Capri

This past weekend I left Florence for a few days, traveling to the Amalfi coast! Several hundred college students and I departed Florence on Thursday night, headed for Positano. We stayed in three or four different hostels in Sorrento, taking day trips from Sorrento to Positano, the Island of Capri, and Pompeii. However, as the title of this blog indicates, Capri was by far my favorite.

Although Positano and Pompeii were interesting and undeniably beautiful, the Island of Capri is like no other place I have ever been. We took a ferry from Sorrento to Capri and then hopped on a boat tour around the island. The tour was incredible- we saw the Siren beaches referenced by Homer, the Love Rock, natural rock archways and the Blue Grotto. Despite the number of seasick, sleep-deprived college students on the boat with me, I was able to soak in the sights. We also learned that the Island of Capri is the home of the Caprese Salad, but it also is named after the goat, due to the number of goats that walk along the cliffs.

After the boat tour we ascended the island, reaching Anacapri. Anacapri had a chairlift that could take tourists to the top of Mount Solaro. The chairlift ride was daunting, as it was one seat and the incline was almost straight up. However, the ride turned out to be the most peaceful moment of my journey to Italy so far. I was able to silently observe the island, ocean, mountain and just breathe. So much of my experience, so far, has been fast-paced and trying, so I appreciated the moment of peace.

Once at the top, my friend and I sat down to eat the paninis we had bought before hopping on the chairlift. It was, by far, the most beautiful place I have ever eaten lunch! We followed lunch up with gelato and walked around the mountain for a bit. Unfortunately, we had to meet the group so we didn’t have much time to poke around. Looking around at what everyone else was doing at the top was interesting for me! Most people were either with loved ones or facetiming loved ones. At first, I was annoyed that people weren’t absorbing the view and simply wanted to be on their phones. Then I realized, though, that these people wanted to share the sight with those they loved and try to communicate it’s beauty to friends and family that couldn’t be there.

Pictures honestly don’t do the Island justice, but I’ve included a few to give you an idea of why I loved Capri so much. Enjoy!!

(This picture is of the port we departed from to get to Capri, the largest boat, the furthest away is the ferry we took!)

 

(This picture was taken through a window on the ferry- it’s not Capri, but I think it’s Sorrento, the port we left out of)

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