taping a sign on the ticket office (which was closed), so I go over to see what’s up. The buses are on strike. In all my trips to Italy, this is the first time a strike has affected my plans (guess I’ve been lucky!). He tells me that they will start running again at 5:00 pm. OK, so maybe I’ll go up a little later this afternoon. That way, I’ll only have to pay for the taxi to get up there and can take the bus back down. I wouldn’t mind having a swim first!
So I do a little shopping first. I love the coral jewelry, and I’m actually surprised that the prices aren’t quite as high as I expected, especially if you look at the coral set in Sterling Silver. The gold is much more expensive. Fortunately for me, I love Sterling Silver and find a great ring and pair of earrings that I love. I also have to buy some Limoncello. Now, it would be smarter to wait until I’m in Rome, but I want one of those bottles that has Capri on it along with little pictures. I also get a small bottle of Crema Melone, also with Capri on it.
On to the hotel for my swim. As soon as I’m in the pool, I know I’m in trouble. I’m not going to want to leave! After all that walking yesterday, it doesn’t really take too much for me to decide to spend the afternoon at the pool. I suppose lots of Fodorites would be horrified to learn that I spend most of a day in Capri this way when I could have been out “doing something,” but I thoroughly enjoy it. And I can see Mt. Solaro from the pool (at least the part not covered by clouds). Isn’t that enough?
Of course, it isn’t, but I’m definitely coming back, and now I have even more of a reason…I didn’t see Villa San Michele, or the view from Mt. Solaro, or the Blue Grotto, or a few other things. I guess that in 2½ days on Capri, I do less than a lot of people do in a daytrip, but that’s OK, because I have a great time. That’s probably the biggest benefit to traveling alone…you can do whatever you want whenever you want, without worrying about someone else’s goals.I walk back into town for dinner to try Ristorante da Giorgio again. This time, they have a table. (Note that the buses were still not running. I think it’s unusual for a strike not to end when they say it’s going to end.) I have the Prosciutto with Figs (delicious) and Pizza Margherita with Artichokes, good but not great. With water and ½ carafe of house wine, 42€. Still more than I usually spend for dinner. Capri food and wine are definitely more expensive than Rome. I go back to the Piazzetta to have my Limoncello at one of the cafes on the square and just enjoy the lovely, warm evening with a slight breeze. I’ve really enjoyed my time on Capri. I realize that it’s much different than the time I would have spent in Naples if I had gone there for the first three nights but have no regrets. I guess I just like both things, churches and art and history on the one hand, and beautiful views and swimming and relaxing on the other. This trip combined both, a very good thing!
The next morning after breakfast, I’m off to Sorrento. I had made arrangements the night before to have the porters take one bag down to the port for me. I took my smaller one. So you just reverse the order: walk into town, take the funicolare down to the port, buy your ticket for the hydrofoil and sail off to Sorrento. Note that you want to leave perhaps a little more time than you think. I think I have plenty of time, but my boat leaves from the farthest gate, a bit of a hike from the ticket offices. I make it, but not with much time to spare, and I’m the last one to get my suitcase from the porter. Not to worry, I’m on the boat, that’s all that is important.
In Sorrento, I have no intention of fighting to get on a bus (and I confirm later that all the buses from the Marina Piccolo in Sorrento are packed, difficult to do with luggage) and take a taxi. I’m staying at the Hilton. Now, I know lots of people think you should stay in Positano, but with Positano’s vertical landscape, Sorrento is probably better for me anyway. The main thing is, the Hilton would not be my first choice (mainly due to the location), but I have Hilton Honors Points and my five nights here are free. Hard to beat! It’s the only reason I can afford to come to Italy for over two weeks. I’m figuring I’ll have to take a few more taxis than usual, but this will be far less than paying for a room for five nights. The hotel is beautiful, all the usual amenities you expect from a large chain, gorgeous pool. My reservation was for two people, not because I thought anyone was coming with me, more because when I booked it, it comes up for two people and it’s no more points to book for two people. So I tell the desk clerk that it’s just me. He says, well, due to that, I can upgrade you to a single room with a view, plus I’ll throw in breakfast (normally not included). Sounds good to me! I have a slight view from my large room with the King-size bed and big bathroom (a pleasure after the tiny one in Capri).
Jul 28th, 2008, 06:19 PM
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Recently, someone posted a trip report where they said they arrived in Sorrento, basically hated it, and spent the next several days doing daytrips, leaving with the same impression they got on arrival. I can see why this might happen. On the taxi ride from the port to the Hilton, I’m not overly impressed with Sorrento, either. However, I do find that it has more to offer than first meets the eye. You have to get off the main drag and explore some of the smaller side streets. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite place, but I enjoy it.
I knew the location of the Hilton wasn’t good. And that part about Sorrento being fairly flat doesn’t apply to the walk from Piazza Tasso to the hotel! I head out to look around and walk down into town. It’s all downhill, which of course means a good climb to come back. I stop and have the most wonderful gelato...just love that Baccio (chocolate with nuts and chocolate coating, the kind you get if you get a cone dipped in the US) and the Sorrento Limone. So good! I mean to write down the name of the place but never get around to it, but it’s on Corso Italia not far from Piazza Tasso, and the walls are covered by pictures of, I assume, Italian celebrities, including a couple gorgeous model types having a gelato bath...you know, like a mud bath. A little strange. I go and sit in the Piazza, enjoying the gelato and watching the people, one of my favorite pastimes.
