Capricious Capri
Have you ever visited a place so beautiful and captivating that you actually felt bubbly?
Welcome to Capri, the retirement island home of Emperor Tiberius and Sofia Loren. Originally part of the mainland until an earthquake freed it from future civilization, the island was virtually ignored from the time of the Philistine until the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii in the 18th Century.
Today it is a Mecca for tourists like us, taking smartphone memories for texting to family and friends, and visiting the most extravagant shops that line the narrow streets.
From Anacapri which rises nearly a thousand feet above the port town of Capri (which shares its name with the island ), one can stroll the Krupp garden and enjoy the sites of the cliffside estates of Georgio Armani and Fiona Swarovski to name two.
It is an idyllic, unreal place where one can forget that life is difficult and vacations are earned with hard work. One can lose track of reality.
Well, why not?
We certainly can't afford to live here, nor could we stay in one of the five star deluxe hotels, so why not visit, enjoy the day and relish in the memory?
You could argue that vacations like this are a bit selfish. I am not traveling to a remote island to help build a school or teach people something that will change their economic conditions. Oh, but I am contributing to the local economy and that is good, but are we really concerned about the plight of gelateria owners in Capri?
I don't think so. No, this is all about a personal experience, with one exception, it is time shared with loved ones.
When we return home, we will cherish and share these memories with each other and with loved ones. The memories will melt into a story and the story will bring us closer to others.
Another thing will happen as well. We will recall the people we met, people from all over the world who shared thwir stories with us and listened to ours.
The lesson?
I will take this away from my journey to the bubbly island. We enjoyed our time walking and talking with people we never would have met had we stayed home.
It isn't saving the world, but it is a way to show the world that we can get along, have fun and not kill each other.
How is that for Capricious Capri?
