Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine Alfredo or fettuccine al burro is a pasta dish made from
fettuccine tossed with Parmesan cheese and butter. As the cheese melts, it
emulsifies the liquids to form a smooth and rich coating on the pasta.
Recipe
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
· 500g
(1 lb.) of egg fettuccine (if you're making homemade, use 5 eggs)
· 250g
(1/2 lb.) butter, preferably of the cultured "European style" type
· 250g
(1/2 lb.) freshly grated imported parmigiano-reggiano cheese
· Salt,
to taste
· A
grinding of fresh pepper (optional)
Directions
1. Put
a large pot, filled with water, on high heat. While the water is heating up,
melt the butter in a skillet over very gentle heat, making sure that the butter
just melts without coloring at all. Turn off the heat.
2. When
the water comes to a boil, add a good pinch of salt and the noodles. Cook only
until quite al dente, typically 2-3 minutes for store-bought fettuccine, a bit
less for the freshly made kind.
3. Now
drain and transfer the fettuccine to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and mix
vigorously with a fork and spoon, or with some long tongs. Add a handful of
cheese and a ladleful of the pasta water and mix again, then more cheese and
mix, until the cheese has been used up. Add a bit more pasta water if and when
needed—the cheese should melt into a smooth, creamy sauce. It should not be at
all watery, but the pasta should be 'loose' and slither around the pan easily.
4. Serve
the fettuccine immediately, with additional grated cheese for those who want
it. While not part of the original recipe, a fresh grinding of black pepper
would not be amiss.
Grotta Azzurra - The
Blue Grotto Capri
Tiberius'
Sacred Santuary: Capri's Blue Grotto.
The information listed here is updated in
real time by Motoscafisti Capri.
It is not possible to guarantee ahead of time and with certainty if the grotto will be open or closed. Each morning at 9 am, the skippers arrive at the mouth of the cave and evaluate if it is safe to enter
It is not possible to guarantee ahead of time and with certainty if the grotto will be open or closed. Each morning at 9 am, the skippers arrive at the mouth of the cave and evaluate if it is safe to enter
Visiting the Blue
Grotto - Capri
· Getting
there: by boat from Marina Grande or by bus from Anacapri
· Ticket
price: EUR 13
· Hours: 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The grotto is closed to visitors during rough seas or
high winds.
· This
is the most famous sight on Capri, where visitors from around the world form
long queues to get a peek inside for just a few magical moments: we're talking
about the Blue Grotto, of course. This natural cavern is 25 meters
wide and 60 meters long, with a tiny entrance less than a meter high. To enter,
visitors lay back in wooden rowboats and glide through the low cave mouth. Once
inside, the boats bob in the dark, suspended on the surface of water so
blue that it seems dream-like.
· Floating
in the Grotta Azzurra is an experience that should be on any
traveller's bucket list.
Visiting the Blue
Grotto Capri - Practical Tips
Entrance
to the Blue Grotto is possible only by boarding small rowboats which
hold a maximum of four passengers at a time. The entrance ticket must be
purchased at the floating ticket office at the cave entrance. After purchasing
your ticket, your skipper will ask that you lay back along the bottom of the
boat to enable the group to pass through the tiny mouth of the cave. Once
inside, your skipper will row you around the cavern, singing traditional
Neapolitan folk songs which echo off the rock walls and create an unforgettable
atmosphere.
· Tour
to Capri from Sorrento
· Tour
to Capri from Positano and the Amalfi Coast
There are a number of ways to reach the Blue
Grotto entrance:
· By
tour boat: from Marina Grande, the Motoscafisti, Laser Capri, and Capri Cruise boat charter
companies depart with organized group tours of the island of Capri and stops at
the Blue Grotto. Tickets cost around EUR 18 (tickets to enter the Blue Grotto
must be purchased separately). These tours take about 2 hours.
The
Motoscafisti charter also offers round trip transport to the Blue
Grotto from the port. Tickets for this service are EUR 15 (in addition
to tickets to enter the Blue Grotto) and the trip lasts about an hour.
· By
rental boat: from Marina Grande, visitors can hire a gozzo (the
traditional boat of Capri) with skipper for a tour of the island by sea and a
stop at the Blue Grotto. Private boats can usually transport up to seven
passengers and cost between EUR 150 and EUR 200 for three hours.
