Day 16 Capri, 9-24-14

Got up early--nice leisurely shower, beautiful wall to wall marble and a big deep tub, totally deluxe.  I couldn't get my iPad to connect to the internet at this hotel, but eventually someone at the hotel got me on. Breakfast was like being on a cruise ship and it looks like a beautiful day. While waiting to be picked up for our hydrofoil boat it began to thunder and pour.  As we were boarding it stopped. The sun came out and it was very warm and breezy all day. Our guide took us by boat to see the entrance to the Blue Grotto which was not operating. The entrance area has a very low overhead and Capri has practically no tides but today it was higher than usual so the tiny hole in the wall was very tiny. We went to the top of Capri by bus and had an hour or so to walk around then got another bus to Annacapri along a scary drive on the way. Beside this part of the road the ancient people used to climb 1,102 steps which are still visible. We ate (I had fish and ice cream) then were free for 2 hours to look or walk around. We went to the palatial estate of the last century built by Axel Munthe called Villa San Michele. He was a scholar and writer from Scandanavia who willed it to his country and part of it is now a consulate.  Villa San Michelle
Before returning to our hotel we had the bus let us off in town (Sorrento) and we walked back, had dinner and took another short walk--along the very narrow sidewalk that is along the very edge of the road on top of the cliffs and looking down is like walking on the wing of an airplane! Tomorrow we are sharing a driver and going to Positano and Amalphi.

Early photo (1800s) of Villa San Michelle

Lunch spot on Anacapri

View of Capri from Villa garden area

Entrance of Blue Grotto, if you click this to make it bigger, you can see how totally blue the water is.

Shore at port of Capri

Carol near Funicular entrance on Capri

View of Capri from Villa near that lion statue

When my husband and I came here 41 years ago, we walked up because we were on Frommer's $15 a day!

and this is the spot where George and I had lunch way back then.

Me near funicular entrance.

Carol and I on the way to the Blue Grotto.

Shoreline at Port of Capri

more boats

See the roadway along the edge, this is the only way to Anacapri (see the Villa silhouetted on the skyline) and look very closely to the right of it to see a path which is over one thousand steps, the original way (before roads) to get there.

My lunch on Anacapri.  Three meals a day were included on the Capri trip.

View from where we took the hydrofoil to Capri from Sorrento.

Hydrofoil dock area, Vesuvius in distance.

Tile in the bathroom of our room, knob is a door stop.

Patio at our hotel.

View at breakfast.

View from our room at Hotel Capodamonte

Axel Munthe's Villa

path from house to garden

further along walk towards gardens

inside home of Axel Munthe's villa