Capri, Italy - Day 2

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Our day began at a B&B apartment in Capri, Italy. I woke up before the rest of the family, and blogged at the kitchen table with a bowl of Cornflakes and a cup of coffee. Breakfast is included in our stay, and I suppose there was a breakfast offering, but I wouldn’t consider this basket of pre-packaged muffins and mini boxes of cereal a quality breakfast.

When Andi woke up around 8:30am, he decided to walk to the R. Buonocore bakery in Capri to buy something more appetizing to eat for breakfast. He returned a few minutes later with a quiche and some fancy pastries. Tory was thrilled with the idea of eating cake for breakfast, and she and Andi declared the chocolate pastry they shared to be the best cake they’ve ever tasted! Sweets are definitely the way to Tory’s heart. Unfortunately, we couldn’t heat up the quiche Andi bought because our B&B apartment doesn’t have a microwave. He tried to warm it up in the oven, but it nearly set off the smoke alarms.

After breakfast, the four of us walked to the main piazza to catch the bus to the other side of the island. There are two main towns on the island — Capri Town and Anacapri. Capri Town, located on the eastern side of the island, is known for its fancy shops, bars, restaurants, and nightlife. That’s where we’re staying on the island. Anacapri, on the western side, is smaller and quieter. Anacapri also boasts spectacular views from the top of Mount Solaro.

One major perk of traveling during the low-season is that there aren’t many tourists here. The streets of Capri Town were virtually empty this morning, except for a few locals busy painting and cleaning storefronts. Our B&B host told us that March is an interesting time in be in Capri because everyone is getting ready for their official tourism season to begin after the Easter holiday. A lot of the shops are closed now with signs in the window saying “see you next season” or “opening April 2024.” Personally, Andi and I didn’t mind though. It’s not like we planned to shop at Prada, Dior, and Louis Vuitton anyway! I would much rather visit when there’s less people on the island.

Tourists aren’t allowed to drive on the island of Capri, so most people get around by the public bus system or taxis. Buses run every 15 minutes between Capri Town and Anacapri. We don’t usually chose the bus as a mode of transportation, but on the island of Capri it’s really the only option. Andi purchased round-trip tickets from the bus station located in the main square, and we hopped on the next one going to Anacapri. Tickets cost €2 each, one-way.

It was a short-style bus, and it was packed with people. “Going to Anacapri?” the bus driver said. “Hop on!” Really? This one seemed pretty full to us, but we did as instructed. Even more people shoved onto the bus after we did until there was zero room for another person to get on. The look on the kids’ faces smushed between all those people was priceless! Aden wrapped his arms around me because there was nowhere else for him to hang on as the bus lurched into motion.

As the bus drove to Anacapri, a few passengers got off at the stops and freed up more room for us to spread out. Tory and Aden were able to snag seats to sit down while Andi and I stood the remainder of the 15-minute ride.

Anacapri was much quieter. Birds chirped, and the sun was shining as we made our way to the chair lift to ride to the top of Mount Solaro. It cost €14 per round-trip ticket to ride the chairlift. We didn’t realize each person rode in their own chair until a few seconds before when we hopped on the ride. Tory was standing first in line, and Andi pushed her ahead to go. She was nervous that she wouldn’t know how to hop off at the top, and shot him a dirty look over her shoulder as the chairlift whisked her away.

Andi went next, then me, and Aden was last in line. I glanced back at Aden and hoped he didn’t realize the lap bar holding him onto the chairlift wasn’t locked, and could easily be lifted up during the ride. We were traveling high above the ground! Was this safe for a kid to ride alone?

I guess it was fine though. The four of us enjoyed the ride and the breathtaking views of the island of Capri as the chairlift carried us to the top of Mount Solaro. What a beautiful day! It was the perfect temperature outside, and it felt like spring. Definitely a pinch-me moment.

A worker waited at the top of the chairlift to assist passengers off the ride. He gave each of the kids a hand to help them jump out of their seats.

