From London to Spain ~ VI

Capri

We arrived in Naples, Italy after a fun and relaxing day at sea. We had a total of three sea days throughout the duration of our cruise - which we found to be perfect opportunities to just chillax and take it easy. On our days at sea we typically would lay out on the pool deck and read. It wasn't very easy to find the prime lounge chairs because the cruise veterans usually staked a claim on those seats the night before the day at sea. For some reason I did not come prepared with something to read for the trip and I ended up being limited to the cruise library selection, where I chose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I'll admit, this was a pretty intense selection for the honeymoon - but a spectacular portait of Afghanistan and I enjoyed it a lot more than I did Hosseini's more popular book, "The Kite Runner". Days at sea also included a game of poker - where I typically had to convince Adam to play with me in the tournament (thanks to my little brother I love playing No Limit Hold 'Em tourneys) - and after convincing him to do so, he typically was more successful than I and even came in second in one of the games. During the day at sea they always have food out - you eat A LOT on these days. I would go for nachos and cheese like every couple of hours, wash those down with a delicious bevi, and typically follow that healthy selection with some sort of ice cream. And that my friends, constitutes a typical day at sea for Adam and I.

We had quite a few options for day trips in and around Naples and we settled on taking the ferry over to the island of Capri. From the Naples pier to Capri took us approximately 1 hour. We hadn't done a lot of research prior to our time in Capri and didn't really know what the island would have to offer. Once we got off the ferry we saw several signs for boat tours around the island and thought that would be a fun option.

~Sailing through the Faraglione di Mezzo - Capri's famous rocks~

~I loved the incredible rocks along the island of Capri - we didn't see any rock climbers though...~

~I really wanted to get out and swim around with this group - next time I think we'll hire a private boat to take us around the island for sightseeing and swimming!~

~Admiring my new bling and manicure - hey, come on - it's my honeymoon!~

~Another self-portrait~

~Inside the cave at the very top right corner is a statue of the Madonna~

~Mermaid Rock and the Siren Statue: this is believed to be the spot in mythical times where the sirens seduced seafarers with their song~

One of the photos outside the "tour around the island" boat station that caught be attention was a picture of the the Blue Grotto. Our guide gave us the option to wait in the que to experience the spectacular sea cave. After about an hours wait, and observing some pretty entertaining row boat captains (second to the Italian Gondoliers) we were able to experience the Blue Grotto. Sunlight, passing through an underwater cavity and shining through the seawater, creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern and I don't think any of the photos I took captures the beauty.

~Waiting to disembark our boat onto a row boat that takes you into the blue grotto~

~on the left you can see the row boat captain pulling his boat through the small cave entrance. on the right you see the most passionate of the row boat captains - he was very enthusiastic as he ordered the other sailors around~

~ Inside the Blue Grotto~

We were hungry once we finished the tour around the island. With the long stop at the Blue Grotto it took us approximately 3.5 hours to circle the entire island. I know this is going to sound very touristy and cliche - but all I wanted to eat the entire time I was in Italy was Bruschetta! Capri had the tastiest Bruschetta of the entire trip! I had to take a picture:

After an enjoyable lunch we decided to take the Funicular up to the top of the island to enjoy the gorgeous views that Capri is famous for. We didn't really know where to go so we just started wandering around and eventually stumbled upon the Giardini Augusto:

~View from the Funicolare on the way up~

~Gorgeous stone bridge, and my handsome hubby~

~The quintessential Capri picture~

Lastly, our trip would not be complete without a sample of the local lemon granita. This was definitely my second favorite drink on the honeymoon, the first being as you may recall Sangria in Venice. I'm not sure what it was exactly - perhaps Capri grows far better lemons than the rest of Italy - perhaps it was the location, or the day, or the view - but I fell in love with their lemon granita and I would venture back just for one, small sip! For those of you who may be traveling to Capri in the not-to-distant future, try the lemon granita next to the Giardini Augusto

Il Finito.

17 Mile Drive & Carmel, California

I was fortunate enough to travel out to Palo Alto for work and knowing that I was so close to California's beautiful, northern coastline and one of my dearest friends in the world, Katie Rye, I decided to extend my stay through the weekend! I woke up in Palo Alto on Saturday morning to 80 degree weather and sunshine. By the time we made it to the coast it was barely 60 degrees and very gray and cloudy. It was still beautiful out though and the cool temperature didn't prevent us from getting out and exploring the beach and surround landscapes.

For those of you who haven't taken the 17 Mile Drive, I highly recommend it. It's a stretch of road from Monterrey down to Carmel that is private - so you'll have to pay the $9 entrance fee to experience it - but it's well worth the price tag. You get to stop by any one of the three Pebble Beach golf courses - we stopped at the Inn at Spanish Bay to watch the last and final USA World Cup match. We had cocktails and enjoyed the biggest helping of onion straws (basically thin onion rings) that I have ever seen - all while enjoying the view of the bay. For those of you who enjoy a rockier beachscape - full of interesting, oddly shaped trees - with beautiful mansions perched along the hillside - you will definitely enjoy it!

~Katie and I: Self portrait at the Inn at Spanish Bay~

~You have to get out and climb some of the massive rocks along the drive~

~Curvy trees everywhere you look!~

~Katie catching some sweet air ~

~the bright yellow flowers really popped because it was such a gray day - I love gray and yellow!~

~More bendy trees~

~And a trip along 17 Mile Drive would not be complete without the infamous photograph of the Pebble Beach tree that they always show off during the U.S. Open (when it's at Pebble Beach). Interestingly enough, the Open took place at Pebble Beach the weekend before our visit, so we just missed Tiger :(~

After spending a couple of hours of parking our car and hopping out to enjoy the numerous view points, we departed the 17 Mile Drive and headed up through Carmel to our hotel for the evening, the Highland Inn. During the work week I had heard about the Highland Inn from one of the Naval Postgraduate professors. This is a gorgeous hotel that is very natural and blends in to it's surroundings with ease and elegance. The hotel is a dark wood material that fits in well with the dark colors on the cliff side that it is nestled into - and it overlooks Carmel Bay! This was my first visit to Carmel and I must say that it is one of my new favorite beach towns in the U.S.! It's so charming, with small little cottages where the retailers and art dealers sell their odds and ends, flowers, pine trees, and a nice sandy beach at the bottom of the hill. It has a very quaint feeling and I really enjoyed our time there.

They have a candy store there called the Cottage of Sweets which I highly recommend - what's more fun than picking up some salt water taffy, fudge, or sour belts as you meander around the beach? Plus, if you check out the link you will notice that the candy store is situated in a mini Snow White cottage - it looks like something straight out of Disneyland! And for all of you ladies who get excited whenever you see a Coach outlet - there is one of those as well!

~Views of Carmel Bay from the Highlands Inn~

That evening we decided to hang out at the hotel and enjoy dinner and the view from the Highlands Inn. We had a great evening - complete with pool, hot tub, and champagne time! Such a great trip! I love you Katie - hope we get to do that again really soon!

~Lovely Katie~