Don’t Talk to Strangers:  The couple at the following table

The Island of Capri has offered refuge from the fast-paced action of Rome for millennia. 

Numerous Roman emperors spent their holidays there, some for extended periods.  Nero had a villa there and was notorious for the way he dealt with anyone that he disliked.  Rather than tolerate the unpleasant, he had them thrown off the cliff at his villa in Capri.  Today you can visit the ruins of ancient Roman villas on the island.

After arriving at the port of Capri on my first visit, I wanted to find a place for lunch as far from the ferry crowds as possible.  Bypassing the town of Capri, I took one of the island’s open-air taxis to the higher village of Anacapri.  Yes, it is more tranquil, but that day it was still a bit too busy for my taste.  I then spotted a sign for a restaurant called Da Gelsomina.  The reservation was made with a quick phone call, and they sent a shuttle to bring us to the restaurant.  

Of course, the food and wine were locally made, as was the after-dinner drink.  When we asked for the recipe for their in-house fennel liquor, they happily shared the recipe but explained that the formula would be useless back home.  The key was the wild fennel that grew on their land.  Store-bought fennel would not work.

We talked of moving to the restaurant’s pool to sleep off the meal when an older couple at the following table struck up a conversation.  They were charming, with thoughts and advice about everything on the island.  More drinks arrived.  The discussion moved from topics as broad as economics to the meaning of life. They were from Denmark long ago but now lived in the area.  They insisted that we visit the adjacent philosopher’s park, which had the best views on the island.  A philosopher’s park was a new concept for us, but we learned as we went.  Scattered plaques explained the contributions of the greatest philosophers in history.  Perhaps the wine helped, but we began to ask ourselves some of the big questions as we wandered acre after acre.  

On our return to the restaurant’s pool, we learned that the old couple had donated the land for the park.  It is hard to imagine the value of such a large parcel in this fantastic location.  We learned that the old man had been a professor, an economic minister, and much more over his long career.  We met him two more times over the years and always had a great conversation about his past, his book, and his life.  Back home, I would never engage in a deep, meaning-of-life discussion with strangers at a restaurant.  In a remote, undiscovered part of Italy, I am glad that I did.