Capri Sun (After the Rain)

After a rushed breakfast right when the buffet opened, we ordered a taxi to the port of Sorrento. I had booked on Viator a small group boat tour to Capri as I thought this would be easiest for the family. When I came in 2015, we had taken the ferry from Naples and booked a tour on the island, but we had more leisure time as we had stayed several nights. Memories from 2015 can be read here.

Upon arrival at the port, it was chaos with different tour groups, but also because it had started to rain. We were still given the go-ahead and when we boarded, immediately headed inside and were crammed on one of the bunk beds. All twelve of us were regretful and there was a couple from San Francisco, a mother-daughter duo from England, and some college girls from Michigan - all pretty bummed out.

But in about 30 minutes, the rain stopped and the sun started peeking out. We starting drinking beers and the young folks sat upfront on the boat. Here’s a picture of the Italian Navy flag in the sun and includes symbols for the four maritime republics - Amalfi (octagonal white cross on a light blue background), Genoa (red Cross of St George on a white background), Pisa (white cross on a red background), and Venice (golden St Mark’s lion brandishing a sword on a purple background):



We circled Capri and saw the same places as in 2015 with Amanda and it was fun to revisit. Capri is technically in the Tyrrhenian Sea and is a popular resort destination. The boat tour lets you really observe the limestone landscape with its high cliffs:







You can see a Mary statue inside the White Grotto:







The sea stacks or faraglioni rocks are the iconic symbols of Capri:







Here’s the green cave:



The Punta Carena Lighthouse:



And the famous Blue Grotto which was closed due to the choppy and high tide. I had hoped to visit, but alas struck out again. Maybe a third time will be the charm!



We then arrived at Marina Grande and were taxied in:





We were given about four hours on the island and opted for the hop on and hop off bus that I’m pretty sure is owned by our boat charter company. We first headed to Anacapri where we wandered the welcoming streets:





Then we headed to Capri which has beautiful views and very crowded streets with luxury stores:





For lunch, we sat near our dock at Lo Smeraldo and enjoyed seafood salad, fried mixed appetizers including zucchini flowers, spaghetti with clams, grilled calamari, and a chocolate cake. We also enjoyed the restaurant breaking out into Neapolitan songs and cheers under the shady terrace:



After taxi-ing back to our boat, the group wanted to jump in. Justin and I had to be persuaded as we weren’t as young as the others, but we finally did it:



I had to screenshot a video as my mom only took video when we were in the water:



Then we left Capri for Sorrento enjoying fruit and prosecco and the warm sun:



After taking a cab back to the hotel, we all rested and took it easy. Here’s a photo of Mount Vesuvius from the pool including one of many lemon trees in the garden:



The big news for the night and as warned by the U.S. Embassy through my STEP notification, was the Napoli home football match against Cagliari to clinch the Serie A championship - it would be the second time they’ve won in three years. The football club is famous for Diego Maradona who played in the 80s and as we overheard a tour guide today in Capri, stores were closing at 6:30 pm so folks can get home for the 8:45 pm match, and the city will go nuts if they win. The coach has also won the Serie A championship with two other teams, so winning with a third team would be momentous. I learned the Italian soccer league title is also known as the Scudetto which means “small shield” as the winning team gets to wear it on their kit for the following season.

I headed to the lobby to watch the game and shared a couch with some friendly Brits and enjoyed a draft beer and bar snacks. The family comfortably watched the game from the hotel room:



The bar was filling up and the staff would huddle around the TV after the goals to watch the replay. The ambiance was also interesting because they had a cover singer belting out Whitney Houston, Alicia Keyes, Billie Eilish, and others as we watched the game. Naples won 2-0 and from the hotel terrace, you could see fireworks, honking, lights, and excitement from across the Gulf of Naples and surrounding areas. Here’s the pandemonium at the stadium on the lounge TV:



It reminded me of the time when Atletico Madrid won La Liga when I was in Spain in 2013. So fun to be near the action and to see the locals so excited!