Yeah, I’m crazy…I plan a day where not only is it my first
day in Rome and I need to adjust to the time, but I have to get up super early
on my birthday. Oh well, done it before
and will do it again.
I walked to the meeting point, which was a bit over a mile
from the Flat of 100 Steps. I got to
walk past the Spanish Steps before the crowds showed up
But not before the cleaning crews…oh well. This is the super pricey designer area of
Rome. Designer shop after designer
shop…etc.. I made it to the Piazza del Popolo with minutes to spare. This piazza is the entrance to old Rome and
in the center
Is an Egyptian obelisk topped off, strangely enough, with a
cross. Gotta balance out anything pagan
I suppose.
We had a small group of four women, a couple of
20-somethings from Scotland, an older lady from Australia, and myself. We were actually kind of guinea pigs for a
new tour and the women from the company leading the tour almost outnumbered the
group. We had the actual guide, a
trainee, and someone from the head office.
We got into our van with our driver and hit the road.
We got to the harbor a little early as we decided not to
stop on the way for coffee and a bathroom break, but we had a cappuccino at a
nice place at Naples Harbor when we were waiting for our guide to buy
tickets. We got on the hydrofoil and
were given instructions to use the restrooms on the boat and to hurry to the
exit when we felt the boat slow. The
ride was calm and what little view there was thorough the spotty windows was
lovely.
We got to Capri and met our local guide, Fabian. Fabian was born on the island, but went to
boarding school in England as his father was English. It was strange to have a local guide with a
British accent, but it worked fine.
We hopped in a minibus for a hairpin turn ride up to
Anacapri. Capri has two towns, Capri and
Anacapri and we were starting at Upper Capri.
Nice photo ops up the scary drive
This is the port we had just arrived at
And here is a nice view of the town of Capri from the road
above.
Anacapri is quieter and the more laid back of the two
towns. All the famous people apparently
live and shop in Capri, so the more reasonable tourism is at the top of the
mountain. We also got to visit a lovely
church
Chiese san Michele, which is known for its majolica
floor. Majolica tile is a big thing here
on the island. The floor is a depiction of the Garden of Eden. I was not willing to climb the narrow spiral
staircase, so I took photos piecemeal
Apparently, there was a cat in the Garden of Eden.
This is the altar of the church and there are some pricey
stones, like Lapus Lazuli, used to decorate it.
There are also ancient Greek (yes, Greeks were here before
Romans) steps down the mountain…apparently 1000 of them. I decided that I had enough steps at my flat
and took Fabian’s word for it (he claims to climb up them from time to time).
I saw this interesting 2 tailed mermaid that I had to share.
We went to taste some lemoncello, which the locals insist was invented here. I decided that I
didn’t want to haul it around for the rest of the day, so I didn’t get any
there and then.
We then had some time to wander about and have lunch (which
was a lovely caprese salad, pizza margherita, lemonade, and vanilla
gelato). I had some extra time so I
bought some lovely majolica pottery made by a local artist (because I need more
pottery).
Then back down the scary hairpin turn road to Capri town with more gorgeous views.
Our bus dropped us off by this map…more lovely majolica
We then hiked up and up and up
Past the monastery and up to the Gardens of Augustus so that we could look down on the
other coast of the island.
Where we see the obligatory single photo of me that I post
during my trip. I’m melting in the sun,
but I’m smiling.
Behind me, you saw these rocks. There a famous symbol of the island and are
known as the Capri Faraglioni.
This is also an example of how freaking BLUE the water
is. Fabian gave us some explanation
about the limestone and the ocean water and some sort of chemical reaction…but
who really cares?
Some crazy rich person had this path built so they could get
down to their yacht from their villa.
Um…no.
We then exited the gardens by a different path that led us
past this awesome bench. Yep, more
majolica.
We went to the Carthusia perfume factory and I dropped a few
Euro on some eau de toilette that smells like lemons along with a couple of
bars of perfumed soap. They then cut us
loose again for an hour or so and I wandered the streets
Saw some interesting architecture. Bought some lemon
sorbetto and made my way to the meeting point
Under the clock tower which just happens to have a face of
majolica tiles…Imagine that!
Long drive home and we got back after dark. I decided to try the metro because it was
dark and I was tired. I have now
mastered the Metro. Two lines that
intersect at Termini train station and it costs 1.50 Euro.
I was done after I climbed the stairs…ew.
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