Ah Capri!

I had a few ideas for my “C is for…” post. However, the recent winter weather monotony (40″ + of snow so far, 3 1/2 hour commutes in a snow storm, getting stuck in the ice/snow banks in the alley while backing into the garage, the ever changing obstacle course of avoiding monster potholes, etc.) has me longing for warmer weather and sunnier days. I have decided that C is for a memory I have mentioned before.

C is for CAPRI

As our summer 2005 trip to Italy & Greece drew near, Jen, Greg, Rebecca & I each had different parts of the itinerary that we were looking forward to the most. Collectively, I think that the day trip out to Capri seemed like it would be something fun but we didn’t have a lot of expectations for the day. Looking back, the few hours that we spent on the island were a definite highlight for me – not because of any one “big” thing but the combination of all the little things.

On Saturday morning we left Rome and took our tour bus down to Naples to catch the 11:10 ferry to Capri. As soon as we arrived at Capri we transferred to smaller boats to go to the Blue Grotto. The crowds of tourists waiting to transfer into the small row boats to go into the Blue Grotto were large; however, before long the 4 of us were climbing into a small row boat – our guide was wearing a Chicago marathon t-shirt. His aunt was from Chicago and had sent the t-shirt – we let him know we were from Chicago & I think the Chicago connection provided us with a much longer time inside the grotto.

After the Blue Grotto, we had a bit of free time on the island before we would ferry back to Sorrento. Once we were in the town of Capri our first stop was lunch outside on the square by the belltower. We enjoyed many tastes of Italy: Caprese Salad, Pizza Margherita and of course Gelato.

With our tour director we walked to the other side of the island and saw the local botanical garden. How fun it was to see favorite flowers including lantana and angel trumpets flourishing there.  While in the garden, I quickly snapped a picture that has become a constant reminder of a perfect summer vacation day – the rock formations of I Faraglioni off the coast. In the remaining time, Rebecca wanted to visit the local perfumery, Carthusia to pick up some of their legendary perfume. We walked into the perfumery and the lovely scents of flowers and citrus wafted through the air. Rebecca, Jen & I each selected a scent to remind us of the essence of Capri.

Before long it was time to take the funicular railway back down to the harbor and board our ferry to Sorrento. One of these days I will visit Capri again. Until then, I infuse bits of Capri into my world. In Harbor Country I found an antique etching of the Capri Harbor that now hangs on the wall. “The” picture continues to be my computer wallpaper and currently is the header for this blog. When I dab on my Mediterrano perfume the scent returns me to the island. In the midst of the winter gray of the last week I’ve enjoyed a taste of Capri – my version of Pizza Margherita and lemon sorbet for dessert.