Posted on by Mitch&Katy

Isle of Capri

Buongiorno! Today was an absolutely fantastic day. We awoke reasonably early again and tucked into our free breakfast. We had been in two minds whether to spend the money to go to Capri or to save the money due to our backpackers budget. Our rationale for choosing to go was that we had multiple friends who have been in the past and read multiple reviews online, each and every account of this place state how amazing it is and we figured we can earn more money but may never have the opportunity to go to the Isle of Capri again in our lifetime. We found the cheapest way was to catch the public ferry, it was €38pp which is still quite pricey for a 20min boat ride.

Katy and I gathered our belongings and set off for the port of Sorrento. It was a bit of an effort to walk there using google maps as Sorrento is a maze but eventually we managed to make our way to the main port. We bought tickets to the next ferry and waited in the shade for it to arrive. We sat top deck of course (to take in the views) even though it was about 32 degrees outside. Before the boat left we were both melting in the open sunshine but as soon as the boat started to move we got a nice cool ocean breeze. 💨

The views from the boat were spectacular. On the right we had Mount Vesuvius in the distance with Naples and Pompeii visible, on the left was the Amalfi coastline in all its glory and straight in front you, you could see the rugged landscape of Capri in the distance.

The boat didn’t take too long and before we knew it we were at the main port of Capri.

There is a funicular that runs up the hillside to the main town up the top. The line for the funicular looked to be at least an hours long and google said it was an 18min walk- but we knew it was almost directly upwards.

Nonetheless we decided to make the trek up the hill to save us both time and money. By the time we got to the top we were just as sweaty as you can imagine. In fact, we were so dehydrated and thirsty we paid €3 for a litre bottle of cold water- probably more than the cost of the funicular.

Once at the top we were greeted with the streets and streets of boutique style shops mixed with designer labels and fancy jewellers, along with a lovely view of the north-west of the island.

I immediately thought of all the shopaholics in my family and how they would absolutely love this place. I tried very hard to get gifts for people but as I’m on the boat home writing this I didn’t manage to justify not 1 gift. I found a lovely watch my grandma would love, but the face was very small and it said “Milano” on it and I figured I would’ve liked Capri jewellery as I can get Milano jewellery in Milan later on. Lots of jewellery and handbags etc caught my eye for gifts but they were either too expensive, too large to transport or just weren’t quite suited.

Katy and I had a ball shopping even though neither of us bought anything. The shops were heavily air-conditioned and most of them had a token dog to pat. I even found a nice cardigan for myself that was unique to Capri and would’ve been a great memory but I couldn’t justify €90 for it. Capri seems to take pride in their watch brand “Capri watches” and I thought I would find one of them I liked but the only one I found I liked apart from a Rolex was a Maserati watch and it’s €400 price tag steered me away very quickly. As we had read online, Capri is a heaven for the rich- it housed every designer shop and expensive store you can think of, most of them having special edition lines of clothing made exclusively for Capri. This island and town are incredibly beautiful, all the superlatives in the world don’t do them justice, but I would advise anyone on a budget or without money to spend to think carefully about your visit.

There’s always a way to see a place on your budget and we proved just that today. We couldn’t afford to eat at any of the restaurants but we still had a delicious healthy lunch from the bakery for under €10. We paid the €1 entry to the botanical gardens where we sat for a good 90min reading our books and chillaxing in the shade, this was one of our greatest decisions.

The coastline around the whole island is peppered with boats everywhere, that’s understandable as it’s so popular and looks amazing from the perspective of the water. We essentially walked the entire town of Capri up and down and saw all of the shops and even sampled their lemon slushie (this area of the world is famous for everything lemon).

There is another town called Anacapri a short bus ride away but we didn’t have time to visit that one. From what we have read it is similar but less busy and geographically smaller.

Our boat home was booked for 5:30pm so we had an hour to kill, Katy and I decided we were super hot and sweaty and a quick dip in the ocean would be just what we needed. Luckily we had anticipated this this morning and threw our swimmers into our bag for the day. We made our way down the mountain which was a lot easier than going up and arrived at the only beach on this side of Capri.

