Day 6 - Island of the rich and famous

NOTE: I'm sorry it has been so long since I last blogged - it has been very hard to find internet/time in between the racing from church to church, eating pizza, visiting ancient places, eating pasta, looking at amazing art, eating gelato, and bus travel!! I have however written my blog each day, and am now going to try to upload as much as I can today! Hope you enjoy reading through some of my adventures (now that they are finally up!)

Isle of Carpi and Sorrento exploring

It was another early start today to get the 8:10am ferry across to Caaapri with our local guide and Chris  our travel director. After a short mini-bus ride down to the doc we all boarded the large ferry to head over to Capri. The boat ride was fantastic! The early morning sun on your back and the sea breeze in your hair as you watch the Amalfi coast go by, and the Isle of Capri growing closer! The water was a beautiful Azure colour and reflected the sun like it was dancing. Stunning!

We disembarked our ferry and boarded a smaller local tour boat, which was completely open except for the cloth shade sail over the back. I sat under the shade as I had suddenly come out in a sun rash! Devastated! Next stop would be a Farmacia!

We were taken around the Island to see the amazing limestone structures built over hundreds of thousands of years. Unlike around the Napoli bay, where the ground is mostly volcanic, the Isle of Capri is made from limestone, deposited in the middle of the bay. The formations are stunning, with trees at the top of the sheer cliffs, and with natural arches, through which you can see the blue sky above!

We were taken inside some of the grottos to see the famous red coral that grows under the water level here. Stunning flashes of red could be seen through the crystal clear water, surrounded by the white and grey of the limestone. We saw a grotto full of Stalactites and stalagmites, and when you get in close enough the roof turns a light blue colour (check out the pics!). We also saw a small blue grotto, which when the sun hits the white floor under the water it reflects up through the water as a brilliant, electric blue colour out of the darkness of the grotto. Stunning! We went around to see the exclusive villas owner by the rich and famous, Sofia Lauren for example, who was picked up by helicopter and taken over to the mainland while we were there. All of the stunning villas were perched high, up on the cliffs overlooking the mainland of Italy and the Mediterranean. Not a bad view, however I wouldn't like to have to carry the shopping up the steep steps to the house from the boat!!!! Still, perhaps that's how they work off all the pizza, pasta and wine...??? In that case...

Once we had been around the island we headed back to the port and went via funicular to the actual town square. The funicular took us up the steep hillside, providing beautiful views across the port of Capri and the blue Mediterranean. The town square was full of small boutiques (expensive!)  in beautiful cream buildings. From here you can either simply take in the stunning views  or you could walk down to the gardens and the view points on the other side of the island. It was a lovely, lovely spot, and you could see why people would want to live here, despite the tourists! They were everywhere, taking heaps of postcard perfect pictures (I was too!) and filling up the pizza restaurants and sandwich bars. I sat at the Funicular restaurant and looked out over the port of Capri and across the water. Absolutely beautiful! Just watching people go by and the boats moving around the port. It was a mad house down there! Ferries coming and going, and small local tour boats constantly arriving and leaving full of tourists headed for the grottos. It was nice to sit in the calm at the top of the hill and watch all the craziness below.

After a bit of shopping (I gave in and bought a new watch- it’s for going out I swear, and therefore, a necessity!) I headed down, via funicular, to the port of Capri and had a look around. Due to my sun rash I had to buy a cover up so that I could protect my skin from the sun, and a wide brimmed hat. It’s really cute! And definitely wearable back in Australia, so again another necessity! Not a souvenir!  Anyway… after a couple of hours in Capri, new hat on head, new top on to cover the rash, cortisone tablets taken, and anti-inflammatory gel on rash (yay! very attractive) I met the tour group at the port and we all headed back onto the ferry for the trip back to Sorrento! It was soo hot outside on the deck, in the sun, so many of us sat inside in the air-conditioning.

In about 25mins we were back in Sorrento and at Hotel Corallo. We had two hours for free time and a nap (thankgod!). At 4:30pm we met back up in the foyer and headed to Notturno, an inlaid wood work factory, where we watch a fascinating demonstration of how they make the intricate inlaid wood designs. I got a music box with stunning inlaid wood designs on the top, and jewellery storage inside. It is beautiful! I was very tempted by a small dining table, covered in an intricate design of inlaid wood works. The top flipped over and had a backgammon board inlaid in it. This could be taken off completely to reveal the green velvet of a gaming table top, set into the table. This could also be flipped, once you’d lost all you money, to form a chess table. This top could be taken off and two sides slide out to reveal a roulette wheel and boxes for pieces, and the sides would become the roulette table for betting. It was amazing! I was very tempted, however the €3,800 (€3,300 if you paid cash!) price tag put me off a bit. Devastated! Oh well, I’m happy with my music box! It’s very cute made from black ebony and inset with a violin, music notes and flowers it will be a fantastic edition to my room when I get home!

From here we walked into Sorrento town square for more shopping (stay calm, I did not buy anything – points for me! Although we did have a delicious boysenberry gelato while wandering).

On my walk I discovered my camera is on the way out L the lens covers won’t open completely so please excuse the dark shadow in many of my photos!  Shattered!

After an hour of wandering up and down the gorgeous alleyways, with so many limonccello stores (and sampling many of the local varieties), it was time to (Stumble) hop back on the bus and head to Riccardo's Tratorria/ restaurant (the tTble of Lucullus) where we ate too much food and drank to much wine! Chris had booked the whole back yard area, that was surrounded by lemon groves and lovely greenery which made a fantastic atmosphere. The chef (Riccardo) came out and discussed our lengthy menu, with five appetisers (seafood salad made with fresh baby octopus, Eggplant parma- which was to die for, Caprese salad, a plate full of muscles, and finally ricotta ravioli in a fish and shrimp sauce), a main of local fish oven baked with thinly sliced potato over the top and a small salad, and finally a lemon cream cake that was divine. It was full on! We sat at tables and enjoyed our food while listening to three sisters (who had recently been on Italy’s got talent) sing Italian and old American crooner tunes. It was fantastic. We then had a show by Pulcinella and his assistant, who was hilarious. His character was made following the plague, during which people had to wear masks around to be protected, which then became obsolete following the end of the plague.

 

He was funny to watch as he moved through the group having a joke with some of the people, and pulling people up to dance with them.  The night ended with a conga line that went down through the main restaurant, and out onto the street (the Vespas just dodged around us-thankfully!). It was then back onto the bus and back to the hotel where everyone crashed in bed! A great way to end a great day!