Today’s wake up call was at 6 am with breakfast at 6:45 and leaving the hotel at 7:30 sharp on mini buses. Instead of providing eggs/bacon on the buffet, this hotel brought out plates of scrambled eggs with the thinnest single piece of bacon I’ve ever seen.
The first few people at breakfast got them and then the staff got overwhelmed. What we did like was the pots of coffee already on the tables reserved for Insight so we didn’t have to stand in line at a machine. The buffet had the usual hard boiled eggs, yogurt, cereals, meats, cheeses, breads, etc.
After breakfast we were all ready on time and loaded up into two minibuses. We were driven to the ferry dock where we had 8 am ferry tickets given
to us by our local guide Stefano. He was the youngest and cutest guide we’ve had during the trip.
It was a big ferry so we spread out but were encouraged to use the bathroom on board if going on the optional excursion as it would be awhile before our next opportunity. It was the worst restroom we experienced in Italy.
Once we got to Capri, Brad went up the funicular with the ones not taking the excursion while the rest of us followed Stefano to a smaller boat.
Steve and I were lucky enough to get the first row of seats.
We had a wonderful hour or so ride about halfway around the island. We gotto see the cliffs up closer, learn more about Capri and see a couple of grottos.
We went through the arched rock and learned about the three rocks off the island. Before too long we turned around and headed back to the harbor.From there Stefano gave us tickets for the funicular to Anacapri. it was my first time in this mode of transportation so that was fun.
Once we got up top, we had a granita or another refreshment of our choice. I had another orange and lemon one like yesterday since it had been so
refreshing.
We then walked through the town on our way to the Augustus Caesar gardens.
The views from the gardens were incredible and well worth the price of admission.
The gardens weren’t too shabby either!
We then had two hours on our own to shop, eat, etc. I bought a bottle of the lemon scented cologne at the perfumery. Wethen walked
through the town enjoying the beauty of it as it started to get busier and busier.
We decided to have a snack and joined Jean and Jana at da Alberto . Steve had coffee and a croissant and I had hot chocolate with cream.
Afterwards we had half an hour left for final sightseeing.
Brad passed out lemon pastries as another Insight Vacations flourish. He also knew all were gathered when the last treat was taken!It turns out our mode of transportation back to the ferry was different. We were driven in open air taxis (six to a car). What a ride!
We had about 15 minutes until boarding the 1 pm ferry back to Sorrento where we reversed the minibuses up to the hotel. Steve and I split sandwiches at a restaurant near the hotel. We had one roast beef with cheese and one ham with cheese.
Steve had a couple of draft beers to wash it down while I had diet coke. All this was 26 euros.
I did a little souvenir shopping until we left on the optional to Positano/Amalfi Coast drive. We made sure to sit on the right hand side for the best
view on the way to Positano.
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The scenery is just as beautiful as postcards and we made a couple of stops for photos before getting to the town.
Unfortunately as Brad starts walking us down to the beach, it starts raining — pouring. Only three of us made the walk all the way with him but it wasn’t fun. We went onto the beach to say we had been there before starting to walk back up the hill.
We had plenty of time (too much time) before meeting up for the ride to dinner. We shopped (I bought an ornament), used the public toilets and stood around a lot! I was very glad when we could move on. Of course, by this time the rain had cleared up but everything was very wet.
Six people elected not to attend the optional dinner and they don’t know what they missed.
We had a wonderful time at a family owned restaurant, Lo Stuzzichino Osteria, in Sant Agata Sui Due Golfi.
We met the owner’s family who do the cooking before getting started on the meal. Little did we know how big a meal we were getting.
We started with platters of antipasti, the grilled vegetables were wonderful. Next was mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. I must say the tomatoes in Italy taste great.
We then had blue fish with cheese.
Then came pizza (the best pizza we’d had in Italy).
Next was seafood pasta.
I thought that was the end of the dinner but then they brought out plates of grilled fish with salad. I couldn’t even eat half.
This was followed by dessert (ricotta cake and a lemon sponge cake) and a serving of chilled Limoncello.
We had music with singalong throughout the meal along with copious amounts of wine.
This video of Mary Ann and Fiona dancing with the owner is just a snippet. The surprise turned out to be Chan who was quite the dancer!
At 9 or so the meal had ended along with the music and it was time to load back up on the minibuses to return to the hotel. We turned out the lights at 10. Little did I know what the next few hours would bring.
STEPS: 16,839
MILES: 6.92
Stairs: 44
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