17.2.12 Capri and Naples, Italy

After breakfast I walked down to the port to get tickets to Capri. I was told at the hostel I missed the cheap boat but one company might still offer them, so I went around looking for the. When I finally found them, they didn’t have any more of the cheap boats, so I walked to the other end of the port and got a ticket for 11:30 for 17 Euro.

I had about an hour and a half to kill so I walked up through the Spanish Quarter. It was pretty disappointing. All of the crazy activity at night was gone. No kids running around, no old people walking, no bikes zooming by. I guess even in dream Italy they have to work.

I walked down to the main part of town and looked for some soap and stopped in at an old pastry place at the end of Via Toledo and got a cream-filled pastry with cherries on top. I ordered it to go and they wrapped it up in the fanciest wrapping I’ve ever seen for food. I took it in to Plebleicia Piazza and ate it there.

The Piazza was full of life, school groups running around, street performers, it was great. I hadn’t really seen Naples by day and the piazzas are much better and you can actually see them. I walked down along the water and I saw a bunch of kids playing soccer with Vesuvius in the background. It was a perfect image of the Italians living their life with this ominous destroyer in the background.

I got on the hyrdrofoil and I was really worried it was going to be one of those boats where you couldn’t go outside, like the one I took in Greece. After sitting a little I noticed a bunch of people going upstairs and out on to the deck, so I joined too.

I sat by some Scotish women and they offered to take my picture. We chatted a little until I moved behind them and out of the wind so much.

It’s a great view of Vesuvius and Naples. You can really tell how Naples is built up on a hill with really no tall buildings. And you could see all the people living so close to Vesuvius. It was great. I was looking forward more to the boat ride than actual Capri.

When you get off the boat in Capri there’s a bunch of people offering tours of the Blue Grotto, which Kim did and said was great, although I felt like it was a tourist trap. I didn’t care so much if I did it or not, especially since it was over 20 Euro.

I didn’t realize Capri was another city built up on a hill. I’ve climbed so many steps and hills the last couple days, this wasn’t a particularly exciting revelation. So I started walking up the streets like I did in Positano. They aren’t really big on sidewalks in Italy, in part I assume because the streets are so old. I walked up at the same time as two guys, who were friends with the Scotish ladies I was talking with. The women took the bus up and they were walking up to find Gracie Floyd’s grave.

I had no idea who Gracie was, but they were very excited about it and told me all about her. She was a big singer during the war from around where they were from and they said if they went to Capri everyone would ask if they saw Gracie. She married an Italian and spend the last 20 years of her life or so on the island. As no stranger to making weird pilgrimages, I was all for this, so I joined them. Plus I really had no plans or ideas of what I was going to do so it seemed enjoyable.

I talked with John and Steven and found them very enjoyable. We talked about traveling, America, Scotland, Gracie, all sorts of things. Steven spoke great Italian (he used to teach it) so he came in quite handy. We searched for this cemetery and finally found it after asking a couple Italians. When we got to the cemetery we couldn’t find her grave anywhere. After looking for 20 minutes we finally found it right at the entrance. It was quite large as well. They were excited and I was happy for them.

We walked the rest of the way up to the center of the town and parted ways. It was great to talk to some people in English and especially ones as great as them. They asked if I wanted to get coffee with them but I felt like I was imposing, so I wanted to head over to the Villa Jovis, where Emperor Tiberius spent the last ten years of his life ruling the Roman Empire from 27-37 AD. From what I understand about him, he was very paranoid and worried about assassinations so basically secluded himself way off on Capri in a huge villa. He was described as one of the most miserable people in the world during his life. I was fascinated that the most powerful man in the world would want to live all alone away from everything in seclusion. And I heard the ruins were pretty good too.

Pretty quickly I saw a sign (they actually do signs amazing in Capri, and give English for everything too, you can tell it’s a huge tourist place) that said the villa was closed for renovations during the winter months. I was bummed since it was really the only thing I wanted to see on the island so I decided I’d walk up there anyways and try to see as much of it as I could from the outside.

Turns out it wasn’t a quick walk. It was about a half hour up many hills and steps. But it was cool to see all the villas and a couple good views.

When I finally reached the top, once again covered in sweat, there was yet another gate closing off access to the ruins. You could only see a little bit from the outside. But there were two overturned trash cans right in front of the gate.

I had no intention of breaking into a Roman Emperor’s home when I woke up in the morning, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Hopping up on the trash cans and over the fence was very easy. I was pretty terrified I was going to get arrested but I really scoped out the area and it seemed like no one was around for miles. And I walked really quietly.

The views of the water from the villa were absolutely amazing. And the ruins themselves were quite extensive. I climbed all around them until I got into the most extensive part with the covered roof and everything. I was slightly nervous since there were floor lights on and every now and then thought I could hear something. But it was probably nothing. When I finally saw what looked like a security camera my paranoia got the best of me. Maybe it was the emperor’s place wearing off on me. But I left, having seen a good majority of the place.

