"Everything I know, I learned after I was thirty." -Georges Clemenceau

This week was special for me... I turned 30! A few weeks before this big event, I was approaching this whole thing pretty warily. I think turning 30 is a huge deal for some, no matter to others, sometimes difficult or confusing, often exciting. While I didn't know exactly how I would feel on the big day, I did expect it to be a huge mix of emotions, which can be a bit unsettling in itself. Regardless of who you are or how you look at birthdays, I think milestone birthdays like these cause you to reflect on your life in some ways, which inevitably leads to measuring how far you've come, and what you need to do to get to where you want to be. This was the part that was worrying for me... While overall I'm pretty satisfied with my life, I think it's very easy to turn "measuring how far you've come" into "how short you've fallen of where you want to be."

My life became a bit of a whirlwind around the couple of weeks leading up to my birthday this year. Just as in everyone else's lives, every once in a while I get some kind of opportunity to make decisions about things that matter in my life. They are generally things that are too small to matter to anyone else but me, but they are decisions nonetheless, and huge learning opportunities. The fact that one of life's little whirlwinds was hitting right around my birthday was incredibly stressful for me at the time... I thought "Oh my goodness... I have enough going on with turning 30, I don't want to be trying to make difficult decisions in the midst of trying to see if my life is on the track I want it to be on." But, as it turned out, this particular whirlwind ended up hitting at exactly the right time. Having the courage to go on a little self-exploration journey despite it being easier to push off the process until AFTER this milestone birthday proved to be the perfect decision.

And you know what? Through all of this, I learned something I didn't think I was going to "have" when I turned 30: I learned that while my life isn't perfect, I'm doing exactly the right things at exactly the right times for myself. Sometimes when you're presented with decisions, you struggle so much trying to figure out which path to turn down, which changes to make... And in my case, I ended up with the surprising decision to not change a single thing. My path is the perfect path for me at this time, at this stage, with what I've been given, and with what I've earned.

I couldn't be happier I was tested a bit right around this milestone birthday. I had no idea I would enter my 30's so confident in where I was, where I'm heading, and with the people that are taking life's journey with me. I learned a lot not only about myself, but about those friends and family members... These people were 100% there for me, regardless of not knowing if I was going to become a basketcase, be a confused mess, or somehow shake out okay throughout this whole 'turning 30' thing. They sent me poems about wearing red dresses and really owning who you are in life; they sent cards (some even handmade!) from afar... those kinds of cards so full of love that it literally closes the gap between the miles; they gave me cakes with actual candles, and in some cases, topped with sparklers; they gave me books that flamboyantly tout the joy of "grown up happiness"; they gave me countless hugs and told me that the 30's are awesome because it's when you start really doing only the things that truly make YOU happy. These special people were there in a way I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to experience.

So as I enter my 30's, I'm celebrating the red dresses, the fiery sparklers and the quiet candles, the grown up happiness, and the handmade cards that make your heart grow bigger while your eyes fill with tears of happiness... and most importantly, I'm celebrating embracing life as it is, and the people that are kind enough to share my life with me and have me share theirs.



“Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you are gone.”-John Steinbeck

One look at this city makes it easy to understand why I was so glad we pursued the virtually immobile relaxation route in Capri.

There are stairs that lead you all the way up from the coastal beach area to the top of the city. And there are thousands of them. And they look like this:

In order to get anywhere, including up the mountain to your bed & breakfast while carrying all of your luggage that seemed like a pride-inducing minimal amount for a three-week stay in Italy but now seems like a major, heavy, unwieldy mistake... To get anywhere you either take these thousands of stairs, or you catch a bus that chugs up the mountain, picking up passengers only once every hour.  We succumbed to that bus about halfway through our climb while carrying all of our bags, but I'm proud to say that's one of the only times we took that bus. The rest of the time, we bravely forged up and down countless staired passages... After all, we'd come to Positano to see just these very stairs; we might as well embrace them and see what their paths hold!

And they held a lot. Namely a rare peek into how some of these locals live. Positano is supported largely by tourism today, and we met quite a few people during our time in Italy who'd visited Positano, but went up no further than a quarter mile or so into the town. The area near the coast is laden with restaurants, clothing stands, tourist information booths, and artists hawking their work. It's all very cool to see, very lively... but I'm so happy we chose to get off the beaten path and see just what all this village offers. The locals' gardens, their homes, their small farms, their pets, their flowerbeds, their kindness...

We took one entire afternoon and walked ALL the way down, capturing all of the charm as we went. People along the way were so kind and friendly, and seemed to have such an open and honest way about them. The trek down was completely worth it, since we got to experience this less seen version of Positano, which was followed by some of the most amazing views I've ever seen.

Even on a cloudy day, the colors of the city are as rich as the spirits of its people. I can't say enough about how breathtaking this village is... There is just so much to soak up - homemade pastas, vegetables fresh from the garden, wines straight from the vineyard, the simple goodness of people, and scenary clearly drawn by God's hand. Just unforgettable.

"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." -Anna Akhmatova

The last week of our vacation in Italy was divided between two parts: Capri (Anacapri to be specific) and Positano. Positano was actually the first place I put on the "cannot miss" list during the early planning stages. I'd seen a show on HGTV where the crew travelled to Positano to film, and I was immediately taken with this "vertical city." With Raja lobbying hard for Capri, and both cities situated very close together on the Amalfi Coast, we decided to make our last week in Italy our "relaxing" week, split between these two gorgeous areas.
First up, Anacapri...
I'm not even a little bit ashamed to say that we left our hotel only a few times for lunches and dinners. By the time we arrived in Capri, all of the walking we'd done through the hilltowns had caught up with us, and I didn't think I could take many more steps. I mean honestly, legs shaking and wobbly. Thank GOODNESS we'd put Capri before Positano in the timeline... You'll see why in just a bit.

Anacapri literally means "Above Capri." The name is apt, as it's situated at a higher elevation, and overlooks the busy port of Capri, Marina Grande. It also offers expansive views of the Mediterranean Sea, including Mount Vesuvius.

Mount Vesuvius

 

The pool sucked me in and held me there. Each day, we had brunch, then immediately plopped ourselves into lounge chairs and remained pretty much immobile until it was time to get ready for dinner. 

 One day Raja finally got fed up with all of this "relaxing" and we actually took a car down to Capri to explore the more bustling area. It was crowded and fast-moving... Very fun, but not as great for picture taking. I got a couple good ones at least. :)

That was about enough sightseeing for me on this leg of the trip. I missed the lounge chairs desperately. ;)

As all good things must come to an end, we soon sailed off to the village of Positano for our very last stop on the adventure. (Well, that's a lie... We had to go into Naples proper to fly out to the US, but I'm trying to forget that little jaunt.)  I was so excited to see what Positano held in store. We waved "Arrivederci" to Anacapri, and headed just a tiny bit closer in to the coast to see Italy's vertical village.