Anne had two inspirational destinations on this trip - Dubrovnik (because of the painting) and Anacapri (because of the book written by Axel Munthe that she read over 40 years ago!) where we visited his home and the subject of his book.
First things first! Having survived the train trip here we ventured on it again back 31 stations towards Napoli to see the ruins of Herculaneum. They are supposedly more intact than Pompeii and were really quite amazing. The city was by the sea and further from the eruption of Vesuvius.
Herculaneum train station
Herculaneum excavation
Ancient street
"Restorated" Mosaic
We returned to Sorrento to have a quick lunch and then catch a ferry to Capri. We gave the blue grotto a miss but set off in search of Axel Munthe's home. Up the funicular train from the harbour and a hair-raising bus trip along narrow winding streets that ascended the mountain (100 times more scary than the Amalfi coast).
Funicular railway
A short walk and we were there. Anne was beside herself with emotion as we strolled through the house and garden. Doone gave her the book "The Story of San Michael", and ever since reading how he found the site and built the house and garden it has been a hope and dream that one day she would see it for herself. And today, that dream came true and she was not at all disappointed, quite the contrary, it was more spectacular than you could imagine. How lucky we were today, to have such a clear day that we could see all the surrounding islands, and back to Napoli.
Anne in the kitchen, as usual!
The Sphinx (BC) and Napoli beyond
A cup of tea and a slice of famous Capri lemon cake
Capri harbour
Off to Spain tomorrow. Bus from here to Napoli and a short flight to Barcelona.
What an extraordinary experience! I'll have to read that book now, I'll just see if the library has it :) I felt that way about Chatsworth with our trip. It was the first thing I decided I wanted to see and it was spectacular.
ReplyDeleteStunning, stunning weather!
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