I go in A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi, which is right on the Piazza (they provided the map I got at the hotel), known for their inlaid wood items and linens. A woman follows me around, two steps behind me, even though I had told her that I was just looking. I really hate that. Does she think I’m going to make off with something? I don’t stay long and go across the street instead, where the guy tells me I can pick up whatever I like to have a closer look after I ask about a music box. Much more pleasant place to shop, and I find one I love. I meander back up Via San Cesareo and stop in at Ristorante La Lanterna to make a dinner reservation for later and then head back to the hotel. Via San Cesareo has lots of shops of all sorts if you like to shop.
Later, I head back down for dinner. On the way, I can see the men playing bocce ball and the kids playing basketball, something I wouldn’t have encountered if I had stayed down in town. So you see, as usual, there are benefits to walking more than you planned in different areas. I also pass Parco Ibsen, which is just outside the Antiche Mura (the old arch leading into town), another thing I probably wouldn’t have seen if I had stayed in town. I see that there is a schedule of concerts, and a jazz duo (piano and guitar) for the next night sounds good. I go in to see if I can buy a ticket at the café, but the waiter says they are not available ahead of time and assures me that I don’t have to worry about getting a seat.
I continue on to dinner and have complimentary Foccacia with cherry tomatoes, Salmone Afumicato, and then Mussels in Tomato Sauce. Delicious! With ½ bottle of wine and water, it’s 38€. They offer complimentary cookies and Limoncello to finish off the meal. I still want to go a little further to Piazza Tasso and enjoy a Limoncello at one of the cafes. Ercolana is dark with a few old men sitting there, not exactly inviting, so I go to Fauno Bar, which is bright and cheery. They look full, but just as I come up, a couple leaves a table, so I get the waiter's attention and point to it. He asks if it's just one, and I say yes. He grabs my hand and puts it through his arm and escorts me to the table, to the amusement of the adjoining tables. I enjoy fun waiters! I just relax and do more of my favorite people watching. Then, I’m too tired for the walk back to the Hilton, so I take a taxi.
I learn later that there is a bus that goes right up to the Hilton. Gee, why didn’t the clerk at the hotel mention that when I asked him about buses? The next morning, I go to the desk to ask about it, and then see, way over on one side, a sign about the bus. They have schedules and also can sell you tickets right at the hotel. Good news! Except I find over the next few days that this one bus is not exactly reliable for times. All the others seem to run right on time, but not this one, and the last one from Piazza Tasso is at 9:00 pm. It would be nice if it ran later. I’m also really surprised that the Hilton doesn’t have a shuttle. I see lots of them around town from other hotels.
After checking out the bus schedules, I go check out the buffet breakfast. Let’s just say that it has everything you could possibly want! An amazing selection. Although I don’t ask, I have a feeling it’s pretty expensive, so it’s great to have it included. I love smoked salmon, and that was just one of many selections.
I’m off to Positano, so I go out and get the bus to the Circumvesuviana Station and buy a bus ticket to get there. Now, I’m not an early riser, not a morning person at all. Sometimes this is an advantage. As I’m waiting to get the bus, I talk to a woman who is on her way to Amalfi and Ravello. She tells me that the day before, she and her husband were there early to get a bus to Positano and encountered a crowd pushing and shoving to get on the bus. I don’t remember what time we were there, but I think probably around 10:30 or so. There’s no crowd, the bus is half empty, and I have no problem getting a seat on the right side for the view. So we’re driving along, and after a while, I’m wondering where the view is! Just so you know, the really great views don’t show up until about 5-7 miles from Positano. Then, there they are. OK, this is what I was expecting. Gorgeous!
Also, fortunately a woman tells us all that we really don’t want to get off at the first stop where the driver announces Positano. You would be WAY up, a long way from where you really want to get off. I think it’s the third stop where we get off. Of course, you’re still up a long way from the beach, but I expected that.
I start walking down, stopping to take some pictures at spots that have a great view. Villa Rosa, often recommended here, is very close to this bus stop. Wow, they really have a LONG flight of stairs to get up to the hotel! I think I had considered staying there at one time, but that’s more stairs than I would want. A short distance away is the Sirenuse. No stairs at all to get into the hotel. My kind of place. Too bad it’s way out of my price range!
As I’m walking down, I check out the shops and buy a couple small things. I get to the point where I’m hungry and thirsty, so I stop for lunch at La Zagara. I can’t tell you the street, it’s just on the meandering path down towards the beach. It’s a nice setting. I have Piadina, which is arugula, mozzarella and ricotta in sort of a calzone-type thing, only thinner crust. It’s not very good, very bland. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen too often to me in Italy! With a glass of wine, 9€.
I continue on down, because my ultimate goal is to find Gennaro & Salvatore so I can reserve their Amalfi Coast Tour for Friday. On the way, totally by chance, I find their office, but it’s closed. However, it says that they have a booth down on the jetty, so that’s where I’m headed. I reserve the tour and then try to buy a ticket for the hydrofoil back to Sorrento. The lady tells me (I think) that I have to go to the booth at the end of the row for the time I want. I go down to that booth (a different company), and the lady there tells me that they don’t offer that time. Hmmm...so I go back to the first booth. Turns out that I misunderstood the first lady. She was trying to tell me that, although they usually have a boat at that time, it’s not offered today. OK, now I get it! I go back to the other booth and buy a ticket for their next one, which is about 15 minutes later than the other company’s (that’s not offered today!). You gotta love Italy...and I do!
I find that on the hydrofoils, you can certainly see some out the windows, but on almost all the ones I take, they have the stairs going up on top closed off, which is where you could see more. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have gone up there anyway. I either have luggage or have already done more than enough stairs/hills for the day! The boat takes me back to Marina Piccolo in Sorrento, where I get on a very crowded bus to Piazza Tasso, where I get lucky and catch the bus up to the Hilton. Then I crash for a while!
