We woke up early enough, had a great continental breakfast,
but ended up missing the first boat to Capri because one of the people from the
other group wasn't ready on time.
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| Typical morning on the way to various sites |
We meet Paulo and he took us to Capri by boat. When we
arrived on the island we had two parts on our itinerary. The first part of the
trip was getting on another boat to see the Blue Grotto. Three to four tourist
got on a small rowboat and took us to the small opening that was the entrance
to the grotto. Inside was dark, but the light from outside the edges of the
cave gave the water a luminescent blue color which was pretty to the eye.
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| Going to see the Blue Grotto from the isle of Capri |
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| The Blue Grotto |
The second part was completed on the island. We took the
funicular (cable car) up to the main commercial part of the island. We dined at
a restaurant for 21000 Lira. I had swordfish, salad (with an excellent
vinegar/oil dressing), fries (with vinegar, of course), and ice cream.
After lunch, I decided to exchange 50 dollars American and
got back 100,000 Lira. I thought I had a good rate at 2062 Lira/dollar, but got
nailed with a 3% commission for 3100 Lira.
Paulo gave us a choice to either go down to the beach and
shop or stay with him for a tour. All the kids wanted to shop and swim in the
Mediterranean. Tamara took them back and I got the quick tour afterwards I got
to soak my feet in the Mediterranean.
We almost missed our boat because of late people from both
groups (which seemed to be the theme of the day), but got back Naples in time
to pick up our bus to Rome. I talked to Alessandra during the bus trip and
found out these facts about her:
1. She's 31 and single
2. She went to a linguistic/humanities secondary school
3. She's from the southern part of Italy, east of Naples
4. She's not too keen on the Italian government
5. She teaches English
Annika had an interesting comment about the difference
between American men and Italian men. Italian men are much smoother in their
talk then Americans are.
A long bus ride later, we reached Rome. Our driver and
Alessandra had a hard time trying to find the Hotel Touring, and did well to
maneuver through the Roman streets and traffic. The kids approved of their
rooms and we went to eat at about 8:00 p.m. We were serenaded by the only tenor
from Bosnia, who went to Italy because of war. The restaurant told him when we
would be there and he sang while we ate, tenor style. he even closed with O
Sole Mia, which Alessandra liked immediately. He collected money for tips which
I guess, he uses to get by on in Italy and still practice his art.
Back at the hotel, the kids wandered up and down the street
to explore what was going on. I stayed by the door of the hotel to write
postcards and finish my journal. The kids were very good about staying in
groups and minding.
Mary, Stephanie, Amber and Jenny were talked to by a fellow
who wanted to be friends. They said "No", and came back to the hotel
to get me. I sort of body guarded them to the end of the street. They bought ice
cream for 5000 lira. The store was very ritzy.
After unsuccessfully helping the girls use their credit
cards for the phones, I went to bed.
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