Capri (Italy)

...to visit the isle of Capri which sits in the Bay of Naples.

Now, when it comes to travel, I am a firm believer in looking the part – think Hyacinth Bucket but a bit more subtle…As far as I am concerned, there is much to be said for the “when in Rome tradition”. On my first visit to Ljubljana I took a full-length wool coat with fur trim, a fur hat (Cossack style, very Dr Zhivago!) and some very glamorous knee high black leather boots. ...
...it was, dressed in black Capri pants (well what else!!!) an off the shoulder nautical black and white striped t-shirt and a jauntily tied scarf at my throat, that I set sail , if you can be said to do that on board a hydrofoil, from Mergellina in Naples bound for Capri one hazy June morning. If only I had thought about wearing the scarf on my head I might have avoided arriving in Capri looking like Jackie Stallone – it can get pretty windy on the ... more

Ciao-ers who have read my travel reviews will know that over the last couple of years I have been lucky enough to visit several places I had long waited to see – some by design, others by lucky hap. When my partner was chosen to participate in a project which would take him to Naples I was very excited because it had long been a desire of mine to visit the isle of Capri which sits in the Bay of Naples.

Now, when it comes to travel, I am a firm believer in looking the part – think Hyacinth Bucket but a bit more subtle…As far as I am concerned, there is much to be said for the “when in Rome tradition”. On my first visit to Ljubljana I took a full-length wool coat with fur trim, a fur hat (Cossack style, very Dr Zhivago!) and some very glamorous knee high black leather boots. My mission, you see, was to encounter a tall, dark stranger and, as our eyes met, whilst crossing a snow-covered square, I would whisper in a breathless, husky voice “The bear is in the woods”. Alas, my mission was never completed – Ljubljana just isn’t the place for high-heeled boots in February.

Perhaps I would fare a little better in Capri? I took as my inspiration a kind of hybrid of Audrey Hepburn (I’m thinking “Roman Holiday” here) and Brigitte Bardot. And so it was, dressed in black Capri pants (well what else!!!) an off the shoulder nautical black and white striped t-shirt and a jauntily tied scarf at my throat, that I set sail , if you can be said to do that on board a hydrofoil, from Mergellina in Naples bound for Capri one hazy June morning. If only I had thought about wearing the scarf on my head I might have avoided arriving in Capri looking like Jackie Stallone – it can get pretty windy on the deck of a hydrofoil.

The journey takes some forty minutes (making the cost of around 14 Euros for a return trip fairly good value), just enough time to appreciate the views of Naples behind you and then of Capri before as you near your destination. You actually dock at Marina Grande, an extension of Capri town itself. As the island’s only landing point it is full of hustle and bustle; it is also the point from which boats depart for tours of the Blue Grotto – perhaps Capri’s best known attraction and it is from here that buses leave for Capri’s other major settlement, Anacapri.

A small tourist office (you queue at the outside windows rather than go inside) sells bus tickets, offers maps and timetables and, most importantly, sells tickets for the nearby funicular which takes lazy travelers up the cliff to Capri town proper – you could walk up the steep, winding road and I’m sure your virtue would be well rewarded but I had come to Capri to look cool, not to arrive red of face and moist of brow! I considered one Euro a reasonable price to ensure fresh-as-a-daisy arrival and forego the humiliation of trying to climb the Matterhorn in a pair of kitten heels (OK, so I exaggerate a tad). Queues can be long in the peak season and you may well find that you could have made the climb by the foot in the time you have been waiting but, as funiculars go, it is one of the most enjoyable I have experienced (I consider myself well qualified to judge since my partner simply must travel on any funicular within a twenty kilometre radius whilst on our travels!). The views overlooking the delightful gardens and private vineyards between the town and the sea are stunning; here and there patches of wild flowers have sprung up between gardens and, totally oblivious to the to-ing and fro-ing of the funicular, some unkempt goats were grazing in the shade of ramshackle stone outhouses. This rural beauty was particularly striking in juxtaposition with the slick surroundings of Capri town.

At the top, Capri town sits smugly asking what took you so long. My initial reaction was to see the place as some kind of Italian Portmeirion - a manufactured place that feels a little surreal. Thinking about it, though, I think this was because I was looking at it with eyes that had spent too long in Naples where the streets are dirty and the buildings are best described as “shabby chic”. Given the amount of money generated in Capri and the reputation it has for the type of visitor who comes here, it is only to be expected that Capri should be pristine. You find this kind of regimented tidiness throughout Capri; there seems little spontaneous beauty in this choreographed tableau with lots of signposts dictating what route to take or insisting that you keep off the manicured lawns. In the delightful gardens (The Gardens of Augustus) behind the town which should give wonderful views over the sea you continually find yourself thwarted in trying to wander at your leisure. Interesting looking little arbours are inexplicably fenced off and you find yourself having to retrace your steps just to get somewhere a few paces away! The gardens were created by a German millionaire and then left to the island's government at the request they should be made public.

Piazza Umberto is Capri town’s main square; the place to be seen and to watch others. Here there are numerous cafes but you’d do best to avoid it if you are on a limited budget though you’ll pay through the nose almost anywhere on Capri. There are delis and bakeries in the covered alleyways just off the square and you’ll have little difficulty in picking up the makings of a picnic that you could eat on the steps in Piazza Umberto. Strangely enough, you’ll find it easier to stage an impromptu picnic here than in any of the public gardens.

