Capri Sun

Magical Capri... a great place to be Rich AND/OR Famous.  (Or just a good window shopper!)

After spending the morning in the basement of our hotel on the internet (as a Category 4 storm blew over the area), we made our way to the downtown area of Sorrento around noon - just as the clouds started to break.  For those glorious 15 minutes, we danced in circles, took off our outer layers, and snapped a few pictures.

Sorrento's Marina Piccola, glowing under the first sunbreaks since our arrival...

... and one for the scrapbook.

Feeling energized, like a football team that is down 28 points in the third quarter but recovers a fumble and runs it back for a touchdown to all of a sudden make it a game, we immediately started looking out to the ocean to see how we should spend our afternoon.  Out in the distance, we heard a whisper, as if a magical siren from the Odyssey reached out to us, saying quietly: Capri.

Not sure if that was really just the water dripping off my hat into my ears or simply Coca-Cola induced euphoria, we raced to the ticket counter and purchased two tickets for the ferry to the  island of Capri.

     

Capri is an hour-glassed shape island about 20 miles off the coast of Naples (or 5 miles from Sorrento) that has attracted day-trippers and the rich AND/OR famous for centuries.  It's bright blue water and (usually) calm conditions make it an ideal escape from the hustle and bustle of mainland Italy.  Its most famous attraction is the Blue Grotto - a small coastal cave accessible only by small rowboats that has ceilings about 5 feet high and with water that glows the brightest shade of aqua blue you can imagine.  (The same color as Bobby Bouche's water in the small magical vial in Adam Sandler's The Waterboy.)

The boatride for us, however, was anything from serene, as 15 foot swells knocked our jet-boat around, as about 100 travelers "oohed" and "ahhed" with each passing wave.  About 15 minutes into our half hour ride, crew members actually came through our cabin passing out white plastic bags... I didn't know we were supposed to help pick up garbage in the main cabin, yet many people eagerly volunteered by grabbing one, even Christie.  (She's always been against littering.)  I think it was just for show, because Christie just sat quietly, breathing heavily and not talking for the rest of the ride and didn't even put anything in the bag!  Weird...

The main piazza at the city of Capri, called famously "Piazzetta," surrounded by cafes and upscale retail shops.  (And the obligatory Duomo.)

After safely arriving in the harbor, we wandered through the small tourist shops by the pier and caught a cable-car to the main city, also named Capri, that sits about 500 feet up the hill from the marina.  Christie immediately felt at home, as she was greeted by her familiar friends Prada and Louis Vuitton.  

Another city, another Louis.

We spent the afternoon walking through the shops, checking out the beautiful views of the bright blue water below, and laughing at the pictures of celebrities taped to each shop.  (Retail managers in Capri think it must attract business to show a covert pictures of Jay-Z and Beyonce on the island, as I counted at least 5 stores that had similar pics.  Nicolas Cage, Mariah Carey, and Michael Douglass also seem to be popular we the Capri business community.)  It was very fun, despite us feeling like the "tramps at the ball" with our bundled up traveling clothes.

We caught a much better ferry home that evening, only to be greeted by a torrential downpour.  Luckily, Christie brought an umbrella and after sprinting a km up stairs, we sought refuge in a restaurant that ended up serving one of the best pizza's I have ever had... a great ending to an interesting day!

The city starts to glow at sunset, or cloud-set in our case.

Closing remarks:

1) If you are ever exploring the Amalfi Coast, and the weather is nice, YOU MUST take a day trip to the island of Capri.  Depending on your personality, you can do the whole island in a couple hours... and just add more time if you want to lay on the beach or visit the Blue Grotto (which we will definitely do in the summer.)

2) I'm not sure if the island of Capri was the motivation behind the drink pouches of Capri Sun.  Either way, I loved drinking those as a kid.  Tropical flavor was my favorite.  However, could they not have made Capri Sun's easier to open?  They give you the worst, flimsiest yellow straw in the world, and then force you to stick it through that tiny foil opening at a 60 degree angle.  MAN, I used to get SO MAD when I would stick the straw completely through the back of my Capri Sun!  It still makes me angry today... I swear I would do it like 5 times in a row.  After my visit to Capri, I am going to contact the people at Capri Sun and see if they can provide easier opening packaging in the future.  

~ J. Twice