I knew the location of the Hilton wasn’t good. And that part about Sorrento being fairly flat doesn’t apply to the walk from Piazza Tasso to the hotel! I head out to look around and walk down into town. It’s all downhill, which of course means a good climb to come back. I stop and have the most wonderful gelato...just love that Baccio (chocolate with nuts and chocolate coating, the kind you get if you get a cone dipped in the US) and the Sorrento Limone. So good! I mean to write down the name of the place but never get around to it, but it’s on Corso Italia not far from Piazza Tasso, and the walls are covered by pictures of, I assume, Italian celebrities, including a couple gorgeous model types having a gelato bath...you know, like a mud bath. A little strange. I go and sit in the Piazza, enjoying the gelato and watching the people, one of my favorite pastimes.
I go in A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi, which is right on the Piazza (they provided the map I got at the hotel), known for their inlaid wood items and linens. A woman follows me around, two steps behind me, even though I had told her that I was just looking. I really hate that. Does she think I’m going to make off with something? I don’t stay long and go across the street instead, where the guy tells me I can pick up whatever I like to have a closer look after I ask about a music box. Much more pleasant place to shop, and I find one I love. I meander back up Via San Cesareo and stop in at Ristorante La Lanterna to make a dinner reservation for later and then head back to the hotel. Via San Cesareo has lots of shops of all sorts if you like to shop.
Later, I head back down for dinner. On the way, I can see the men playing bocce ball and the kids playing basketball, something I wouldn’t have encountered if I had stayed down in town. So you see, as usual, there are benefits to walking more than you planned in different areas. I also pass Parco Ibsen, which is just outside the Antiche Mura (the old arch leading into town), another thing I probably wouldn’t have seen if I had stayed in town. I see that there is a schedule of concerts, and a jazz duo (piano and guitar) for the next night sounds good. I go in to see if I can buy a ticket at the café, but the waiter says they are not available ahead of time and assures me that I don’t have to worry about getting a seat.
I continue on to dinner and have complimentary Foccacia with cherry tomatoes, Salmone Afumicato, and then Mussels in Tomato Sauce. Delicious! With ½ bottle of wine and water, it’s 38€. They offer complimentary cookies and Limoncello to finish off the meal. I still want to go a little further to Piazza Tasso and enjoy a Limoncello at one of the cafes. Ercolana is dark with a few old men sitting there, not exactly inviting, so I go to Fauno Bar, which is bright and cheery. They look full, but just as I come up, a couple leaves a table, so I get the waiter's attention and point to it. He asks if it's just one, and I say yes. He grabs my hand and puts it through his arm and escorts me to the table, to the amusement of the adjoining tables. I enjoy fun waiters!
I just relax and do more of my favorite people watching. Then, I’m too tired for the walk back to the Hilton, so I take a taxi.I learn later that there is a bus that goes right up to the Hilton. Gee, why didn’t the clerk at the hotel mention that when I asked him about buses? The next morning, I go to the desk to ask about it, and then see, way over on one side, a sign about the bus. They have schedules and also can sell you tickets right at the hotel. Good news! Except I find over the next few days that this one bus is not exactly reliable for times. All the others seem to run right on time, but not this one, and the last one from Piazza Tasso is at 9:00 pm. It would be nice if it ran later. I’m also really surprised that the Hilton doesn’t have a shuttle. I see lots of them around town from other hotels.
After checking out the bus schedules, I go check out the buffet breakfast. Let’s just say that it has everything you could possibly want! An amazing selection. Although I don’t ask, I have a feeling it’s pretty expensive, so it’s great to have it included. I love smoked salmon, and that was just one of many selections.
I’m off to Positano, so I go out and get the bus to the Circumvesuviana Station and buy a bus ticket to get there. Now, I’m not an early riser, not a morning person at all. Sometimes this is an advantage. As I’m waiting to get the bus, I talk to a woman who is on her way to Amalfi and Ravello. She tells me that the day before, she and her husband were there early to get a bus to Positano and encountered a crowd pushing and shoving to get on the bus. I don’t remember what time we were there, but I think probably around 10:30 or so. There’s no crowd, the bus is half empty, and I have no problem getting a seat on the right side for the view. So we’re driving along, and after a while, I’m wondering where the view is! Just so you know, the really great views don’t show up until about 5-7 miles from Positano. Then, there they are. OK, this is what I was expecting. Gorgeous!
Also, fortunately a woman tells us all that we really don’t want to get off at the first stop where the driver announces Positano. You would be WAY up, a long way from where you really want to get off. I think it’s the third stop where we get off. Of course, you’re still up a long way from the beach, but I expected that.
I start walking down, stopping to take some pictures at spots that have a great view. Villa Rosa, often recommended here, is very close to this bus stop. Wow, they really have a LONG flight of stairs to get up to the hotel! I think I had considered staying there at one time, but that’s more stairs than I would want. A short distance away is the Sirenuse. No stairs at all to get into the hotel. My kind of place. Too bad it’s way out of my price range!
As I’m walking down, I check out the shops and buy a couple small things. I get to the point where I’m hungry and thirsty, so I stop for lunch at La Zagara. I can’t tell you the street, it’s just on the meandering path down towards the beach. It’s a nice setting. I have Piadina, which is arugula, mozzarella and ricotta in sort of a calzone-type thing, only thinner crust. It’s not very good, very bland. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen too often to me in Italy! With a glass of wine, 9€.
