Capri

Hard to believe but today is our last official excursion (we have a free day tomorrow). The focus of the day is Capri. We go by hydrofoil (very smooth!) to the island, which is crowded with hordes of tourists. The first thing we are to do is take a boat around part of the island to enjoy its natural beauty and experience the incredible blue water. Turns out the full moon (the last super moon of the year) has caused the water level to be quite high and the boats are slow going through and coming back from the Blue Grotto. We aren't going there because it's crowded and unpredictable. After a short wait, we get on a boat and start making our way around. The island is all cliffs and dramatic coastlines and the water is unbelievably blue. There are small grottos with interesting rock formations and one place where the reflection of the water glows green. We also stop by another place called the little blue grotto that gives a sense of the larger one, with an intense blue glow deep in the cave. It's truly a beautiful place out in the water.

On our return, the line for the funicular is too long, so we are going to take a bus instead. It's a shorter wait and we can browse some shops in the meantime. The drive up is one of those treacherous winding ones where buses pass within inches of each other. At the top is Capri, a bustling crowded touristy place full of pricey stores but gorgeous views of the beautiful blue water below. They have some gorgeous linen clothing and I found a dress on sale, I also picked up a pair of custom made Capri sandals, and watched as the young man made them up for me in 10 minutes. Lunch was at a place that felt a bit like a tourist trap, the only place like this that we've experienced. Our fears were confirmed when two large tour groups follow after us. The food was pretty decent though.

Once we get down to the port, I got some panna cotta gelato (really good!) before we caught the hydrofoil back to Sorrento. 

After a couple of hours break, I went down to Linda's room for a G & T on her balcony. We were then joined by Marion, and then were summoned to the roof, where Sylvia, Sally and Jim were already sitting. I headed out to dinner with the whole group of Canadian ladies and Sally and Jim to a beautiful restaurant on the water. I had a mixed appetizer plate (fried zucchini flower, eggplant parmeggian, octopus, shrimp), green tagliatelle with lemon and orange zest and shrimp (OMG!). We all passed around our plates. Everyone had a delicious meal. Service was outstanding. Prices were completely reasonable for the amount of food and wine we had. We had a fantastic time.