Culture, cuisine, cliffs and coastlines:
12 days in Campania
12 days in Campania
Capri
June 8/9: The longest day.
For the second year in a row, our carefully plotted logistics for the first day
were thrown awry by a significant flight delay and a missed connection.
Almost from the moment we awoke on June 8 (6am), we knew that our day
would not go according to plan. Although Lufthansa’s phone agents
denied it at first, a quick review of some flight tracking sites and
Lufthansa's own website showed something abnormal with LH 434 from
Munich to Chicago – the same aircraft we would be flying to Munich later in
the day. Apparently, it was diverted back to Munich for unspecified
‘technical’ reasons, and by 10am, Lufthansa was confirming a three-hour
delay for our flight. That meant we would miss our connection to Naples.
Unfortunately, Lufthansa could not rebook us via phone; we would have to
go to the airport, and the sooner we took care of that, the better our
chances of getting on the next available flight. Since we already had a car
arranged, we went on to O’Hare as scheduled at 1:30pm, meaning we’d
have about five hours to kill.
Lufthansa was very apologetic and accommodating, to the tune of $60 in
food vouchers to spend at O’Hare prior to departure. We wondered, is that
even possible? We were game to try and decided that Wolfgang Puck
would be the most logical candidate. But there was no place to sit, so off
we went to Chili’s where, with three appetizers and some premium
margaritas, we were able to ring up a bill of $59.77. And on the subject of
not letting good things go to waste, there was the matter of our two-apiece
free drink chits for the Red Carpet Club. That took care of another couple of
hours, and we were now finally getting close to flight time.
Once we got off the ground, the flight was uneventful and we landed in
Munich around 11:15am. At that point, about 90% of the passengers –
themselves having missed connections – lined up at a makeshift counter
near the gate so that they could receive new boarding passes from the two
agents stationed there. Fortunately, we were near the front of the line;
otherwise, we might still be there.
We had been rebooked on a 1:10 flight to Naples, which turned out to be a
mainline Lufthansa flight rather than an Air Dolomiti code share (which had
been the whole reason for us having to cart around paper tickets).
Although it was cloudy and looked to be raining in some areas, the sun
was shining on the center of Naples as we descended over the city
towards the airport. Napoli Capodichino is quite close to the city center,
and the flight path takes you right over the warren of streets, domes,
industrial docks, palaces, traffic snarls, cruise ships, and castles perched
on hills. It looked both terrifying and fascinating at the same time. Lesson
learned: always have that camera handy.
It took about 15 minutes to unload passengers from our Airbus 319 onto
the tarmac and then to a bus that would take us to the terminal. The bus
began rolling, went about 40 yards and stopped. We were there. We could
have walked it in about 30 seconds.
The next challenge was getting to Capri, but this was well planned in
advance and went off without a hitch – largely due to those who provide
transportation information on Fodors. We quickly found our bus (although
we had believed it would be blue, not orange) and rode to Piazza Municipio.
From there, it is about a two-block walk, then across a very busy street to
the area of Molo Beverello – the dock from which the Capri ferries leave.
This is not a difficult walk, but it is crowded with people and the streets and
sidewalks are largely block and/or cobblestone. We were fine with small
rolling bags but wouldn’t want to try this with a lot of luggage. Contrary to
what we’d read, the cars actually do stop at the stop light so that you can
cross the street, but the Vespas are a little more unpredictable – like
climbing over the traffic medians, crossing in the crosswalks with
pedestrians, etc.
We easily located the next Capri ferry on the big board (kind of like a train
station monitor), purchased our tickets, and were off. The ride takes about
45 minutes on a jet boat. We left our luggage with a porter at Marina
Grande (hoping we would see it again some day), took the funicular to
Capri town, and made our way through and beyond the piazetta to Hotel La
Minerva – where the attractive lobby area with blue and white tile and plenty
of ceramics (Marisa liked it immediately) greeted us like a refreshing, cool
breeze! It had been 22 hours since we walked out the door of our home.
We took some time to settle in, particularly to become acquainted with our
lovely (mostly) private terrace, which included a table, chairs, sunbeds, and
a stunning view toward Marina Piccolo and the sea. Ahhh!
