Saturday, June 13, 2009

Pondering Positano

I awoke to a sun-filled day in Positano. I awoke early as is my style, and wondered upstairs to find breakfast. I desperately needed coffee, and I desperately needed a plan for the day as I had been way too tired to make one before falling asleep last night.

I found coffee and a simple breakfast to get me started. I found my guidebook, perused a few pages and realized that most of what you do in Positano is wander around, lay on the beach or take a boat to Capri. So I did exactly that.

The town itself was quaint and small. Full of shops, cafes, hotels and don't forget the American tourists! I wandered up the hill, stopping in a few places, but nothing really caught my fancy. From here I found an empty sun-bed on the beach, gave the guy 5 Euro and basked away the affternoon. Capri could happen domani.

Late in the afternoon I am awoken from a daydream by construction work and I take that as my sign I am to go elsewhere. I return to my hotel, shower and make my way to an internet cafe (which is a total rip-off by the way...6Euros for every hour) to book a room for the following night in Naples.



I had dinner on the bay again. With the overly attentive server who seemed to want me out of there before I even sat down. He didn't like I brought my laptop with me, but it was the only place I could get internet.
The tables all around me spoke English. And when the full moon rose over the bay, all the cameras came out. Again, I had the feeling of wanting to be elsewhere. In all my travels this was a feeling that had eluded me. Why was it, that in Italy I always felt less because I was there? Why did my experiences always seem empty? And ultimately why did I keep pushing forward in a place whose only real reward was taking a few photos to say I had been there, before grabbing my bag and running to a next destination? It was puzzling to me. In Spain I truly had learned to be 'here'. And now in Italy, 'here' was the last place I wanted to be...even with a gorgeous view of a full-moon rising.

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