I continue on down, because my ultimate goal is to find Gennaro & Salvatore so I can reserve their Amalfi Coast Tour for Friday. On the way, totally by chance, I find their office, but it’s closed. However, it says that they have a booth down on the jetty, so that’s where I’m headed. I reserve the tour and then try to buy a ticket for the hydrofoil back to Sorrento. The lady tells me (I think) that I have to go to the booth at the end of the row for the time I want. I go down to that booth (a different company), and the lady there tells me that they don’t offer that time. Hmmm...so I go back to the first booth. Turns out that I misunderstood the first lady. She was trying to tell me that, although they usually have a boat at that time, it’s not offered today. OK, now I get it! I go back to the other booth and buy a ticket for their next one, which is about 15 minutes later than the other company’s (that’s not offered today!). You gotta love Italy...and I do!
I find that on the hydrofoils, you can certainly see some out the windows, but on almost all the ones I take, they have the stairs going up on top closed off, which is where you could see more. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have gone up there anyway. I either have luggage or have already done more than enough stairs/hills for the day! The boat takes me back to Marina Piccolo in Sorrento, where I get on a very crowded bus to Piazza Tasso, where I get lucky and catch the bus up to the Hilton. Then I crash for a while!
Aug 2nd, 2008, 01:30 PM
#16
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I finally got some more written...
The Hilton has left a complimentary bottle of Limoncello, as well as two of mineral water, in my room. Very nice. If I had known that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have bought the bottle in Capri! I probably would have still bought a very small one that said Capri, but not the larger one. Now I have two large ones, plus the small one of Crema Melone, to fit in my suitcase. Naturally, I can’t leave a free bottle of Limoncello behind! Somehow I’ll manage.
That night, I head down to Parco Ibsen, Piazza Antiche Mura, for the jazz concert (walking, because the Hilton bus wouldn’t stop there). As I walk in, they are selling tickets for 15€, or 25€ if I want food. They’re offering rice with tomato sauce, a typical regional dish, and a glass of wine. Hmmm...doesn’t sound very appetizing, but I agree, and they say you eat after the concert, which starts at 9:00 (or is supposed to start at 9:00). When I get further into the park, the maitre d’ says I can eat now if I like, but the dish takes a while. I’m OK with this, so he leads me to the restaurant. You don’t even realize it’s there. There is a café, which I think only serves drinks and food to nibble on while drinking, but he leads me down a long flight of stairs to the actual restaurant, which sits below the stage. It’s lovely, with a high stone wall and a waterfall/fountain. Beautiful candles on all the tables. I’m thinking that maybe I should have asked if I could just order off the menu instead of taking the included dish. Now comes the rice dish, something I probably would never have ordered. It’s actually like a fried rice timbale, with mozzarella, peas, and sausage in it and fresh tomato sauce on top. It is to die for! Not really enough for a meal, but it’s so good. I want this recipe!
I go back up to street level, where the stage is. It’s a small stage with semicircular benches in tiers. A beautiful setting outdoors for a concert. They say the concert will start around 9:15. It’s actually 9:45 before they come on stage. The performance is by the Francesco Nastro duo, with him on piano and Pietro Condorelli on guitar. They are fantastic! I’m sitting there thinking that you’d never get this kind of jazz concert for $15 in the US, and the audience would be packed. Here, more than half the seats are empty. Most of the people seem to be locals. A lovely evening and wonderful concert, so see again, something good has come from my walking from the Hilton. I walk back up to the hotel and find delicious chocolates on my pillow. Mmmm...just what I needed!
The next day, I suppose I should be going off to Naples and/or Pompeii, but it’s very hot and I have done a LOT of walking the past couple of days. My knees really need a break. After breakfast, I decide to spend the day swimming and laying the in the sun. Delightful! It’s a beautiful pool. I enjoy watching the kids, as they’re having such a great time. I have to say that they seem a lot happier than the ones I see being dragged around sightseeing in the heat. I decide I need some lunch and order the Grilled Mozarella on Lemon Leaves with Grilled Prosciutto and a glass of wine. It’s not cheap, 18€, but is very good. The only thing is, it’s huge, definitely enough for two people, so I can’t finish it all. A beautiful, relaxing day.
For dinner, I go to Inn Bufalito, Vico 1 Fuoro, which someone here recommended. Of course the specialty is Buffalo Mozarella, so I order the Bocconcini, small balls, which is served simply with tomatoes, arugula and olive oil. It’s delicious, but again too much. This would be a good appetizer to split between two people. The waiter had explained the specials to me, and the peppers stuffed with capers, bread, sausage, onion, and a few other things, a very traditional dish, sounds good. It is! With ½ bottle of wine, 21€. I head over to the Fauno Bar for a Limoncello and people-watching, then take a taxi back to the hotel.
The next morning after breakfast, I take the bus from the Hilton to Piazza Tasso, then another one down to Marina Piccolo and buy my ticket for the hydrofoil to Positano (9&euro
. I had allowed plenty of time, since I had to catch a specific boat in order to be there in time for the Amalfi Coast boat tour. I had actually tried to buy the ticket two days earlier when I came back from Positano, but you can’t buy them ahead of time. Since I have a while to wait, I sit down on a low stone wall to wait instead of walking out to the gate, where there’s nowhere to sit.
Some Americans sit down next to me. After a few minutes, a guy comes over and says that he can see by their tickets that they’re going on the same boat he will be on to Capri. He offers them a deal for transportation on the island (not a guided tour), a van from the port up to Anacapri, time there, a ride back down to Capri Town, time there, and a ride back to the port for 15€ per person. He admits right upfront that this is about double what the funicolare and bus would cost, but you’re paying for the convenience. He points out that it would be a comfortable ride in and air-conditioned van vs. the absolutely packed buses, which have no AC and have few seats so most people have to stand. I realize that he’s telling the truth about everything. I think it’s a small price to pay for such convenience, so I lean over and tell them that it is a good deal. One of the guys asks me if I’m the guy’s wife! I laugh and say no, I’m from Upstate New York but just spent 3 nights on Capri, and the guy is right about everything he has told them, so that if they think the convenience is worth it, they aren’t being scammed. They agree that it’s a small price to pay for the convenience. Turns out that the other guy went to college about 20 miles from where I live, and we chat for a while until it’s time to go catch the boats.