Our first order of business was finding an appropriate ‘first-night’ meal –
something casual and relaxed, yet good. Even though we were tired and
trying valiantly to stay up until a ‘normal’ bedtime, we were bound and
determined not to be the ‘early Americans’ at dinner. Well, that happened
anyway. We’d thought about going to La Savardina da Eduardo, but
realized the walk might be just a bit too much, so we decided to try its
sibling, the restaurant at the Hotel Belsito. Our intent was to ‘check it out’
and then go back around 8:30, but after climbing all the steps to get there,
we knew we’d never get Allie to do that twice. So in we went at 7:30. But
there were some benefits to being early. We got the best table, with a view
over the lights of Capri town, and very attentive service. Our food and wine,
while not inexpensive, was very good – particularly the home-made black
pasta scialiatelle, pizza margherita, and pesce aqua pazza – and quickly
got us into the Italian spirit. The only problem was the music, which was
quite incongruous with this serene setting – something like the
Chipmunks go Italian. At least it kept the abundant food and wine from
lulling us to sleep.
A late evening stroll through the piazetta, and we quickly determined why
everyone says to spend the night on Capri: it is simply magical without all
the people milling about. And the terrace near the bell tower offers a
stunning view of the lights across the Bay of Naples. Yes, we could get
used to this.
June 10: Walking all over Capri.
Jet lag, as it often does, ensured that we were up and ready for the day – at
4am! Allie slept a bit later, so Marisa and Chris separately took walks into
and around town. At 7am, there are few pedestrians, but many service
carts (garbage, supplies, etc.) whizzing around. Learning to dodge them
was good preparation for the scooters in Naples. Chris discovered some
of the many cats who reside in the area of our hotel, and made friends with
a few.
La Minerva provides a very nice breakfast – cornetti, coffee cake, fresh OJ,
cheese, and yogurt – served either on the hotel’s rooftop terrace or on your
room’s terrace. Despite our early start on the day, we were a bit slow
getting out of the hotel. Blame it on the nice view. We were determined on
beating the crowds to Anacapri, although we learned that the cruise
crowds do get there early. The bus ride up to Anacapri was short and not
nearly as harrowing as we expected, although we did get to experience our
first episode of one bus backing down the hill so that another could get by.
Allie approached the chairlift to Monte Solaro with a little trepidation. We’d
found some pictures of it on the Internet, and she wasn’t sure how she
would like being in a chair by herself. “It’s just like a Disney ride,” she kept
saying as we approached the front of the line. Fifteen seconds into the ride,
we heard her shout, “This is so cool!” For the most part, the chair cruises
along about 15-20 feet above the ground, over some homes, then some
small farms, a few vineyards, and one very unusual gnome garden
complete with reggae music. The view from the top gives you an excellent
perspective on Capri and beyond – from Ischia to the Sorrentine peninsula.
There are a few trails near the top, but otherwise, not much to do except
enjoy the view – and the gift shop/café at the top has provided some comfy
chairs to do just that. Capri was just coming out of a bit of a cool snap, and
it was actually a little chilly at the top. We’d later wish for some of that while
in Naples.
After descending, we took a little walk beyond Anacapri to the Roman ruins
of Torre Damecuta. This walk winds through some of the residential and
increasingly rural parts of Anacapri, offering a glimpse of life on the island.
Before leaving Anacapri, we stopped in the Chiesa San Michele to see the
unique tile floor depicting the Garden of Eden. You are not allowed to walk
on the floor; there is a narrow walkway running around it from which you
can view the floor. At one point, we were stuck behind a tour group that was
in mid-lecture (in Italian, so we couldn’t partake, or move on). As we left the
center of Anacapri, we encountered fewer people and even fewer
motorized vehicles, and most of those were of the two-wheeled variety. The
ruins weren’t all that interesting, but the views from the park were quite
nice. We could look right down onto the area of the Blue Grotto, with all the
boats coming and going and, presumably, waiting. We’d decided already
that this was something we would skip. Surely, it is beautiful, but with
limited time, we knew we would be seeing many unique and beautiful
coastal areas over the coming week.
Getting a bus back to Capri town wasn’t quite as easy as our morning trip
to Anacapri. There was a line of people waiting, as well as some confusion
about how/where to acquire bus tickets. One bus came and filled to
capacity. We were next in line but waved it off; better to wait another 15
minutes than to risk becoming sardines so early in the trip. Back in Capri
town, we had lunch at Pizzeria Aurora, which we’d spotted the night before.
