Capri, the playground of the rich and famous.  And it really was everything you would imagine it to be!  Walking the main street in Capri you see the usual suspects.  Designer store followed by designer store, gorgeous model-looking women draping the arms of older gentlemen, a few gorgeous young men helping older, decked-out women along, all cloaked in the finest most perfectly tailored couture clothing.  Laughter and crystal champagne glasses clinking in the background, kisses on cheeks to say hello and goodbye.  We were surrounded by fabulousness!

And yet, I never felt like a second-class citizen.  We were treated to the same incredible bend-over backward customer service we had become accustomed to in the rest of Italy.

Two Piece Maxi Dress  :  Lulus   //   Earrings  :  Target   //   Sunglasses  :  Amazon   //  Purse  :  Amazon   //   Shoes  :  Nordstrom

 

How Do I Get There?

Capri is an island, so you can either arrive by air or sea.  Check out my post HERE for a detailed description on how to plan your transfer to Capri in the most fabulous–and yet surprisingly–economic way.

 

The Layout of the Island

First you have to understand the layout of the island.  The island of Capri boasts two gorgeous towns, Capri town and Anacapri.  When you first arrive by ferry, you will land at the main port, Marina Grande, which is in Capri town.  There at the port you will find lots of adorable local shops and restaurants.  The “Funicolare,” or Funicular in English, is a tram of sorts, built into the mountain that takes you directly up the mountain to the real crux of Capri.  It drops you off at the Piazzetta, or little plaza, where the serious people-watching begins.  This is where you will find designer stores and the most upscale restaurants.  The Funicular currently runs from 6:30 am to about 10:00 pm.  Before you go, check the most current schedule HERE .  Also keep in mind that it closes from January to March for maintenance, so if you’re coming during that time, you’ll need to plan to use the bus in its place.  Both modes of transportation are about $2 and have their own pros and cons.  We used both and enjoyed the variety!  If you’re in a pinch, you can, of course, take a taxi, but this will run you nearly 20 Euro and is the less economic choice.   The purchase and start points for all modes of transportation, including the ferry, are found around the same area, right by where you first disembark the ferry when you first arrive.

Do I stay in Capri town or Anacapri?

Well, to state the obvious, it depends.  Think of Anacapri and Capri Town as the “high class suburb” vs. “the big city.”   Much like most ‘high class suburbs,” Anacapri has more space.  It’s further off the beaten path, so you find larger, more economical accommodations, more walking paths, more artisanal goods, local shops, and family-friendly dining and activities.  Capri town, much like “the big city” has all the expensive designer stores, almost exclusively 4 and 5 star hotels, best people-watching, and most walkability for tourists.  So it really depends on what your goal is.

Where we stayed:

This was our first time to the island of Capri.  We only had three days, so I really wanted to make the most of it.  I also didn’t want to have to navigate around like a lunatic in yet, one additional city with which I was unfamiliar.  As a result, I opted for Capri town.  Our hotel, Ralais Maresca, is one of the few waterfront hotels on the island.  It’s perched right atop Marina Grande, overlooking the Bay of Naples.   The convenience was spectacular.  Not only was it a few yards from the Funicular and all other ticket purchasing conduits, but it had fantastic views of the Marina Grande which allowed us to have a glass of wine on our balcony–albeit pretty tiny–and look at the gorgeous boats.

But prepare yourself.  Hotels in Capri are EXPENSIVE.  They range from about $500 to $5000 a night.  And ours was on the very low end of that and yet really didn’t blow our socks off with the appearance of the room. I will say the customer service was excellent.  The rooftop restaurant, Terrazza Maresca, where the included breakfast was served, was lovely and they were so sweet and accommodating when Espen insisted on serving himself (aka destroying anything in his wake), and the accessibility of the hotel itself to everything was absolutely perfect.

How we got around:

We took almost every mode of transportation aside from taxi cab on the island of Capri.  We took a private boat around and to the island, took the Funicular up to dinner, walked to one restaurant (my absolute fave), and took the bus down from the first restaurant.  All were really fun and memorable experiences, and the bus, of course, had such a local feel and made us fall in love with the Italians even more.  Getting up to let Espen have a seat, being helpful and smiling.  These people are good people.

