Italy Bellissimo Travelogue, continued

Day 4 of Tour- Capri and Anacapri

After a rough boat ride to the island the day before, our Tour Director gave us a break by starting the day a bit later. Mother nature also rewarded us with a much better weather than when we arrived on the island. Our local guide met us outside our hotel and we walked from our hotel to the Piazetta and the gardens of Augustus. Normally, if I'd like to evoke memories of a place I've been to, I have to close my eyes to remember it, but not with Capri. My senses can conjure memories of the island with eyes wide open just by recalling its scents. The smell of lemons, wisteria and Carthusian perfumes, still linger in my head when I think of Capri. We learned from our local guide that the island captivated the "romantics." He said the "romantics" he's referring to were the writers, poets and artists who came to the island to find inspiration for their craft. The gardens of Augustus which was established when the German industrialist Krupp decided to build his mansion in the island, provided magnificent views of Mount Solaro, the bay of Maria Piccola and the Faraglioni.

Photos on top from L to R: The Faraglioni rocks, the strip of road built by Krupp which is now closed to the public for safety, wisteria flowers common in the island.

Photos on second row L to R: The Carthusian perfumery, the Monastery of San Giacomo whose monks purportedly created the process of the Carthusian perfume, and the lemons of the island.

After visiting the gardens, we walked to the shopping district of town described by our local guide as the "Rodeo Drive" of Capri where designer boutiques showcase their expensive goods. We passed some historic buildings including the Hotel Quisisana, a former sanitarium erected by British physician, George Sidney Clark for people with respiratory illnesses. He believed that the air in Capri is ideal for convalescence.

We realized later that the walk was now part of the optional tour as the boat tour to the grottos was cancelled. We walked to the taxi station where we were split into groups and boarded taxis for the drive up the "Mama Mia" (film) road to the charming town of Anacapri.

Anacapri

Our Tour Director said that she loves Capri but is partial to Anacapri. I tend to agree with her. To me, Anacapri is simply charming because it's unassuming and not as touristy and expensive as its contemporary. I loved the little shops along the narrow streets and the little simple church we visited. After the walk in town, we had the option of taking the lift up the top of Monte Solaro or visit the gardens of Swedish author, Axel Munthe. We opted to visit the gardens and we didn't regret one bit for our choice. Our local guide left us alone to wander in the gardens after he took us through the author's home. My son discovered the viewpoint after climbing several steps that looked out into breathtaking views of Capri and across the bay of Naples.

Photos on top from L to R: church in Anacapri, one of the stores that dotted the streets, tiled bench depicting the process of wine making.

Photos on bottom row L to R: The Axel Munthe gardens in Villa San Michele, views from the gardens, circular viewpoint from top of the garden where a granite Sphinx lies. Legend has it that touching the Spinx while looking out into the Mediterranean brings good luck.

We had some free time in Anacapri and after lunch, we met up with our group again and rode the open taxi back to Capri. My twenty year old son enjoyed that ride a lot and once again, the taxi drivers' skills impressed us as he maneuvered the car on the steep, ribbon- thin, winding road of the island.

Back in Capri

We decided to let my mom rest in the hotel while the 3 of us- my son, my friend and I ventured out during our free time on the island. After some shopping and some gelato, we took a stroll and discovered a library and a museum in an old monastery that's in the process of being restored. During the stroll, we saw the sign of Arco Naturale. We followed the sign not knowing it was a steep climb and even without proper foot wear for the hike, I accepted the challenge. What we discovered on top made the climb all worth it.

Photos of the Faraglioni and Arco Naturale.

The climb to Arco Naturale made us all hungry so on our walk back to town, we started looking for a restaurant. By chance, we saw the sign of the restaurant Michel'angelo and went ahead to make reservations. The chef/ owner himself greeted us and took our reservation. We went back to the hotel to pick up my mom and returned to the restaurant where we ran into a couple from our tour. The chef/ owner ran the restaurant with his wife whose from Australia. That night he had a cooking class attended by 3 young American ladies and he invited us to watch it. My friend was eager to watch while the rest of us enjoyed conversing with the couple from our tour. We had a fantastic Caprese meal and an excellent service that night. The chef and his wife were very friendly and the wait staff were extremely attentive. I considered it one of the best meals and service we had in Italy.

Michel'angelo Ristorante in Capri. Last 2 photos courtesy of my friend, Filgie Jarina. Middle photo was the cooking class in restaurant the night we dined.

We were to leave our suitcases out of our hotel rooms by 10 PM that night because the porters had to take them out to the boat early in the morning. We had a pleasant experience overall in Capri, and I went to bed praying the boat ride to Naples the following morning would be a better experience than the one coming to the island from Sorrento.

Some may wonder why I'm writing about this trip in such a public forum. My purpose about this blog is to share my travel experiences as a regular person so others may also learn from it as I did.

I love all the cities we visited during this tour and Capri is definitely one of my favorites.

Tags: #Travelogue #ItalyBellissimo #TrafalgarTours #TravelTips #regularpersonblog #Wanderlust #Capri #Anacapri #Italy #Travel #MichelangeloRistoranteCapri #Lemons #limoncello #Carthusia #wisteria #Sorrento #Naples #AxelMunthe #VillaSanMichele #HotelQuisisanahistory #travelblog #travelwhileyoucan #Faraglioni #ArcoNaturale

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