Map of the Island of Capri

Monday, 8/28/2000

Mandy (my maid-of-honor) picked us up at 2:30 to take us to RDU. Laura and Adam were with us when she got there to take some wedding cake home. We got to RDU, checked in, and went to gate A23 to wait almost 2 hours. Doug's dad came to say good-bye and took some pictures. We ate a regular #8 from Jersey Mike's and a Mountain Dew. We talked about what we did before the wedding while we were apart.

Tuesday, 8/29/2000

We did not get any real quality sleep on the plane to Paris. We played Phase 10 and Doug won. We got to CDG (Charles De Galle) at 9:30 am as scheduled. A good thing, since we had a horrible time finding our luggage and then the check-in desk for Alitalia. We had arrived at Terminal 1 but ending up having to ride an airport shuttle to terminal 2D. The plane to Naples was 20 minutes late taking off. We were tired, but a lunch with coconut pie revived us. They played Donald Duck, Pluto, and Chip and Dale movies and a Candid Camera-type thing called "Just Kidding". We crossed the Alps and saw little villages nestled between towering, snow-capped mountains. Vinny met us at the airport and we took a hired bus to the harbor.

When we got to Capri, we got in the Palace van with another newlywed couple from London. They had gotten married with a legal ceremony on 8/25 and a Hindu ceremony on 8/26. The ride up to Anacapri was scary. The van stopped at the hotel and we walked with Vinny to his house. He gave us a tour and some Coca-Cola. His dad was there. We came upstairs to take showers and had a nap before dinner at Marianna's house at 8:30. Vinny led us to her house through the narrow streets of Anacapri. When we got to her house, there was a sign on the gate that said, "Happy Birthday Douggy", and a NC flag hanging on the wall. We met her parents, Antonio and Mina. We sat and talked and looked at wedding pictures. Then we had a four-course dinner:

1. Cantelope and figs with ham (figs from Antonio's garden)
2. Spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce (tomatoes and basil from the garden)
3. Caprese (tomato, basil, and fresh water buffalo mozzarella cheese)
4. Chocolate birthday cake with rum flavoring

The cake said "Happy Birthday" in Italian. We had some homemade white wine and Coke to drink. Doug was very surprised by the whole birthday party (Carla had known about the party). We met their Persian cat and toured the house. Marianna's aunt Maria had cake with us and they sat at the table talking Italian. It brought back memories for Doug of his Italian friends, the Galasso family. All the food was very good. We got back to Vinny's around 11:30 pm.

Wednesday, 8/30/2000

The day began with a breakfast of cereal (Special K and Frosted Flakes, a.k.a. "Frosties"), cookies, and Nutella chocolate. Carla was distraught about having cookies with chocolate for breakfast. Then we walked to the post office and met Marianna there. We then walked to an overlook area, where you could see the Faraglioni and a lighthouse. We walked to a restaurant that also had a pool, where Marianna's dad works. It had a beautiful view. We went swimming and laid out in the sun. The little girls ran around without tops, which was strange. We ate lunch at the restaurant there and had ravioli, grilled chicken, and salad (lettuce with vinegar). Doug had some white wine, which was very strong. We had breadsticks, and Doug tried Vinny's fried minnows. We laid in the sun some more then walked to the chair lift to go to the top of Mount Solaro. The view was spectacular. We came back, took showers, and rested. At 8:30, Marianna came over and we all went to a restaurant and had pizza. Carla had funghi (mushroom) pizza, and Doug had one with salami, ham, mushrooms, and olives. Very yummy! Then we took a walk and looked at the city lights of Capri. On the way back, we stopped for some delicious ice cream. Carla had chocolate and pistachio, and Doug had chocolate with chocolate chip and whipped cream. We walked around Anacapri some and got home around midnight.

