Monday, July 25th:
A Capri Lighthouse:
Today was
an incredible whirlwind of sightseeing in one of the most beautiful areas of
the world. We woke up early for breakfast in the hostel before heading down to
the Sorrento marina to meet our Capri tour guide, Andrea (a man!). He was a
very funny guy and him and his friend Sebastian led us on their Ribcraft boats
out to Capri. We also met a group of girls from Taos, New Mexico who were also
on our tour boat. We spent most of the morning on the boat as we made the trek
from Sorrento to the ridiculously stunning island of Capri. The entire island
is surrounded by cliffs and grottos and crazy rock formations. We did some
swimming in the water, which was surprisingly cold for midsummer in Italy, and
did a trip on the boat around the island to see all of the famous grottos. We also got to pass through the really cool "Gates of Capri" rock formation. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the famed Blue Grotto as the water was
too rough to allow our boat to enter the tiny entrance tunnel. I suppose I have
to save some things for future trips!
The Gates of Capri:
We had
lunch next to a beach near the only part of Capri that does not have cliffs
down to the water before going on the island to explore. Visitors must take a
funicular elevator from the port up to the top of the island! Most of the
island is tiny streets, narrow staircases, small villas, and shops. Max and I
did not feel like doing a lot of shopping, so we grabbed a bottle of Limoncella
and relaxed on top of the cliffs offering spectacular views. We got some pizza
while we were up there as well before heading back down to the boat to ride
back to Sorrento. The entire trip took about ten hours, but it was totally
worth it and Capri is truly an awesome place.
The Port of Capri and Anacapri:
The fun
does not stop here, however, as Max and I decided to leave our luggage in our
hostel overnight and rent motor scooters to ride the Amalfi Coast Road to Positano
for the night! These things are a little scary at first, but once we got the
hang of them we were flying around the hairpin turns of the cliff-top road to
Positano. This is one of the prettiest roads I have ever driven on, but it can
be quite frightening to see a massive cliff drop down to the ocean on the other
side of each guardrail. After about a half-hour we got to Positano.
The Amalfi Coast Road at Sunset:
Positano is
a honeymoon spot for sure. The entire town is built into the side of a massive
cliff, and there is only a single one-way road winding through the whole town.
Naturally, Max and I passed our hotel twice, and had to wind all the way back
down and up to the top again each time. We finally found the Hotel Montemare,
checked in, and walked up the road to find some dinner. At night, all of Positano
is lit up with very romantic dimly-lit lights and music is always playing
faintly. I think I will return here later in life with my wife or girlfriend
for sure! We found an awesome place called Ristorante Saraceno D'Oro where I
had some Bruschetta, Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach with a Mushroom
sauce, and Veal with Mushrooms. We both also drank some local white wine, and
Max joked that the elderly woman hostess should come home with him to cook for
him for the rest of his life! Such is Italy. We finished our dinner and hit the
hay early after a really, really long day. Tomorrow we are off to Florence!
Positano:
No comments:
Post a Comment