Piano di Sorrento, Amalfi and Capri

3/1 - 3/4

We took the train to Naples and the Circumvesuviana line to Piano di Sorrento. Met a Neapolitan (not the ice cream) on the first train who was both really friendly and helpful and rather upset we weren't planning to spend any time in Naples. So we promised to return later.

Anyway, the place we'd booked on the strength of ridiculously good reviews on TripAdvisor was a slightly too expensive B&B run by the super enthusiastic and excitable Rachelle. She was so happy to be hosting someone Japanese, apparently because of the love her father had for the place when he was the captain of a ship. She got steadily less enthusiastic and excitable each day we stayed, which we can only hope was due to something other than our presence. She was very helpful though, and loaded us up with more sightseeing information than we could process.

Piano di Sorrento is a lovely place, perhaps partly because they don't see as much tourism as all the nearby hotspots. Good food, nice people, peaceful. We only ate and slept there though, making day trips to all the local sights, the first of which was the Amalfi coast. My only memory of this place from my trip as a student is of sleeping on the beach and being woken up by water sprinklers in the morning.

The views on the road to Amalfi are nicer than the town itself

The church is Amalfi's main highlight, along with the narrow, windy whitewashed alleyways.

Hozumi liked these little models.

Above Amalfi is the picturesque Villa Cimbrone in Ravello

Breathtaking views from the 'Terrace of Eternity' in the villa.

We have no idea what these are.

The next day we took a bus to Sorrento and a ferry to Capri island. First impressions were disappointing, but once we'd got on a sightseeing boat the views got steadily better as we circled the island. More beautiful than the coast of Shiretoko or the Bosphorus river, the only other boat tours I can recall going on. The main reason people join this tour is to enter the 'Grotto Azzura', and it's well worth the visit. The photo at the top of this post shows the unearthly vibrant blue of the water, apparently from a separate underwater entrance and visible even on cloudy mornings like the one we ended up with.

The cave entrance is a hive of activity, collecting money to the left and lining up boats to the right. Access only twice a day, when the tides are right.

While wandering around Capri we found some off-the-beaten-track alleyways and a fruit vendor selling really tasty produce at local prices. We only realised how lucky we'd been after seeing all the designer brand shops and tourist stalls everywhere else on the island. We were also very fortunate to stumble across a deserted monastery(?) garden with perfect views of the Faraglioni rocks and the coastline on the nice side of Capri.

Our stay in Piano di Sorrento was rounded off by an excellent cannelloni prepared especially for us from a restaurant that usually doesn't do take-away food.