When I get to Positano, I have a while to wait for the tour, so I get a gelato and sit on a stone bench near the water. I realize I’m looking up at the Covo dei Saraceni Restaurant, the one featured in the movie “Only You,” where Faith goes to dinner with the fake Damon Bradley. I love that movie, so I have to take a couple pictures. I even figure out where Peter was sitting, watching them with binoculars!
I had read a lot about Gennaro & Salvatore’s tours on the Amalfi Coast. Salvatore is leading this one, which stops at a few places to swim and includes lunch, beverages on board (water and soda) and use of towels and runs from 11:00 am until 5:30-6:00 pm at a cost of 80€. It’s worth every penny. We start out driving straight out from shore. I’m a little surprised how far out we go before he stops and wonder if that will bother anyone. I’m a pretty good swimmer (not fast) and learned to swim in the Niagara River, which of course has unbelievably strong current on its way to Niagara Falls, so it doesn’t concern me. A couple of the kids and a few adults do wear life preservers, so they’re available if you want them. Most of us just jump or dive off the side of the boat, or you can go down a ladder at the back of the boat. The water is heavenly. There we are, just lazily swimming in the ocean on a gorgeous, sunny, hot day. What more could you want?
When we’re all back in the boat after the swim, Salvatore says we should all be quiet for a minute and just listen to the sea. A great idea! We continue on down the coast, into the Cave of Pandora, which is pretty cool, and on to a waterfall where we stop to swim again. Salvatore can’t get in very close to the waterfall, and it’s quite a ways. Some people do swim in to go under it, but I decide to stay closer to the boat. I’m quite sure I could make it, but wouldn’t look forward to the swim back out to the boat against the waves. No matter, I like just being in the water. There are about 30 people on the tour, I think about their maximum, and they are from all over…the US, Australia, England, Germany, plus some Italians.
Back in the boat, we go on to a restaurant for the included lunch. I don’t seem to have the name of the restaurant. There is a woman on the tour, Gloria, who has lived in Positano for 20 years, is a friend and apparently helps them with tours, especially when they have a lot of people. Her daughter and granddaughter are visiting. On the boat, she has been helping to tell people what’s going on. I had been sitting next to her in the back section of the boat. In the restaurant, she takes over assigning everyone their seats. I have to smile to myself, it’s sort of like being in 3rd grade with the teacher telling you where to sit. She puts me next to Salvatore and across from herself. She starts slicing the huge lemons that are on the table, and this is when I learn that you can eat them like you would any fruit, rind and all. Amazing! The flavor is wonderful and the rind is not the least bit bitter. They put them in their wine as well.
Lunch is delicious. Of course, it’s a lot of seafood. They just keep bringing course after course and offer as much wine as you want. I can’t even remember everything we eat, but it includes marinated eggplant. I’m drawing a blank on what all the courses were. I can’t explain why that’s the one thing that comes to mind right now! We also have some delicious local fish that Salvatore had caught that morning. He shows me how to get all the bones out in a couple of easy moves. Very cool. I proceed to do it perfectly, which makes him pick up his glass of wine to have a toast. He says, you’ve done this before, but I assure him I haven’t. He’s off for a while talking to everyone. They bring out fruit, which Gloria says you have to put in your wine. I try it but am not crazy about this idea, so I take it out. When Salvatore comes back, he asks me if I want some fruit in my wine, but I say no, I like the wine in the fruit but not the fruit in the wine. He gives me a skeptical look, then says you are a complicated woman…I like that, and we have another toast. He’s a lot of fun to have around.
They bring out dessert, bon bons, and Limoncello. They have brought out several liqueurs, not just Limoncello, so I decide to try the chocolate one. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s too sweet. Like syrup. I rinse out my glass and replace it with Limoncello…much better! We have asked Salvatore if we can swim again, so back on the boat, he does stop for another swim. Lovely! We get back to Positano around 6:30. An absolutely wonderful day!
I get the hydrofoil back to Sorrento and take the bus up to Piazza Tasso. I’m waiting for the bus up to the Hilton, but this is one of those times when it just doesn’t come. I finally decide to take a taxi. I’m so full after that huge lunch that I don’t need dinner. I’m also pooped, so I go to bed early and am asleep in no time.
The next day, I want to go to Amalfi and Ravello. I take the bus to the Circumvesuviana Station and buy a bus ticket to Amalfi (6&euro. Again, it probably pays to not be there really early. The bus isn’t crowded, although it does make a couple more stops and picks up a few more people. Once in Amalfi, I get the bus up to Ravello (2&euro. While the bus isn’t exactly packed, there are a couple of people standing. I get on early enough to get a seat. I walk up to Villa Rufolo and go in (5&euro. Lots of interesting architecture and beautiful gardens. Of course, it’s here where you get that quintessential view under the umbrella pine down to the water. Gorgeous! I ask a couple of ladies to take my picture at this spot. This is where they have the concert series. I’d like to go to one, but it would be a long way back to Sorrento afterwards.
I briefly do a little shopping. Of course, you could spend a fortune here on ceramics, but that’s not in my budget. A clerk at one of the stores shows me all the dinnerware they have that is exclusive to their shop. She says I can have it shipped to the US for only 60€, including customs and tax (I think for 40 pounds, but I might not be correct on that weight). It actually sounds pretty reasonable for shipping, but it’s the cost of the ceramics that still isn’t in my budget! I just buy an inexpensive tile with that scene from Ravello.
