Beauty in a word: “Capri”; Adventure in a phrase: “Scenic Mountain Pass”

Our day trip to Capri made the entire hull over the atlantic worth it.  We spent the night at the Naval Lodge at the Military Support Site in Naples, then took the ferry across the bay to Capri.  

Kate, myself, and Reid spent the day amidst the breathtaking views of the blue Mediterranean, jagged cliffs of the Island, narrow streets and busy shops, and quant piazzas with overpriced cappuccinos  The streets were lined with citrus trees, and lemons hanged from the windows.  A sign of fertility, lemons have long been a staple

 of Capri.  The area is also known for its lemon-flavored alcohol: lemonchelo.  Made of grain alcohol, lemons, and sugar: it’s barreled

 for forty days (the time of lent), and is at least 35% alcohol.  Definitely just for sipping.

The highlight of day must have been lunch, when the owner of the Ristorante took Reid into the kitchen so Reid could pick out his own fresh made pasta.  While Kate and I were enjoying a

 litre de blanco vino di casa (pitcher of the white house wine) the owner and Reid ventured down the street where Reid saw lobsters, fish, and prawns at the the seafood market.  They returned five minutes later as Reid was commenting about the ‘big claws’ of the lobster.  Kate and I were concerned, as we started another glass of wine...

On the way home our GPS stopped working, so Kate and I had to navigate the busy streets of Naples to get back to the Naval Base about 20 minutes outside of town.  With narrowly-missed accidents and a marriage still in tact, we survived the stressful drive back.

The following day we went to Pompeii and Sorento with our new friends Ryan and Kate.  The sheer magnitude of the ruins was amazing.  The key to touring Pompeii, however, is making reservations which are free but are designed to control the amount of people entering the more delicate places such as some of the private houses and buildings.  Luckily Kate researches such things and plans accordingly.  The buildings requiring reservations are much better preserved - where you can actually see much of the artwork still on the walls (some of the scenes should be rated XXX - especially in the bathhouse). 

From Pompeii we drove to Sorrento, a costal town on the bay.  We strolled on the streets and ate a leisurely dinner in a quant alleyway restaurant.  Most memorable was not the town itself, but the drive home.  Only 40 miles away from Naples, the GPS said it should only take an hour to get back to the base.  But we got stuck in Italy’s version of beach traffic.   In order to circumvent the stop-and-go, we attempted the route our tour book affectionally called the ‘scenic mountain pass.’  The issue was getting up to it.  The 70% uphill grade on streets only wide enough for one car, but with two-way traffic, was a challenge.  When a car came in the other direction, both cars had to get into the opposite ditch, and slowly drive past each other.  When one car had a cliff face to it’s side, it made it even more challenging.  The steep grade made it near impossible.  What made it hilarious was that I was driving a manual transmission rental car (I hadn't driven a stick shift in years).  Starting the car in a ditch on a 70% uphill grade with a car right behind me was nerve-racking.  I stalled and rolled down hill 15 meters, forcing the car following to quickly throw it in reverse.  From then on, the driver behind me gave me plenty of breathing room...  Eventually we made it back to the costal road with the traffic.  Not sure how much time we saved (if any), but cracking up after stalling and the nighttime view from the top of the mountain overlooking the coastline made the adventure worth it.