Capri is not really known for its beaches. It is famous for things such as “The Blue Grotto” and it’s rugged rough coastline where you can hire boats to steer around the island to see. The beaches are added in parts for convenience of the tourists and there’s no sand- it’s all pebbly rocks but the water is still crystal clear and lovely and warm.

After awkwardly changing in front of some Italian men who weren’t even trying to hide the fact they were looking, we dumped our stuff on the coastline and jumped into the busy blue waters to cool down.

This is yet another place where our European rock shoes came in handy (best. purchase. ever!) We anticipated 30min swim quite well and dried off before walking the 5 min to the pier and find our boat.

After incorrectly walking the entire length of the peer we realised our boat was actually docked at the exact opposite side. Although it seemed very close/just in front of us, it was in fact a long walk all the way around the crescent shaped pier. Luckily we were 20min early, the walk around took us 15min and we safely boarded our much bigger vessel, bound for Sorrento.

The rest of the night is a bit “ditto” to be honest. We had a shower and we’re hungry so headed straight out to dinner. We went to the closest shop as it’s the cheapest we knew and we had lunch here our first day and it was friendly and delicious. After tanning a pizza and a pasta (typical) we strolled home through the warm summers night and packed our bags. Early morning tomorrow so we’re all packed and into bed early.

I certainly enjoy writing these blogs as it enables me to look back and reflect on just how great my day was. I’m trying not to take it all for granted and really soak in the fact that we are on the opposite side of the world, in some of the most amazing picturesque corners of the earth. No need to worry about us fam- we’re having an absolute ball. 🕺🏼

Arrivederci 🚶🏼‍♂️ M

Posted on by Mitch&Katy

Amalfi & Positano- The Main Event 🌊

We were up early for our “Italian breakfast” and I managed to steer away from the Nutella croissants today. Instead, opting for the prosciutto and cheese roll with an orange juice and a coffee. We met our friendly hotel neighbours on the way out, said hello and headed for the bus station.

We opted for an all day ticket as we had planned to catch a few buses and it turned out the best option for us. €10 for an all day ticket that took us to Amalfi, then Positano and afterwards, Positano to home. Our first stop was the town of Amalfi as it was furthest away. It took just under 2 hours and was one of the scariest bus rides of my life. The actual drive itself would not have been as bad if the local drivers had not treated it like an F1 track. At least the drivers in Greece (mainly Santorini) treated their dangerous roads with care, these drivers in Italy have obviously driven them so many times that they are wayyy to confident. For the sharp, blind corners they simply honk their horn to let oncoming traffic know and scream around the corner taking up both lanes of traffic in the hope that if anything was coming in the other direction, they assume the other drivers heard the horn and stopped to let them pass. It didn’t always happen like that though. 🙃 Either way the views were breathtaking so I just tried to focus on that and not think about the 3cm separating me from my death of plummeting into the ocean below. 😱

We arrived in the town of Amalfi after approx 1hr 50min. Our first thoughts were that it was lovely and quaint but there isn’t much substance to it. We were right. After a quick 30min stroll through the old town we had seen it all and we were heading for the beaches. I think possibly the attraction here is “The Amalfi Coast” and not so much the town of Amalfi itself. If I came back the best way would be to stay in Amalfi and hire a scooter so you can drive along the coast and visit all the tucked away beaches and famous swimming stops. I won’t say we were disappointed in Amalfi, we bought a few gifts and enjoyed our time wandering around, we just weren’t aware of its “piccolo” size.

After a short wait we boarded our bus and headed for Positano, back along the same road we we had arrived from, only this time we were on the (right side) side closest to the land which was much more relaxing. Was still a formula 1 race but at least if we crashed it would only be into the cliff face. 😶

We arrived to the top of Positano and we instantly knew how high up we were only meant 1 thing; lots of steps leading down. We were correct!