I want to go to the Duomo next. I’m surprised to find it closed. I thought I had read that both Villa Rufolo and the Duomo were open all day. I realize later that I had it confused with the Duomo in Amalfi, which IS open all day. Drat! Oh well, a good reason to come back to Ravello, in addition to other things that are there that I didn’t get to, but I do also want to get to the Duomo in Amalfi. I take the bus back down and get over to the Duomo. Hmmm…look at all those stairs! As usual, I have to count them. Just in case you’re interested, there are 62 steps up to the Amalfi Duomo. Once again, I’m glad I climb the stairs. It’s 2.50€ for the Cloister of Paradise, the Basilica of the Crucifix, the Crypt (with a great sculpture of St. Andrew) and the Cathedral. Well worth it. An interesting quote from the brochure they give you…”Jesus is waiting for you in the Chapel of the Eucharist in the left transept. If possible, search for the silence and listen to IT!”
After the Duomo, I look around a little in the shops and go over to buy a ticket for the hydrofoil back to Sorrento (11&euro. I don’t have much time. Good thing I ask the clerk if the gate is the one right there, because she informs me that it’s the one over on the other side. I race over there and just make it on the boat with a few minutes to spare. In Sorrento, I get the bus up to Piazza Tasso and this time get lucky and catch the one up to the Hilton. Success on that for a change!
Later I wait for the bus back down into town for dinner. It’s not on time. I’m not sure if they skipped one, or if it came really late, or it might be the next one coming really early! Oh well, I get one. Dinner is at Pizzaria Aurora, right on Piazza Tasso. I have Mussels with Black Pepper and Risotto with Seafood (clams, mussels, crayfish, octopus, squid). Everything is great. With ½ bottle of wine, 41€. I end the evening at Fauno Bar again for my Limoncello and as usual enjoy watching everything go by.
I really enjoyed my time in Capri and Sorrento. I’d like to go back and spend a few nights on Capri, then maybe a few in Amalfi, which would be convenient to go back to Positano for another tour with Gennaro & Salvatore as well as going back to Ravello. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a few days on Ischia, too!
The Hilton has left a complimentary bottle of Limoncello, as well as two of mineral water, in my room. Very nice. If I had known that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have bought the bottle in Capri! I probably would have still bought a very small one that said Capri, but not the larger one. Now I have two large ones, plus the small one of Crema Melone, to fit in my suitcase. Naturally, I can’t leave a free bottle of Limoncello behind!
Somehow I’ll manage.That night, I head down to Parco Ibsen, Piazza Antiche Mura, for the jazz concert (walking, because the Hilton bus wouldn’t stop there). As I walk in, they are selling tickets for 15€, or 25€ if I want food. They’re offering rice with tomato sauce, a typical regional dish, and a glass of wine. Hmmm...doesn’t sound very appetizing, but I agree, and they say you eat after the concert, which starts at 9:00 (or is supposed to start at 9:00). When I get further into the park, the maitre d’ says I can eat now if I like, but the dish takes a while. I’m OK with this, so he leads me to the restaurant. You don’t even realize it’s there. There is a café, which I think only serves drinks and food to nibble on while drinking, but he leads me down a long flight of stairs to the actual restaurant, which sits below the stage. It’s lovely, with a high stone wall and a waterfall/fountain. Beautiful candles on all the tables. I’m thinking that maybe I should have asked if I could just order off the menu instead of taking the included dish. Now comes the rice dish, something I probably would never have ordered. It’s actually like a fried rice timbale, with mozzarella, peas, and sausage in it and fresh tomato sauce on top. It is to die for! Not really enough for a meal, but it’s so good. I want this recipe!
I go back up to street level, where the stage is. It’s a small stage with semicircular benches in tiers. A beautiful setting outdoors for a concert. They say the concert will start around 9:15. It’s actually 9:45 before they come on stage. The performance is by the Francesco Nastro duo, with him on piano and Pietro Condorelli on guitar. They are fantastic! I’m sitting there thinking that you’d never get this kind of jazz concert for $15 in the US, and the audience would be packed. Here, more than half the seats are empty. Most of the people seem to be locals. A lovely evening and wonderful concert, so see again, something good has come from my walking from the Hilton. I walk back up to the hotel and find delicious chocolates on my pillow. Mmmm...just what I needed!
The next day, I suppose I should be going off to Naples and/or Pompeii, but it’s very hot and I have done a LOT of walking the past couple of days. My knees really need a break. After breakfast, I decide to spend the day swimming and laying the in the sun. Delightful! It’s a beautiful pool. I enjoy watching the kids, as they’re having such a great time. I have to say that they seem a lot happier than the ones I see being dragged around sightseeing in the heat. I decide I need some lunch and order the Grilled Mozarella on Lemon Leaves with Grilled Prosciutto and a glass of wine. It’s not cheap, 18€, but is very good. The only thing is, it’s huge, definitely enough for two people, so I can’t finish it all. A beautiful, relaxing day.
For dinner, I go to Inn Bufalito, Vico 1 Fuoro, which someone here recommended. Of course the specialty is Buffalo Mozarella, so I order the Bocconcini, small balls, which is served simply with tomatoes, arugula and olive oil. It’s delicious, but again too much. This would be a good appetizer to split between two people. The waiter had explained the specials to me, and the peppers stuffed with capers, bread, sausage, onion, and a few other things, a very traditional dish, sounds good. It is! With ½ bottle of wine, 21€. I head over to the Fauno Bar for a Limoncello and people-watching, then take a taxi back to the hotel.
