More Capri

And here is Carey climbing the stairs to the street of our hotel. It's really interesting for a flatlander like me to experience the mountains firsthand. You can look up or down the mountain at something and realize it's very close. But you can't always just go out of your building and walk straight up or down to it. It often involves walking up or down a switchback street for a couple of blocks.

Carey has visited Capri several times, so she volunteered to take us to Capri's only industry (other than tourism): a perfume factory. We got on the funiculare to go up to Capri town.


Here, Carey is telling us about the Carthusian monastery near the perfume factory.


Here's a view of the formal garden next to the monastery.


The monastery itself is called the Certosa (charterhouse) di San Giacomo (St. James), and the perfume factory is on the same street where I'm standing to take this photo. There are no monks left in the monastery now, although part of the garden is in use by a very fancy hotel as a swimming pool. Looking at the monastery's murals, other artwork, and buildings joins the Blue Grotto as things to do on our next visit. Carey told us of the local story that says the monastery originally was built by a nobleman and his wife with eight daughters in thanksgiving for the birth of a son. The German industrialist Friedrich Krupp spent a lot of money restoring the place in the early 20th century and also constructing a road down to the smaller harbor, Marina Piccola, which is on the other side of the island from Marina Grande.


Also on the same street, just very short stroll from the perfumery, is this snack stand. I don't know if the lemons and oranges are for sale, but the small glass bottles of limoncello are for sale--and they are everywhere, not only on Capri but also in Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano. Limoncello, the famous liqueur of this part of Italy is very....lemony, but it has none of the punch of Grand Marnier, which is made from oranges.


Statues in the Augustini gardens:




Our always animated tour guide...


Fambly statues


This is looking down from the Belvedere (a formal overlook, usually on top of a cliff in these parts) in the gardens to Marina Piccola. If I had been more enterprising, I'd have snooped around until I could see the Via Krupp for myself.