During my Italy trip, I decided to visit the island of Capri. It is an island that sits off the coast of Sorrento and I thought it sounded like a romantic place to explore. The ferry ride was only 20 minutes and pretty inexpensive. On my way out from Sorrento, I was packed in like a sardine amongst the people seated on the upper deck. On my way back, there was much more room to choose a seat so I was able to get better pictures from the water.

I had read that Capri has two main towns. Capri center is located a distance above the port area. It is usually accessed by a funiculaire but that was not running so I grabbed a small bus to get there. Capri center is where the high-end shops (think Gucci and Longchamps) and the majority of restaurants are located. My B&B, the Villa Calypso was located near this part of the island. The upper town, called Anacapri, is also reachable by a minibus and is a charming historic town that feels a bit more “local”. Once you reach these towns, the best way to explore them is on foot. In fact, many of the properties and stores are only accessible this way.

March is still considered off season, so I was able to book a beautiful room with a private terrace and ocean view for a really reasonable rate. The room at the Villa Calypso came with an included breakfast which made it an even better value. When I arrived at the island, I dropped my bag there and proceeded to walk up to the town center and have a beautiful lunch. After my Caprese salad I was feeling pretty proud of my restraint at not ordering pizza again so I rewarded myself with a delicious pistachio gelato before returning to my terrace to sun myself.

After absorbing the sun and the smell of jamine, I was feeling very Sophea Loren (please indulge me). I went out again and explored the perfumerie and the garden of Augustus. The perfumes were very strong and I didn’t feel like any one scent spoke to me, so I deferred making a purchase there. The gardens were partially open and allowed for some gorgeous photos of the breathtakingly, blue water. The landscape reminded me of Bermuda and I was desperate to access a beach to get my feet wet.

As the day wore down, I bought a ticked to the minibus that would bring me up to Anacapri. This bus ride was probably more terrifying than any of my rides up and down the Amalfi coast. The bus lurched up switch backs that barely clung to the mountain side. A highlight of the trip up was one passenger crying steadily and another loudly praying for our safety.

Anacapri had some lovely little shops but most of them were closed on this Sunday, late-afternoon in March. I walked around the historic district and took pictures of the pretty buildings and marveled at the children playing in the streets. To think that for some people, this beautiful place was just their home.

I returned back to Capri center, bought a bottle of wine and headed back to the villa to look at restaurants. My first struggle was opening my bottle without a wine key. After a quick Youtube tutorial, I used my car key to open the bottle. I spent a few minutes deciding where I was going to eat and I took my time getting ready. Time is one thing I happened to have plenty of. People in Capri don’t tend to eat dinner until close to 9 pm. I showed up a little before that time and had a beautiful dinner in a restaurant overlooking the harbor. I went all in and had the risotto with seafood which came as a primi. To me that implied, I should have a second course, so I did! I foolishly ordered a Margherita pizza which I could only take a few bites of because I was full. The waiters hovered over me and brought me a glass of prosseco on the house and then an Ameretto shot of some type with my dessert. Yes, I got dessert but not because I ordered it. It was Father’s Day in Italy and I was given profiteroles stuffed with lemon cream -again on the house.

It was a wonderful trip to this island. I would encourage anyone able to visit this magical place.