Capri- A Perfect Vacation!

Returned late last night from my vacation in Capri. So sad to leave such beautiful scenery behind. The views of Opera just don't quite compare. But, nonetheless, it's time to rehash the last few days for posterity's sake.

After Saturday was so amazing, I feared the rest of the trip wouldn't measure up. However, Kate and I loved so much about our trip, we are already dreaming of returning next summer. Who wants to come?

On our way to the top...At this point, I thought we were close! WRONG!

On Sunday, Kate wanted to hike Monte Solara. Ok, no problem. Except it was about 150 degrees outside. Let's compare it to climbing Stone Mountain in the middle of July. Who does that? No one. Perhaps that's why most of the people Kate and I saw on the trail were going down it. Smart- they took the chair lift up and walked down. We did the reverse. We really earned our meals that day.

On the way to the top of Monte Solara

View of the Faraglioni rocks from Monte Solara

On Monday, Kate and I did the tourist thing and visited the Blue Grotto. We resisted the boat trip there and took the city bus and hopped in a little rowboat with an Italian with unintelligible English. He was difficult to understand, but I did make out that he wanted a tip. Classic. Anyways, it doesn't matter how touristy that site gets, it's worth a look. A.MAZ.ING. 

Inside Grotta Azzurra

Monday night we stumbled into another little restaurant that was a great find. They had an amazing Caprese salad and a pasta dish with a pumpkin sauce. Nothing like having Caprese salad in Capri! Kind of like eating French fries in France, right? 

Anne Shealy, are you proud? Whole slices of tomato! 

Have I ever mentioned loving pumpkin?

Tuesday, Kate and I headed to Sorrento for the day. It is only a short ride by ferry from Capri. We had high hopes of heading to Pompeii for the day or trying to do Sorrento and Positano, but in the end, just kept it simple and meandered around Sorrento. There must be a large British or Irish population because there were several places catering to that crowd. Kate and I both have an affinity for cider beers so that was a decisive factor in our decision to have beer and fries for lunch. Have we mentioned this new diet we're on? It's called "Eat Whatever You Want". We headed back to Capri late in the afternoon and found our way later that evening to another off the beaten path restaurant. It allowed us to see the more residential section of Capri and proved again that my iPhone is indispensible in helping us find our way. 

Finally, Wednesday we had to make our way back to Napoli to catch our evening flight. Kate had wanted to try authentic Napolitano pizza along the way. A little research led us to Pizzeria da Michele, the pizza joint featured in Eat, Pray, Love. It's a busy joint, with tourists and locals alike, and at €4 a pizza, it's hard to go wrong! The pizza was different from others in Italy I've had for sure. The crust was thicker and chewier, and coming from the thick US crusts, this made me happy!

Pizzeria da Michele

We had a name of a cabbie in Napoli that was supposedly super nice. So, after lunch, we gave this guy a call and in our broken Ital-ish told him how we got his number. He drove us towards the airport, insisting that we hop out of the cab with him at a local pastry shop to have traditional Napolitano pastries, sfogliatelle, before we left. He even paid for them. No worries, though, I'm certain he got his money back and then some with our tip. 

It was an amazing trip. And, I'm ready to go again! Who's coming next summer? 

Headed to the US on Sunday! Hoping to see so many of you!