Our last day in Capri

This post is a continuation of : A beautiful day boating in Capri

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It was our last day in Capri and as always, we woke up to another beautiful morning. I was already feeling a little sad at the thought of leaving this beautiful place, but there was still quite an adventure in store for us for the day.

After having our breakfast and on our way out, there was a huge basket of freshly plucked tomatoes in the vegetable garden in our villa. Wow, look at how ripe they are! I was very tempted to take some and eat it like that. However the caretaker was looking at me funny and I had to bashfully back away

To get to our destination, the center of Anacapri, we had to walk back towards the Greece looking area. Unlike yesterday, this time round there were many shops which are already opened. Like this shoe shop here. There’s a pair of shoe here for less than 10 euro!

I didn’t get any because I have too many shoes

Cart and I also stumbled upon a little alimentari that looked a lot like a mama shop. It’s been over 20 years, but it reminds me of my grandparent’s shop somewhat when they still lived in Tekong before the government took over it.

And that’s Cart buying a bottle of water. It’s always useful to have a bottle of water with you 

And there were plentiful of other shops opened. Like food shops :

I noticed this sign … CRT now doesn’t mean Cathode Ray Tube anymore. And instead it’s Cappucino, Real English, Tea.

If you are in Capri, you’ll see a lot of these shops around – Here you can make your own customised sandals! Just choose the type of strap you want and tell your shoe size and the cobbler will make your sandal right in front of you!

And this is so old school. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone shaving (or be shaved) with these type of knives. It takes a really steady hand to be able to do that!

And there were also ceramic shops. It was so interesting to see all the colourful and cheeful items all made from ceramics. I suppose the owner thought I was interesting too, seeing how he’s staring straight at me

As Mount Vesuvius (I’d love to visit one day) is quite near, you could also find these decorated volcanic rocks easily. These can also made into beautiful jewellery. They are black because of the rapid cooling of the lava.

Oh, I forgot to mention about this in the previous post, but we also walked past a mini museum which we visited last night. This was done by a talented lady, Tiziana Ferraro. I really liked her artwork – it was colourful and cheerful!

I asked if she had a website or anywhere to show off her portfolio, unfortunately she didn’t have one. Ah well

And this is a toilet. It costs 50 cents to release yourself here

What’s interesting about it, you ask?  This is probably the cleanest toilet that I’ve ever seen in my life. There’s only one lady looking after the stations and once you’re done with your business, she’d immediately clean up.

She’s a little fierce though, not letting anyone get through when she’s not done cleaning, like Gandalf when blocking a Balroc, “Thou shall not pass!”

And here is a random kitten

The first place that we visited was the Villa San Michele. This is an interesting place, originally built by the Swedish physican, Dr Axel Munthe, reconstructed to make it look like as when he was living there.

It costs 6 euro to enter. (Gosh, my nails look so chipped by this point of time)

And here are the opening times depending on the month you are there. Just to be sure, get there around 9am

When you first enter the area, you’ll be first greeted by this skeleton mosaic – The skeleton is holding a food basket and a caraffe on the other hand to represent that we should enjoy life before we die. Something that Dr Munthe was already aware of.

We walked through each of the rooms, looking at the different relics and works of art. From the dining room …

The kitchen … (It was interesting to read that Dr Munthe had two house assistants who were very loyal to him. He didn’t pay them, but he gave them everything they asked for)

The Atrium …

The bedroom …

Here is Claudio and Beatrice laughing at a private joke. I’m adding this picture just because it looks like a cool shot

Oh, and this one too!

This is where Dr Munthe entertains his guests … Looks like my aunt’s room somewhat with the ornate and heavy furniture

He entertained all sorts of people here, even kings and queens. But they all got to eat very simple and rustic food as Dr Munthe doesn’t believe in feeding the body overly rich food. He doesn’t even recommend meat for those over a certain age!

By the way, while living here, Dr Munthe wrote “The story of San Michele” mainly about the experiences that revolved around his life. This book has been a bestseller since published and translated in over 40 languages.

I’d like to read it. Wonder if there are any libraries in Rome that I can go to, to read it in English

After touring the house, it was time to explore the courtyard. Oh my gosh, it was such a dream here. Like I was on the set of the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” but only better!

It wasn’t the statues that did it.

(The sign says “laughing girl” but she looks more creepy than anything)

(This is a statue of Hermes (er-mez). Say, by the way, did anyone watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians?)

