Suck it Starbucks, and off to Capri we go.

Flynn and Ollie decided they may as well make the trip to Capri, since, you know, they are already on the Amalfi coast. At the ungodly hour of 8 am, they stumble onto the Sita bus outside the nest. Turns out, the bus was full of high-school students, who were more than a little amused at the pink and brown fuzzy tourists on “their bus” that morning. Well, fine. Glad F & O could provide entertainment. In Amalfi, while waiting for the boat, there was a quick nosh. Ollie is traditional, with a croissant, but Flynn had to buck the norm by having a tuna sandwich. Flynn does love his fish. Both F & O were allowed to have cappuccinos, finally! News flash: natives ONLY have cappuccinos as their first cuppa in the am, and consider it to be similar to a breakfast shake due to the large amount of milk. Coffee is taken frequently throughout the day as espresso, and the amount of milk in a cappuccino is considered ‘icky’. Flynn loves it this way, Ollie is tolerant. So, suck it Starbucks with your milk-heavy over roasted beans!

Onto the boat. It was breezy and chilly, so F & O had the upper deck to themselves. Not for the first time this trip, Flynn realizes that most humans are wimps. Give up that view just to avoid a little water? And, he means a little. Mist, sea spray, dew… get a grip, folks. After getting out of harbor, and onto the sea, the skies cleared (but not the wind) so the views were stunning. Got to Capri in an hour or so, did a quickie tour around 1/2 of the island (it was too windy for the boat to go all the way around, despite the sun), and began drooling over the blue-blue-blue water. Both F & O are water creatures, ya know.

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Off the boat, and onto the island. One would think that 5 hours plenty of time so see the highlights, but unless you are a Hilton franchise owner (he has a private island off the coast) and can afford to hire a driver for the day, waiting for buses will take up most of your time. They are cheap, but packed and slow and long, long lines. No, seriously, if you see long lines for da bus, either walk (not recommended on the main roads), or catch a cab. Lesson learned for next trip. The funicular was worth the short wait, and was only two euros.

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Naturally, F & O had lunch (meaning some food with their cocktails), at a charming ristorante overlooking the sea. It was authentic enough that ordering something other than wine was difficult, but persistence paid off. The waiter lit up when ‘mojito’ was mentioned, and he had to hurry off to make sure they had mint on hand. (Flynn believes they ran to the store to get it.) Now, the drink was a mojito of sorts. It had sugar and mint and rum. Yeah, that’s it. No soda water, and they may have walked it past a lime as they were bringing it to table. About 3 shots of rum, some undissolved sugar-in-the-raw, and an entire mint plant put Flynn under the table. Flynn is more fun that way. Pizza (yum) and salad (yum and healthy) and really, really good basalmic with the bread rounded out the meal.

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F & O strolled by and through some shops, spoke with locals and tourists alike, bought a scarf, and had an espresso (NOT a latte) and dessert in Anacapri to sober up. Flynn spotted the Aria and Eureka & thought he might be on the wrong continent. It was a fabulous day all in all, the weather was (gotta say it) picture perfect. Before they knew it, it was time for F & O to stand in line for the bus for an hour to get back to the marina. Hint: standing in bus queues is the best way to meet humans. Flynn learned French there!

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Back on the boat, F & O fought for good seats on the top deck; now that the wimpy humans had good weather they also wanted to be out-of-doors on the trip back. Fresh air, the stunning coastline, and a day of meandering Capri was over. F & O were disappointed they did not see Pierce Brosnan or Meryl Streep there ~ maybe next time. Needless to say, they also opted to walk back to Atrani from Amalfi rather than stand in the bus queue.

Fin

Flynn