The views from the top of Mount Solaro were amazing! We stood 589 meters above sea level, looking down at the Bay of Naples. We spent about 30 minutes walking around, admiring the famous Faraglioni Rocks.

There wasn’t a lot to do at the top of Mount Solaro other than admire the view. There is a restaurant at the top, but it mostly offered drinks and sandwiches. We decided to wait, and eat something in the town of Anacapri.

Our B&B host recommended a restaurant called Casa Orlandi located right in the center of Piazza Vittoria. This patio tables were packed already with people eating pizzas and drinking something fun & festive out of gigantic lemons. Tory requested we sit inside the restaurant, and there was plenty of open seating there. Casa Orlandi offers pizzas, pastas, salads, and seafood but almost every table was ordering pizzas so they must be the thing to order. We followed everyone’s lead and ordered pizzas and a lemon spritz to share.

First of all, the lemon spritz — wow! This was a super tasty alcoholic drink, and the fact that it was served inside the biggest lemon we’d ever seen made it all the more fabulous.

The wood-fired pizzas were fabulous, too. And, I loved that the restaurant served basil still on the plant. The waiter brought a flower pot to our table with a basil plant inside, so we could pick as much basil as we liked to add to our pizzas.

The pizzas were really delicious. We were all stuffed after our meal, and a little tipsy to be honest! Glad Andi and I shared one of the lemon spritzes vs. each ordering our own.

Aden and Tory still wanted gelato, of course. We walked around the small centre of Anacapri, stopping for ice cream at Bar Grotta Azzurra. The employee working behind the counter asked Andi if we were eating our gelato at a table inside the cafe, or taking it to-go. Andi said “to-go.” While we waited for Andi to drink his espresso and pay at the counter, the employee asked Andi again if we planned to sit at the restaurant or take our gelato to-go. “To-go,” Andi repeated. We quickly realized the reason he kept asking was the coperto charge — each dish of gelato cost €6 if we took our purchase to-go, but the cost was €9 per cup of gelato if we sat down at a table inside the restaurant to eat.

€9 for one scoop of ice cream! That’s crazy expensive. On such a nice afternoon, we much preferred to wander the streets of Anacapri and eat gelato as we walked. Eventually, we found a step to sit on near the playground and enjoy the afternoon sunshine. We probably looked like lizards sunning ourselves on a rock.

After a little while, the four of us walked back to the bus station. We had to wait for about 10 minutes until the next shuttle to Capri Town arrived. This time, we practically had the short bus to ourselves. Tory and Aden thought it was so fun to stand in the back of the bus and swing on the bars while the vehicle was in motion.

The bus dropped us off at the main piazza in Capri Town, and then we walked back to our B&B from there. Aden wanted some downtime, but Andi, Tory, and I wanted to sit on a sunny patio. We decided to leave Aden at the B&B by himself and walk up the street to Caffe Manari. Andi and I each ordered a lemon spritz, though these drinks weren’t nearly as tasty as the ones we had earlier in the giant lemons. Tory ordered a Coca-Cola, and all three of us had a nice time chatting and munching on bar snacks.

At 7:00pm, the four of us ventured out again to find a place to eat for dinner. There wasn’t much open on Sunday night, so we ended up going to The Hangout again. “You’re back!” the owner greeted us when we walked in the door. I was beginning to see why this restaurant was so popular — good service and relatively cheap food without all the hoopla.

Andi and I both ordered the “chicken hip” this time (chicken thighs) because we already knew it was good. Tory ordered what she thought was a baked potato, but it ended up being diced potatoes instead. She said she wasn’t very hungry anyway. Aden got a hamburger.

We spent the rest of the evening at our B&B relaxing. The kids talked to their friends on Facebook Kids Messenger for a little while before bed, and Andi and I did some trip planning for the next leg of our journey. Tomorrow, we’ll pack up our things and take the ferry back to mainland Italy. We’ve really enjoyed our time in Capri. Glad we stayed a few days to enjoy the island.