The dork in the picture is me. Yes, me. The jacket I am donning here is a jacket I purchased in Rome for 14 Euros. Quite expensive, considering my sister managed to purchase a similar piece for 9 in San Gimingnano, Italy. No matter. Saying that I "got an Italian souvenir in Rome" carries some weight in as far as coffee table sharing goes. At least I think it does.
There were many, and I mean many, old buildings in Italy. Churches, monuments, palaces, houses. You name it, Italy had it. A friend and tourmate, George, mentioned that after a while, he had "OD-ed" on churches and ancient structures. While I found that to be quite amusing (both because of what it stood for and how he articulated the thought), George did have a point. "Too much stone to the bones", so to speak.
Capri Island, as you might imagine, offered an interesting "respite" from the big cities of Rome, Naples, and Florence. A short boat ride for the pier in Naples takes you to Capri. Upon arrival, the first sight that greets you would be a whole lot of people, a whole lot of people in outdoor cafes, a whole lot of steep roads, and yes, a whole lot of squalls. This island off the Sorrentine Peninsula and on the South end of the Gulf of Naples isn't your typical island for partying, sunbathing, or being "hip" in the purest sense of the world. As with a lot of Italy, Capri manages to retain an "old world" charm despite being a destination for the young, and young at heart. These people don't go to Capri for the usual reasons, mind you. I feel that its because it is impossible not to be drawn to certain places in Italy, places which are so awash in culture, and history, and picturesque scenery that it doesn't really matter where you like things shaken, or stirred, or call an iPad an "iPad" or a "box". You just need to go to Capri and sip on a cup of coffee by the sea, or, take a somewhat harrowing bus ride up to the town of Ana Capri ("above Capri"...not to be confused with a sexy starlet from the Philippines from days gone by). You just need to take the cable car in Ana Capri to get to a point with the best views on island. You JUST NEED to go there to feel absolutely enthralled and glad to be alive.
So there were some Italian lasses in two piece bikinis on a rocky portion of one of the beaches on the island, but that isn't really what I was there for.
What would Capri be without a little bit of history to back it up, right? Italy and History go hand in hand like a good Croissant and Coffee.
And so, here I go...
A Philosopher named Strabo once declared that Capri was part of mainland Italy.
Emperor Augustus ruled and built in Capri.
Capri went back to Naples' jurisdiction towards the end of the Roman Empire. Pope John XV appointed Capri's first bishop, and Jean Jacques Bouchard one upped me by being Capri's first recorded tourist.
More recently, Lenin, visited Capri. Actually, that was back in 1908.
And oh, Mariah Carey owns a house in Capri. When she's not making albums or strutting around in Beverly Hills, I suppose that she'd be found vocalizing along with Capri's many species of birds and amongst Capri's many flowers. Her secret towards preserving her voice? Well, it must be the Lemonade. Viva Limone!
Thank you to Wikipedia for the facts. And before I get too factual, allow me to revert back to what I saw and I felt while I was in Capri.
So as you can see, Capri and Ana Capri, as I saw it, were quite spectaculare.
Yes, we love Capri. We love Italy. That's me and my Malaysian buddy, Natalie.
(That kind of rhymes now, doesn't it?)
A particularly memorable part of the journey, apart from visiting Villa San Michele where Flemish Psychiatrist and Doctor Axel Munthe lived, was having taking the cable car from the side where Villa San Michele was situated, over to a peak on the other side of Ana Capri to, well, marvel at the majesty of mother nature.
Before that though- who was Axel Munthe?
So one day, Munthe found himself in Italy. It was 1875. While in Ana Capri, he decided to convert a small house beside to a run down chapel dedicated to San Michele, into a home cum work area. Munthe excelled in Obstetrics and Gynecology, but also became involved in Neurology (at least, until his falling out with his teacher, Jean Martin Charcot).
He initially practiced in Paris, but in time, he fell in love with Capri (and Rome, where he split his stint in Italy in). With great weather, warm people, good wine, greenery, and then some, who wouldn't fall in love with Capri, and Ana Capri?
Yes, there were times up there when I felt like I was holding on for dear life
(heights typically aren't my thing).
The cable car ride cost around 15-20 Euro, if I remember correctly. Actually, riders aren't really placed in "cabins" of any kind. Rather, I was asked to ride on a swing. For those reading this who have been to large theme parks with those spin around high flight rides wherein you're made to feel like you're tied to an umbrella that is turning at a hundred kilometers an hour- the sensation felt similar to me, except that I wasn't really spinning around. I have been to small theme parks wherein they'd put people in those spinner rides via swings much like the one I rode in Capri. Initially, I was nervous, but I settled in nicely once I opened my eyes and was dumbfounded by the amazing sights I bore witness to. I found myself mumbling, "this is like touching fingers with God." It really felt that way. Honest.
I decided to, then, be a little whimsical. I whipped out my trusty iPhone 4s, and played some Mozart on the way up. This only added to the grandiose feeling behind being "one with the birds".
From the best "seat" in the house. Great guns!
On the way down from our group's "view deck", I thought that if I played Mozart again, I might fall asleep and fall into the waiting arms of Capri while in transit (in short, I was afraid of falling into a ravine). So, I decided to do a little ACDC on my way back.
The "ACDC in Capri" experience was A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
It's not everyday that we get to act like kids, or, get to act out our fantasies, like, say, being the lead guitarist for a rock n' roll band staging a concert on top of a mountain. I wanted to bring out a bit of that crazy fantasy while on a rickety seat, a fifty feet in the air, far, far, away from home. What the heck, right? It's not often that you get to go up a mountain and look silly, so, I did what I had to do.
Link to the madness- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLq_-qHWh4A&feature=youtu.be
And so the day came- and went. We eventually returned to Naples, and I eventually got lost in Naples Chinatown with Rita, Kellie, my mom, and my sister. Adventure after adventure, things happened, and happened, and happened some more. Have I forgotten Capri? Or Ana Capri? Not a bit. We had a tour guide who sort of resembled Martin Scorcese with a big mustache, we discovered that they had shot scenes from the Sophia Lauren film, "It Started in Naples" on the island, managed to see a new standard for high speed, high risk, driving as we careened through the sides of mountains on the way to Ana Capri, and were all in agreement that yes, lemon anything was normally a positive.
Oh Capri. Oh Ana Capri. How you have captivated me.
I have loved others in the past, but I assure you, you are loved quite distinctly.
I shall write you letters 'til we meet again, and in my heart, I hold you forever dear.
MC
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