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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.