The next morning after breakfast, I take the bus from the Hilton to Piazza Tasso, then another one down to Marina Piccolo and buy my ticket for the hydrofoil to Positano (9&euro
. I had allowed plenty of time, since I had to catch a specific boat in order to be there in time for the Amalfi Coast boat tour. I had actually tried to buy the ticket two days earlier when I came back from Positano, but you can’t buy them ahead of time. Since I have a while to wait, I sit down on a low stone wall to wait instead of walking out to the gate, where there’s nowhere to sit.Some Americans sit down next to me. After a few minutes, a guy comes over and says that he can see by their tickets that they’re going on the same boat he will be on to Capri. He offers them a deal for transportation on the island (not a guided tour), a van from the port up to Anacapri, time there, a ride back down to Capri Town, time there, and a ride back to the port for 15€ per person. He admits right upfront that this is about double what the funicolare and bus would cost, but you’re paying for the convenience. He points out that it would be a comfortable ride in and air-conditioned van vs. the absolutely packed buses, which have no AC and have few seats so most people have to stand. I realize that he’s telling the truth about everything. I think it’s a small price to pay for such convenience, so I lean over and tell them that it is a good deal. One of the guys asks me if I’m the guy’s wife! I laugh and say no, I’m from Upstate New York but just spent 3 nights on Capri, and the guy is right about everything he has told them, so that if they think the convenience is worth it, they aren’t being scammed. They agree that it’s a small price to pay for the convenience. Turns out that the other guy went to college about 20 miles from where I live, and we chat for a while until it’s time to go catch the boats.
When I get to Positano, I have a while to wait for the tour, so I get a gelato and sit on a stone bench near the water. I realize I’m looking up at the Covo dei Saraceni Restaurant, the one featured in the movie “Only You,” where Faith goes to dinner with the fake Damon Bradley. I love that movie, so I have to take a couple pictures. I even figure out where Peter was sitting, watching them with binoculars!
I had read a lot about Gennaro & Salvatore’s tours on the Amalfi Coast. Salvatore is leading this one, which stops at a few places to swim and includes lunch, beverages on board (water and soda) and use of towels and runs from 11:00 am until 5:30-6:00 pm at a cost of 80€. It’s worth every penny. We start out driving straight out from shore. I’m a little surprised how far out we go before he stops and wonder if that will bother anyone. I’m a pretty good swimmer (not fast) and learned to swim in the Niagara River, which of course has unbelievably strong current on its way to Niagara Falls, so it doesn’t concern me. A couple of the kids and a few adults do wear life preservers, so they’re available if you want them. Most of us just jump or dive off the side of the boat, or you can go down a ladder at the back of the boat. The water is heavenly. There we are, just lazily swimming in the ocean on a gorgeous, sunny, hot day. What more could you want?
When we’re all back in the boat after the swim, Salvatore says we should all be quiet for a minute and just listen to the sea. A great idea! We continue on down the coast, into the Cave of Pandora, which is pretty cool, and on to a waterfall where we stop to swim again. Salvatore can’t get in very close to the waterfall, and it’s quite a ways. Some people do swim in to go under it, but I decide to stay closer to the boat. I’m quite sure I could make it, but wouldn’t look forward to the swim back out to the boat against the waves. No matter, I like just being in the water. There are about 30 people on the tour, I think about their maximum, and they are from all over…the US, Australia, England, Germany, plus some Italians.
Back in the boat, we go on to a restaurant for the included lunch. I don’t seem to have the name of the restaurant. There is a woman on the tour, Gloria, who has lived in Positano for 20 years, is a friend and apparently helps them with tours, especially when they have a lot of people. Her daughter and granddaughter are visiting. On the boat, she has been helping to tell people what’s going on. I had been sitting next to her in the back section of the boat. In the restaurant, she takes over assigning everyone their seats. I have to smile to myself, it’s sort of like being in 3rd grade with the teacher telling you where to sit. She puts me next to Salvatore and across from herself. She starts slicing the huge lemons that are on the table, and this is when I learn that you can eat them like you would any fruit, rind and all. Amazing! The flavor is wonderful and the rind is not the least bit bitter. They put them in their wine as well.
Lunch is delicious. Of course, it’s a lot of seafood. They just keep bringing course after course and offer as much wine as you want. I can’t even remember everything we eat, but it includes marinated eggplant. I’m drawing a blank on what all the courses were. I can’t explain why that’s the one thing that comes to mind right now! We also have some delicious local fish that Salvatore had caught that morning. He shows me how to get all the bones out in a couple of easy moves. Very cool. I proceed to do it perfectly, which makes him pick up his glass of wine to have a toast. He says, you’ve done this before, but I assure him I haven’t. He’s off for a while talking to everyone. They bring out fruit, which Gloria says you have to put in your wine. I try it but am not crazy about this idea, so I take it out. When Salvatore comes back, he asks me if I want some fruit in my wine, but I say no, I like the wine in the fruit but not the fruit in the wine. He gives me a skeptical look, then says you are a complicated woman…I like that, and we have another toast. He’s a lot of fun to have around.
They bring out dessert, bon bons, and Limoncello. They have brought out several liqueurs, not just Limoncello, so I decide to try the chocolate one. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s too sweet. Like syrup. I rinse out my glass and replace it with Limoncello…much better!
We have asked Salvatore if we can swim again, so back on the boat, he does stop for another swim. Lovely! We get back to Positano around 6:30. An absolutely wonderful day!I get the hydrofoil back to Sorrento and take the bus up to Piazza Tasso. I’m waiting for the bus up to the Hilton, but this is one of those times when it just doesn’t come. I finally decide to take a taxi. I’m so full after that huge lunch that I don’t need dinner. I’m also pooped, so I go to bed early and am asleep in no time.