· By
private boat: if you are visiting Capri on your private boat, you can
anchor near the grotto (there are a number of buoys near the entrance) and call
for a boat to transfer you to the grotto entrance.
· By
land: the cave entrance can be reached by land from Anacapri: Take Via
Pagliaro from the center of town, then Via Grotta Azzurra. At the end of the
road, follow the stairs down to the grotto, where you can board the rowboats.
The walk is about 3.5 km (40 minutes downhill) from Anacapri, or there is
a bus line which leaves from Piazza
della Pace in Anacapri and reaches the cave in 15 minutes.
How long is the cave
visit?
Rowboats
stay inside the Blue Grotto for about five minutes. That said, the line to
enter the cave is often quite long...in high season, wait times can reach an
hour.
Can visitors swim in
the Blue Grotto Capri?
No, visitors can neither enter the cave by
swimming nor disembark from their rowboat to swim inside the cave. However,
after the cave closes to the public at 5:30 p.m. (when the rowboats and ticket
office close), many swimmers enter the cave by sea. This is both illegal and
dangerous, as the cave mouth is low and narrow and in case of high waves it is
easy to get thrown against the rocks.
When is the best time of day to
visit the Blue Grotto?
The
glowing effect of the water inside the Blue Grotto is due to the sunlight which
enters through a second, underwater cave mouth beneath that on the surface. For
this reason, the most intense color comes with the most intense sunlight during
the midday hours of noon to 2:00 p.m.. The difference between the
first morning light and the late afternoon light is negligible, though there is
often a longer line in the afternoon. It is best to avoid visiting the grotto
on overcast days, when there internal glow is much less dramatic.
How much does it cost
to visit the Blue Grotto?
The EUR
13 ticket includes the entrance fee (EUR 4) and the cost of the
rowboat transport (EUR 9). Children entrance under 6 years old: free. EU
citizens under 18 pay EUR 9 for the rowboat transport. For EU citizens between
18 and 25 years of age, there is a discount of 50% on the entrance fee, for a
total of EUR 11. The rowboat skippers are often tipped. The first Sunday of
each month the entrance of Blue Grotto is free, only the boat service - about 9
euros per person - must be paid.
The ticket price is in addition to the cost of a boat transfer to the cave entrance, which is about EUR 18 for a full island tour by sea or EUR 14 for a round trip ticket just to the grotto.
The ticket price is in addition to the cost of a boat transfer to the cave entrance, which is about EUR 18 for a full island tour by sea or EUR 14 for a round trip ticket just to the grotto.
Is the Blue Grotto ever
closed due to weather?
In
case of rain or rough seas, it is not possible to enter the Blue Grotto. It
often happens that the cave can close and reopen in the same day, according to
the weather, or that the weather seems calm but the grotto is closed due to
adverse winds. To find out if the grotto is closed at any given time, call the
Motoscafisti di Capri pier by dialing 081 8375646 after 9 am.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to foresee closures due to weather, though the
grotto is usually kept closed when the weather forecasts high wind and waves.
Is the grotto closed in
winter?
The Blue Grotto is open all year round,
weather permitting, though it is often closed from November to March. If
visiting in winter, it's best to check first either at the ticket offices of
Laser Capri (Molo 21) and Motoscafisti di Capri (Molo 0) in Marina Grande, or
by calling 081 8375646 after 9 am. If the ticket offices are closed, the grotto
is closed, as well.
The history of the Blue
Grotto
This
sea cave was known during the time of ancient Rome, when it is thought that the
Blue Grotto was one of Emperor Tiberius' favorite nymphaea, or
temples dedicated to sea nymphs. Inside the cavern, a number of statues have
been found dating from that period. For many centuries, the Blue Grotto (also
known in the past as the Grotta di Gradola) was abandoned, feared by the local
sailors because of legends of spirits and demons which inhabited the cave. This
changed dramatically on April 18, 1826 when the cave was
"rediscovered" by the German writer August Kopisch and
painterErnst Fries, his friend and travel companion, who were taken to
the cave by Angelo Ferraro, local fisherman, and notary Giuseppe Pagano.
How to Reach the Blue
Grotto
· By
boat: 10 minutes from Marina Grande or as a stop during a
tour of the island.
· By
bus: from Anacapri, 50 meters from Piazza Vittoria.
· On
foot: follow Viale T. de Tommaso, Via Pagliaro and Via Grotta Azzurra (3.5
km).
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