Italian Culinary Adventure ~ Day Ten & Eleven - Naples And Capri

Naples & Capri- Day Eleven
Tuesday, July 2nd. 2002

Sounds of seagulls squawking woke us much earlier than we had planned, but we rose, showered and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the hotel patio that overlooks the sea. My husband wanted to spend yet another day by the sea, so we collected beach towels from the front desk, bought a couple of bottles of water at a bar, and headed down to the beach. The beach at Marina Piccola is a large platform of rocks, cut into different levels where lounge chairs and umbrellas are set up, much as they were in Positano. There was a little area of typical beach, but it was made up of fairly large stones, and didn't look too comfortable. On the beach are also a few stores selling every beach necessity imaginable, as well as a few outdoor restaurants. We rented two chairs and an umbrella, and settled down for a relaxing, quiet day away from the mass of tourists in Capri. It seemed we were jinxed in that every day we had designated to be spent by the sea started out very overcast, while every other day of our vacation was very hot and sunny. Click on photo for larger view!

By 1pm, the sun had just cleared the clouds, and we headed up to check out the local restaurants. We were greeted by the owner of one who introduced himself as Giovanni who encouraged us to dine at his establishment, so we did. We sat at a table overlooking the secluded beach area where children played, and tried to decide what we were in the mood for from his menu. We asked for a mixed antipasto plate of vegetables and seafood to start, and were brought a nice sized plate containing grilled and marinated vegetables, and a good sized helping of tender, octopus salad. I wasn't sure if it was the olive oil used, the outside sea air, or the vegetables themselves, but I remarked to my husband that everything we had eaten recently just tasted better than usual.

For my main course, I asked Giovanni to prepare a plate of pasta using the pomodorini tomatoes I loved so much with arugula and shrimp. My pasta was a perfect mix of peppery rucola, sweet pomodorini and moist shrimp. My husband's pasta choice was Pasta al Mare, and he was brought a plate of irregularly cut pieces of homemade pasta topped with a sauce made of the same pomodorini tomatoes and a good selection of seafood. We shared a half liter of local white wine, and two more bottles of water with our lunch, and returned to our chairs after thanking Giovanni for a wonderful lunch.

We stayed by the sea until about pm. when I decided I was too warm and we returned to our room. We cooled off in the air conditioned room for an hour or so, showered and changed and grabbed a shuttle back into Capri. The main piazza wasn't as busy as it had been the day before, but it was still early in the day. We browsed through the stores, took many more photographs, and then returned to the main piazza for a cold drink at another outdoor bar. We spent some time walking up the many sidewalks leading towards the other parts of the island, and were awstruck by the flowers, often almost growing like weeds everywhere. As was the case in Positano, flowering bushes like oleander and bouganvillia grow everywhere on the island, throwing up vibrant splashes of color along along the rocky coast. We had passed a restaurant on our walk that we had recognized from a recent articles in both Gourmet magazine and Wine Spectator, so we made reservations there for later that night. Restaurant Aurora was quite pretty, with an outdoor patio on the sidewalk covered in flowering vines. Since our reservations were for quite later, we went over to the Qusisana hotel to sit on their patio and enjoy an aperitif before dinner. Click on photo for larger view!

At 9pm, we headed back to the restaurant for dinner, and found it packed with people waiting to be seated. Since we had thought to make reservations earlier, we were seated immediately at a table next to an oleander tree that dropped flowers onto our table throughout the entire meal. We ordered the local white wine, knowing we would be choosing more seafood for dinner, and tried to choose between a very nice selection of options off the menu.

For my first course, I ordered Insalata di Polpi con Patate e Olive, or octopus salad with potatoes and olives, while my husband chose the Sauté di Mare. My salad was tender and full of flavor, but I found that the black olives were a little too flavorful for the subtle taste of the octopus. My husband received a nice sized dish of clams and mussels cooked in a white wine broth that he enjoyed thoroughly. Click on photo for larger view!

I chose Calamaretti alla Griglia, or grilled baby squid for my second course and a side dish, or salad of rucola, pomodorini and shaved Parmesan cheese. My husband ordered Aqua Pazza yet again, and once again enjoyed it tremendously. My calamaretti were only two to three inches long, tender and lightly grilled, and served with just a wedge of lemon which was all they needed. The salad came without dressing, and although I was going to ask to have some brought to me, after I tasted it, I realized it didn't need anything at all to enhance the flavor but a sprinkling of salt. I knew of all the food I had enjoyed on this trip, I would miss those sweet little tomatoes, or pomodorini the most. Our tomatoes back home just don't have the same flavor, even at the peak of the seaon.

We left the restaurant which was still very busy, and wandered through the streets which were now emptying to the piazza where we needed to catch our shuttle back to the hotel. We were headed to Forte dei Marmi the next day, on the Tuscan coast, and knew we had a long drive ahead of us.

Hotel Weber Ambassador
Via Marina Piccola - Capri
Toll Free Number 800-842623
Amenities- American style showers, safes in each room, balcony overlooking the sea, parking, breakfast included, and steps down to a private beach. Note. as with most seaside beaches, you have to pay extra for use of the chairs. Click HERE for more information!

Ristorante Aurora
Via Fuorlovado 18
Capti

Buon Appetito!
By Deborah Mele 2002
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