Tali Goes Travelling

Zooming around corners, crossing the non-existent median line, trying to stay standing on a packed bus after a bottle of wine with lunch, I had a major epiphany. I realised Italy makes me happy to be alive, for two reasons: 1) It is breathtakingly beautiful and 2) Sometimes there is so little regard for personal safety that I value my life more now than before I arrived in Italy.

Capri is a summer getaway for the rich and famous and with priceless views like these I can see why. We visited in the middle of winter and although all the Gucci, Prada and Bulgari stores were closed, there was actually space to wander through the skinny walkways. The restaurants off the main street even had reasonably priced food. We did stay away from the cafés in the main squares, where one of my students (an Italian) was charged €4 for a single shot of coffee! Outrageous when €0.80 is the standard price in Rome.

“Cleanliness and silence are signs of civilisation – respect them.” It’s not just Romans who are very proud of their 2000 years of civilisation.

After all these amazing views, and eating food like this, there’s no way possible not to be happy to be alive. (Don’t tell the Italians that I put parmesan on my seafood pasta – they might put a black mark by my name and hold me for questioning next time I try to enter the country).

Capri is dominated by these cute little three-wheeled Apes which zoom around the island with little regard for seatbelts, corners, pedestrians or sheer cliffs.

I even found one in the perfect blue for me:

And after a day exploring the island, we were farewelled by this beautiful sunset.