Twas on the isle of Capri – but I did not find her !

After the miracle of us all meeting up in Rome we are on the road to Sainthood. Only one more miracle needed. If we ever get Judy’s luggage back or find the wallet left in a café in Rome (not by one of the men !) then Sainthood is guaranteed.

Our apartment, Antico Dimora, about 1.5 km west of Amalfi is fine. It has three separate bedrooms - each with an ensuite, a reasonable eating cooking area, and good views of the Meditteranean. The Amalfi coast is quite spectacular – although it is best seen by walking around (beware - millions of steps !). The Amalfi coast is in the next bay down from the Bay of Naples. In mid-summer the peninsular becomes a 50km traffic jam. The roads are much more windy, narrow and precipitous than the Great Ocean Road. Even walking them is a risky venture as buses and large vehicles often only leave a couple of inches between them and the wall.

On Saturday we walked up a ravine to Ravello – home of Gore Vidal and old playground of Jackie Kennedy. Highlights were the great views, and car-watching as vehicles negotiated a steep hair-pin bend which was absolutely covered with fresh oil. Noel guided us through a standard labyrinths of narrow streets, paths, and steps to get above the towns of Amalfi and Atrani.

Sunday was a trip, for three of us, to Sorrento (by ferry), Mt. Vesuvius (by train and bus) and Pompeii – all on the Bay of Naples. No sign of volcanic activity on Vesuvius but we were hit with a cloudburst on top. Boy, was it cold. Vesuvius is about 1200 m high and has a crater about 300 m. deep. We got a few minutes of sunny view of Naples before the rain hit us again. Down to Pompeii. Pompeii is huge – a full-sized town with hundreds of shops, houses, and other buildings – theatres, amphitheatres, a cemetery, and even a brothel or two. Most of it is in a poor state and/or closed off – but there is tons to see. The first hour was miserable as it was pouring with rain and the two controlling women kept finding that the audio guide we had bore NO relation to the site we were at. Then the sun came out and the two controllers found they were entering the wrong numbers on the audio guide. Everything became much better after that. Until the two controllers left early and I stayed on. “Just get back to Sorrento before 7:25 to catch the bus home (a 2 hr bus ride). If you miss it catch the 9:00 bus”. Well I got to Sorrento before 7:25 and waited for an hour with 15 other people – no bus. We asked when is the next bus – tomorrow we were told. Great – I had no money, my mobile was about to die, I was in shorts and had not eaten since lunch – and no way home. Oh well Plan B. Hopped on the train back to Pompeii (a 30 min trip in the WRONG direction), walked two or three km to the other Pompeii station (with the words of Lonely Planet ringing in my ears – “Pompeii becomes exceedingly seedy after dark – do not stay there overnight”, then found a train to Salerno (30 minutes South by train). No ticket – but got on. At Salerno the big question was – was there a bus to Amalfi at that time (10:00 pm on a Sunday). Waited 40 minutes with 3 drunk guys - a Pole, a Russian and a Romanian – and tried to converse in German with them. Not very successfully. As we were negotiating a 100 Euro taxi fare to Amalfi (24 km away) a bus pulled in. Again no ticket but got on and eventually got home at about midnight. The others all put on their Queen Victoria act “We are not amused”.

Monday was a boat trip to Capri – we all got up and down to the pier in dribs and drabs. John was last to the boat, almost missing it, in his quest to find the perfect Italian coffee. Capri is an island for the rich and famous. Crowds of tourists and hundreds of boutique Armani and whatever shops in narrow labyrinths of malls. John was almost arrested by the Caribiniera (Police) because his chair at the café extended too far out on the road. More police here on Capri that we have seen anywhere. (Well except in Athens when I said to Kitty – lots of police around - and she said where – and I pointed to the dozens of police surrounding her – with full riot gear, machine guns, huge prisoner vans, etc. They were either expecting Kitty or a major riot). We (well someone in our group) decided we should walk up to the highest peak. This took most of the day. Lots of good views but again walking on the roads is a very risky business. The Blue Grotto (Grotta Azrrura) was closed so we missed that – c’est la vie. Actually only Kitty and I tried to get there but gave up when told it was closed. A quick look at the Med. At then ferry back home. None of us have tried swimming yet. Well we are not here for the weather – are we ???