We painstakingly wound our way down these steep stairs knowing only too well that we would eventually need to go back up. There were a few nice platforms halfway down where we could rest and take in the view.

At least the steps were nice and sturdy. By the time we got to the bottom our legs were aeroplane jelly and we needed a swim. The entire beach was filled with expensive umbrellas. We checked them out and they were €25 each which is crazy. There was a 30m stretch in the middle of the beach for the free section but it was packed. Because I’m a rule breaker and the free section was rammed, we parked our stuff in front of the expensive sunbeds and dove in for a swim where there was much less people. We had learnt in Greece off Stefanos that the Greeks “ask for forgiveness- not for permission” so we went with that ideology. By this point we were very hot and very sweaty, the water was our saviour!

We frolicked around and swam in the ocean until our fingers shrivelled into prunes. The water temp here is very warm so you could easily stay in all day. It was very pleasant for us as our Portugal holiday told us that not all European beaches have warm water, no matter what the air temperature.

We dried off and took a seat in a nearby bar to share a fruit platter and a healthy fruit smoothie. We sat here for awhile and chatted about nothing as we watched the people go by. We utilised their bathroom to get changed into our dry set of clothes and set off to have a look around the shops.

Positano itself is not a big place. Everything you see on the hillside is residence and hotels. Down at sea level there are literally two streets with shops and restaurants. It’s very quaint and had various boutique stores to look through with things from knick knacks to expensive clothes and jewellery. I am looking to buy a new cap as mine is very old and used, I found a nice cap but the €15 price tag warned me off- after all, it’s just a cap. Eventually we had seen everything and made the steep climb back up the mountain to the bus stop. Wasn’t too long before sweaty Mitch was back. I am generally a very sweaty person but if you make me climb about 1000 steps in 32 degrees you can guarantee when I get to the top it looked like I’d just come out of the ocean. Here is a picture I took just for this blog to show how frazzled we were by the time we reached the bus stop at the top of the cliff.

NEVER. AGAIN!

It wasn’t too long to wait till the air conditioned bus arrived. Katy and I jumped on and we were home in 40min. Today was lovely. We had visited two very famous points along an equally famous coastline. We feel we saw everything we wanted to and the experience was a great one to remember for the ages.

Nothing to report after this. The usual Italian food for dinner accompanied with an ice cream before heading to bed fairly early.

Thanks for reading 🤘🏼 M

Posted on by Mitch&Katy

Punta Del Capo, Sorrento, Italy 🇮🇹

Picture this: you wake up in a perfectly air conditioned room, it’s 8:30 and your alarms just gone off, you would normally roll over to hit snooze but today’s different. You’re in Sorrento, Italy. You have nowhere to be, no boss to answer to, and no timeline to adhere to. Additionally, you have nothing to do today and you’re in one of the most beautiful coastlines on the entire planet! Jealous? You should be! This was me this morning- and trust me when I say I’m am living it up and taking nothing for granted.

After our very long day of walking and sightseeing yesterday we decided to postpone Amalfi and Positano until tomorrow and spend today recuperating. Our breakfast at this place consists of coffee, prosciutto and cheese bread, donuts, Nutella filled croissants and cake. 😂 As great as this sounds sometimes you want something more nutritious, especially if you’re here for 5 nights. I think the Italians aren’t big on breakfast and usually do coffee and a cigarette to get them going. I gave in to temptation and had the Nutella croissant today but will be stronger for the next few mornings if I don’t want to start growing sideways, especially with all the dinner options at night. After breaky we found a secluded beach on trip advisor 30min walk from here that isn’t even on google maps. All of the reviews said how hard it was to find and that there was no signs but it’s worth the walk in the sun. We could’ve gone for the closer beach but thought it might be cool to find the secret beach and I was up for the challenge. Possibly our inner sense of adventure came out as it was exciting to be strolling dangerously along a main road without a footpath looking for a pixelated sign that wouldn’t load on google.

