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

Cold Sucks

The (now) seasoned traveler, bundled up with 3 layers and scarf.

As I continue to write this blog, I think one of my major motivations is to help provide small tidbits that can make anyone who reads this either: 1) More interesting to talk to at dinner parties, 2) A more prepared European traveler.  That being said, here's one piece of advise that I think you should all realize:

EUROPE IN THE WINTER IS COLD.  COLD IS NOT FUN.  IN FACT, COLD IS THE OPPOSITE OF FUN.  IF YOU WANT TO HAVE FUN, DON'T TRAVEL TO MOST OF EUROPE IN THE WINTER (WAIT UNTIL AT LEAST MAY.)

Don't get me wrong, I love Europe and I love traveling.  I love living in Sicily (where it is warm!)  However, after spending this entire morning in our hotel basement on the internet because it is 44 degrees (7 Celcius) and raining, with 30 km/hr winds, even the positologist gets a little frustrated... especially when we experienced the same thing in Paris.  It's not horribly cold, just 'too cold to comfortably enjoy walking outside and sitting on patios.'  I guess the best way to explain it (and yes, the sun did break and we did end up going to the island of Capri this afternoon), is this -- we love it here and are having a good time, but you can just feel how much better it would be in the summer heat.

The best time to come to Europe is when it is warm enough to leisurely stroll through cities in the sun, and before the crowds come.  Now if someone could just tell me when that is...

Ahh... 15 minutes of sunshine!

Wait a minute... what is that?!  The sun is breaking... gotta run!!!

J. Twice

And Now... POSTCARDS!

Buildings stacked like Bricks.

Stunning Positano.

Coast meets City.

What trip would be complete without the Patented 'J. Twice Fisheye Postcards'??? Well, not this one of course! Enjoy these Screen Savers, and read the follwing posts after this for the story of our time in the Amalfi Coast. Giddy Up!

J. Twice

Positano-gist

Yep, I'm home.

After spending the morning in Sorrento (as per the following post), we jumped on a bus at 2pm and headed to the Amalfi Coast and a town built in my honor: Positano. For those of you just 'tuning' in to the blog, I call myself a Positalogist... because I am an upbeat person who always sees the glass HALF FULL and believes that if I think good thoughts, great things are going to happen. And if people from Naples are called 'Neopolitans' (Ron Lancaster would be proud... Eskimo inside joke) (Normal Joke for everyone else to be inserted in Parentheses: yep, its not just an ice cream at Spaghetti Factory!), THEN I am thinking that people from Positano should be natural Positanogists.

Not just another Sunday Drive... this one happened on Easter! (Oh yeah, not a bad view either.)

A word about the Bus - Incredible! This 30km stretch of coast, named for one of the five or so towns that cling to the sheer cliffs above the coastline, has been called the most scenic drive in the world. And while it would be a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament of Coastlines, I would say that the Hana Highway in Maui and Pacific Coast Highway of California would not be far behind. (And in a one game, head to head matchup anything can happen...) However, the thing that sets this coastline apart IS these towns that cling so perilously above the crashing waves, which we quickly fell in love with.

Happy to have found the beach (but sad to not have beach weather!)

Christie in front of Ancient Boats and slightly older buildings. Wonder where they will build the mall?

We exited the bus, and weaved our way through the town's cobblestone streets, window shopping at expensive boutiques and looking at beautiful galleries. While there isn't really any "historical" sights in Positano, it's just a great place to relax, stroll, and think Positive thoughts. And while the day was getting late and we didn't go further down the coast... if you have one stop to make on an Amalfi Coast trip than I give Positano 3 Thumbs Up!

J. Twice

Amalfi Coastin'

The beautiful and rugged Amalfi coast. This picture was taken above my adopted home town - POSITANO. (Yes, I did ask if people from there were called positanogists!)

With a few days off for the Easter Holiday (A very big deal here in Catholic Italy), Christie and I decided to head north to explore one of Italy's most beautiful and famous stretches of coastline, the Amalfi Coast.

After a spirited practice on Saturday afternoon, we began our adventure by taking the overnight train from Catania to Naples, departing at 10:05pm. We had heard many bad things about the timeliness of trains in Southern Italy, but were pleasantly surprised when we pulled out of the station at 10:04 and 55 seconds. We quickly found our overnight sleeping cabin, which consisted of four very narrow "couchettes" in a single cabin that we ended up sharing with two older women, and before long I was waking up at our final destination.

