Thursday, June 16th - During the day I prepped for what was sure to be the most magical weekend get-away ever. I woke up early and went down to the internet café below my apartment to start the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers which I heard was life changing so I thought it’d be the perfect lay out entertainment for the weekend. I ordered a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino and peacefully read for an hour. I went to class at FUA and we went over a lot of the material that we had been taught over the course of the class; time was moving slow and I wanted to get to Capri! I got to the train station first and met the other girls within 5 minutes. Our train was delayed 25 minutes so we had time to grab a slice of pizza before the trip. The train ride to Napoli was quick and easy. A stop at the Roma Termini split the journey in half. People got on and off the train and jostled us around so that we couldn’t sit in our group anymore, but it was ok because I had my book to keep me entertained! We arrived in Naples and we’re very weary of our luggage and purses as were had been told Naples was sketchy and pretty dangerous. It lived up to its reputation! There were shady men everywhere but no one that threatened us. We got into a cab that turned out to be the scariest moment of the trip thus far! Our driver was a madman! He had no regard to lanes, lights, or even pedestrians in our path. At one point he even yelled the “F-bomb” out the window to an elderly women in our way – classy dude. We made it to the port of Napoli unharmed and in record time and his cab fare was reasonable – a trade off for such a perilous journey! We bought hydrafoil tickets and boarded the boat that would ferry us to Capri in 45 minutes. We got a cab at the port and got our first taste of the island. We rode about 15 minutes up a windy and steep road to the top of Capri where the main piazza and hotels were located. We checked into the Villa San Felice and were very impressed with our accommodations. For dinner that night, we dined at a restaurant in the square that was higher up and looking down into the piazza. We had a delicious meal. We all ordered something different; I got veal with arugula, tomatoes, and parmesan, it was so tasty! After that we went down into the square for a glass of wine of one of the many al fresco dining spots. Our waiter recommended that we go to this club called Chimera down by the port so we took his advice! We only stayed for an hour but the place was really cool. It was in a house that was right in front of the place where all these luxourious yachts were docked. We were probably the only Americans there but enjoyed watching the rich and fabulous get down! We made it back to our hotel around 2 ready to start our adventures the next morning.
Friday, June 17th – On our first full day in Capri we wanted to be beachside the whole day. We woke up around 10 and went to the free breakfast at our hotel. They offered a lot of good stuff, including free cappuccinos and personal sized Nutella packets. Holliday and Melissa slept in and were going to meet us whereever we decided to go. We walked down the main shopping row and I was amazed! Hermes, Dolce and Gabanna, Valentino, Ferragamo, and many more all had boutique locations on the island! I knew I was vacationing with the high rollers. We had a picturesque walk to the end of the island and down A LOT of steps to Fonelina Beach to spend the day. This is what I jotted down there:
Va bene - an Italian expression that means everything is going good. This doesn't even begin to surmise that state of bliss I am in right now. I have to write it down immediately so that I don't forget this feeling! Yes I am dearly missing my friends heading to the big easy this weekend for the Fiji rush trip - make my proud people. But the alternative that I'm living now is utter perfection. I'm currently laying on a white puffy mattress in between Ellen and Riley at La Fontenina beach in Capri. We're surrounded my dark Europeans lounging underneath blue and white striped umbrellas right where the rocks jut down to meet the Mediterranean sea. We had to walk down maybe a thousand steps to reach this point but it was well worth it. The sun is beating down and I'm in the middle of the book Redeeming Love which is rocking my world – I can’t put it down. The concierge at our 4 star Hotel Villa San Felice recommends the white sangria from the seaside restaurant which I’m sure we will soon order when dips into the refreshing Med aren’t able to cool us down anymore. The yachts parked right outside our roped off swimming area are so luxurious, I feel like I’m living in a dream. Today is shaping up to be the best day ever. More to report later.
We went to the restaurant for lunch and met two friendly Texan couples from Dallas! One ended up living on the same street at Riley! They sent out table a bottle of white wine and we became even better friends with them. Their son’s godparents live on Capri and they visit every summer! Talk about fortunate! They recommended a dinner spot, which I’ll talk about later, and we accepted their advice and received another bottle of wine there too! They were verrrry generous! We spent the day on the rocks and dipped into the water once we got hot. It was a perfect day. We hiked up the cliff around 6 so that we could get ready for dinner before the sunset. We ate dinner at Da Giorgio and it was amazing. I had Caprese and margherita pizza. We watched the sunset behind Anacapri (the other side of the island) and it was breathtaking. After we went to a cute hotel we walked past loads of times called La Palma for a drink. There were a lot of women there for a card tournament from Milan and we had fun talking with them in the bathroom and on the terrace where we were sitting in white wicker furniture. We even met some of their children, a 24 year old named Francesco and an 18 year old named Allecia. We made friends with them and even went to the club called Number 2 with them. They were so cute! It was a wild night of dancing and fun! The hotel concierge showed up, our waiter from the night before named Giuseppe made an appearance, and even the card ladies were there dancing the night away! We got home late but that didn’t spoil our plans for Saturday…
Saturday, June 18th – Today we had a private boat tour booked for the afternoon. We slept in late and lunched by the hotel pool before heading down to the port. I will say this – there has not been a single glitch in any of our trip or travels! Opportunities literally fall at our feet and we keep on talking about how blessed we are! So remember how I mentioned we went to the opera last week? Well we made friends with the guy who was managing the show when he asked us if we wanted to meet the singer Leonardo. After the performance, they told us to come to this club called Flo on top of Piazzale Michelangelo. We went the following night and Christian (the manager guy) brought his friend and native of Naples with him. We got to talking and he referred us to his friend Gianna who ran a boast company. He even called him right then and there to book it for us! So on Saturday, we were met at the port by Gianni’s father and he said that his other son Paulo would be our driver that afternoon. It was precious that it was a family business! We got on the boat around 2:45 and stayed on till 6:45! We went cliff jumping, swimming wherever we told him to stop, and visited the Blue Grotto. It was a fun time. At the Blue Grotto, a man in a tiny row boat came up to our larger lay out boat and we all squeezed in. Just our luck, he told us we were the last tour of the day! He took us into the cave and we were in awe of the dark cavern with aqua blue water. It was a beautiful site to behold! He started singing (which I think was to earn a tip) and we joined in a long. After the visit we cruised around and even took naps aboard the boat. We were jamming to Ellen and Melissa’s iPods all day and drinking cokes, beer, and homemade limoncello (made by Gianni and Paulo’s mom). It was quite a special day.
Sunday, June 19th – HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY AVERY!!! And HAPPY FATHER’S DAY DAD!! I love y’all so much!!! Wish I could be there to celebrate at the lake but the fake Tori will fill my place well enough. We woke up well rested and not wanting to leave Capri around 10. We ate breakfast the hustled down to il porto to catch our ferry back to Naples. The timing was perfect and once in Naples we got a cab from the port to the station without a hiccup. We indulged in a meal from McDonalds and then were on the train heading home to Florence by 2. Once we got back, we unloaded and prepared for the week ahead. We all hiked back up to Piazza Michelangelo to enjoy the sunset in our home turf; we we’re all glad to be back. We planned the rest of the week on the top of hill in the piazza in front of the San Minato church at the top of the hill to a beautiful sunset! Once more week to go and so much left to do! Hope I can get it all done!
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