Ahh the weekend arrived again and we had the privilege to spend it in the leisure and beauty of the island of Capri. It was a crisp cool morning outside and we walked from our apartment down to the Piazzetta to try to find some breakfast. We went a different way to see a little more of the city with the rule in mind our host shared, “All stairs down lead to the Piazzetta.”
He was right. After winding through some more narrow maze-like alleys, in about five minutes we opened out onto the little square. There are about five different restaurants that open onto the square, but since it was offseason, there was only one currently open. An easy choice!
In doing research of Capri, there are three things that constantly came up: it’s beautiful, celebrities go there, and because of those two prior factors, everything is typically more expensive. While we didn’t feel this much at the supermarket the day before, in the Piazzetta, the center of the city where people go to be seen, things are different.
We sat down and ordered some coffee, some sandwiches, and some orange juice for the boys. It was tasty, but again, Silas cannot sit still and ended up getting up and running off after a cat down a random tunnel. Thankfully he came back, but then he sprinted off again and ended up falling on his face. This is when we discovered another factor about Capri, that people were much less tolerant of kids. We endured the disgruntled side eyes, though while we waited for our check. It arrived and we assessed the damage. I understand it was fresh squeezed orange juice, but 11 euro per glass seems a little steep.
After saying thanks to our waiter, we ambled over to the bus stop and bought tickets for the ride up to Anacapri. On the island, there are two towns. Capri, which is apparently much more touristy, and Anacapri, which is more residential and over the ridge on the other side of the island. The bus was small and it carried us up the switchbacks to Anacapri somehow turning a one-lane road into two when necessary. It did this all without plummeting hundreds of feet down off the side of the road which was literally about six inches away, close enough for my acrophobic self to see all the way down.
We arrived and, like Capri, the city center of Anacapri is pedestrian only. There were little shops lining the road where merchants were selling clothing, lemon themed dishes and strappy sandals which are a trademark of the island. We actually watched artisans making them as we strolled down the street.
As we walked we came to a strange building which was red and stood in pretty stark contrast with the surrounding typical white. The little plaque outside said it was a house built by an American ex-pat who moved here after the American Civil War. It was famous for it’s peculiarities in design and decor. The door was open so we decided to go inside.
There was a young guy standing there who was not super friendly and didn’t speak much English. He took our temperature and then we paid him for tickets to tour the house. He seemed to be concerned about the boys being present, but nevertheless, ushered us into a dark room. There were all these projections on the walls of strange images and weird chanting and stuff. I really don’t know how to describe it other than it felt very similar to the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where they take the ferry boat through that tunnel and see all those creepy projections of animals eating each other and scary people. I know this is not the first reference to Willy Wonka I’ve made. I didn’t expect such a movie to be the relevant metaphor for numerous experiences we’ve had.
The boys were terrified. Off to the side was another room we went into with four old broken statues. There were still projections on the walls, but much less creepy projections. The little video was in English and it took a few minutes for me to realize it was from the perspective of the statues talking to us. I was able to gather they were recovered from the famous Blue Grotto on the island (an extremely famous natural attraction we were unable to go see) and telling us the history of it from their perspective. Weird.
Soon we were taken upstairs by the same guy who checked us in. There were a few rooms with random art, none of it was super remarkable, but he still seemed very stressed about the boys touching anything. He then told us that when we went up the tower of the house, it would be dangerous for the boys. We said ok and decided to go separately, but then when we were about to go upstairs to the tower, he motioned to us all to come like he hadn’t just told us it was dangerous minutes before. It was so strange and thankfully the tower was the end of the tour. When we got back downstairs, he said, “Ok tour is over.” and showed us out.
Back on the street we headed to a church which was famous for its mosaic floor depicting the Garden of Eden. In the church it wasn’t a mosaic in the traditional sense, but instead a painted mural on tiles. You walked around a little wooden platform on the periphery of the room to see it before going up a spiral cast iron staircase to behold the whole thing (Again, originally we were told the kids couldn’t go up there, but then said they could). It was an interesting piece to look at, but many of the animals and creatures had weirdly human features that were creeping us out a bit.
