Rome via Brooklyn

DOUBLE. 692 Words, 4 Minutes

This Saturday was one of my most exciting days in Italy. The night before I’d made the trip from Pompeii to Castellamare di Stabia to the Airbnb that Moussa, Jibriel, and I stayed in. While it was a relatively short train ride, the journey from the station to the apartment was arduous, as it involved scaling what seemed like a mountain through multiple twists and turns, carrying bags in the summer heat. I also experienced something for the first time in my life: hardly anyone in the town I was in spoke English. Interacting with store owners involved miming and broken Italian to get my requests across, so I ended up ordering delivery for dinner. It was humbling, but reinforced my desire to learn the language properly. The town itself was beautiful, our apartment overlooking a worn old church and the stone street. 

Our delivery experience was not ideal. Initially we ordered Chinese food, chicken fried rice times three. That restaurant almost immediately canceled on us, we assume because they didn’t want to climb our hill. I hungrily searched for an alternative. The constant need to screenshot each menu and send it to Google Translate wore thin quickly, as my stomach burned and my cognitive abilities dulled. 

Finally, we settled on a sandwich shop with very confusing descriptions. We placed our order; “Ready in 30 minutes”, it said. We foolishly believed the machine. An hour passed. It was now 10 PM. We were famished, dare I say hangry. Another 30 minutes. After desperately searching around the entrance in case they had left the food and forgot to tell us, I decided it was time to call. I knew they likely wouldn’t speak English, but I had to try. After ringing for a bit, they picked up. Unsurprisingly, we were unable to communicate. However, as if sent by God, the doorbell rang as I was hanging up the phone. Our food was here. I thanked our driver and brought the meal upstairs. It was disgusting, but protein nonetheless.

I left for Capri in the morning with Jibriel. The commute involved a train and a ferry and was about an hour and fifteen minutes. On our way, we met a group of fellow American study-abroad students. They were here from Michigan studying engineering, and we talked about the similarities and differences in our programs and shared stories about our time in Italy. Coincidentally they are also lodging in Rome, not far from us. 

Upon arriving in Sorrento for our ferry, the beauty in store for us was immediately clear. We made the 15-minute walk to the port, weaving through tourists and picking up the fresh smells of breakfasts, coffee, and sunscreen. We arrived at our boat and took the 40-minute ferry across to Capri. This ride on its own was worth the trip, as we observed the boaters, blue water, and tall mountains. 

In Capri, we met up with Jessica and Rachel. They joined us for more travel, and we walked 35 minutes up the mountain to a free beach. Once we were there, however, all this work became worth it. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been; we soaked in the water, took photos, jumped from rocks, and suntanned. It was idyllic. After two or three hours we decided to grab some lunch, and I had some delicious fried fish with zucchini fries. 

Once lunch was finished, we headed to the Gardens of Augustus. This involved another climb, our third in 24 hours. The gardens were stunning, however, and offered about great view of the water. Afterward, we grabbed some gelato and headed back to the port. Jibriel and I boarded our ferry, and then the train back to Castellamare. 

Once I was back in the apartment I had to quickly pack then leave to catch my train to Rome. I barely made it, arriving in Naples at 10:08 just in time to board at 10:18. I arrived at my apartment around 12:45 (bus delays), and immediately fell asleep. 

Side note: With all this Italian beach excitement, it’s hard not to think a bit about The Talented Mr. Ripley. Not to say I’m planning on… reenacting the book in full, but I can try to live out the excitement of the travel, the beaches, the food, etc., right? Right…?