Saturday, August 27
I first visited Capri in 2002 and vowed I would be back again and at some time in my life, I would stay and not just be a day tripper. We had returned again for day trips in 2011 and 2013 but 2016, the fourth visit for me, was the charm.
I really don’t have a lot to say about Capri other than I think it’s fabulous. Roman Emperor Tiberuis moved his entire court to Capri once he discovered it. The ferries have always brought day trippers over, but now the cruise ships are visiting so the main town of Capri gets very crowded. The stores in Capri are high end and if you like jewelry, this is the place to visit. While it’s very alluring, it’s also very far away from the beaches. Cham had done a lot of research and decided the Hotel Weber was where we wanted to stay, it is a Capri icon which has hosted many famous people over the years including General George Patton and Frank Sinatra. It runs a shuttle to Capri every 15 minutes, but you can walk to five beaches from the hotel which makes it very unusual. It’s located at Marina Piccolo. There is also a local bus service and water taxis which stop at this marina so a lot of visitors eventually find themselves at these beaches. Two of the beaches were very small smooth pebbly beaches, Le Siren, where I decided to go, was on a rock and then there were terraces which led down to the water.
We rolled our suitcases from the ferry port to a drugstore where the hotel picked us up. It was love at first sight. The view from the hotel was absolutely incredible. When we arrived, there was a snafu with a double booking (yikes, lots of extra expense) which Cham needed to sort out. I knew I couldn’t help so I did the next best thing and that was to go to the beach. I know people complain about paying at the beach, but while you’re visiting, you have to do what they do; if you want some privacy, a chaise lounge and an umbrella, you have to pay for it. Someone comes and sets it up, moves the umbrella as the sun moves, you get up, swim, come back to your chaise, life is soooo perfect. Truly, I spent the entire day on my section of the rock reading and especially people watching. Such fun! By late afternoon Cham had the double booking issue resolved with no extra charge. The view from the hotel dining room was so fabulous we decided to eat dinner there. It turned-out the meal was also very good and we ended-up eating all our dinners there though we did enjoy delicious lunches in town.
Sunday, August 28 – we had a great night’s sleep, got up and decided to visit around the island. We took the hotel shuttle to town, had a nice lunch and then decided to visit Anacapri, another small town on the island. It was much quieter than we thought it would be, but that’s probably because it was Sunday. It’s also harder for the cruise people to get there for the day. It’s a nice town, glad I visited, but don’t feel the need to go back. We got back in the afternoon and lazed by one of the pools which overlooks the water. Heaven.
Monday, August 29 – I decided it was going to be another beach day for me. After breakfast I walked down to the rocks for another wonderful day. It was fun watching the yachts and their dingies. I kept wondering how I could get an invitation but wasn’t able to work that out. Cham took the bus into Capri and went on a hike. He went by some lovely villas and 5 star hotels, but said if you wanted to be near the beaches and also have fabulous views we were definitely in the right place. Like the first two nights our last evening in Capri was a life memory, too beautiful to adequately describe though after this visit I don’t think this will be our last stay in Capri at the Hotel Weber Ambassador.
Tuesday August 30: this morning we caught the hotel shuttle into town to the port and got on the ferry bound for Naples. We knew this was also going to be a stressful day as we needed to get from the port to the airport. We were so happy to get off the ferry and see our names on a sign held by our driver. We got into the van and started the slow crawl to the airport. You already know my feelings on Naples (confirmed by another passenger on the van going from the Hotel Weber to the ferry) and this ride was added confirmation. We arrived at a surprisingly modern and clean airport. As it’s right next door to the US Navy base, methinks there’s a correlation. Our flight from Naples to Athens and then on to Thessaloniki was on Aegaen Airlines, it was a very nice airline.
We arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece about 6 hours later. We were greeted by yet another taxi driver holding up a sign with our names on it. Psychologists say the sweetest words most people know are their own names and I can attest to that especially when it is your name being held by a friendly taxi driver in a strange town who is driving you to your hotel. The taxi arrangements had been made by the hotel at Cham’s request. We will spend the next three days here by ourselves then some of our church family from St. Paul’s Episcopal church in Lynchburg will join us. It’s going to be a fantastic adventure!
It was a magical time in Capri. That had been so high on the bucket list and I am so very happy I was able to go. I’ve put it back on the list for a return visit. It’s a fabulous place. And yes the water is as fabulous as it looks in the photos.
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