If you’ve ever wondered why Italians are so excitable, so quick to
temper and gesture so wildly with their hands when they talk, the answer is
simple. It’s the coffee. In any given everyday situation, there is a
big espresso machine within 10 meters.
Waiting for the morning train?
Uno cappuccino! Talking to the
postman? Uno caffe! If Starbucks is a culture back home, caffe is
the DNA here, bred into generations on the molecular level. And we gladly start our morning like the
natives. I’m guessing there will be DTs
on the first few mornings back.
We’re staying right at the marina, so taking the ferry to Capri is
as easy as Italy makes anything. Just
figure out which of the bewilderingly marked ticket window to stand at first. No
sooner than we get on the ferry to Capri, then a weathered expat Brit starts making
his pitch to get onto another boat when we get there. Capri provides the perfect backdrop for this
day of our movie-like vacation. Breakfast
in an outdoor café then we board our two hour tour around the island (for those
of you keeping score, I’m definitely Gilligan in this episode, with the role or
Maryanne played by Mandy). The tour is
great with the skipper putting the large craft into caves openings rocky passes
with just inches of clearance. We see
several of the famous grottos, the most interesting one being the White Grotto,
where a rock really does look like the Blessed Mother with her arms down and
open. Mussolini’s house on one of
the highest peaks is impressive in that it’s built on a natural bridge atop an
astonishing fissure.
Back on land, we skip the line for the funicular and take the long
winding stairs to the center of the village at the top. We find a nice table in the shade, start with
more caffe and then move onto some daydrinking.
Here it’s called apertivo, and if you call it that you don’t have to
attend meetings. Mandy orders the Capri
Spritz, a take on the traditional Aperol Spritz using the regions’ famous
limoncello (yes Gypsies, Mandy got the recipe for you…) I’m in for an Italian birra or two, a
universally acceptable way to spend a few hours by the sea. We take in the scene. Capri has a very chic vibe, beach meets
runway, and in fact, during our lunch a pair of models identically dressed in
flowing white cotton dresses walk by, stopping every few yards to strike a pose
and silently address the crowd. It’s a
surreal moment, but lovely just the same.
We walk back down the long staircase to the marina but somehow we
got off course. Yes, that’s right, we
got lost on a staircase. So did dozens
of other tourists and we all ended up walking up (yes, uphill, still not sure
why) the narrow twisty road being dodged by tiny cars and big trucks. We hail a passing downhill bus and stuff into
the already full vehicle for the final leg down.
We take the ferry back to Sorrento. We watch yet another spectacular sunset on our
walk to dinner at L’Antica Trattoria (https://www.lanticatrattoria.com/newsite/en/)
one of the town’s fine dining establishments since 1930. The gardens are a 360 degree immersion with wisteria
and grapevines serving as a roof. We are
not ones who usually notice or care about a specific table in a restaurant, but
we are clearly given the best table in the house, a corner table facing out. We assume one of two reasons:
1) My Name – When people in Italy hear “mi chiamo
Pasquale Onofrio” from an American, they get very excited.
2) Mandy – She looks stunning in her form
fitting black dress and black and white polka dot scarf (OK, it’s probably this
one)
We have four course pre fixe meals and Mandy’s lemon pasta is some
of the best we have had to date. The fresh
caught local lobster special was not only delicious, but one of the best
presented plates we have ever had. It
seems like the entire staff is waiting on us and one is nicer than the
next. We end our evening with the
traditional lemoncello and passeggiata back to our flat.
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