The Isle of Capri...Sigh!

It had been raining since the top of the page. So far, as the group sipped some cappuccino, this was the only precipitation of any consequence as everyone waited for the ferry to Capri. The trip was uneventful and upon unloading a search was undertaken for the funiculare going up to the town proper.

Very crowded but fun; unlike Positano there are some flatter sections to walk about. The views are still dramatic:

Next was the logistical quest for the Hotel La Palma. After a perusal of the town square map Chris decided to use his Italian SIM iPhone to call. The concierge happily explained it was easy and that they were the first hotel in the town and we would have no problems finding it. However that was as detailed as he got. So once again girding our loins, we entered the narrow streets to quickly find our destination:

Whoa…this looked even nicer than the last one. Wonder what their riff-raff policy is? The lobby was quite cool:

The mannequin with the polka dot lamp shade needs so much to be in a certain apartment in Miami Beach!

It took a little bit to get settled. Wisely everyone had purchased a freshly made sandwich from the deli in Positano before boarding the ferry. However it had to be eaten in a bit of a cramped space in Gini and Chris’ room as Geoff and Linda’s was not quite ready. Eventually everything was sorted out and Plan A was initiated.

This would entail buying tickets for the local bus to go further up the mountain to Anacapri, check that out and then find the chair lift that went way up the mountain. Va Bene, Andiamo!

The bus ride of course was the usual curving of esses along the mountainside so gelato had to be used in a therapeutic fashion upon arrival. A moment was taken to enjoy Anacapri:

Then it was up, up and away in our beautiful chairlift:

Someone had decided that the chairlifters needed some visual distraction other than the spectacular panorama. This was under the lift lines:

This was actually quite the ride and lasted for about ten minutes. Upon reaching the summit it was easy to benefit from the altitude. Here is a signature shot:

Please note the relative sizes of these boats. Those are not cruise ships. They are private yachts. This is one of the playgrounds of the one tenth of one percent….must be nice…

Matching the ambience of the rich and powerful were a couple of Landrys putting Vesuvius in perspective.

Awesome rarely is appropriate but wending through these vistas brought its usage easily into play. The return ride was even more dramatic as the ground fell away in a full frontal of descension. Here’s one perspective:

With plenty of daylight left the return to town provided plenty of time for exploration. From Rick Steves’ book a couple of gardens sounded interesting. The first one was closed but did allow for an artsy shot of the lanes of travel:

It soon became apparent that there was a special charm to Capri and why emperors and lovers found their way here. The atmosphere removes one from the mundane and the stressful and focuses on sights, pleasure and romantic idylls.

The second garden was available and was truly beautiful.

Gini found this flower particularly striking:

Speaking of the one tenth of one percent…the property of the Krupps was now being trod upon. This family had seen to the provision that the garden and associated walkways would be enjoyed by one and all.

Now, thanks to Chip, whenever a cliff is viewed it has to be viewed in terms of its climbability:

And of course there is the artsy cactus shot:

On the way back to the hotel Gini was curious about where Paul had stayed. If one is fortunate to visit Paul’s Miami Beach apartment there is a gorgeous poster from Capri that is related to where they stayed. Since the town is not all that big it was quickly found:

A walk around the lobby was exquisite and picture taking was forsaken in lieu of taking in the ambience.

Chris was soon at work on Trip Advisor and found what he thought would be a good place to eat and not completely empty our pocketbooks. This proved to be just the thing as Geoff once again regaled the staff with his Italian. Pizza was had by Linda, Gini and Geoff but Chris opted for the rigatoni. In what precariously might have changed the mood of the evening the pasta was late arriving. This was most unusual since cabana boy graduate school takes place in Italy. It did arrive as everyone else was well into their pizzas but was described as the best rigatoni and sauce that Chris had ever had.

Evening finally did fall and night time Capri showed itself. This was the reason for the overnight. Most people do Capri as a day trip. Wandering the byways in the evening was charming:

The dreamy sequence now had the music fading and would be soon over. Much to her surprise, Gini had figured that this one night would satisfy her Capri curiosity. Now she knew that she had to return. We shall see.

Morning came and it was back to Napoli and the foursome had to part ways. Geoff and Linda were excellent traveling companions and would be heading for an opera in Verona and then on to the lakes region before spending a few days in Ireland. Buona ventura amici.