I went all the way back down, through town and stopped at one of the cafes in the main square where the celebrities hang out during the summer. They had a ton of nice seating outside so I decided to pay the ridiculous prices and got a cappuccino and a croissant with cream for 7 Euro. That was more than the cost of my last two pizzas combined. But it was very nice and relaxing. I could steal wifi there and emailed mom some pictures. I was glad I did it.

I continued down a narrow walking path to the port. At the end of the path was a scooter rental place. I had read they probably wouldn’t let you rent one if you weren’t experienced and that the roads were relatively dangerous, but there were hardly any cars around this time of the year. Someday I will.

I went down to the port to see if I could take a tour of the blue grotto, but the stand was closed up. I understand what Luke was talking about when things open or close at a whim now. It’s frustrating.

I wasn’t sure what to do. There was a boat in a half hour and only two after that, one in two hours and one in four. So I decided to take a later boat. I walked back by the port and went over to a little restaurant overlooking the water and got a Caprese salad. It was 11 Euro. But sometimes it’s worth paying 11 Euros for a Caprese salad on Capri overlooking Vesuvius. I didn’t know when I’d ever be back and now I can always say I had a Caprese salad in Capri every time I had one. I looked into it and the salad became popular after the Egyptian king had one in Capri but they aren’t sure if it originated there or not. Either way I was happy.

I got up to go to the bathroom and stepped on the tablecloth and yanked it all on the floor, like a magician except with the centerpiece falling too. Luckily there was no water or food on the table and nothing broke and they weren’t mad, so it was fine.

The salad was quite large. The tomatos weren’t all that tasty but the cheese was, and the spices they put on it really made it great. I may have gotten it in a huge tourist trap place for a ton of money, but it was worth it.

After I ate I walked along the rocky beach and climbed up on some huge rocks and sat looking at the water and Vesuvius. I even managed to skim a stone. Capri wasn't so bad.

I had a while left so I climbed back up into town and went through the city center. They had just a ton of high end stores there, all of which were closed. The shopping streets are gorgeous, and the whole town really is. It’s where extremely high-rollers come to live and vacation so everything looks very expensive and with the sole purpose of being beautiful with no concern for cost. It was one of the nicer walks I’ve ever taken.

I saw a sign for a famous rock formation and an overlook site, so I went for it. The sun had just started to set and by the time I got there I got to see the sun almost completely set. The rocks on the water with the sun setting on the other side over town made me think at that moment, I was in the most beautiful place in the world.

I watched it nearly set and hurried back to the boat, running down all the steps and hills. It took a while for me to warm up to Capri. When things are actually open and during the summer it must be a completely different place, for better or worse. It would have been nice if there were more stuff to do, but it was nice to not have it completely overrun with tourists. If I took the earlier boat, I would have been completely indifferent to it. But that last stretch of walking by the shops and seeing the sun set made the trip for me.

I was hoping to get up to the deck and watch the sun finally set, but I couldn’t figure out how to get up there. As I was wandering around the boat, the two ladies I had talked to earlier found me. I stood and talked to them until the boat took off and then I grabbed a seat next to them. It was dark out with nothing much to see on the water. But we had a great conversation, talking about different places in Europe. One of their sons was going to Romania so I talked about that. We talked about our Capri experiences and Naples. I was glad they liked the dirt and grime too.

We all dozed off after a little and when we woke up in Naples we were joined by the rest of the group. They were staying in a flat in the old town part and I was going to head over there to get some pizza so we walked over together. They wanted to stop into a church on the way, so I was happy to join. It was an old church with very elaborate ceiling paints and figures in different chapels, but it was so dark inside the church you couldn’t see them very well. Steven pointed out a picture of a saint who had the stigmata who died in the ‘70s. It was great to have them there to tell me about things I missed.

They asked me if I wanted to join them for dinner. I really liked talking to them and eating alone was never a ton of fun, so I said sure.

We walked down Via Toledo and into the old town and went to a place their guide book recommended.

I got gnocchi (decent, didn’t love the sauce) and a Caprese salad (only 4 Euro, but worse than earlier. Probably not 7 Euro worse.) We talked for a couple hours about Scotland, different places in Europe I’d been, learning languages and the education systems in Europe, Detroit, all sorts of interesting conversation you couldn’t have with most Americans. What I really loved about them was they valued my thoughts and stories much as their own. No one was trying to one-up each other, it was purely an exchange of ideas. I could have talked to them all day. They go on trips every year together. I wish I could go next time with them.

We got some coffee and got the waiter to take a picture of us all. I was sad to have them leave. I gave them my card and they said they’d try to find the blog. I hope they do.

After dinner I walked back along Via Toledo and there were some kids playing soccer in the square. One of them kicked the ball to hard and it came right to me. I kicked it back to them - left footed no less. I was pretty excited.

I found a gelato place still open. Despite being very full, I decided to still get some. I got Duplo, coconut, and something that I’m not even sure how to describe it. But it was good.

I went back to the hostel and tried to plan out where I was going to be the next couple days. The internet was really bad and finding hostels wasn’t going to well for a Saturday. With the internet problems, I gave up and decided to get up early and try to get it done then.

Today was a really great day.