|
Date:
July 1977
to July 1977
Location:
Isle of Capri, Italy
Description
In the summer of 1977, Alice Luckhardt had the opportunity to escort eight high school students, who were former students of hers on a European tour. One of the last stops was an one-day excursion trip to Naples and then traveling by a hydrofoil boat across the Gulf of Naples to the Isle of Capri the following day. This island with steep terrain overlooked a majesty blue sea. Along the sides of the hills were elegant villas very close together so no space was wasted. Impressive to view were the ruins of Imperial Roman villas, that had withstood the march of time and the effect of the sea surrounding the island. They took the cable car to the top of Anacapri, the highest point on the island. The ride up was extremely steep, at a forty-five degree angle. Once there the view was magnificent with water all around and the beautiful mixture of fruit trees and flowers growing everywhere. The visit to the Blue Grotto, the sea cave, was a sight to behold.
At the heart of the Isle of Capri was the City of Capri nearly at the top of Anacapri. They had as a personal guide, the Mayor of the city, who was also the head of the local ‘cosa nostra’. The walking tour was through narrow alleys almost in a maze formation with numerous tiny shops of all descriptions. Even higher up was the tiny village of Anacapri, which was truly the highest point. The Mayor saw to it that they had a fantastic meal at his own restaurant, so they all felt quite special with this added attention.
Near the end of the visit as they were saying our good-byes to our host, the Mayor announced in an official manner, “Everyone enjoy your trip back to the mainland but she is staying here.” Well, the ‘she’ the Mayor was pointing to was none other than one of the seventeen-year-old female students. He continued, “I am most impressed with her and wish her to live on our lovely island.” Needless to say, it took Alice a few moments to comprehend the full statement but her reply then followed, “No, she is returning with us!” Even the girl, who was not normally at a lost for words, was a bit astonished by what had just happened. In spite of the Mayor feeling he had complete authority over everybody on the island, he did sense Alice's definite and unyielding answer immediately. She had the group very quickly move towards our transportation down the slopes to the returning hydrofoil boat for their journey back to Naples and then Rome. On the trip back to the hotel all Alice could think about was what if the Mayor had violently retained my student, how would I ever explain it to her parents? Everyone had a good laugh over the whole incident.
Memories
Nobody has recorded any memories here.
Enter your memory here:
Login to add your own memory.
|
Photos
There are 1 photos with European Escapade.
Public Bulletin Board
There are no messages yet.
Click here to add a note for others working on Isle of Capri, European Escapade.
|
