*All times are approximate. We are, after all, in Italy. And I can’t remember.
8.20am: Train from Pompei Scavi, Villa dei Misteri
8.40am: Get off train in Sorrento. Notice large, English-speaking group in front
of you. Follow them to the port, as you
have no idea where to go.
8.50am: Try to work out which people to
buy your tickets from. Have one lady
that tries to sell you a cruise to the Amalfi Coast, even though you asked for
Capri.
9am: Buy your tickets from someone
else, wander to the dock.
9.10am: Get told off by the boat crew
as Libby was determined to find this ‘panoramic deck,’ and opened some random
door to find it. Well, they should put a
sign on the door.
9.15am: Boat leaves. Spend about 5 mins looking for a good seat,
and decide that you’re better off just standing out the back.
9.20am – 9.45am: Watch the water and
the nice islands go by.
9.46am: Go down into the garage part of
the boat, ready for exit, and get your first view of Capri as the gangplank is
lowered.
9.47am: Pile out of the boat.
9.49am: Check out a boat tour of the
island, find an ATM, and get tickets.
9.50am – 10.50am: Get on the boat, and
cruise the beautiful, turquoise waters of Capri. Pass Sophia Loren’s house, the Ferrari boss’
house, through the Tunnel of Love, past the Marina piccola, check out a couple
of grottos. Feel a bit ripped off when
it is announced that you can’t go through the Blue Grotto (a supposed
highlight) due to the tide.
10.50am: Get off the boat, pleased with
what you saw, but slightly peeved that this 1h30 tour somehow only took an
hour...
10.53am: Check out the shops, looking for cheap
food. End up buying a bottle of
limoncello.
10.54am: Find a place which makes nice panini. Hang out by the counter, wondering why the guys on the counter keep bypassing you.
10.58am: Notice that everyone else has numbers. Where did they come from?
11.10am: Find the number dispenser (and get cups for limoncello).
11.30am: Finally get your panino. It does look tasty. And huge.
11.31am: Head to nearest free beach. Eat panino. Wonder why everyone is pretty much on all fours when getting out of the water.
11.45am: Limoncello number 1, followed by a swim. Understand why everyone looked so uncoordinated in the water: there are rocks, and they're really hard to walk on.
12 noon: Limoncello number 2. Laze. Swim.
12.30pm: Repeat above process.
1.10pm: Repeat above process...
2.20pm: Finish limoncello and decide to actually see some other part of Capri than this particular beach.
2.30pm: Buy a bottle of wine.
2.32pm: See a sign for the city centre, and follow it.
2.42pm: Regret the decision to follow sign, as this is a real uphill hike. On the other hand, the wine is looking like a great idea for boosting morale.
3pm: Obligatory halt, as one party member's shoe has broken. Yes, it was a hard, hard climb.
3.10pm: Meet, and begin conversation with, random French-Canadian dude, who tells you all about how he came on holiday with his girlfriend, and then they broke up.
3.30pm: Reach the town square, look around and decide that you don't really want ice-creams, restaurant meals, etc. Get ditched by French-Canadian dude.
3.35pm: Photo time, as you have found where all the beautiful views over the bay were. Wow, that beach you were just on looks really far below now!
3.50pm: Shoeless person has really hot feet, and the need for new shoes is becoming impossible to ignore. Start shopping mission.
3.53pm: Realise that this is the worst place for your shoes to break. In Scafati, you could probably find 5€ shoes. Here, they are 50€. At least. Oh, hooray!
4pm: Find appropriate pair of shoes. They are 80€. Try to barter, in Italian.
4.15pm: Shoes are now 65€. This looks like the final offer. Buy shoes, and go.
4.20pm: Start heading down to the beach again. It's a lot more pleasant in this direction!
4.25pm: Wish you had planned to stay a night here.
4.35pm: Get lost, and try out Italian by asking directions from a lady who is gardening.
4.45pm: Success! You are back at the beach. But... who's that? Could it be the broken-hearted French-Canadian from the hour before?
5pm: One party member begins having a heart-to-heart with French-Canadian, and trying to talk him into patching things up with his gf.
5.15pm: Swimming, again.
5.50pm: Last boat leaves Capri at 6pm. Time to head that way.
6pm: Boat leaves, about 30 seconds after you all get on. Look longingly at the final views of Capri as you move away.
6.25pm: Land in Sorrento, determined to find some pizza.
6.30pm: Steps. Again!
6.45pm: Well, at least there's a nice square for finishing the wine in, even if it does have a rather disapproving-looking statue.
7pm: Find appropriate pizza restaurant that doesn't seem too flashy for people in togs, complete with hard-case waiter.
7.30pm: 3 margheritas later (may I add that this was the pizza, not the drink), head back to the train.
7.45pm: Train is arriving. Or is it? Is this the right platform? Confused conversations with other English speakers in front.
7.46pm: Get on the train, as you've decided it is the one. But... where is party member number 3? She was just behind before.
7.48pm: Look back to the ticket gates. There she i- And the doors shut, and the train rolls away.
8pm: Get of the train at Pompei, and decide to wait for the next train to check that #3 is ok.
8.35pm: #3 does not get off the next train. She doesn't have a cellphone. What to do?!
8.37pm: Decide to go home and deal with it from there. #2's family will pick us up from the station.
8.38pm-8.50pm: Try to ignore whistles, cat-calls, kisses as you walk through the street. You have just come from the beach, and you look like it, so this is quite bemusing.
9pm: Clearly, this is the wrong station, as they are not there. Only person in the family who speaks English is the 13-year-old. Texts and phone calls are confusing. Ask a man for the street name, since there are no signs.
9.10pm: Family arrives. Wants to know where #3 is... too hard to explain.
9.20pm: Arrive home. Your family is having a bday party for the dad, and the house is full of people, and food.
9.30-10pm: Try a few phone calls to #3's family, hoping to hear she has arrived safely. No response.
10.30pm: #3 has just arrived home. Will have to get that story later. For now, time to join in with the singing and general merriment...