 

 

What we did there:

Capri is a gorgeous island with handmade sandals, designer clothing, shoes, and purses, upscale celebrity-style hotel accommodations, and incredible dining.  We had been going pretty hard on tours and transfers from Rome and Pompei, so our goal in Capri was to really take it easy.  And we did exactly that.  

When we first arrived, we were in a bit of limbo.  We were tired and a bit salty from our incredible tour around the island by boat and swim in the unbelivable grottos which you MUST DO and can read about HERE, so we attempted to check into our hotel.  It wouldn’t be ready for about thirty minutes, so we stopped into one of the nearby restaurants at the port.  To be honest, this food was only “okay” compared to the other places we had eaten, and I suppose that’s to be expected so close to the port.  We popped back into our hotel, all took quick showers, but regrettably had no clean clothes to put on thanks to a little snafu I describe regarding our transfer from Positano to Capri in the same post as above HERE.  That part was a bit of a drag when all we wanted to do was take a nap, but you can fill in the rest of the story for now…

When we woke up, we realized our belongings would be there around 7:30.  We walked around the port area, popping into the little stores there and explored a little bit.  We bought some Pinot Grigio from the little store right next to our hotel and they opened it for us.  We took it upstairs and relaxed just a bit until our luggage would arrive.

I went to grab our luggage while Sigurd chilled with Espen in the room.  When I saw those beautiful bright blue suitcases, I was ELATED. I have to admit I wondered if we would actually ever see those bags again!  I’m pretty sure both Sigurd and I were wondering if we would be outfitting ourselves with Caprese clothing for the remainder of our stay!  Maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad….

As I got closer to our hotel, Sigurd ran down to grab the bags from me.  I jumped in the shower again, this time with my beloved toiletries and fresh clothing to change into.  The rest of the fam followed suit, and we headed out to have dinner.  We quickly realized the restaraunts at the port close down for dinner, so we’d need to take the Funicular up to the main drag.  It was late, so Antonella at the front desk was kind enough to call three restaurants she recommended for us and see if she could make us a reservations.  Since we were in a bit of a hurry to get this dinner started, she took my number and then called me with the info of one that was available.

When we got off the Funicular, we realized, once again, that Google Maps is NOT for the walking streets of Italy.  We got lost.  And when we asked a few people for the directions, they told me it was an hour away.  Apparently this place was adorable, delicious, but also relatively unknown.  After a bit more walking, I spotted a hotel that looked welcoming.  I ran up the stairs to ask them for directions.  It would be another 12 minutes walking, and I was about to give up.  We were hungry and tired of walking, so they invited us to enjoy their restaurant you can check out here set under their lemon garden that specializes in flavors of the Campagnia region and frankly phenomenal service.  Hotel Syrene ended up being a delicious, unexpected treat with lemons overhead and superb service.  We were grateful we ended up there.

The next day was our full Capri beach day.  The beaches in Italy, and specifically Capri,  are not sandy, but are very, very rocky.  As a result, plopping down on a towel really isn’t the most relaxing option for anyone unless you want a (mostly painful) rock back massage.  So we opted for the beach club, Le Ondine, that was right there at the Marina Grande.  It appears their website is under construction, but check out the beautiful restaurant pictures here and their Facebook page here.  There are many beach clubs on the island from which to choose, but this one was (insanely) close and easy, and that’s what our goal for the day was.  The club also boasts Capri’s largest beach.  Some beach clubs are all-inclusive and some are ala carte.  This one was ala carte.  We had towels from our hotel and opted for two beds and an umbrella which turned out to be an inexpensive price compared to most other beach clubs.  When we got down to the beach, we discovered they were out of umbrellas.  But they assured us they’d credit us the money with drinks or lunch, and it turned out the chairs had built-in face sun-blockers and were perfectly situated in a location where we could shield the sun accordingly.  Sounded good to me!

I have to also mention the hostess was a lovely woman with bright red lipstick. Her smile was contagious and sincere.  Every time we communicated with her, I felt happy and like smiling.  For some reason, her joyous demeanor will remain with me when I think back on that special day in Capri.  I hope she knows she brought a lot of sunshine into our day.

Then we relaxed.  It was amazing.  So peaceful and chill.  The only down side was that Espen really wanted to play with the other children.  But this beach, more than any other beach we had been on, had very few English speakers.  And the children couldn’t understand what Espen was asking when wanting to play, so it wasn’t quite what he had hoped.  He still had a blast frolicking in the water and throwing rocks.  It was a divine time!