Without much fuss we managed to find this spot. It took us about 50min walk from our hotel so by the time we got there we were very sweaty and ready for a swim. This place was like an open cave where you had the choice to swim at the inland part or out beyond the rocks in the Tyrrhenian Sea. We decided to start at the inland part as it was nice and calm and the water looked very appealing.

There wasn’t any actual room to put your belongings or spread out to sunbathe. Basically everyone had their stuff gathered into the holes of the cliff or the rocks sticking out of the ocean. We walked through the water and placed our bag high on a rock and headed in for a swim. The atmosphere here was so chill, 90% of the people were Italians on holiday, 100% of us were just here to enjoy the sun and cool down and a good 70% had come to get insta worthy pics.

The water was warm, almost too warm but who are we to complain. Katy and I swam here for a good while and watched people jump off the rocks into a seemingly shallow body of water below. While Katy perched herself in the sun on the rocks I made the swim through the cave and out to the ocean where I was greeted with the most spectacular sight. I can honestly say it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. As I swam through the deep narrow cave I emerged into the open and I could see all down the coastline. I could see Sorrento in the near distance, Pompei nestled under Mount Vesuvius and Naples in the background. Murphy’s law states “ones battery on their GoPro will run out at the exact moment they would have the opportunity for the best photo”. As I turned around to face where I swam from there was a fair amount of people that had setup camp on the rock face of the cliffs. There were people of all ages, Italian families on holidays, couples on romantic getaways, and tourists from afar (many of whom were cliff jumping from some serious heights ).

I went back through the cave and told Katy of the wonder I had seen. I eventually convinced her to swim through the cave with me to see for herself and she was certainly glad she did. We both stayed out there for a while before I decided to go and get our belongings and bring them round as we planned on staying at this part for a while.

Full disclosure: this is the part of the story where I stole some denim shorts that most definitely will not look great on me and even more definitely an accident. Katy stayed on the cliffs and when I went to grab our stuff her towel was layed out drying in the sun, it also had a pair of denim shorts on top. I immediately thought that they must have been Katy’s and folded them up and put them in our bag along with the towel and our shoes etc. It wasn’t until about 2 hours later when Katy informed me she was wearing a dress today and they weren’t her shorts that I was mortified. Some poor girl thinks that her shorts have been stolen when in reality it was an honest mistake. I tried my best to return them to the same spot but I highly doubt she was still there.

If you happen to be reading this and we’re at Punta Del Capo on 6th August 2019, and had your denim short shorts stolen, please accept my sincere apologies.

We swam for what seemed like hours jumping off the cliffs and treading water in the ocean trying not to get washed up on the sharp rocks of the coastline. We were actually surprised that it had only been a few hours when we were ready to go home. I guess time slows in Italy when you’re having fun. 😊🌊

We made the long sweaty walk home and grabbed some quick food on the way. Katy got conned into buying some traditional pastries from a grumpy Italian man- I wasn’t complaining, they were delicious.

We were both tired from the swimming/staying afloat so went for a shower and sat on our balcony and listened to music through our speaker and chilled out. Eventually Katy fell into a short nap and I made friends with our old Aussie hotel neighbour. His air con wasn’t working so he recruited me to try and fix it. Our balconies are attached so there was no way I could escape anything less than a half hours chinwag with this lovely Melbournian. I’ll save you his life story, but he was a lovely man. 😃

After our few hours rest we both wanted to go back to the exact same restaurant as last night for dinner. It was delicious, authentic and well priced so we thought we couldn’t beat it. We shared a pizza and a salad and had the same server as last night which was kinda the reason we came back, they looked after us so well and were very genuine lovely people.

If you’re visiting Sorrento we would definitely recommend Punta Del Capo as it had everything from scenery to atmosphere. It’s not the most accessible place so would not suit elderly or mobility disabled people and probably wouldn’t suit you if you’re no good with maps either as it’s a legitimate hole in the cliffs. We had a fabulous day and also allowed us to recharge for another day of sightseeing tomorrow.

