We overcame some difficult logistics and arrived on Capri by ferry yesterday around 12:30; by the time we got a taxi to Anacapri and checked in to our hotel it was already 1:30. Thursday night we trudged up the several hundred steps with all of our heaviest luggage and packed the cars. Yesterday morning we got out of the rented house by 8:00, drove to the hotel we will stay in Sunday night in Napoli and left most of our luggage there—keeping only what we needed for a couple of days on Capri. We then taxied to the ferry and on to Capri. Lots of movement with a group of 7 but we did okay. We went to lunch yesterday around 1:30 and ate, talked and drank until 5:00 or so and then went to the hotel for a few hour siesta. We had a terrific dinner at LaZagara at 10:00pm—our table nestled in among a grove of lemon trees. We had caprese, pasta, fresh sea bass and shrimp, steak, salads and lots of wine and coffee after. At midnight, we officially kicked of Sjoerd’s birthday with singing and champagne. We stopped for more wine and water and had a nightcap at the solarium and went to bed around 2:00am.
Today we just lazily wandered the little village and gathered for a long lunch at a little place with nice outside tables. As is the way here, several courses with plenty of wine and coffee and gelato for dessert. And then another siesta. It was plenty hot so nice to lie in front of the fan and nap a little. Tonight Sjoerd has a nightclub booking for all of us starting from around midnight. It will definitely be a long night and I don’t know how many of us will make it all night long. We shall see.
The nightclub experience was a bit surreal—like re-visiting a 70’s club but 10x the price and some decidedly odd behavior. Hundreds of seriously beautiful people crowded in and everyone was dancing, singing and drinking. The live band was decent and focused on sing-along favorites although many were unknown to us Americans. But there were some cheesy routines that quickly grew old. Every time someone ordered a new bottle of liquor (the cheapest was $400/bottle and went up to $2,000/bottle) a gaggle of male servers brought the bottle out, carrying it along with glasses over their heads with sparklers attached by rubber bands to the sides of the bottle. A few guest singers occasionally joined the band and at one point, very inexplicably, a 70+ old man took the stage and did a partial strip act. No one saw that coming. The place was massively over-crowded and so at one point I went outside for some air and found that there were several hundred people standing in line hoping to still get inside. Sjoerd had pre-booked our cover fees and so we were inside the exclusive area, which was also very over-crowded and claustrophobia inducing. We were happy because Sjoerd enjoyed it, but generally speaking it was a very odd experience. The place is known for celebrity visits, and of course the mandatory celebrity photos with the owner covered the walls, but it is odd at how average the overall experience was. I suppose it is just because it is Capri but it was the sort of night club experience that most people try to avoid, or at most, don’t spend several thousand dollars to participate. It was more like a bad Vegas bachelor party but without the strippers.
With all of that, we had fun because, well, we just always have fun no matter where we are. You could drop Sjoerd and I together in the Sahara and before long we would be chatting people up and having fun and making a party.
We stayed only until around 2:30 am and then caught a taxi back to AnaCapri where we had a quick nightcap before bed.
As with the other posts in this series, photos are in ‘meandering‘.
The Martini Tales 