Waiting in Hamburg Hbf (central train station) at midnight…
30min free Wi-Fi (in theory, it didn’t work and it would have required giving up my mobile#) but I have to pay €1 for the toilet. Really? Am I paying for cleanliness or for the automated gate they installed?
Can’t say I slept that well as the (top) couchette’s cushion was a little thin and 2 inches too short. But way more comfortable than a plane seat! You do get a pillow, sheet and blanket.
Although there were 6 couchettes but only 4 people (I paid €10 extra for a max 4 cabin)
The middle couchette flips down during the day, becoming the backrest for the seats.
1st class sleeper for2 people, which also has its own washbasin.
Pros
People get out of the left lane, period. The way it should be. You can’t appreciate the difference without experiencing it
No need for stop signs at every intersection, when a yield sign will do (even at the end of an off ramp)
High speed limits – not actually unlimited unless you’re far from a city, which in a small densely populated country…
Cons
Super expensive gas @ €1.50/L ($2/L or $7.60/gallon)
No right turn on red
Slightly confusing highway direction signs
Better than I expected (crickets ok too but not the other bugs). Crunchy.
This was my snack, plus bananas, on the 20min stop during the 6hr bus ride to the capital ($12 for the A/C bus with toilet, plus one water bottle and a pastry inc.)
This morning we grabbed a taxi to the port (€12 booked through our hotel) and then a 35 minute jet boat ferry to Capri (€16 each, + €2 for large luggage).
Our hotel on Marina Grande, right by the port, is a very nice 4* hotel, probably the nicest of the 4 hotels. With a great view of the harbour, the Bay of Naples and even Mt Vesuvius in the distance.
Right outside our door we have the ferries, a bus stand, a taxi stand, the funicular station and a scooter rental place. So many options!
We did the Blue Grotto tour by boat (photo below; more details later) which was brief (in the grotto) but memorable.
Capri Town is up on the hill – a pedestrian centre with mostly expensive shops and restaurants.
Capri from ferry
Capri from the ferry (Marina Grande down below; Capri Town up above)
Pedestrian street lined with luxury shops and expensive restos in Capri Town
Enjoying wine and cheese on our balcony, looking west at the sunset
Balcony view straight ahead (north), with Mt Vesuvius in the background
Balcony view, looking east
Entrance to the Blue Grotto (the little black hole to the right of the white rowboat)
Inside the Blue Grotto (grotta azurra) with the one opening (the bright light on the left is a reflection of the opening on another rowboat)
Blue Grotto as we head back towards the exit (that little “white” hole)
For the 3rd time we rented a scooter, this time in Sorrento (only €37) and drove west to the end of the peninsula and into the hill towns just east of Sorrento (for a total of about 100km).
After some sketchy looking dark clouds this morning, it turned out to be quite a nice day starting from 10:30.
Some great scenery and good food and views (inc. of Capri).
Followed by dinner and some shopping in Sorrento.
Tomorrow we plan on seeing Pompeii and Naples, and we changed our plans such that we will be spending our last 2 nights in Italy on Capri.
We set an alarm (gasp!) in order to go for a scooter ride this morning before returning it before 11am and checking out. It was sunny and we had missed out on a few hours of riding yesterday due to the rain.
We drove west past the Emerald Grotto (Grotto della Smerelda) carpark to a little gas station (€1.85 per litre, for a total of €6 for our 45km touring), after a little detour up into the small town of Conca dei Marini.
FYI, we did shoot a few videos while driving on the scooter; however, I won’t be able to post them until after returning home.
For moving on to Positano, we had decided to take a taxi from our Atrani hotel to the bus and ferry terminals in Amalfi (1km – €15!) due to our luggage, but once we were in the taxi we asked him how much to take us to Positano (16km). The hotel had told us €80, the driver quoted €50 and we talked him down to €45 and saved a lot of time and hassle (the ferry would have been €11 each but then we’d need a porter service for €8/bag in Positano as our hotel is up high on the hill). Our driver was nice and he stopped twice for photo ops.
View from the fountain in the piazza in Atrani, looking up to the west (our hotel is in the centre back)
Roadside carpark at Blue Grotto (cave not visible in photo; we didn’t have time to go in, with all the tour buses there); Amalf is visible once you go around the point in the background
Truck selling lemons and peppers at the Blue Grotto parking lot (the big ones aren’t pomelos – they’re lemons for marmelade)
My impression of Gene Kelly singing in the (solar) rain (on the square at the big church in Atrani, looking east)
Our 125cc rental scooter
View from our hotel room in Atrani
View down into tiny Furore’s beach (shortly before Praiano)
Eastern/back side of Praiano
First glimpse of Positano
Clearer shot of Positano from the Blue Ribbon highway (looking west)
Today we change towns again, moving on to Sorrento on the northern side of the peninsula. It will be a good base for seeing Capri, Pompeii and Naples.
The weather is still great, with a high of 30C/86F predicted today.
Update: bargained with taxi driver for a €65 fare (down from €80 initial offer) from Positano to Sorrento (he ran the meter anyway, which would have cost more). It’s about 20km plus a little more to our hotel, about 45 minutes, depending on traffic.
Sorrento view from our rooftop pool (similar view from room); the hotel is on Via Capo on the west edge of town
Below are some more photos of Ravello, the hilltop town (at 300m/1000ft high) just past Amalfi and Atrani, which has attracted its share of famous people over the years (e.g. Gore Vidal, Greta Garbo).
The town is literally on a hilltop, small enough to easily cover on foot.
Besides fabulous the coastal views, the main tourist sites are the cathedral and 2 villas with gardens.
The cathedral, on the main square, has a little museum, a carved marble pulpit supported by six lions, and a relic of holy blood which allegedly goes from translucent to bright red one day a year.
We skipped the 2 villas due to the rain and the fact that you can see the views from elsewhere in town for free. The 13th century Villa Rufolo is right off the main square but is mostly ruins. Villa Cimbrone is at the other end of town.
There are also quite a few 5* hotels on the peak, also with spectacular views and worth a peek in the lobby/garden.
And yes, things tend to be pricier up here.
The air temp is also a little cooler but still comfortable.
On the east side of town is a concert hall on the cliff, which has spectacular views and some bizarre, cool, large sculptures.
We ate lunch at the Ristorante Garden which is on the east side of town right by the bus stop (recommended by Rick Steves and coincidentally right next to where we were escaping the rain under a tree). The food was great (if a little more expensive than Atrani/Amalfi) and ended with a complimentary shot of limoncello liquor. My mixed seafood consisted of mussels and 3 types of clams; very tasty and filling, larger than I expected for 13 euros.
The Italian Post Office ATM just down the street (where our driver stopped on the way to Atrani) works well will all manner of foreign cards (both Plus and Maestro!)
Transportation note: a public bus does go from Amalfi Town to Ravello. Or for hard-core hikers, you can hike up from Amalfi Town or Atrani.
The hill-top town Ravello from the road towards Angri and Naples (yes, there really is a town called Angri)
Funky scupltures at the music hall in Ravello (with Maiori in the distance)
Quite the statue in a fountain of a 5* hotel in Ravello (with stunning views and terraced lounge areas below its pool)
Marble pulpit supported by lions, inside the Ravello Cathedral
View east towards Minori (nearer) and Maiori (further), the next two towns on the coast
Just about to head out on our 125cc rental scooter from Amalfi Rent a Scooter to explore Ravello (a town 1000 feet above us) and along the western Amalfi coast.
We might go as far as Paestum, the fine Greek ruins on the mainland south of Salerno.
The scooter cost €70 for 24 hours, inc. charge for delivery/pickup to our hotel.
