LEFTBANKED.: Capri

7.20.2017

Best Memories of Capri

I was recently contacted by Expedia to share my experiences of Capri. Last Spring, I semi-spontaneously booked a trip to Italy; mainly to visit Capri and meet up with Anouk (who coincidentally I will be meeting up with again in a few days on our next trip!). Before that I never had a strong desire to visit Capri. It was a pretty random destination for me and I had a long list of places I had wanted to visit more. But now I can definitely say I'm extremely glad I went because it was one of the most memorable and best trips I've ever had!! I notice a pattern now..usually it's the places that I had never really wanted to go at first that turn out to be my favourites afterwards (Russia and Prague especially). Now it has been over a year since I visited Capri and I definitely want to go back again soon. Here are my favourite memories from that trip:

After a 45min ferry ride over from Naples in which I felt extremely nauseated..I arrived at the sunny and serene island of Capri. I instantly felt better. My hotel was the beautiful Punta Tragara Hotel, located at the tip of the island overlooking the famous Faraglioni Rocks formation. At the ferry dock, I was greeted by one of the hotel's porters who took my luggage away to bring up to the hotel..while I would be free to walk around the town and get to the hotel at my own leisure. There are no cars on this part of the island. Just windy and narrow streets lined with luxury boutiques, restaurants and stunning views over the sea. As I kept walking, the street got quieter and I was sure I had made a wrong turn and walked the wrong way. Then up ahead there were two Italian men, painting the wall of a villa. One on top of the ladder painting, while the other held the ladder for him as they chatted in Italian. I felt as though I walked into a movie scene. I asked them for directions and they didn't know English at all..so after a few moments of trying to understand each other, they pointed straight ahead and said "5 minuti!" So I continued on my way...

I've done a review of Punta Tragara already before so I won't go in detail again...all I can say is it was the best hotel I've ever stayed at in my life so far! It was like a dream. My suite was perfect. I wish I actually lived there. It was two floors. My favourite feature was the two-storey window/doors opening onto the balcony. The hotel was small and intimate. During my entire time there I only saw maybe one or two other guests..so I felt like I was actually in my own home.

The perfect "office"

I LOVED the pool and outdoor lounge area. I could've spent all day there. The servers were so friendly and attentive. I am quite the workaholic and never really stop working (including when I go on "vacations") or relax...but here I was the closest to feeling relaxed in years.

Perfect spot to watch the sunset

The next day, Anouk and I took a boat to sail around the island, visit the grottos and sail all the way to Positano and back. It was such an amazing experience. I got extremely seasick but it was still very enjoyable. The boat was private with just us two and a very good looking sailor ;)

Even though I was in Capri with a friend/Anouk, we still spent some time separately and to do our own things. I love travelling by myself actually but the one thing that I will never get used to (or veryyyyy slowly getting used to) is eating alone lol. In some restaurants it's ok but in some (such as this very romantic and formal restaurant) it can be a little awkward. Actually the most awkward moment is when you have to ask for a "table for one". I always cringe a little inside when I have to say that. But then I'm usually ok after I sit down and pretend I'm super busy on the phone. The waiters here were so nice and I think they felt a little sorry for me because they kept coming to ask if everything was ok and to chat lol. By the way, I fell in love with Caprese Salads on this trip. All the ones I had in Capri were amazing (obviously) then when I came back to Toronto I went in search of the best Caprese Salad in the city (Scaddabush) and even made my own a few times (which were not really good).

On our final day in Capri, we went over to Anacapri which is another side of the island. Anacapri is quieter and more residential...but the views there are definitely worth going for. We visited Villa San Michele which is the former home of Dr. Axel Munthe. He was from Sweden but went to Capri to build his dream home when he discovered the view from this tip of the island. I can definitely relate. Well if I could have a home in Capri that would be a dream come true as well for me.

& finally...one of the best memories of Capri was here, enjoying our last gelato on our last night with a very charming waiter named Fabrizio. Hahah. It was probably the funniest moments of the trip.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Expedia. All views expressed are my own.

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506. Anacapri | Snapshots

This is going to be my final post from my Italy trip (which I have dragged out for way too long already). I was going to say I saved the best for last, but I actually don't have a favourite post or set of photos. I enjoyed the entire trip so much. But here is one of my favourite posts, in which I will show you around Anacapri. I'd say it is more the quieter and residential side of the island. We came here on our final day in Capri, which was a perfect end to that trip because Anacapri was really relaxing and we ended with the most stunning views from the top.

As some of you may remember, I met with Anouk during my few days in Capri. This week, she is visiting Toronto! I'm still posting about our trip from months ago while she has already done several other trips already lol..and now we are meeting again. So it's fitting I finally end the series of posts from our previous trip. It has been a lot of fun so far and I've been showing her around some of my favourite spots.

To get from Capri to Anacapri, we had to take a little shuttle bus crammed full of people. The drive was really scenic and filled with adrenaline (kind of). The driver went pretty fast and there were a lot of windy turns along the edge of the cliff. When we got there, we found it to be really empty. I think partly because it was a Sunday (?) and also tourists usually go to the other part of the island.

We first came to this gallery/villa with beautiful interiors

Some statues they discovered inside the Blue Grotto. The blue grotto is so beautiful and magical. I can't imagine how surreal it must have felt for the first people to go in and discover it, along with these statues.

Then we went to the Church of St. Michel, known for its hand-painted tiled floor

To get to the second level, we had to go up this scary narrow spiral staircase

I wish I had put something beside for comparison, so you can see how HUGE these were

At the Villa San Michele, former residence of Swedish physician and psychiatrist, Axel Munthe. He wrote an autobiography entitled The Story of San Michele, which talks about his life and how he built his dream home in Capri. After visiting, walking around the gardens and taking in the stunning views..I have to say it is also my dream (vacation) home now. It's so peaceful there and the perfect place to get away from the world.

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499. Capri | Snapshots Part 3

Here are some more photos from Capri! For the past few years, I've only used the camera on my phone to take photos. I used to use an actual camera before I decided it was too heavy to carry around.. and the camera on my phone is just as good (maybe even better) and a LOT more convenient. Now I've decided I want to use an actual camera again and maybe start doing videos as well, for my next vacation. I've been inspired after watching a lot of travel vlogs. I also want to try using a drone. But that will be when I really get into it..since I can barely even keep up with regular blogging these days. I think video editing will take up a lot more time though (I used to hate that course back in school..but now I am interested again). I really like blogging but I usually don't have much to write about for each post. So I figured maybe I should focus more on good quality photography and videos.

The blues of the waters are so beautiful. I took this shot while waiting for my boat to leave Capri. It was extremely windy that morning. So windy that they cancelled the high speed boat and I had to take the larger ferry instead..the whole ordeal which I already talked about in a previous post. I tried to take a photo of the big waves but I guess you can't really tell from a still photo. I had to hold my phone so tightly while taking this in case it blew away lol.