Today was the beginning of our final little adventure before we come back to the U.S. next week. We decided to go to the island of Capri off the coast of Naples.
The morning started early as we got up and dressed and finished packing. The journey is a multi-faceted one and we are only going to be there for two nights, so we tried to pack everything into our backpacks rather than lugging around large luggage and large children. At 8 AM, we were successfully out the door. Since time was tight, we decided to use an extra bus ticket we had and an unused one we had found on the ground. It was a little beat up, but we figured we’d risk it, since it seemed like a valid ticket. We walked a block and approached our bus stop only to witness the recurring cruel joke of seeing our bus drive away.
Thankfully, the next one was early, so we didn’t wait as long as usual. This was the first of multiple little graces we experienced on our trip today. I tried to validate the tickets and, of course, the janky one got angrily spat back out by the machine. It felt like we crept through the morning traffic, however before long, we arrived at Termini Station and as the bus parked, of course, it was suddenly swarmed by bus attendants checking tickets. This was the first time in our whole trip this had happened to us. I took out our tickets and told the agent I put the ticket in and it spat it back out. He looked at me, with what I feel was a look of disappointment, tore my ticket in half, and motioned for us to get off the bus and be on our way.
With the crises of being fined by the bus people over, we went in the station and grabbed a bite before catching our train. It was an easy hour ride down to Naples. We disembarked and went to the taxi stand for our third leg of the journey and third mode of transport.
We were told, and everything I read, said driving in Naples is crazy and the taxi drivers will try to negotiate with you even though there’s a flat rate to get to the harbor. The driver who motioned us to his car told us there was a strike and the “flat rate route” was slammed with traffic and he knew a better way to take using the meter. I was like, “No, no, no thank you”. But he asked me to trust him. I’m not sure why, because everything said I shouldn’t, but I did.
We started winding through the city on one of the most harrowing rides of my life. I was trying my best to not be obvious I was stepping on my invisible break in the passenger seat. The traffic signs and lines drawn on the road are merely light suggestions, because there were multiple times we were on the wrong side of the road or made two lanes, somehow, into three. It seemed there was not a moment we were not within three inches of another vehicle, truck, or scooter. This says nothing of the multitude of other cars shooting across our path as we threaded the proverbial needle.
Soon we arrived at the ferry harbor, dodging the traffic, for under the normal flat rate. Our driver said, “See! I told you, you could trust me”. He was right and I was very grateful. We got our boarding passes right on time and were able to get on our ferry and find seats in preparation for leg and mode of transport four.
It was a hazy day in the Bay of Naples and difficult to see far out on the horizon. The ferry started off and zoomed along away from the coast. After about 40 minutes, a mountain jutting out of the sea loomed in front of us through the haze, Capri.
The boat docked and we got off. Capri is up the mountain from the marina and usually there is a funicular train up the mountain, which would have been a cool fifth mode of transport, but alas, it was under maintenance, so we opted for an open air taxi.
We zigzagged up the mountain taking in the breathtaking scenery, feeling the sun on our faces and the sea in the breeze. The taxi parked outside the Piazzetta, which is the center of Capri life and the start of the portion of the city that is only accessible on foot.
Our host soon met us and walked us through the little alleys between the whitewashed buildings. It was mostly uphill and Beren was a champ after the long journey to make it all the way while still carrying his backpack. We arrived at our little villa and went through its little green arched door onto it’s terrace with trellised vines and a view of the southern slopes of the island. It was picturesque.
It was mid-afternoon by this point and we hadn’t eaten and the supermarket closed as we walked up. Silas was tired and had a complete breakdown. All we could find was a café and another round of pastries didn’t really cut it. The boys went down for a nap, while I logged on for a few calls. Once the boys went down, Allison ventured out for more food and, thankfully, came back with some delicious sandwiches.
The boys slept for a long time and Allison ended up having to wake them up. We are going to experiment by trying to ease their naptime and bedtime later and later over these last few days in a hope that it will make the transition back to Eastern Standard Time less dramatic when we get back home. I’m not sure it will work, but it’s worth a shot.
I finished up work and we decided to walk down to one of the restaurants our host recommended. It was a little gastropub type place called Hangout. Since it is still offseason here in Capri, not much is open for dinner. Most people visiting the island only come for daytrips from the Amalfi Coast, so at night it is much quieter and mostly locals it seems. This was good for us because we were the only people in the place and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Silas sit through a complete dinner.
The restaurant had a mashup of pub food and Italian and the boys enjoyed hotdogs, while Allison and I got burgers and fries. She had a veggie burger, while I got a burger called the Hangout (the restaurant’s namesake) which included mozzarella, artichokes, bacon, an egg, and some sort of special sauce. It was delicious.
While the night was marked by the delicious food, it was also marked by Silas unwilling to sit down and either sprinting around fortuitously empty restaurant or screaming because he wasn’t running around the restaurant. It was tough to manage and we ate more quickly than usual to avoid further embarrassment or public repercussion.
We walked back home through the now peacefully quiet and dark narrow streets. The boys went to sleep an Allison and I enjoyed a moment together. Relishing the beautiful place and that it was finally the weekend once again.