Capri
Thursday, June 6th

Capri is pretty. Clean, but very expensive. It’s where all the rich and famous go to to get away from it all. We were supposed to take a small boat out to the Blue Grotto, but the water is just too rough today. It would be too dangerous to go out. You could tell our group was getting very tired. This was the first time you heard lots of complaining when something had to be altered.

We ended up taking another mini bus to Anacapri (Above Capri). We were packed in the bus like sardines. On our way up to Anacapri, Raeleen and I joked about getting one of those 3 wheel trucks you see people driving around in. We both love them. It would be perfect for going to pick up mulch and plants in. Some how I think it would look out of place on the streets of Bowie, MD.

Prices in Anacapri are a little bit more reasonable. I bought Dave and myself shirts. We took a chair-lift to Monte Solaro. It’s a 12 minute ride up the mountain with pretty views of the Bay of Naples. There was a lot of haze, so photos aren’t great. Monte Solaro is the highest point of Capri. Once we get to the top, there is a small cafe to sit at. Dave and I got a cappuccino and a coke. We sat at one of the tables and take in the view. Kathy pointed toward a cliff area by the sea and told us that just around the corner from here is where Sophia Loren has a villa. We went back down the mountain and I stopped in to buy a shell with a cameo carved into it. Everyone was leaving for lunch and Dave rushed me to hurry up.

Lunch was at a restaurant in Ancapri. Out front were beautiful small hydrangea bushes and geraniums. Everything is so colorful. We had a beautiful view over looking the sea. We had a really good pasta dish, salad and bread. Your choice of wine, water or coke to drink. We were served regular ice cream for dessert. I think Dave would have rather had gelato.

After lunch we took a funicular back down to Capri. We were given an hour to be on our own before we had to catch the ferry back to Sorrento. I looked around, but didn’t buy anything. It was all too expensive. Dave picked up a bottle of Limoncello.

At 2:00 we boarded the ferry. You could tell how tired our group was. I took a look around and saw many people, but just about everyone from our group was sitting in a chair sleeping. We were all worn out. These early mornings and walking all day have gotten to us all.

A mini bus met us back in Sorrento. We were on our way to watch the art of intarsio wood inlaying. Afterwards we were given the choice of going back to the hotel with Umberto or we could catch the hotel bus later and do some shopping in town. I thought it might be fun to stay in town and do a little more shopping. About 15 minutes after the bus pulled away, I knew I had made the wrong choice. My legs were exhausted. My hip was aching and I really just wanted to go take a nap. We walked around town, but I didn’t have much interest in shopping. You know this is serious; I was too tired to shop. We basically were killing time until the bus from the hotel would pick us up. We ran into Raeleen and Colin who seemed equally tired. We stopped and bought Cappuccinos and walked over to catch the bus back to the hotel. On our way we ran into Claudia and Fiorenzo. They were trying to figure out where we meet the bus as well. We were all equally lost. We did finally figure it out and the bus came and took us all back to the hotel.

We were completely wiped out by the time we got to the hotel. Dave offered to massage my hips for me, but I was just too tired. Sleep was all I could think about. I took a 20 minute nap (Not nearly long enough), got up, showered, and we headed out for dinner. Dinner was at the hotel tonight. Fish and Veal. I filled up on pasta and fruit.

After dinner Dave and I went out on the balcony near the dining area. We ran into Mark and Roxanne and ended up sitting out there talking till 11:30. We still needed to re-pack our stuff and gear up for luggage out tomorrow morning. I knew tomorrow's wake-up call was going to come all too soon.