If you must sit and eat something I would suggest that you move away from the square and check out the places with set tourist menus. Its hard to find locals’ haunts on Capri so the next best thing is to go a for a tourist menu which, although limited in range, will be a little cheaper. We ate at a good, though not by any means cheap, little pavement café off the main square and found that sharing a tomato garlic bread and an “insalsta Caprese” (A Capri salad – mozzarella and tomato, drizzled with oil) was enough to keep us going until we succumbed to Capri’s other great speciality – ice cream! You can buy ice cream in just about any flavour you can name, in combination if you can’t choose just one variety and in tiny tubs, creamy cones or huge decadent glass dishes. Whatever you pick, you’re unlikely to be disappointed.

If money is no object your only food problem in Capri will be deciding where to eat. Push the boat right out and you will be able to choose from cuisines from every corner of the globe at some fantastic locations promising breathtaking views (and prices which will make you gasp!) among exquisite surroundings. Alas, our shortage of funds was not the only drawback to our dining in one of Capri’s finer establishments: my partner had seemingly taken his sartorial inspiration from Steve Irwin rather than Gregory Peck (I’m still thinking “Roman Holiday”) so we probably would have been turned away from many of the places we looked at enviously through wrought iron gates.

Another popular Capri activity also varies depending on the cut of your credit card. Capri is a shopping or a window-shopping paradise depending on your means and here the emphasis is on designer goods – clothes, jewellery and shoes being the most obvious. All the top names have boutiques here – Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dolce e Gabbana, Donna Karan and so it goes on. Again, you probably need to dress the part to go in most of these stores and because many of the stores are in old buildings, they are small and have correspondingly small windows which means there’s not that much to see in the windows. Looking the part means that you'll be able to try things on with less chance of snooty looking assistants looking down their noses at you! There aren't really any bargains to be had on Capri- even the tawdry kitsch that passes as souvenirs is vastly over-priced here.

If you simply must part with your Euros you could do worse than spend it on some beautiful perfume; perfume making on Capri dates back many centuries and was originally made by monks using ingredients specific to the island. You can learn about it at a museum/shop where you can see it being made (sadly all done in very hi-tech ways now) and sniff a few samples. Ther are fragrances for men and woman and I found many of them to be lovely - fresh and simple scents with surprisingly little artifice - I say surprising because I find it difficult to believe the beautiful folk visiting Capri would enjoy such simole pleasures! There are a couple of easy to find shops selling the perfume situated just behind the main square next to the public gardens.

Sadly Capri has little in the way of beaches - just a couple of pebble stretches of which none are particularly appealing for prolonged sunbathing. Those seeking rest and relaxation would do best to take themselves off to see some of the older sights of the island such as the ruins of Tiberius' palace, Villa Jovis ( an hours walk - mostly uphill from the main Piazza in Capri town) or the ancient monastery which sits just slightly higher than Capri town.

Since transport on the island is limited there are few buses but the main service takes you to any place you might want to visit. At least this means there's no chance of taking the wrong bus! Many visitors bypass Capri town completely and head, instead, for Anacapri, the only other settlement of any significant size on the island.

Here there are less options for eating and fewer shops (although boutiques still dominate) but you will find Anacapri less crowded and more natural. From the main square, Piazza Vittoria, you can take the chair lift up to the summit of Monut Solare the highest point on Capri but most people come here to access the famous Blue grotto.

The Blue Grotto was used as a meeting place by couriers in Roman times and was re-discovered in the nineteenth century. Now it is a healthy money making concern with visitors being rushed in and out as quickly as possible. If you arrive from Anacapri you climb down a set of steep stone stairs and then get in a small rowing boat and for a couple of Euros you are rowed through the grotto which has the most exquisitiely blue waters. If you take a boat from Capri town this is more expensive and when you arrive you change to a smaller boat to go into the grotto (at an extra cost of course). The value is questionable given the time you spend here but it would be a shame to visit and not see it.

There is certainly enough to keep you busy in Capri for a whole day whatever your interests. You could even come back and explore some more but I would hesitate to recommend an overnight stay on Capri because of the steep prices of accommodation. There is only one place that could narrowly pass as budget accommodation and reservations would need to be made well in advance. Those with money to splash out will find a choice of beautiful hotels throughout the island. However, when you arrive make sure you have some money to tip the luggage porters. There being no taxis on Capri, young lads in fine livery can be see driving tiny golfing type buggies around the island stacked with Louis Vuitton luggage. One minute you're strolling down a peaceful lane, the next you're throwing yourself into a doorway to avoid being mown down by Gwynneth Paltrow's luggage!

I would say that Capri is more a place for adults than for children because of the lack of beaches and the fact that the historical sights tend, in the main, to be ruins rather than tangible sights - I think this would quickly become a bore to many young children. They may enjoy the Blue Grotto but you may feel you are paying high prices for a service which is not especially geared towards kids.

Our trip back to Naples took us to the poirt in the centre of town instead of Mergellina which afforded spectacular views of Vesuvius as we approached the mainland, the perfect way to round of a day of beautiful and arresting sights. I am so glad I went to Capri and while I found it lived up to some of my expectations I can't help thinking that these days it trades off its former glories. Perhaps instead of the beautiful it caters essentially for the rich - and window shoppers!

There is enough beautiful scenery to keep you oohing and aahing all day but behind it little substance. If you enjoy painting this is the ideal place to visit, the joys of Capri are undoubtedly the aesthetic ones!
 

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