The next day, I want to go to Amalfi and Ravello. I take the bus to the Circumvesuviana Station and buy a bus ticket to Amalfi (6&euro
. Again, it probably pays to not be there really early. The bus isn’t crowded, although it does make a couple more stops and picks up a few more people. Once in Amalfi, I get the bus up to Ravello (2&euro. While the bus isn’t exactly packed, there are a couple of people standing. I get on early enough to get a seat. I walk up to Villa Rufolo and go in (5&euro. Lots of interesting architecture and beautiful gardens. Of course, it’s here where you get that quintessential view under the umbrella pine down to the water. Gorgeous! I ask a couple of ladies to take my picture at this spot. This is where they have the concert series. I’d like to go to one, but it would be a long way back to Sorrento afterwards.I briefly do a little shopping. Of course, you could spend a fortune here on ceramics, but that’s not in my budget. A clerk at one of the stores shows me all the dinnerware they have that is exclusive to their shop. She says I can have it shipped to the US for only 60€, including customs and tax (I think for 40 pounds, but I might not be correct on that weight). It actually sounds pretty reasonable for shipping, but it’s the cost of the ceramics that still isn’t in my budget! I just buy an inexpensive tile with that scene from Ravello.
I want to go to the Duomo next. I’m surprised to find it closed. I thought I had read that both Villa Rufolo and the Duomo were open all day. I realize later that I had it confused with the Duomo in Amalfi, which IS open all day. Drat! Oh well, a good reason to come back to Ravello, in addition to other things that are there that I didn’t get to, but I do also want to get to the Duomo in Amalfi. I take the bus back down and get over to the Duomo. Hmmm…look at all those stairs! As usual, I have to count them. Just in case you’re interested, there are 62 steps up to the Amalfi Duomo. Once again, I’m glad I climb the stairs. It’s 2.50€ for the Cloister of Paradise, the Basilica of the Crucifix, the Crypt (with a great sculpture of St. Andrew) and the Cathedral. Well worth it. An interesting quote from the brochure they give you…”Jesus is waiting for you in the Chapel of the Eucharist in the left transept. If possible, search for the silence and listen to IT!”
After the Duomo, I look around a little in the shops and go over to buy a ticket for the hydrofoil back to Sorrento (11&euro
. I don’t have much time. Good thing I ask the clerk if the gate is the one right there, because she informs me that it’s the one over on the other side. I race over there and just make it on the boat with a few minutes to spare. In Sorrento, I get the bus up to Piazza Tasso and this time get lucky and catch the one up to the Hilton. Success on that for a change!Later I wait for the bus back down into town for dinner. It’s not on time. I’m not sure if they skipped one, or if it came really late, or it might be the next one coming really early! Oh well, I get one. Dinner is at Pizzaria Aurora, right on Piazza Tasso. I have Mussels with Black Pepper and Risotto with Seafood (clams, mussels, crayfish, octopus, squid). Everything is great. With ½ bottle of wine, 41€. I end the evening at Fauno Bar again for my Limoncello and as usual enjoy watching everything go by.
I really enjoyed my time in Capri and Sorrento. I’d like to go back and spend a few nights on Capri, then maybe a few in Amalfi, which would be convenient to go back to Positano for another tour with Gennaro & Salvatore as well as going back to Ravello. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a few days on Ischia, too!
Aug 2nd, 2008, 03:02 PM
#17
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Susan,
Still enjoying the trip report! Glad you made it to the Amalfi Coast and that you like Capri. Did you not make it to Pompeii? Next trip!
For someone with bad knees, you don't slow down much. Good for you.
I wonder if the lack of crowded SIT buses is due to month? Or, less tourists? When I arrived at the Sorrento train station, I had to wait an hour for the next bus because the first one filled up completely. No one else could even squeeze on. The bus up and back for Ravello was really bad. This was mid Sept.
Do continue!
Still enjoying the trip report! Glad you made it to the Amalfi Coast and that you like Capri. Did you not make it to Pompeii? Next trip!
For someone with bad knees, you don't slow down much. Good for you.
I wonder if the lack of crowded SIT buses is due to month? Or, less tourists? When I arrived at the Sorrento train station, I had to wait an hour for the next bus because the first one filled up completely. No one else could even squeeze on. The bus up and back for Ravello was really bad. This was mid Sept.
Do continue!
Aug 2nd, 2008, 04:23 PM
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Hi Dayle, no I didn't make it to Pompeii. I think for me I need to go down there sometime when I can do it other than in the summer. Too hot to go there in July!
I just can't let my knees prevent me from going to these places! I just go slow and rest when I need to.
I did expect crowds to be a lot worse on the Amalfi Coast in July. Even aside from the buses, I can't think of anytime that I felt mobbed, other than the one bus I took from Marina Piccola to Capri Town. I did run into a couple of tour groups on Capri, but only two or three, and they weren't a problem.
And I will continue!
I just can't let my knees prevent me from going to these places! I just go slow and rest when I need to.
I did expect crowds to be a lot worse on the Amalfi Coast in July. Even aside from the buses, I can't think of anytime that I felt mobbed, other than the one bus I took from Marina Piccola to Capri Town. I did run into a couple of tour groups on Capri, but only two or three, and they weren't a problem.
And I will continue!
Aug 2nd, 2008, 07:11 PM
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Hello SusanP, I lost track of your trip report and am so glad it was brought up to the top..I have been enjoying a glass of wine and also enjoying the next installments of your trip. A beautiful and informative report and happily you had a wonderful trip. Like our TRSW (Tom) I knew the moment I saw the title of thread again it was YOUR thread. Signed: Another lover of Limoncello!