The pizza, prepared on very thin crusts, was quite tasty. We were now two
for two with good pizza.
After lunch (and some wine) we opted for a siesta on our terrace’s
sunbeds while the daytrippers launched their final assault on the island,
then set out for the Arco Naturale after 5pm. A couple from New Jersey had
advised us to take the clockwise approach to this route; otherwise, we
would encounter a long series of steps going up. Good idea, particularly
with a jet-lagged pre-teen along. We spent some time trying to take nice
pictures of the Arco – a challenge because of its size and the late afternoon
shadows. We particularly enjoyed drinks on the terrace at La Grottura, the
restaurant positioned near a cave just a few minutes from the Arco
Naturale and at the top of the aforementioned steps. Just as we were
leaving to press on, a couple came huffing and puffing up to the top; we
kindly directed them to La Grottura. We headed down the steps, past the
Villa Malaparta and Grotta de Matermania, where Allie had fun exploring the
cave. Eventually, the path winds around above the Faraglioni and back up
near the hotel Punta Tragara. This was a very enjoyable walk – one of the
best of our trip.
Where to go for dinner? So many recommendations, and only one more
night on Capri. We weren’t up for a big meal, so we decided on da
Gemma, which has a nice view toward the Anacapri side of the island. We
were surprised to find it almost full at 8pm and were lucky to be seated
right away. We enjoyed a meal of risotto fruiti di mare, spaghetti con
vongole, ravioli caprese, grilled calamari and a nice Campania white wine
for 69€. Not that we were still hungry, but we couldn’t resist a stop at
Buonocorne on the walk back to our hotel – gelato for Allie (the first of
many), and some of those amazing lemon/almond cookies for us. You
can't miss it – right on the walk leading to the Hotel Quisisana. Follow your
nose. It’s the one whose scent of baked goods fills the area for several
blocks around.
Next > The Amalfi Coast, part 1
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
June 8/9: The longest day.
For the second year in a row, our carefully plotted logistics for the first day
were thrown awry by a significant flight delay and a missed connection.
Almost from the moment we awoke on June 8 (6am), we knew that our day
would not go according to plan. Although Lufthansa’s phone agents
denied it at first, a quick review of some flight tracking sites and
Lufthansa's own website showed something abnormal with LH 434 from
Munich to Chicago – the same aircraft we would be flying to Munich later in
the day. Apparently, it was diverted back to Munich for unspecified
‘technical’ reasons, and by 10am, Lufthansa was confirming a three-hour
delay for our flight. That meant we would miss our connection to Naples.
Unfortunately, Lufthansa could not rebook us via phone; we would have to
go to the airport, and the sooner we took care of that, the better our
chances of getting on the next available flight. Since we already had a car
arranged, we went on to O’Hare as scheduled at 1:30pm, meaning we’d
have about five hours to kill.
Lufthansa was very apologetic and accommodating, to the tune of $60 in
food vouchers to spend at O’Hare prior to departure. We wondered, is that
even possible? We were game to try and decided that Wolfgang Puck
would be the most logical candidate. But there was no place to sit, so off
we went to Chili’s where, with three appetizers and some premium
margaritas, we were able to ring up a bill of $59.77. And on the subject of
not letting good things go to waste, there was the matter of our two-apiece
free drink chits for the Red Carpet Club. That took care of another couple of
hours, and we were now finally getting close to flight time.
Once we got off the ground, the flight was uneventful and we landed in
Munich around 11:15am. At that point, about 90% of the passengers –
themselves having missed connections – lined up at a makeshift counter
near the gate so that they could receive new boarding passes from the two
agents stationed there. Fortunately, we were near the front of the line;
otherwise, we might still be there.
We had been rebooked on a 1:10 flight to Naples, which turned out to be a
mainline Lufthansa flight rather than an Air Dolomiti code share (which had
been the whole reason for us having to cart around paper tickets).
Although it was cloudy and looked to be raining in some areas, the sun
was shining on the center of Naples as we descended over the city
towards the airport. Napoli Capodichino is quite close to the city center,
and the flight path takes you right over the warren of streets, domes,
industrial docks, palaces, traffic snarls, cruise ships, and castles perched
on hills. It looked both terrifying and fascinating at the same time. Lesson
learned: always have that camera handy.
