Wanderlust Women and Travel Dreams have moved.

Today is the day for new beginnings.  Travel Dreams and Moonbeams has moved.  This blog will stay in place for now but please come visit us at our new home, Wanderlust Women Travel, and change your RSS subscriptions accordingly.  There’s a bunch of new stuff on the horizon and I welcome all fellow Wanderlust Women to drop by the new place……men with wanderlust are always welcome, as well! 

Saturday Splurge to Jekyll Island, Georgia

One of the “still to-dos” on my travel list is the Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Georgia.  Maybe it’s the history of the old southern plantation which majestically sits among 26 acres of 500 year old oak trees  and just steps away from a sandy white beach.

I’m a romantic.  You can’t fault me for that.  Yet, who wouldn’t want to visit the place where old J.P. Morgan would sail   his yacht for the weekend……or where Rockefellers, Astors and Vanderbilts came to play cards in the Gilded Age at the turn of the 20th century?  The Jekyll Island Club is where that happened.  They broke ground for the clubhouse in 1886 and just two short years later, the Jekyll Club was where northeners came to relax…..and do deals.  In fact, there is so much history that it was named an historic landmark and was the site of the first transcontinental phonecall placed by AT&T president Theodore Vail on January 25,1915.

The resort offers weekend and holiday getaway packages…..But maybe I’ll wait till the New Year.  Come January 7, 2010, The Jekyll Ocean Oaks and Hampton Inn beachside resort opens its doors to new guests.  Once there, you can book your own dolphin cruise or take Victorian tea.  Have an in-room massage or ride a horse and buggy around the property or the island.  And, if you just happen to have your own plane…..don’t worry……the club has its own 3700 foot airstrip.  Happy Landings.

Wanderlust women can escape to paradise on the magical island of Capri

As a rabid movie fan, Capri has always been the romantic isle of Hollywood magic for me.  Just think about September Affair, It Started in Naples or Contempt.  My vivid imagination thinks about Sophia Loren walking the hills of Capri with dozens of drooling men trailing behind her – isn’t that every woman’s Italian fantasy?  OK, snap out of it.  This is 2009 and Italian men no longer drool after beautiful women like children following the Pied Piper.

Now, back to Capri – the only reasonable method of arrival is by boat from Naples or Sorrento.  Oh sure, you can fly there but who has that kind of lire?  (Scusi, I mean Euro)  My journey to Capri, literally, was in stages, from the moment I landed in Rome.  There is the hustle and bustle of any big city but then you head south and as you do, you feel the knot in the back of your neck ease.  The road opens before you and once you are a good hour outside of Rome, there comes a moment on the Autostrada where the mountains just open before you.  I have driven that road many times and it still takes my breath away each time I hit that mark at a glorious 140 kph.

Sorrento is the port-o-call for most tourists headed to Capri and you can catch a ferry or hydrofoil from the marina at the bottom of Piazza Tasso.   It’s a steep walk down from the piazza but if the walk bothers you – then be prepared for what’s waiting for you on Capri…..hills and nothing but hills.

On the boat, you are surrounded by noisy tourists and wannabees hoping to be discovered by the paparazzi, but you will soon lose them on the dock of Marina Grande; just live in the moment.  There is a different energy once you step onto Capri.  Depending on your interests, wants and needs, you can mingle in the busy tourist section of over-priced haute couture shops and trattorias or you can climb……..and the higher you climb, the more people you leave behind.

After the obligatory visit to the Grotta Azzurra, I chose to hop right on the Funicolare, or cable car, for my next adventure.  I am not into crowds and I just knew that I had to make my escape to the top.  Spring is when things come alive on the island and the high-priced shops are just starting to “flavor” their windows.  The Funicolare deposits you in una Piazzetta, Piazza Umberto.  There is a breathtaking view just outside the cable car station and a post office straight ahead on the left (get the postcards out of the way first).  However, the BEST tip I would offer would be to avoid the first restaurant you come to; it’s on the right – you can’t miss it but avoid it like the plague.  It is so overpriced as to be laughable (20 euro or about $30 for a cappuccino and a slice of Capri cake).