We left the church and now, being done with the weird stuff, we were looking forward to our last planned activity, the Monte Sarlo Chair Lift. Monte Sarlo is the tallest point on the island. You can choose to hike the mountain or take a ski style chair lift. We chose the latter. It is single seats and we rode, each of us with one of the boys sitting on our lap and one non-latched restraining bar lowered in front of us. I was gripping tightly the whole time, however the views were breathtaking.
You scale the mountain, soaring over houses and terraced olive groves as you ascend. Being there, seeing the views with Beren on my lap was a special time. He sat calmly and we talked about what we saw. This was one of the special moments that made me so glad they were with us on this trip. It was amazing to get to take in the scene with him, chatting as we rode in the peaceful wind, and getting to revel in him imagining himself as a bird, with arms stretched out wide.
At the top of the mountain, we had 360 degree views of the island and the Italian mainland, including Mount Vesuvius. There was a small garden we walked through taking in the scenery for a bit before the ride back down. In my opinion, this was one of the best things we’ve done on our whole trip thus far. At the bottom, we got some gelato before finding the bus, heading back down to Capri, walking to our place, and eating a lunch of olives, cheese, and focaccia at on our terrace.
Later that evening, we ventured out again for pizza. Like the night before, at first, we were the only people in the restaurant. We enjoyed Naples style pizza for the first time and had conversations about which version we preferred more, Naples or Roman. Naples has a thicker dough and a more distinct crust, where Roman pizza is paper thin. Both are amazing, but I think we landed on Roman. I think. The boys were super well behaved at dinner. Beren dropped a piece of pizza on the floor and three separate forks, but overall, it was a really fun time as a family. After dinner we went looking for gelato. Unfortunately, we had no luck. I’m glad we had already gotten some earlier in the day or this would have been a disaster.
The next day was travel day once again. The morning was spent enjoying the terrace between packing and cleaning the apartment. We checked out and made our way through town and, after a few souvenir shops, rode a bus back down to Marina Grande to wait for our ferry.
We still had some time spare so we found a place to eat. It was right on the water off the side from the main strip of touristy restaurants, but the place was great. The owner was quite the salesman and wooed us all, but it wasn’t all just show. It was a family business and the food was delicious and homemade. Allison enjoyed a Caprese sandwich and I enjoyed a sandwich of sauteed spinach and octopus braised tender in a rich tomato sauce. The boys had pizza and washed it down with some gelato. It was beautiful and relaxing despite being an overcast day and we watched people line up and leave on their boat tours as we ate and eavesdropped on the tables and conversations around us. The restaurant and food were great and this was the first restaurant experience in Italy where we had genuinely attentive service.
After lunch, we got our ferry boarding passes and spent a few moments on the rocky beach looking out on the turquoise water as the boys threw stones into the sea. We rode the ferry back and got a cab to Napoli Centrale station.
Driving through Naples didn’t necessarily make us want to visit Naples. It seemed crazy and dirty. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some endearing things about the city, but when you see a flock of pigeons and a group of rats fighting over some bread in broad daylight, it doesn’t necessarily exude somewhere you want to stay for long.
The train ride back to Rome was pretty easy because the boys zonked out on the way. We ate at Five Guys again in the train station before catching an extremely hot and crowded bus back to our home base apartment.
We wrapped up the night playing some switch and talking to some family over FaceTime. It was a great weekend and always a relief to be back in Rome.
It’s crazy to think we only have two days left. Tomorrow, I’m venturing back to the Vatican to see the museums and the Sistine Chapel. It will be interesting to get some time to myself, since those times have been few and far between for Allison and I. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time, we are ready to come home. It has been great, but we are longing for the peace and comfort of familiarity and of being closer to those we love.
