I’ve wanted to go to Capri, Italy for the longest time and it was my dream travel destination before St. Bart’s moved into the slot. Capri was absolutely breathtaking. I took so many pictures (763 to be exact) that I’m going to have to be a little selective in which I post and save for our Italy slideshow.
This.
is.
Capri!!!!!!!
What did I love most about Capri? Everything! But here were the biggies:
The 20 hours we spent in Naples, Italy was probably the scariest 20 hours of my life. Just kidding. Actually, I found the people rather friendly!
But Naples WAS pretty sketchy. It was a zantax day for us, flying from Venice to Naples, taking the bus, finding our Bed & Breakfast, fighting the Italian crowds, dodging the crazy drivers, avoiding the crazy-looking people, and finally finding our hostel.
It ended up being one of the cutest places we stayed at! Donna Adelina Bed & Breakfast is owned by a mother and 3 daughters. We met all 3 daughters and they were SO nice, and loved talking to us.
We stayed in the blue room. It had two balconies, a full bath and a HUGE bed! It was perfect.
I was crushing so much on these girls that I HAD to take a picture with them! Look at their fashionable belts! How cool to be Italian.
There were two things I wanted to do in Naples: eat real Napoli pizza and see Pompeii. We decided on lunch first and set off for Antica Pizzeria da Michele. We got lost doing so but this incredibly beautiful Italian woman ended up walking us to the restaurant after I showed her the name of it in my guide book. There were nothing but gorgeous Italian women in Naples!
There was a ridiculous wait. In case you don’t know, this was the same place Julia Roberts ate at in Eat. Pray. Love. They had a big picture of her inside, too. Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we ended up ordering a pizza for each of us to-go, waiting 10 minutes and eating on the sidewalk.
I ate the whole thing and it was amazing.
Next we took the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii for the afternoon. Pompeii consumed me! I was so moved by the history and remains of the city I read about in college. I’ve always dreamed about going to Pompeii and seeing Mt. Vesuvius (I love volcanoes) and now I can check it off my bucket list!
We trained back to Naples in the evening and walked swiftly back to our B&B. Rob refused to go out on the town in Naples so we stayed in our room, ate crackers, and went to bed, safe from the chaos of Naples.
I truthfully don’t know what we would have done without the wonderful ladies at Donna Adelina. Our stay was so nice and the complimentary breakfast in the morning was great before we set out for the port to Capri.
I probably WOULDN’T go back to Naples. Would definitely do Sorrento though.
Hopefully I didn’t bore you with this post!
Now, back to Venice!
We woke up the second day to sunshine and blue skies. It was the perfect day to see the sights and take in more of the Venetian culture. First stop was St. Mark’s Square and Basilica with a Rick Steve’s Audio Tour.
Then we headed to the Rialto Bridge for lunch on the Grand Canal.
Best dessert I had the WHOLE trip.
After lunch we shopped. I loved all the window displays. This one made me wish we lived somewhere where I could wear fun gloves.
Doge’s Palace was pretty amazing, too!
Is this what my future son will look like one day? Hahahaha
That evening we timed our gondola ride with the sunset and set out for the 45-min ride. I must say, it was probably one of the most romantic things I’ve ever done. Watching the moon, holding Rob’s hand, resting my head on his shoulder, kissing under the Bridge of Sighs, the peaceful water… my heart was on overdrive. Then on our walk to dinner after Rob dipped me in St. Mark’s Square for a kiss and I about passed out from the cheesy, romantic gesture. I really loved it actually.
If you’re ever in Venice, I definitely recommend a gondola ride. Didn’t get the best pictures though, sorry. Still learning to use my camera and wanted to enjoy the ride!
Leaving the next morning was really hard. I wasn’t ready to leave the smell of the ocean, the pebble-stoned alley ways and bridges – the history.
There is only one word I can think of when I look back at our time in Venice.
Venice wasn’t originally in our itinerary, but we re-thought it, scratched Florence and booked two days in Venice instead! And I’m so happy we did. As soon as we arrived I was in love.
It was raining when we arrived via Easy Jet, but we didn’t care the least. We were in VENICE!
As soon as our water taxi dropped us off at St. Mark’s Square, we dropped our luggage off, went mask shopping and grabbed lunch in sandwich row (which was a street over from our hotel).
We checked into our hotel – Albergo Doni. It felt a little haunted to me, with the peeling, warped wall paper, red furniture, dark drapes, and gold accents.
Look at the canal right outside our hotel!
That night we put an extra layer on and set off for a real Venetian dinner – a pub crawl!!!
1st stop – Osteria il Milion: very hungry!
2nd stop – Rosticceria San Bartolomeo: satisfied, enjoying the 1.99 Euro glass of red wine.
3rd stop – Osteria Enoteca ai Rusteghi: ready to mingle! We met the nicest couple from Canada, the husband looked like Christopher Reeves!
4th stop – Osteria al Portego : dessert time, but with more wine.
Last stop – Bacaro Jazz: a funky jazz bar to get us silly ;)
We had so much fun that first night. It was relaxing to stroll, kiss in alley ways, and snuggle under an umbrella.
I didn’t realize how many pictures I took in Venice until I started really going through them. So, I’m going to save day 2 for another post, or you wouldn’t stop scrolling!
Our third day in Italy (since it fell on a Sunday) was spent in Orvieto in Umbria. As soon as we got up we took the first train to Orvieto early that morning.
Now before I continue, you must know that Orvieto sits on a grand hill made of tuff (volcanic rock). It sits up 1,000 feet and overlooks the beautiful valley hills below. It’s famous for its 3 C’s – Ceramics, Cathedral & Classico Orvieto wine. All of which I enjoyed!
When the train started, Rob dozed off and I read Harry Potter. Felt like I was on the Hogwart’s Express with the drizzle coming down on the windows!
Once our trained hushed to a stop, we got out and took the funicular up to the town. It was still sprinkling out, but once we got to the top, we didn’t care. The view was gorgeous. Vineyards, farms, hills and old Italian houses and castles – it was all so lovely.
We got on the little trolley bus and it took us to downtown Orvieto where the Duomo, shops and eateries were. The cathedral was by far our favorite of the trip. At the base of the cathedral are four marble pillars carved with biblical scenes that tell the story of the world from left to right in 4 acts – Genesis, Old Testament, New Testament and Revelation.
Lunch involved a lot of meat and cheese.
We wandered the streets, bought chocolate for my mum, stopped at a gelateria – then relaxed in a small park for some more panoramic views.
Once the rain stopped, the humidity was back. We had walked our little hearts out (AGAIN), so we opted for some cold Classico Wine before we caught the train back to Rome.
It was the perfect day, and quite relaxing. The rain was refreshing and really made the scenery come to life.
Missing Europe!