Thursday, 8/31/2000

After the usual breakfast of cookies with chocolate and cereal, we got on a bus and went to the city of Capri. We walked to the city center. We saw the "Living Room of the World" where there are always people, all the time. We walked to the gardens of Augustus (?) and saw breathtaking views of the Faraglioni. We had lemon Italian ice. We walked through the narrow streets some more, and then around 1 pm, we stopped for lunch. Carla had a tomato, mozzarella, and basil sandwich, and Doug had a calzone. We bought some little pizzas for snacking on the boat. While we waited for Marianna to join us, we went to the toilette. It cost L500 per person. Then Marianna came, and we took the funicolaire (similar to a subway going down the mountain) down to the Marina Grande. We got on a boat to sail around the island. We tried to go around clockwise, but we turned around because it was too rough. We stopped twice to swim, once in front of an ancient villa of Emperor Tiberius, and later in a crevice/canyon. We went to the Blue Grotto, and Carla swam inside. It was colder in the cave. We really enjoyed swimming with the goggles and lying in the sun on the boat. We came back around 5:15 to shower and rest, then went to dinner around 9 pm at a restaurant next to Vinny's church. Doug had gnocchi and a steak with tomato and oregano. Carla had grilled zucchini with pasta and alfredo-type sauce and steak marinated with balsamic vinaigrette. We had watermelon for dessert. Little kids playing soccer nearby kept kicking the ball under our table. Dogs were walking by our table. We taught Marianna the difference between Yankees and Southerners and their ways of speaking. We walked to the Capri Palace, and on the way, there were little girls dancing on the stage to prepare for an upcoming festival. Carla was acting very silly. At the hotel we had cappuccinos and listened to the lounge singer. We asked Vinny why he says, "Pronto" when he answers the phone. It means "ready", not "quickly". We got back around midnight.

Friday, 9/1/2000

We were planning on going to Positano today, but the sea was too rough and so there were no ships going there. So after breakfast, we wrote an email and Doug looked at weather maps. First we went to the Capri Palace to see Vinny's dad, then we walked around and to the Villa San Michele of Axel Munthe, a Swiss doctor who lived there. It was a huge house with beautiful gardens. We saw herds of tourists at the shops. We told Vinny we were glad we had our own private tour guide. We were glad to be staying with him so we could see real Italian life and not tourist life. We went to water the flowers on his mother's grave. All the graves were very well kept and had fresh flowers. They put the maiden name of the women on the grave and dig up the remains after 10 years to be put in a wall vault. We walked around some more shops and went to the local grocery store. We tasted some really good Parmesan cheese. Then we had lunch at Le Arcate, where we had the pizzas a few nights before. Doug had pasta with eggplant with mozzarella and tomato sauce. Carla had a fettuccine-type noodle with mushrooms and cream sauce. It took a long time to get to us, but Carla chowed down on the bread. Then we came home and slept. We woke up and taught Vinny Phase 10. Then Carla took a shower and Marianna came at 8:45. We took a taxi to Capri to a very nice, upscale restaurant, Da Paolina. The tables are all under lemon trees. It is a popular restaurant where the rich and famous go. Vinny recognized an Italian tennis player at the table next to us (Pannatto?). For an appetizer, there was a huge buffet, about 50 choices. For the main course, Carla had grilled chicken with lemon, and Doug had pasta with beans that are exclusive to Capri. There were also some appetizers brought to us: fried zucchini, flower-fried ravioli, and bambo (?) (fried something stuffed with cheese and mozzarella). After dinner, they gave us lemon liquer, which was very strong. They had a dessert buffet with about 30 choices, including fresh fruit. Everything was delicious. It was topped off with a cappuccino. During dinner, we talked with Vinny and Marianna about differences between different Protestant denominations. They asked questions about what we thought about the Pope, saints, and the Virgin Mary. We talked about the differences between Catholics and Protestants. We also talked about homeschooling. We taught Marianna some idiomatic expressions like "cloud 9", "in the doghouse", "chicken with its head cut off", and others. She enjoyed this. We got back around 12:30, after a leisurely walk in Anacapri.

