Capri Sun

This morning followed our usual pattern with breakfast at the hotel restaurant overlooking the bay. After that, however, we hopped on a shuttle to the city harbor and boarded a medium sized and well appointed speedboat. This was the start of our adventure to the Isle of Capri, once home to the Roman Emporer Tiberius in 40 BC and now home to a bunch of rich people. The first 45 minutes took us to e city itself, where we hopped off the boat to tour the city at our leisure.

Since we only had 3 hours, we avoided trying to go to Ana Capri and getting to the highest point on the island, a trip at would have taken 1.5 hours at least. Instead we chose to visit the city center of Capri, which is nestled in the hills above the harbor. We found a ticket booth hidden away, and then made our way to the Furnicular, or cable car for the trip up the hills. Once at the top, we spent an hour or more wandering through a city that offered a perfect juxtoposition of high end modern fashion shops and relics from the past. Although some might find Dolce Gabana and Gucci exciting, we were more thrilled at the spectacular views. We also found charming little alley ways lined with smaller (20-30 sqft) shops. We quickly decided it was the most beautiful town we'd ever been in.

We chose to walk back down to the harbor instead of taking the cable car, and though enjoyable, we were overheated by the time we reached the bottom. We cured at issue with a pair of beers, and then got back on the boat. The second part of the day included a tour around the island by boat highlighted by stops at the White and Green Grottos. After such a hot day wandering the city, we were rewarded with a chance to explore the grottos the old fashioned way: by swimming. I cannot express how refresing it felt, particularly when we first dove in. The grottos are famous for how light enters the caverns through breaks in the rock below the water's surface, allowing the water to filter the light into intense blues and greens. We swam through them, entering some through large open caverns and others through openings just 2-3 feet above the water. It was heaven, but all good things must come to an end eventually, so following the swimming our boat completed it's loop of the island and returned us to Sorrento.

For dinner, we choose to go into town and explore what Sorrento is like after the sun goes down. We plan to try to get away from the main square and eat somewhere a little less touristy. We've heard great things about a few spots and hopefully will see one that just looks right. Wish us luck!