It took about 15 minutes to unload passengers from our Airbus 319 onto
the tarmac and then to a bus that would take us to the terminal. The bus
began rolling, went about 40 yards and stopped. We were there. We could
have walked it in about 30 seconds.
The next challenge was getting to Capri, but this was well planned in
advance and went off without a hitch – largely due to those who provide
transportation information on Fodors. We quickly found our bus (although
we had believed it would be blue, not orange) and rode to Piazza Municipio.
From there, it is about a two-block walk, then across a very busy street to
the area of Molo Beverello – the dock from which the Capri ferries leave.
This is not a difficult walk, but it is crowded with people and the streets and
sidewalks are largely block and/or cobblestone. We were fine with small
rolling bags but wouldn’t want to try this with a lot of luggage. Contrary to
what we’d read, the cars actually do stop at the stop light so that you can
cross the street, but the Vespas are a little more unpredictable – like
climbing over the traffic medians, crossing in the crosswalks with
pedestrians, etc.
We easily located the next Capri ferry on the big board (kind of like a train
station monitor), purchased our tickets, and were off. The ride takes about
45 minutes on a jet boat. We left our luggage with a porter at Marina
Grande (hoping we would see it again some day), took the funicular to
Capri town, and made our way through and beyond the piazetta to Hotel La
Minerva – where the attractive lobby area with blue and white tile and plenty
of ceramics (Marisa liked it immediately) greeted us like a refreshing, cool
breeze! It had been 22 hours since we walked out the door of our home.
We took some time to settle in, particularly to become acquainted with our
lovely (mostly) private terrace, which included a table, chairs, sunbeds, and
a stunning view toward Marina Piccolo and the sea. Ahhh!
Our first order of business was finding an appropriate ‘first-night’ meal –
something casual and relaxed, yet good. Even though we were tired and
trying valiantly to stay up until a ‘normal’ bedtime, we were bound and
determined not to be the ‘early Americans’ at dinner. Well, that happened
anyway. We’d thought about going to La Savardina da Eduardo, but
realized the walk might be just a bit too much, so we decided to try its
sibling, the restaurant at the Hotel Belsito. Our intent was to ‘check it out’
and then go back around 8:30, but after climbing all the steps to get there,
we knew we’d never get Allie to do that twice. So in we went at 7:30. But
there were some benefits to being early. We got the best table, with a view
over the lights of Capri town, and very attentive service. Our food and wine,
while not inexpensive, was very good – particularly the home-made black
pasta scialiatelle, pizza margherita, and pesce aqua pazza – and quickly
got us into the Italian spirit. The only problem was the music, which was
quite incongruous with this serene setting – something like the
Chipmunks go Italian. At least it kept the abundant food and wine from
lulling us to sleep.
A late evening stroll through the piazetta, and we quickly determined why
everyone says to spend the night on Capri: it is simply magical without all
the people milling about. And the terrace near the bell tower offers a
stunning view of the lights across the Bay of Naples. Yes, we could get
used to this.
June 10: Walking all over Capri.
Jet lag, as it often does, ensured that we were up and ready for the day – at
4am! Allie slept a bit later, so Marisa and Chris separately took walks into
and around town. At 7am, there are few pedestrians, but many service
carts (garbage, supplies, etc.) whizzing around. Learning to dodge them
was good preparation for the scooters in Naples. Chris discovered some
of the many cats who reside in the area of our hotel, and made friends with
a few.
La Minerva provides a very nice breakfast – cornetti, coffee cake, fresh OJ,
cheese, and yogurt – served either on the hotel’s rooftop terrace or on your
room’s terrace. Despite our early start on the day, we were a bit slow
getting out of the hotel. Blame it on the nice view. We were determined on
beating the crowds to Anacapri, although we learned that the cruise
crowds do get there early. The bus ride up to Anacapri was short and not
nearly as harrowing as we expected, although we did get to experience our
first episode of one bus backing down the hill so that another could get by.