Ciao M 🏊🏻‍♂️

Posted on by Mitch&Katy

Couple days of transit Greece -> Italy

Our last few days have been a bit choppy. At the time of writing we are in Sorrento, Italy. There isn’t too much to report as we have been mainly travelling.

Our last day in Mykonos we woke up late and wandered around for a few hours after checkout before heading to get our ferry. We had pre organised all our ferry tickets and booked the expensive ferry (€60 each) as it was only 2 hours and the normal one took 5. We arrived to the port 15min early to find our boat hadn’t arrived. After waiting for what seemed like an age I asked the box office and they told me our ferry would be in 1 hr late. Not looking promising. Eventually our ferry left the port of Mykonos 1hr 20min later than originally scheduled. We still got into Mykonos faster than the snail ferry but it wasn’t ideal.

We checked into our lovely air BnB in the center of Athens for just 1 night. The air BnB was lovely but the area was very dodgy. The location was perfect, right in the center of Athens; and Our air BnB had a view of the Acropolis from its top floor which was kinda cool for the sunset.

To me Athens is a city of great culture and history; but as of recent it is very run down and dirty. It’s sad because all of the islands are so clean and vibrant but our suburb in Athens was full of graffiti and cigarette butts. On the plus side everything in Athens was super cheap, about a third of the price of Mykonos. I have previously talked about the “Mykonos Tax”, well here they had the “Athens Discount”. We only had one night here so we spent the night and next morning looking around the market stalls, enjoying the last of some Greek food and Katy got her phone re-repaired as the screen she had replaced was faulty (luckily it had a warranty so they fixed it for free).

That afternoon we made our way to the airport and boarded our flight for Naples. We had been told by multiple people that Naples wasn’t a very nice city so we only booked an overnight BnB here. We arrived about 8pm to what seemed like (on the surface) a slightly unsafe/unsavoury city. Maybe our views had been tainted by the opinions of others but this was once again a city that was unclean and has a general bad vibe. We checked into our air BnB and stayed in for the night, we didn’t feel like walking around. Checkout the next morning was 10am which I thought was a bit rubbish but alas we were up and out by 10. We had a few hours to roam around Naples in the day time before we got on the train to Sorrento.

Naples by day was much nicer and less scary. There were a few monuments we would like to see and we wanted to have a relaxing breakfast too. Unfortunately we had our full 15kg backpacks with us so that limited the distance we could walk in the 37 degree heat but we strolled down the main streets and saw a few things while we gathered a better opinion of Naples.

We boarded a train for Sorrento which takes about 1 hr and snakes down the seaside past the infamous Mt Vesuvius down to the point of Sorrento. It was hard to get a picture but the whole way we had this famous extinct Volcano on our side, it was hard to imagine the destruction it created in the 1st Century. All the things I had read in history at school came to a back to me, I didn’t really think that I’d be so casually commuting along side this beast.

The train was long and hot and sweaty but we eventually made it to Sorrento and walked to our newest air BnB.

Although on the top floor with no lift our room is lovely and has a fully functioning air conditioner which we were ever so grateful for! We checked in and went for a walk to get some lunch and see parts of the town and orientate ourselves.

Our first thoughts of Sorrento are very positive. It has such a great vibe, it feels very holiday-y and clean and beautiful. This is a very popular holiday destination for many celebrities and we can see why.

We then made the short walk home and showered and rested for an hour or so before heading out for dinner. Obviously we picked the most authentic place we could and ordered the most Italian food we could as we had been waiting for this day. I had the Gnocchi and Katy had a pizza. Katy even managed to engage her second stomach and have a Lava Cake for dessert. The meal was amazing and very well priced, we were very happy campers!

After dinner it was quite late so we went home to use the WiFi to google information for our next few days here. We found things like bus prices and timetables, as well as tips and tricks for the sights we will be visiting in the next few days.

Watch this space

M 🙌🏼🇮🇹