Capri

​That 0550 alarm was a killer today! I’ve never had trouble with jet lag, but this trip has been the worst for me. NBA Finals, World Cup Games, phone calls from people in the US, a 0455 sunrise, and a seven hour time difference make sleeping difficult. Keagan just decided he would sleep if he was tired, so it’s 1830 and he’s in bed. He will be up at 0300 to watch the US game.

Let me just start by saying Capri is so popular with tourists, and I really looked forward to this part of the trip because of the great reviews. But I don’t know why people love it so. It’s crowded. Expensive. No beach to speak of. And expensive. 

Early this morning we took a small group chartered cruise to the island off of Italy. We drove to Sorrento and caught our boat in the harbor there. The day started windy, and the water was very rough - so choppy it was a tad uncomfortable on the boat. In fact, our first stop, The Blue Grotto, was closed due to the water levels and waves. No biggie. We have seen grottos.

The island of Capri is small and hordes of tourists take the ferry over for a day trip. No biggie. We will work our way around them. We thought we would go up a little higher on the mountain to Anacapri to avoid the people, but crowds of people from every nation were thick there too. We did what every other person did and got in line for the highly popular chair lift to the highest point on the island. The ride was 24 min of pure peace and quiet. 

We still had a couple of hours to kill. So we had lunch at a pizzeria that wasn’t very good. Bad food is no good. Expensive bad food is real bad. The island now had three strikes. We were eager to get away from the crowds, but our tour still had one hour on the island. What else could we do? We browsed the streets and then picked up gelato before returning to the boat. Gelato makes everything better, but it can’t erase a strikeout. Keagan says the island gives Disney World Vibes. My boy of few words hit the nail on the head.

The water had actually calmed down by early afternoon, so the ride to the back side of the island was pleasant. 

We might have skipped The Blue Grotto, but we made it to The Green Gotto. It was beautiful! Look at that water color!

The boys jumped in for a refreshing swim. I sat on the boat soaking up the sun.

Then we took the corner to The White Grotto where the Virgin Mary can be seen in a stalactite. If you don’t see it, just pretend you do. 

The iconic rock formations off of Capri were next. It’s said if you go here with your significant other, your relationship will last forever. This is where we ran into Jerry Jones’s yacht. I feel like there is a  joke there that I can’t articulate right now due to a lack of sleep.

Our last stop was a drive by a natural waterfall to wash all of the salt off of the skin. This was a full day on the water with the island seen from the boat much more enjoyable that seeing the island on foot.

Tonight’s view of Vietre Sul Mar from our house on the road to Raito was beautiful. The sun hit the pastel colored houses perfectly.

My spritz challenge update: Campari Spritz is my least favorite spritz; it tastes terrible. Tomorrow’s a new day and a new spritz flavor. Let’s try not to strike out again.

Postiano

​Postiano has my heart. The pastel colored cliff side buildings. The bluest of blue water. The oleander and bougainvillea. I get the hype. 

But before we got to Postiano we started the day in Maiori where we hiked on the Lemon Trail to Minori. 

The trail takes you among the lemon groves, olive trees, and vineyards. People say the smell is fantastic!

The trail was steep. I have no idea why anyone would live on these terraces and walk the path every day, but people do. Donkeys carry the baskets of lemons down the steep steps to the streets. 

After our pit stop for smoothies in Minori, we climbed back the opposite direction and stopped to pet every feral cat on our path. After climbing lots of steps, I asked Keagan how his knees were holding up. He said, “Not well; it’s much like that ox tail I ate where the meat was falling off the bone.” 😂😢

Keagan says forget couches. His first purchase in January post-graduation will be a cat.

From here we drove along the Amalfi Coast hitting the villages of Atrani, Amalfi, and Praino. The crowds from the ferry were crazy in Amalfi, so we kept driving. We were stopped in Furore for some time for traffic, so I got out of the car and grabbed this picture. 

Just stunning!

And then Postiano! 

We had a delicious lunch with polenta sticks

Fried pizza dough with radish

And pasta

I mean how beautiful is this cannelloni!?!

For dessert I had caffe affogato. 

And all of these pictures of my food prove I’m American because only Americans are left swooning with the quality of the food in Europe.

We tested several seasoning mixes at a fruit stand. They all called my name, so I bought them.

Keagan heard the sirens’ call for fresh fruit juice and purchased.

The food was so good that I didn’t give a second thought to our parking ticket. But in all honesty, parking is hard here. These villages were not built with cars in mind. 😂 We have to go to the post office before we leave the province to pay it. Or the price doubles.

We braved the traffic to head back home to Vietre sul Mare. Traffic is a beast!

And growing bougainvillea is my next home project. I’ll throw in oleander for good measure. Or I could just move to Italy where it’s already growing strong. 

By the way, the spritz challenge is going well. The spritz con fiori di sambuca is my favorite. I love playing games when I win, and I’m winning at life this week!

Sorrento

​We left Rome and headed for the Amalfi Coast. On the way we stopped in Naples to see the soccer stadium. Can you guess who added that to the itinerary? 

I was in no way excited to see Naples, so we were in and out in a half hour. The Italian drivers here are crazy, and it’s even worse in the cities. The drive in Naples was the reason I bought extra insurance for our car rental. 

Our first stop on the coast was lunch in Sorrento. Keagan and I ordered gnocchi with seafood. The pasta was light and fluffy, but it wasn’t the best meal of my life.

Sorrento has a charming shopping area where everything for sell is yellow and pays homage to their famous lemon groves. Lemon drops. Limoncello. Lemon cookies. Lemons on clothing. Lemonade. You name it.

These lemons are not the same ones you find at Wal-Mart; these are three or four times the size. And you are not allowed to touch them. I guess you point and the shop keeper bags them for you.

I wanted to stop at Limonoro - a shop that sells food products made from lemons. The store provides free samples, these samples speak to you, and you then buy it all. It wasn’t hard to persuade me - especially the lemon chocolate candies. 

There were a few places where you could catch views of the water in the distance.

And of course, the town had a basilica.

Our afternoon ended with lemon gelato stuffed in a lemon. 

We back tracked through the winding coast line to our AirB&B in the much quieter town of Vietre sul Mare. Our villa overlooks the water, but I booked it for the bougainvillea garden. I mean who wouldn’t? I think I can smell it, too. Or maybe it was the limoncello shots telling me I could smell again.

This village was bulilt on top of a Roman town, thus its name. Today it is known for its ceramic tiles. 

The house is tiled so beautifully.

We weren’t here five minutes, and I look out the window to see this.

Keagan spotted a pitch in the distance and wanted to go play. Ten minutes later he was there. 

Watching the sun set over the water tonight was a special treat. 

As for my aperol spritz challenge, I’m another flavor down. I’m real good at this game.