Walking is the only real way to experience a new environment and Capri in the spring is like walking through God’s garden.  There simply is no other way to describe the side streets covered in mimosa and bougainvillea; archways draped in wisteria; and jasmine that dots the hillside.  Grab a picnic basket of bread, cheese and prosciutto crudo and a bottle of your favorite vino and then try to find Via Tragara.  It leads to Via Pizzolungo, which creeps its way along the northern side of the island, leading you toward the Faraglioni.  There are benches along the cliff walk, some natural and some man made, offering many spots to sit and drink in the view.  It’s intoxicating on a sunny day but can be quite melancholy on a lonely winter day.  I managed to spend most of my first visit walking the Pizzolungo and not regretting one second of it.  I figure there are plenty of rainy days to go explore churches and museums so why waste God’s sunlight by going inside?

A lunch treat was a surprise find at the Villa Brunella, a small boutique hotel right on the Via Tragara.  Their restaurant, Terrazza Brunella, charges you a hefty coperto (cover charge) just to sit at a table, in addition to whatever you order from the menu.  However, the view is well worth it…….and so is the lemon risotto.

Just know that if you veer off the main path you will find yourself in a maze of side passageways not wide enough for a mule.  It may scare more timid explorers but this is Capri and the whole island is only slightly over 10 square kilometers, so live a little.  Practically everyone on the island speaks English so ask for directions but be prepared to get lost.

Today, as I sit at my desk on an overcast day in New York, just thinking about Capri puts a smile on my face and lights up the memories that live in my heart.  You can find romance on Capri.  There’s even a section called Paradiso.  Go live your dream.

Wanderlust Women on a Solo Adventure to the Blue Grotto of Capri

La Isola di Capri conjures up romance and dreams, sunny days and longer nights.  It’s an Italian island of magic off the Amalfi coast and a spot to place on your things to do before you die, especially the watery cave known as The Blue Grotto.

For a romantic like myself, traveling to the island is just the start of the adventure.  As your ferry speeds away from the dock in Sorrento, it seems like the madness fades into the background while paradise lies dead ahead.  The morning fog breaks and there, coming closer and closer, is this magnificent island that holds the promise of a beautiful day and a visit to the Blue Grotto.  The Grotta Azzurra is not open everyday, depending heavily on the weather for watery access to the cave, and this was the first day it had been open in three months.  Brava for me and the hundreds of other people hoping for a ticket to a dream.

If the sun is out and the seas are calm, then the very first thing you must do is visit the famous Blue Grotto (40°33′38″N 14°12′17″E), where legend says sea nymphs serenaded sailors to a watery grave and history says the Emperor Tiberius (42 B.C. – 37 A.D.) used it as his swimming pool. (Capri was actually the capital of the Roman empire during Tiberius’ reign from 27 – 37 A.D.)  Tiberius and his decorators presumably lined the walls of the grotto with wonderful statues, some of which have been recovered and can be seen at The Charterhouse of St. Giacomo Museum in Anacapri and more of which have recently been detected by an underwater survey.  The Italians plan to begin restricting access to the cave to preserve its natural wonder and in doing so are also going to restore reproductions of the statues to their place inside the grotto.  (I personally think a bit of the wild, natural wonder is going to be lost in “jazzing” it up inside)

Photo: Arnaud Gaillard, 2003

As soon as you set foot onto Capri the ticket window for the Blue Grotto is on the dock and clearly marked.  You buy a ticket for the first of two boat rides to get you there. The first motorized boat, piloted by a sun-tanned descendant of a Roman god, gets you to the outside of the cave, where you transfer to smaller rowboats, manned by the most agile and dexterous of men (BTW – each of them is more stunningly handsome than the next, and they alone are well worth the price of the ticket).  You will also get to know your neighbors quite well as 4 to 6 people pile onto these tiny boats and must lie flat on top of each other in order for the boat to fit through the eye-slit opening of the grotto.  I kept hoping to lie next to the boatman (Che molto bello!) but instead was told to lie flat, atop a septugenarian man.  Everything about the experience screams “TOURIST” but who cares – you’re in Italy – this is Capri – it’s romantic even if you’re traveling alone.

The rowboats line up like hungry sailors at a seaside bordello.  The anticipation builds as your “captain” waits for just the right moment when the sea ebbs and allows him to flow in while holding onto a chain along the wall, so as not to crack open his beautiful cucuzza. Once inside, the light is amazing.

Photo: Gary Cohen

The water is electric blue and is lit from underneath by a complex natural refraction of sunlight that makes it glow an ethereal azure blue, hence Grotta Azzurra.  (My cousin joked that it’s probably a man-made tourist attraction with Italian divers lighting it from below with flashlights.  In light of the planned “restoration,” he may not be that far off the mark!).

