A month has gone by since Julie and I arrived here in Italy. I’ve been asked what my favorite part of the trip has been so far and honestly it seems impossible to pick any certain part. Maybe when it comes to a close, while I try to recap our adventure, something will stand out and i’ll think… yep, thats the one. Until that time arrives, I’m completely content sitting here with my door open, watching the hail and rain beat down or exploring the next corner of Italy.
It has been rainy and the winds have been blowing for a few days on the coast. Although it seems pretty miserable to us, it's also been a good opportunity to rest and relax while we wait for the arrival of Katie and Josiah. Ever since Katie spent her time living in Italy, we have talked and planned about visiting Italy together one day. Well today that day has come, though it wont be with Katie exactly, it will be with Joelle… the name she prefers to go by and the name Julie and I are getting used to calling her. She never did like the name Katie and is only known by Joelle amongst all her friends for years now. We are going to do our best to switch over to her preferred name and that’s what I’ll be referring to her as in my writing from here on out. Besides, if we can greet someone here in Italy with buongiorno instead of hello… how hard could Joelle be for us. You’ll also probably see me refer to Joelle and Josiah as the Jo-Jo’s.
On the day of their arrival it was still cold and misty out, we originally felt bummed for them but then thought… heck, they live in Oregon, so they are use to this weather. It’s perfectly normal to them. When the cab pulled up and they jumped out, you could see the look of two weary travelers. Joelle informed us that she hadn’t slept in the past 42hrs. I tried to insist that she take a nap but nope, they wanted to go explore the city of Atrani. After a fairly short trip around the area, their thoughts turned to food. Pizza and gelato, the goal… at least one serving of each per day.
The morning greeted us with a cloudy but rainless day, perfect to explore the city of Amalfi. Julie and I acted as tour guides since of course, after living here for the past month, we were no longer considered tourists like the Jo’s were. Our confidence and superiority soon vanquished as Joelle’s Italian language skills quickly shed light on our inability to grasp the countries fiercely spoken language. Being here a month may not have given me an edge on the language but it did make me and excellent restaurant guide. I took them to my two favorites. First we went to Agricola Fore Porta, for a wonderful farm to table lunch. For dinner we went to Il Veliero, a small restaurant in the town square of Atrani run by a grandmother, mother and son. The mother is the chef and makes every dish independently. The food is fresh and flavorful and I could actually eat all the meals at their restaurant. What is interesting to note is that her youngest son just started high school and culinary school. I thought, who needs culinary school when you have such a talented chef as your mother.
Our past month has been fast paced and full of adventure, or so we thought. Since the Jo-Jo’s arrival, the pace has quickly sped up. Seeing as Julie and I have already experienced the area, we were completely content in trying to keep up and watch them experience the Amalfi Coast.
Back to the Island of Capri… what??? We need to go there again!? Yep, so we rented a small, private boat with a great captain named Alessandro who took us on a glorious ride around the island. We went into some caverns that formed small sea caves into the rocks and he explained to us interesting facts about the island. Alessandro has lived on the island his entire 75yrs of life, so he knew the best spot for us to take a refreshing dip in the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea. Very refreshing water temps of 60 degrees. Together, Joelle and I jumped in, laughing like two kids taking a polar plunge. For the first time, at that moment, I was no longer a senior back packing across Europe. I was a very happy Papa creating a memory with my youngest daughter, a young and vibrant lady who I now call Joelle. The time stood still and a precious memory was made.
The boat journey was fabulous, could it possibly be my favorite time yet? We circled around the famous Faraglioni rock formation of Capri. It is the smallest stack of three and is also referred to as Scopolo. This rock formation also contains the famous Faraglione di Mezzo’s archway. The legend of this archway states that if a couple kissed while going through the center, they will be together forever. So as I sang my favorite Dean Martin song, Volare, I reached over and gave Julie a romantic kiss just to see if the legend holds true.
Our last stop on the boat tour was adventuring into what is known as the Blue Grotto. The cave extends about 65 meters into the cliff and the water was 500ft deep with a sandy bottom. The entrance is only 2 meters wide and 1 meter high so in order to enter we had to lie flat on the bottom of a small boat. An oarsman used a chain attached to the walls and pulled us through the opening. Inside there was a raspy voiced oarsman singing Volare, oh, oh, oh! What an amazing time. The cave water was magical and glistened a beautiful fluorescent blue color.
After our boat tour, we explored the island with a stop for lunch. The menu of course… pizza and gelato. Another daily goal achieved. Tomorrow is our last day on the Amalfi Coast. The agenda is a cooking class at the farm to table cliff side retreat called Amalfi Heaven Gardens.