A word about train travel in Europe to all my North American travelers, especially to those who think that 'Eurorail pass' is a now a pop culture buzzword: 1) Yes, trains in Europe are EXPONENTIALLY better than in the US, however... 2) They are still fairly expensive, 3) For anything over 7 or 8 hours, flights are probably cheaper and much more practical, 4) To get the best value, use them only in 4 circumstances: for jumping from city to city within a country, to cover a vast distance overnight and thus save a night paying for a hotel, to get around any big city (the metro system), and lastly, if you are going to be traveling for an extended period of time across the country. OK, I feel better now and hopefully have given at least 2.5 of you some useful information.

After our easy train ride, we arrived at the Naples Central Train station at 6:15am to a huge surprise: THUNDERSTORM. Lighting was cracking above the train, and rain was pouring down. This was not in our plans... and we quickly grabbed our bags and huddled for safety in the station. Luckily, the rain did let up -- however the rest of the day was only about 55 degrees and only had a few sunbreaks. Undeterred, we caught the 8:15 connection to the city of Sorrento and an hour later were in what would turn out to be our favorite city we have visited on our travels so far. (Catania is excluded from that comment because we live there!)

The cliffside view where I enjoyed my morning Cappuccino. The view was stunning (and that cliffside house is available for purchase for anyone interested.) For the record, anytime you order a Cappuccino from a coffee house located on "via cappuccini" it is going to be great.

The town of Sorrento, perched high above the sea.

The town of Sorrento is absolutely beautiful - groves of Orange and Lemon trees fill the valley between large villas, luxury hotels, and restaurants. Tree lined streets lead to the cliffs overlooking the sea, and towering green mountains form a stunning backdrop behind the town. According to Rick Steves, our trusty travel guide, "The population of Sorrento is 20,000 and every town member is an unofficial member of the chamber of commerce while speaking great English." He could not have been more right - everyone we talked to was friendly and helpful.

We checked into our hotel and spent the morning exploring the town center and its quaint shopping streets. If Sorrento is famous for one thing, it would be Lemons... and the subsequent "Limoncello" liquer. I think the whole town has a lemon 'zest' to it, with a Limoncello shop located about every 7 feet in the shopping district, and everyone seems eager to pass out a free sample (or so I've heard...)

The Lemons of Sorrento... as famous as the Salmon of Capistrano.

A very 'typical' Limoncello store.

After getting our fill of Lemons and Sorrento, and with the town closing down for Siesta from 1 until 3, we jumped on a bus and headed to the Amalfi coast and a town built for me: Positano.

J. Twice

VLOG5 - SKATING

Here's Video Blog 5 from our Ice Skating adventure on Thursday! With the internet woes of Italy in full force against us, I apologize this took a few days to get up... however it should give you a good feel for why Strano-Johnson feel so strong about their chances for making the 2010 Olympics.

Thanks to special guest host, Christie Chorley-Johnson, for improving the professionalism of my Vlogs by 132%.

Enjoy!

J. Twice

Presenting the Elephants

Showing off the brand new RED 6!

On Friday night, hundreds of fans, family, friends, sponsors, and well-wishers packed an upscale Catania gallery for the official presentation of the 2008 Catania Elephants... with the highlight of the night being the showcase of the brand new uniforms. The new uniforms -- Mt. Etna Red -- are a fitting upgrade as the Elephants tackle the challenge of our first season in Italy's top division.

After a great presentation that included interviews with our head coach, Davide, and defensive coordinator, George, the American players got to show off the jerseys and later mingled with the Elephant family. I think the best aspect of Catania to this point has been the people -- and Davide has worked very hard to create a family atmosphere that is terrific. I know that if I coach one day, I will definitely take that with me... just as was modeled at PLU under my grandfather, Frosty Westering, and now my uncle, Scott Westering.

A candid team photo in our Red Hooded Sweatshirts, or 'felpa' as the Italians say. To this point, I have received more Elefanti gear than 3 years with the Eskimos...

The crowd looks on... ready for the start of the 2008 season next Saturday in Milan.

Brandon posing with the Big 63. I think the last thing a number of opposing players will see this season is the 6-3 between the eyes as 'The Big Hurt' Runs through them.

George, Brandon, and myself posing with Davide, our Owner-President-Right Tackle-Scout Team Option Quarterback.

Posing with Bella, as everyone here calls her.

After such a fun night -- I can't wait to kick things off next week!

J. Twice