Saturday, 9/2/2000

After breakfast, Vinny took us shopping in Anacapri. We bought a porcelain flower vase for Mom S., some magnets for Mom G. and ourselves, playing cards for Barry, a clock for ourselves, candy, and olive oil. Vinny's friend Amato who worked in the grocery store made our lunches. Salami with water buffalo mozzarella on bread for Doug, and cooked ham with water buffalo mozzarella on bread for Carla. We took a bus down to the Lido del Faro (Beach of the Lighthouse). We sat in the sun for a while and then ate. We swam in the pool, and then Carla talked Doug into going swimming in the sea. It was very rough. Doug was hesitant because of his limited swimming skills, but he went in anyway. He soon realized it was too rough and swam back as fast as he could. He thought he might drown. He made it back and sat down, his poor little heart racing, breathing heavily, and legs hurting. Carla was right next to him and people asked Vinny if he was OK. They even offered to take him to the hospital. He was fine, just tired from swimming for his life! :) Carla did not go back in because Doug was scared for her. We came home and showered and slept until around 7:15. We left to eat at Marianna's at 8:30. For the first course, we had homemade ravioli stuffed with cheese. It was topped with tomato sauce and a basil leaf. For the second course, we had eggplant parmigiana. It was very different from what we have in the USA. We had coffee, cookies, and stracciatella (vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips and fudge) for dessert. Marianna's roommates, Tanya and Gabriella were visiting from Naples. We got home around 11:15 pm.

Sunday, 9/3/2000

We woke up around 9:00. Doug showered while Carla packed, then we had breakfast. Doug will miss Nutella. We went to the Capri Palace to get a ride to the marina and say bye to Vinny's dad. We saw Marianna and her friends at the marina. We said our goodbyes and got on the boat. The sea was very rough and we felt sick. We both were close to throwing up but got there in time. We had a cab waiting for us to take us to the airport. We ate a sandwich at the airport and went through some stores. The flight was about 30 minutes late. We got on a bus just to go about 100 feet to the plane. We really enjoyed Capri, but we were ready to go to Paris and then go home.

We arrived in Paris around 6:00; finding our way around the airport was much easier this time. We bought tickets for the RER (train) and got off on the Luxembourg stop. The hotel was a couple blocks away. We went walking a little to the Pantheon, then around the outside of a park called Jardin de Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens). There was artwork of aerial photography displayed around the park. We decided to turn around before it got dark. We ate at a nice restaurant. Doug had gespacho, lamb, and chocolate cake. Carla had onion soup, lamb, potatoes au gratin, tomato, broccoli, and gingerbread cake with chocolate icing. We both had a cappuccino afterwards. It was good, but a little disappointing after all the great Italian food. Then we went back to the hotel.

Monday, 9/4/2000

We got up at 8:30 and had chaussons aux pommes (apple pastries) and espresso and hot chocolate at a little store called La Croissanterie. We walked to Notre Dame and walked around inside. The line to go up the tower was very long so we just walked around it instead. Then we walked to Saint Chappelle. Then we walked to the Louvre just to see the pyramids at the entrance. We got on the Metro and rode to the Arc De Triomphe and Champs-Elysees. We had a hard time finding the stairs to go under the street. We climbed the 284 steps to the top and then found out there was an elevator! Then we rode the metro to the Eiffel Tower. We bought a sandwich and some Sprite and ate it on a bench near the tower. We got to the tower and went up to the second (of three) levels. The top was closed "for technical reasons". Next we tried to go to Sacre-Coeur. We got off at Abbesses stop but we could not see any signs to tell us where it was. We bought a baguette and Dr. Pepper, then decided to go back because the area looked sketchy and we felt uncomfortable. We rode back to the hotel area and walked around the Jardin de Luxembourg. It was very pretty. We went back to the hotel and took a nap. We were picked up at 7:35 to go to the dinner cruise on the Seine. It was very la-dee-da on the boat as everyone wore a coat and tie or a dress. We ate lobster, escargot (snails), quail (Doug), beef (Carla), cheese, champagne, red and white wine, baked Alaska, and a fruit pie. It was very romantic! There was an accordian player, and we danced (or tried to) on the top of the boat. They also gave us coffee and a very strong liquor that was awful. Then we rode back to the hotel with some Japanese tourists.

Tuesday, 9/5/2000

We woke up around 8:00 and went to McDonald's for breakfast, but their menu was weird, so we went to a boulangerie (bakery) for baguettes, a chocolate eclair, and chaussons aux pommes (apple pastries). We checked out of the hotel and took the RER to CDG. We were excited to be going home even though it was a wonderful honeymoon.