We had considered going to a hotel pool, but we decided you can swim in a pool all summer long in Texas!  It’s not often you can hear lively Italian spoken as the Mediterranean sun tans your skin and you see Mount Vesuvius in the background.  When in Capri….

The food at the Beach Club was also delicious, and you don’t have to have paid for the beach club to enjoy the views of the ocean and delicious food.

On that note, I want to recommend you purchase water shoes.  And not the traditional kinds.  Espen was actually perfectly fine in these Keens.  But for adults, I suggest these.  Although they’re not the most attractive–okay, they’re almost hideous– but the beaches in Italy vary in their stones-sizes with NONE of the stone sizes being “soft sand.”  Some rocks are fine and will get in every tiny hole of your shoes and then stab you from underneath your foot.  Others are larger, but when you get into the water itself, you still find those tiny rocks creeping in, as well.  If I had to do it again–which I hope I will– I would have purchased those scuba style booties or your could opt for these that are a similar but might let a pebble or two in with a strong current.  Will you look like a Victoria Secret swimsuit model frolicking in the water? No.  But then again, you’ve had a solid lunch in the last five days.  But seriously.  I am TELLING YOU.  EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON was walking with knees bent, faces in a grimace, some screaming out obscenities.  Everyone but Espen, that is.  Trust me.  This is not the time to worry about how incredible you look.

 

That afternoon, we went to a local store and I had a dream fulfilled, handmade, fit-to-order leather sandals by a local sandal-maker.  They were SO sweet and patient with Espen, and they even let him hammer (!) some parts of the shoes!  Best part is Sigurd got to watch so he knows how to fix them if ever I destroy them. 😉

Espen’s Swim Shorts : Target   //   Espen’s Rash Guard Top :  Target   //   Espen’s Water/Play Shoes :  Keen

 

That evening we went to a restaurant I booked literally four months in advance.  I was SO excited!  I did a ton of research, and didn’t even realize it was such an easy five minute walk from out hotel. Da Paolino Restaurant in Capri describes itself as “traditional Capri cooking under a sky of lemons” and it is JUST that. Lord knows I love a theme, so I decked myself out in my most yellow outfit for this incredible eating expedition. I am a girl who used to cut lemons in half and eat them straight as a child, sometimes showering them with sugar, sometimes not. I can’t be more emphatic about the fact that I was excited beyond belief for this dinner.

We began our walk up the hill for the short, five minute walk to the resultant.  Our concierge (really front desk personel) gave us directions, but basically said it was right up the hill and then we’d see signs. Not exactly.  We began our trek and something told me to ask a woman at a little corner if we should go there for the restaurant. Thank goodness I did!  I was wondering for a few hundred more feet if we’d made a mistake but finally Sigurd noticed the signs leading to my happiness!  The pathway was correct!  And the little signs led the way to paradise.

 

 

When we got there, I was a little overwhelmed, to say the least.  Why was I so excited!?!? I don’t think I was so influenced by the fact that so many celebrities had gone on and on about the place, but rather by the reviews of normal people like me that had loved it.  And I was REALLY hoping I’d feel the same.  After our disappointing and overrated meal in Positano, I needed a pick me up.  And Da Paolino delivered.

So we were seated in a sweet table in the main dining room, near the fountain.  Before we could order our Prosecco, Espen suggestsed (yep!!) that we go to the front and take some pictures with the lemons.  My sweet lovie loves lemons as much as me, and it was so fun!  This silly pic below was taken by my six-year-old.  I must say I have NEVER seen lemons so huge in my life!  And when we went to return the lemons to the front, they insisted Espen take one as a “gift to him.”  So sweet!

How about them lemons!?!?

 

Our food was OUT OF THIS WORLD.  There is an array of lemon-themed items that will absolutely knock your socks off, but also traditional, delicious Italian food that melts in your mouth and makes you realize carb-loading isn’t just for marathoners.  It’s also for regular peeps.  On a Tuesday.  Just because.

When we left the beautiful island of Capri, I knew we had visited a place we would not soon forget.  And writing this blog post reminds me of why I’m enjoying keeping up with a blog in the first place.  It takes me back to that enchanting experience and I feel it firsthand once again.  Put Capri island on your bucket list!  I promise it won’t disappoint.

 

XOXO

Elisha