Capri - Italy Day 2

There’s a point in life when you realize what you want to do in the future. You find the people who understand you, share the same ideals, enjoy activities you enjoy. 

These are my people. 

Two years ago, on the island of Capri, I found my calling. I saw the yachts parked in the harbor and I knew: one day I will live on a yacht in the Mediterranean, sailing from town to town, enjoying the ocean and the sun 24/7. 

A lot of people know about this dream, but they don’t understand what I mean by yacht. Let me give you an idea. 

My aunt once gave me an article to read about yachts; apparently it’s declassé (unclassy in yacht-speak), to keep your smaller boats on the deck of your yacht. You should have a garage on your yacht to keep the smaller boats in. For the first time in my life, I saw such a garage. And it was beautiful. Imagine the kind of people that have the need for a yacht garage. Hello new best friends. 

On day two in Italy, we woke up at our B&B high up on the cliffs in Positano and started off the day with a lovely breakfast with an even lovelier view. 

After breakfast, we took the bus down the hill to the beach and bought massive juicy peaches sold on the streets next to lemons the size of melons. 

I then bought a fabulous new hat to keep sheltered from the hot sun, and we hopped on a ferry to the nearby island of Capri. 

Leaving the harbor

View of Positano from the sea

As many of you know, I have travelled a lot. So when I say that Capri is my favorite place on earth, that is no light statement. 

I think you can see why.

The multicolored blue water sparkles in the sun, and massive yachts float next to tiny wooden fishing boats in the harbor. 

Upon arriving on Capri, we took the funicular, a little train that slowly climbs the steep hill upon which the city is built, up to the top of the island. At the top, a mix of designer shops, tiny boutiques, and delicious restaurants await, along with the most stunning view. 

We meandered through the streets, checking out the shops - while eating gelato of course!

We asked a friendly boutique owner for her restaurant recommendation, and turned a few corners before coming upon the restaurant. We quickly realized why it had been recommended; pictures of the restaurant’s owner with celebrities covered the walls. In a brief glance, I recognized the Kardashians, Lindsey Lohan, and Hilary Duff (here’s to hoping she came right after filming the Lizzie McGuire Movie!) 

As was expected, the food was amazing. I went for the classic Pizza Margherita (the same one Kim K. got nbd) and it was fantastic. Perfectly chewy crust slathered in tomato sauce, covered with chunks of fresh mozzarella. There’s nothing like Italian pizza. 

Stuffed with pizza, we wandered back to the funicular and headed back down the mountain to the beach. 

Though the beach is beautiful, as August is high season, it was a bit packed. It was also 100 degrees, so I wasn’t the happiest camper. Also, a seagull pooped on me while I was laying in the sun. So that was awesome.  However, once it cooled down a few degrees, I fell right asleep to the lulling sound of the waves rolling in. I woke up a couple hours later feeling very refreshed. We sat on the beach as the sun started to set, drinking lemon granite, an Italian version of a slushy, and enjoying Capri’s relaxed atmosphere.

More peaches!

Nothing like a sibling selfie on the beach!

Heaven on earth. 

At 7, we hopped back on the ferry and made our way back to Positano, watching the sunset behind the mountains from the top of the boat. 

Andrew rocking my glasses.

Once we arrived back in Positano, we picked a restaurant right on the ocean and enjoyed another delicious meal. 

My dad fearlessly ordered the fried seafood platter. I’m sorry dad, I’m brave when it comes to trying new foods, but the fried minnows were the farthest I would go. 

This little guy will not be ending up in my tummy, thank you very much!

I went for the gnocchi with tomatoes and mozzarella and a side of arancini, fried rice balls that are a specialty of Sicily. Yet again, I was a member of the Clean Plate Club. 

After a delicious dinner, we were all ready to head off to bed, but fate wouldn’t allow it. We missed the bus going up the mountain by 3 minutes and had to wait another hour for the next one. Once we finally got on the bus, we missed our stop and had to stay on until the end of the route and then had to go all the way back. We staggered up to our hotel room and passed out on the bed. 

What a long and glorious day full of delicious food and spectacular scenery!!

Positano - Italy Day 1

To say that I love traveling would be an understatement. If I haven't been out of the country in a few months, I start to get antsy and just have the urge to get on a plane and go somewhere.

Luckily for me, my brother had a baseball tournament in Italy and I got work off! 

After the worst plane ride of my life (I'm getting way too used to first class) with an annoying mother-daughter combo who kept waking me up right before I could fall asleep and a quick jump over from Amsterdam to Rome, we finally arrived. 

My dad, Andrew, Andrew's friend Tyler who was also playing in the tournament, and I packed into the car and started our drive from Rome to Positano, a coastal town in southwest Italy.

After three hours, we reached the exciting part of the drive: the Amalfi coast. One of the most beautiful coastal drives in the world, the narrow road winds around the coast and one wrong turn would send you plummeting down thousands of feet into the ocean. Vespas and motorcycles speed past you, and fruit vendors sell their fresh goods on scenic overlooks. 

If you have the chance, I highly recommend coming down to southern Italy. The drive is an experience in itself. 

Mount Vesuvius in the distance. 

Yachts. . . 

Check out the yachts!

When we arrived in Positano, we first stopped at our B&B to drop all of our luggage off. I don’t think we were expecting this to be such a struggle. In order to get to the B&B, you had to climb a steep stone staircase of at least 250 steps. As we later realized, this was not only treacherous with luggage, it took the breath out of you even without luggage. Typing this two days later, my calves still burn so badly I can barely walk. Maybe it’s time to head to the gym when I get back. . . 

The climb was worth it, of course. Check out the view from our balcony. Does it get any better than this?

Wanting to enjoy the last few hours of sun, we threw on our swimsuits and took the bus down to the beach. 

Positano's beach is a unique mix of smooth stones and black sand from the volcanoes nearby. 

We laid on the beach relaxing until our stomachs started growling and it was time to fill them up, Italian style. 

We wandered back up the hill to the bus stop, passing under overpasses of beautiful purple flowers. 

We had to have gelato as an appetizer, of course!

We took the bus back up the hill to the owner of our B&B’s cousin’s restaurant. We watched the sunset over the yachts on the ocean while our food was prepared. 

I ordered the homemade pasta with Bolognese sauce. It was amazing, and I stuffed myself full of it. But my stomach was about to reach a new capacity after this dinner. 

My dad decided to order the 5 course set seafood menu. After he finished the first course, a platter of various chilled seafood, he thought the meal was over. Oh, was he wrong. 

I have never seen so much food served to one person as a single meal before in my life. After the first course came a massive bowl of pasta with mussels and clams. My dad struggled to finish that. 

Then came the main course: two fillets of locally caught fish. Though stuffed to the brim, I managed to squeeze down one of the fillets, which was delicious. 

They then kept bringing out more and more desserts. Lemon cake, homemade cookies, dessert wine, coffee. The owner kept offering more and more and more and we had to cut him off around midnight. Our dinner lasted about three hours because more food just kept coming. When the bill came, we were amazed. The owner never charged us for so many of the things he kept bringing for us. And he gave us a discount on top of that. True hospitality. It was one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. 

Extremely full of food and wine, my dad and I climbed up the hill to the B&B and struggled up the steps at an embarrassingly slow rate. It’s ok, no one else saw.

When we got back to the room, I fell asleep immediately, having been awake for 36 hours. Day one was a success!