Capri is for Me

I am currently luxuriated in roomy bliss on a high-speed train to Rome. Haley and I left Naples this morning, and once again, I was sad to say “Ciao!”.

I have loved every city I have visited in Europe in different ways. I loved Amsterdam for its museums. I loved Barcelona for Gaudi. But I have loved the Italian cities on this trip in a new way. I was always ready to leave and get back to Aix on previous trips, but I have never felt like I needed that something more like I have felt when leaving Florence, and now Naples. I want to stay longer. I want to see everything. I want to have local places and get to know every nook and cranny of artsy, vibrant Florence and dirty, but oh-so-charming Naples.

Yesterday, Haley and I took a ferry to Capri. We had heard the island was expensive, but a little piece of Mediterranean heaven. Expense or no expense—Capri is a must see.

Our first stop on the island was the Blue Grotto. I had read about it in a book, and it had been built up to giant, romanticized proportions in my book lovin’ mind.

We approached the cave-like opening in the cliff, and a man in a tiny rowboat plucked us four at a time from our “big” boat to his smaller one. We had to duck as we entered the grotto, and as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, an explosion of the purest blue erupted in every direction.

It was beautiful, but it was more of the feeling that settled over me that made it such an unforgettable experience. I felt as if I was alone in the world, and the blue was my comforting balm. I felt as if something like this exists, than anything is possible. It was wonderfully reassuring. It was as if time chose not to move once inside the grotto, as the blue will simply go on eternally in all directions, never waning in its beauty.

Once we returned to the mainland, Haley and I dipped our toes in the clear blue Mediterranean, and then headed up the hill to Capritown. Stores like Gucci and Roberto Cavalli ostentatiously presented themselves on Capritown’s winding streets, and we dared to enter some and chose to window-shop others.

We were windswept and sunburned on our ferry ride back, and mastered Naples confusing bus system to collapse on our beds at our hostel.

We finally managed to scrape the energy to go get some pizza, and we ate it from the box at our hostel with some Brits who shared a room with us. Charlotte, or Charlie, and Ollie, are from Northern England and are taking a gap year to travel Europe. It was lovely to nibble on my Neapolitan pizza and to discuss the healthcare system in England and what they were doing the day Princess Diana died. One of my favorite parts of this trip has been meeting other travelers, sharing common experiences, and learning what life is like for them back home. They were fascinated by Wal-Mart and laughed when I used the word “crosswalk”. I giggled when they repeatedly used the word “bloody”, and think that the word would make a fine addition to my vocabulary (only in an English accent, of course).

We are almost in Rome. I can’t wait.