Allie approached the chairlift to Monte Solaro with a little trepidation. We’d
found some pictures of it on the Internet, and she wasn’t sure how she
would like being in a chair by herself. “It’s just like a Disney ride,” she kept
saying as we approached the front of the line. Fifteen seconds into the ride,
we heard her shout, “This is so cool!” For the most part, the chair cruises
along about 15-20 feet above the ground, over some homes, then some
small farms, a few vineyards, and one very unusual gnome garden
complete with reggae music. The view from the top gives you an excellent
perspective on Capri and beyond – from Ischia to the Sorrentine peninsula.
There are a few trails near the top, but otherwise, not much to do except
enjoy the view – and the gift shop/café at the top has provided some comfy
chairs to do just that. Capri was just coming out of a bit of a cool snap, and
it was actually a little chilly at the top. We’d later wish for some of that while
in Naples.
After descending, we took a little walk beyond Anacapri to the Roman ruins
of Torre Damecuta. This walk winds through some of the residential and
increasingly rural parts of Anacapri, offering a glimpse of life on the island.
Before leaving Anacapri, we stopped in the Chiesa San Michele to see the
unique tile floor depicting the Garden of Eden. You are not allowed to walk
on the floor; there is a narrow walkway running around it from which you
can view the floor. At one point, we were stuck behind a tour group that was
in mid-lecture (in Italian, so we couldn’t partake, or move on). As we left the
center of Anacapri, we encountered fewer people and even fewer
motorized vehicles, and most of those were of the two-wheeled variety. The
ruins weren’t all that interesting, but the views from the park were quite
nice. We could look right down onto the area of the Blue Grotto, with all the
boats coming and going and, presumably, waiting. We’d decided already
that this was something we would skip. Surely, it is beautiful, but with
limited time, we knew we would be seeing many unique and beautiful
coastal areas over the coming week.
Getting a bus back to Capri town wasn’t quite as easy as our morning trip
to Anacapri. There was a line of people waiting, as well as some confusion
about how/where to acquire bus tickets. One bus came and filled to
capacity. We were next in line but waved it off; better to wait another 15
minutes than to risk becoming sardines so early in the trip. Back in Capri
town, we had lunch at Pizzeria Aurora, which we’d spotted the night before.
The pizza, prepared on very thin crusts, was quite tasty. We were now two
for two with good pizza.
After lunch (and some wine) we opted for a siesta on our terrace’s
sunbeds while the daytrippers launched their final assault on the island,
then set out for the Arco Naturale after 5pm. A couple from New Jersey had
advised us to take the clockwise approach to this route; otherwise, we
would encounter a long series of steps going up. Good idea, particularly
with a jet-lagged pre-teen along. We spent some time trying to take nice
pictures of the Arco – a challenge because of its size and the late afternoon
shadows. We particularly enjoyed drinks on the terrace at La Grottura, the
restaurant positioned near a cave just a few minutes from the Arco
Naturale and at the top of the aforementioned steps. Just as we were
leaving to press on, a couple came huffing and puffing up to the top; we
kindly directed them to La Grottura. We headed down the steps, past the
Villa Malaparta and Grotta de Matermania, where Allie had fun exploring the
cave. Eventually, the path winds around above the Faraglioni and back up
near the hotel Punta Tragara. This was a very enjoyable walk – one of the
best of our trip.
Where to go for dinner? So many recommendations, and only one more
night on Capri. We weren’t up for a big meal, so we decided on da
Gemma, which has a nice view toward the Anacapri side of the island. We
were surprised to find it almost full at 8pm and were lucky to be seated
right away. We enjoyed a meal of risotto fruiti di mare, spaghetti con
vongole, ravioli caprese, grilled calamari and a nice Campania white wine
for 69€. Not that we were still hungry, but we couldn’t resist a stop at
Buonocorne on the walk back to our hotel – gelato for Allie (the first of
many), and some of those amazing lemon/almond cookies for us. You
can't miss it – right on the walk leading to the Hotel Quisisana. Follow your
nose. It’s the one whose scent of baked goods fills the area for several
blocks around.
Next > The Amalfi Coast, part 1
See all of our photos on Webshots
our travels
home
contact us
Capri - in tile
Capri town
Capri - duomo
Capri - view from the piazza at the top of
funicular
funicular
Capri - Via Tragara
Capri - Monte Solaro chairlift
Capri - Relaxing on Monte Solaro
Capri - Cliff on the Anacapri side of the
island
island
Capri - Chiesa San Michele, Anacapri
Capri - Arco Naturale
Capri - Faraglioni