It wasn’t so much the architecture …

It was seeing the magnificent and glorious view from there. Oh gosh, it’s so peaceful and so beautiful. My heart (figuratively) just broke at the immense beauty

Le sigh!

And there is a curious Sphinx statue at the end of the courtyard, looking out at the sea.

If like them, I had the chance to look at the blue sea all day, I wouldn’t mind it at all!

Seriously this place is like a dream. With the lush greenery and the beatiful garden here, it made me feel like wearing a toga and go dancing barefooted on the grass.

Oh. You can’t do that here. How about sitting down here, and be fed grapes and drink (hypothetical) honeyed wine?

Drat you can’t do that here either -_-

(Wait wait … You just can’t eat a BURGER anything else, you can consume right?! )

Anyhow, not wasting such a beautiful scenery, I took the chance to do a quick camwhore!

And had to suck it up and pretend to be glamourous, despite that the weather was really warm then. Poor Cartcart!

It was understandable why Dr Munthe would fall in love with this place. I do too!

In fact, when Axel Munthe died, he had a ticket to Capri in his pocket. Isn’t that the saddest thing? Like, unrequited love

Being random, here is an interesting sign I saw at the toilet here.

Yes. I’m proud to say that I am somewhat civilized.

After leaving the Villa San Michele, the second place that we visited was the Monte Solaro. This is the highest peak in Capri, 589m above sea level and I think that this is another must place to visit.

To get up there, you could hike up there or take a seggiovia. Seggiovia means chairlift by the way.

And there are two type of tickets here. Two way which is 10 euro, while the one way is 7 euro. Although to be honest, I’m not sure how often they check your tickets, so you could get away with going  with the cheaper one

When you enter the area, the way you ride the chairlift, is to stand on the green square and as soon as the seat arrives, quickly sit down and let the attendant close the safety clamp on you … and off you go!

It can get a little nerve wrecking. Especially for me who’s taking it for the first time. I mean take a look at the height between the chair and the ground. You’ve only a metal wire to keep you up. It’s a little scary! It’s as scary as taking a cable car in Sentosa.

But what’s that on the pole?!

No rocking. Ehm. I wouldn’t dream of it.

Cart, Beatrice and Giovanni behind me looked extremely comfortable though. Cart especially looked as cool as a cat. He’s done this a lot of times since he used to go skiing.

Nevertheless, despite it all, the ride was completely worth it. Because once you’ve reached the top, the view is so so so spectacular!

From this …

To this …

And this …

And to me, this picture below is like the caramel on the creme brulee. LOOK AT IT! Isn’t it so beautiful that it makes you feel emotional?

I feel so blessed to be able to see such beauty. I really felt like crying.

That’s the arch and the stack by the way, seen up close the day we went boating.

I could just stay here forever. But we were on a time schedule, before the ferry leaves and reluctantly, we had to go. Although my heart was screaming no.

ANYWAY! I saw this interesting bottle as we took the chair lift down.

On our trip down, I saw something rather interesting. Not only does the chair lift carry people, it also carries bottle of water! I wonder if each had to pay 7 euro each

Of course, I had to do a bit of camwhoring too since I doubt there will be such a chance for me so soon. HAHA! Gosh, me and my paperbag and my handbag … I’m so auntie!

And we walked back towards our villa for the last time. Just for being random again … Woah, check this out while on our way there … A half bear, half baby!

After packing up, we said goodbye to our beautiful villa and reluctantly left and headed towards Marina Grande, the main port.

And I enviously looked upon the other people who were frolicking around.

We stopped for a bit of a bite, while waiting for the ferry.

And soon after, we boarded our ferry to go back to the main port Napoli.

And then took the tram to head back to the Napoli Centrale train station

(By the way, I spotted out a very interesting young lady on the tram who looked just like a Malay Minah with her shaved eyebrows and dyed hair but I dare not take a picture of her … would be rude I think. Also, I can’t understand anything she said. The dialect was just too thick)

And back on the train again for our 2 and a half hour train ride  …

And then finally back home in Rome!

Le sigh. After 4 days having such a wonderful time, in the most gorgeous place, it’s so unkind to be back! I really felt like this lady in this commercial and needed a few days to get my feet back on the ground.

Anyway, that’s it! That’s the last of the instalments. I hope you enjoyed my blog posts. If you like, come and read the entire series here :-)

• Our trip to Napoli! (Day 1)
• A wedding in Capri (Day 2)
• A beautiful day boating in Capri (Day 3)