Travel Tales

The ferry ride to Capri was a long and depressing one for some of us, luckily Franco, the owner of Il Giardino dell’Arte, was waiting for us at Capri and took us to his piece of paradise on earth. We had charming rooms with our own courtyards overlooking the water, among beautiful gardens. Too perfect. We went shopping in Anacapri and needless to say all bought hand-made sandals, at Antonio’s. Our brother, Mal, joined us in the afternoon and that was pretty much the day, ending with a Franco recommendation at a local restaurant, Il Cucciolo. The restaurant was good with lots of wine and a limoncello that tasted like sambucca?? But the ride there and back was memorable. We were picked up by the restaurant service, it reminded us of the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. You’ve gotta give it to the Italians, they sure know how to drive. Tiny narrow alleys ways, certainly not streets, and we were weaving left and right at a speed that we don’t want to think about. After a delicious breakfast of fresh figs, pastries and yoghurt, served on the terrace, Franco organised a private boat tour around the Island, on the ‘Gracie’. We were extremely lucky and had the perfect weather, with skies too blue to be real and deep ink coloured calm water. First stop was the Blue Grotto, of course. This has to be the biggest tourist trap that we have come across in Italy. 10.50 euro each for about 2 minutes, but it is something you have to do. It is what it is. Our little guy didn’t even sing but was very concerned about his tip afterwards. Having said that, the colour of the water is amazing, but hard to capture on camera. The entertainment was provided by Mother. When trying to get back onto the ‘Gracie’ the guy pushed her up from behind. She flopped onto the deck of our boat like a seal, face down, and had us all in stitches. She then got the giggles and couldn’t get up. I was fortunate to capture all on camera but she won’t let us load the pictures up!! We continued around the Island and stopped at many other Grottos. At the Grotto Verdi, we all dived in and swam through the Grotto. The water is so clear and the colours amazing. The sun was bouncing of the surface of the water like diamonds. A truly memorable experience for all. After a delicious lunch by the water, we headed back to Anacapri. Some of us just lazed around, while the more energetic headed down for a walk to check the ruins of Villa Damecuta. The Villa was actually damaged by the eruption of AD79 and thought to have been abandoned not long after. The views were spectacular and looked back to Naples and Vesuvius. After another great meal at La Arcate, for our last night in Italy. After too much wine, pizza and a delicious meal, we headed sadly headed home to pack. Thanks Tiffany for the tip, you’ve redeemed yourself on the polenta in Brunate. Our tip is to stay longer and stay at Il Giardino dell’Arte. Franco is the best and made our stay truly memorable. We just questioned why we were leaving. One concluding word on Italy…… the Aussie men need to lift there game and need to come to Italian finishing school for boys. We loved the way the men cradled their lovers heads in their hands and whispered sweet nothings in their ears. Their attentiveness was beautiful to watch. They even carry their bags for them. Why do we put up with it is the question????