A Different Species

Italy's government is on the brink of collapse. Prime Minister Draghi offered to resign on Thursday, opening up a path for a new government.  President, Sergio Mattarella, however, did not accept the resignation. Inflation is high, the drought is unprecedented and war in Europe rages on.  But you'll hear no schadenfreude from me. I do not take heart in the fact that the country of my temporary residence is just as effed-up as the one I left three months ago.  I feel sad and discouraged on both fronts. On all fronts. Our earth is the cesspool of the universe right now.  That said, we just returned from a lovely five days on the Amalfi Coast.

It has been two weeks since my last blog.  We spent the first in Florence, visiting our favorite haunts, taking long strolls in the evenings when the weather is cool(er), and getting our last minute shopping done. The euro and the dollar are equal at last! We are almost as familiar with Florence now as we are with Newtown.

Then it was off to Capri by train and hydrofoil to meet Dan and Kristen and their friends (and ours) Jacob and Phil, in order to celebrate Dan's 40th birthday.  We have been fairly frugal in our travels thus far. With the exception of Lake Como, which was a moderate splurge, we have been staying in musty, un-airconditioned airbnbs, small B&Bs and noisy but charming weirdly decorated hotels.  Capri was the major splurge of this three-month idyll.  There is nothing to say except that we feel incredibly privileged to have had this experience.  It is a memory I will cherish forever.  

The Amalfi Coast is nothing short of spectacular...villages nestled into cliffs, azure blue water, flowers that bloom most of the year, refreshing breezes and the scent of lemon permeating the air.  We greedily drank it all up. 

A visit to the Blue Grotto is a must when visiting the Amalfi Coast.  Despite arriving early in the morning as advised, we stood in line for nearly a half hour. Worth the wait!  You board small boats and are led into the grotto by experienced guides. Ducking down to avoid a traumatic brain injury upon entering the low entrance to the cave, you sit up thirty seconds later in a blue wonderland. These photos were created by nature, not CGI special effects. There must be a scientific reason behind the wondrous color that has to do with the sun's reflection on the water and the cave walls and whatever, but I really don't care what it is.  Our guide suggested that Dan and Kristen hop into the water for a romantic little swim, which they happily did. I think he realized if I jumped into the water I would never be able to climb my way back into the boat. It would not be a romantic picture.

We spent two glorious days with the kids, and then went to Ravello for two days in search of replacement dishes for the ones that chipped in the set of dishes we purchased seven years ago. Harold has excellent radar and found the one shop that sells our particular pattern. The dishes were still in the same place on the shelf!  We replaced the two chipped dishes and bought one extra for good luck. Mission accomplished!

For dinner in our hotel's fancy shmancy restaurant, we got all gussied up. Harold even wore real shoes. It didn't matter. We still looked like slobs next to the ultra-wealthy yacht and jet set that populates the place. We don't normally feel like fish out of water, but these people don't even walk...they sort of float. I could work on my posture for 20 years and not walk like that.  The women literally pick at their food, and the weather wouldn't dare screw with their hair for fear of recriminations too awful to imagine. The conversations we overheard at breakfast were about their thrice annual trips to Sardinia or Majorca, and their shopping excursions to Milan or Paris. I am not kidding.  There is privilege and then there is ridiculous privilege.  Harold says we are simply a different species.  No matter the machinations we employ, we could could never achieve "the look."  Fine with me.

I like this look.

And I like the fact that this is not just another jaunt for us.  It is the trip of a lifetime. On the way home we had time for a pizza at the train station in Naples. After two and a half months, we finally found better pizza than we can get at home.  Even if it was the worst pizza in Naples it was the best pizza we have ever tasted!  Simply scrumptious! Take that you people who flew home on your jet!

We are back in Florence now, at the tail end of our Italian adventure. My precious niece, Samantha, arrives in two days and we will be her tour guides. We know just where to take her to eat, shop, learn and enjoy. It seems apropos that we end our journey by introducing someone we love to the wondrous city of Firenze.