Sadly, your time inside is too short and not long enough for you or your camera to take it all in and capture the moment.  The rowboats crowd the grotto like 727s at rush hour at O’Hare.  My point and shoot camera wasn’t up to the task and I didn’t want to miss a second by looking through a viewfinder.  Some moments are meant to live as memories in your heart, natural wonders that cannot be captured in words or pictures, the Grotta Azzurra is one of them.

TOURIST TIP:

1.  Have a  few Euros handy because you will have to pay cash to board the smaller rowboats.

2.  If the Grotto is closed, you may swim in, if you dare – you can walk down and jump in for secret access.

‘Tis the season to get witchy in Salem for Wanderlust Women solo traveling for Halloween

Halloween is not just for kids.  Wanderlust women can get their witch on with an easy weekend getaway to Salem, Massachusetts. It’s a hoot and a howl as you make your way to the site of the nation’s infamous witch trials.

The Salem Witch Trials were a huge blight on the city’s storied past – a shameful mark on its history but a chapter they market to the Nth degree in the 21st century.  In 1692, 19 men and women were convicted of being witches by a crazed populace, following very public trials.  They were hung on gallows hill, while yet one more poor soul was buried under heavy rocks for refusing to stand trial on these ridiculous charges.  The Puritans believed Satan recruited witches to do his work on Earth.

Tituba and the Children, Alfred Fredericks, 1878

You could be persecuted for not going to church, talking to yourself or for even speaking French.  One poor girl, Tituba, was convicted as a witch for merely stimulating the imaginations of the young girls she cared for and then weaving a fantastic tale of a witch community.  Poor Tituba learned her lesson the hard way.

Today, visitors can venture to the site of so many of the trials and visit the cemetery where many of the accused, their alleged victims and their persecutors are buried.  Take a journey to the House of Seven Gables, where author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many of his famous books.  And during the Halloween festivities, the Gables mansion hosts many re-enactments of the trials, including the Legacy of the Hanging Judge, Hawthorne’s great great grandfather, John Hathorne.  (Yes, it is not a typo.  His name was Hathorne and Nathaniel added a “w” to try to distance himself from his infamous relative.)  I must tell you that the night-time tours of the House are the BEST.

Haunted Happenings in Salem

They are spooky, scary and come with a warning that it is not appropriate for young children.  (Oddly enough, during my visit, all of the adults were screaming and the one young toddler who managed to sneak in with his parents was laughing all the way – probably because of the insane screams coming from his parents!)

There are candlelight tours of the cemeteries and many, many haunted houses to whet your spooky appetite.  You can also visit the Salem Witch Museum for a bit of fun and history; The Peabody Essex Museum for incredible art and culture; and explore maritime Salem at the tall ship Friendship.  (In the 18th century, Salem developed into a major international port for fishing, shipbuilding and trading and buy 1790 it was the sixth largest city in the country and the richest per capita.)

Halloween is celebrated all month long in Salem and the ghosts and goblins know how to party.  And for wandering baseball fans………this is the best time of year to visit Massachusetts.  The Yankees are in the playoffs and the Sox are not! (I actually was brave enough to walk the streets with a “World Champion Yankees” cap on my head.)

TOURIST TIPS:

1.  Salem is congested at this time of year and the main thoroughfare is actually a pedestrian walkway.  Since parking can be a problem, you would be better off staying outside of the center of town.  I stayed at a Homestead Suites in Peabody, complete with indoor pool and free breakfast (the extra perk is that it was quite near the biggest Christmas Tree Shop I had ever been too!)  It was a 10-15 minute ride to Witchville, depending on the traffic,  but it beats the higher priced hotels in the center of Salem.

2.  Be prepared to walk.  Salem is meant for exploring but don’t bother to buy a ticket for the trolley that goes around town.  On the weekends it is packed and you can often spend a great deal of time waiting at the trolley stop only to find that when it arrives, it is too full to take on more passengers.

3.  Psychics and witches – I am a believer in the esoteric and other-worldly powers of some “gifted” individuals.  Now, while I am sure there are some talented people with psychic ability in Salem, I found many of them to be a gimmick and often taking advantage of the gullible among us, especially the teen-aged wanderlust women.  There is no privacy in some of these shops and your reading takes place behind a curtain, allowing everyone in the shop to hear the predictions she is supposedly making just for you.  Funny enough, stay in the shop long enough and you will hear that almost everyone is given the same forecast.  Better to spend your money on a drink at one of the many eateries and watering holes and people watch the other gullible in costume.