fautrever.com

It is Thursday morning, April 27th, 2006, and we are in Stazione Termini in Rome (the main train station). We just boarded our train for Napoli; first we had to get our Eurail passes validated at the ticket office in order to start riding. It was a little disappointing to see that there were only 3 or 4 trains a day to Napoli instead of the 40 a day listed by the Let’s Go guide.

Also, our Eurail time table listed a bunch of trains in the morning, but when we got to the station we saw that the only one that was going today was at 10:27. It turns out that the 9:00 and 9:45 only run on weekends…and the rest of the daily runs are either express or special deals to which our Eurail pass is not a privy party. One nice thing is that our passes allow us to ride in 1st class while in Europe, so that is nice: bigger seats, less crowded, and a plug to charge the laptop and camera.

This morning we got up at 7:30AM, packed up our backpacks, ate breakfast at the hostel, and then headed to Termini to catch our train to Napoli.

The train ride to Napoli went well, except for getting fleeced for 10 Euro by the conductor. He claimed that since it was an “InterCity Plus” train (versus just a plain ol’ “InterCity” train) we had to pay for seat reservations. We were very skeptical, to say the least. We argued for about 5 – 10 minutes, then finally relented and paid; I insisted on a receipt to make sure he wasn’t just pocketing the change. He did put the cash into his personal wallet, though…so who knows.

On the way from Rome to Napoli, while still in the Lazio region, we passed vineyard after vineyard with rolling hills between. Everything is so green here! Away to the north and east were mountains shrouded in mist and smoke, and to the west we could see glimpes of the Mediterranean Sea.

We arrived in Napoli around 1PM, and were immediately squeezed into a teeming mass of humanity. The city is significantly louder and crazier than Rome, with scooters, cars, buses, and pedestrians jamming every inch of the narrow streets. Everyone seems to be in a big hurry and are talking and shouting constantly. Of course every driver is leaning on their horn pretty much all the time too…It is a total zoo! Reminded me immediately of Mexico, especially the honking and jostling crowds. Drivers not paying attention to stop signs or lights; green and red both mean go here.

To get to our hostel, which was on the harbor, we nabbed a city bus from the train station and spent 20 minutes watching close calls as scooters and cars narrowly missed hitting each other and the bus. We were constantly flinching as a scooter or pedestrian would narrowly miss getting crunched! The amazing thing is that we didn’t see one single accident.

Our hostel is on the 7th floor of a huge apartment building next to downtown Napoli; it is a stone’s throw from the harbor and the ferry terminal to the islands out in the Bay of Naples. We had a small bit of trouble actually finding the place, since their sign is about 6 inches tall and only slightly wider. The reception was cordial and helpful, and they showed us the room before charging us for the two night stay.

After dropping our bags in the room, we left the hostel to walk along the seashore. Across the street from our building we passed the ferry terminal, the Coast Guard docks, and several private marinas. Facing the marinas is Castel Nuovo, a fortified castle built in 1300s or so; it is a huge castle and looks to be in great shape after all the years. As we kept walking we entered the historic city center. Here the shore is lined with expensive hotels and restaurants. The seaside walkway widened nicely, and there were lots of places to sit and enjoy the view. Of course, it being Italy and Napoli, there is still a constant stream on traffic and city noise in the background.

We walked a while, and then sat and watched traffic on a main street near the shore: scooters, cars, buses, bicyclists, and a lone rollerblader. From here we could see another fortified castle, this one called Egg Castle (Castel dell’Uovo). It juts out into the harbor and is indeed roughly shaped like an egg. We watched as mass amounts of tourists unloaded from buses to walk downtown and along the shore.

On the way back to our room we cut away from the shore, and stopped at a gelaterie, an ice cream shop. Erin had cherry, and I had coffee flavor. Both were yummiest! We ambled through Piazza del Plebiscito while enjoying our ice cream cones, and entered the part of the city known as Scappanapoli, the old city. Piazza del Plebiscito is framed on one side by the Royal Palace and by a huge dome of a church on the other. A man with 5 or 6 dogs in tow was trying to round up his pooches; we had fun watching them cavort across the pebblestone plaza. Along the facade of the Royal Palace were enormous statues of famous Neapolitan ancestors and rulers; these larger-than-life figures were carved out of stone with amazing detail given to their faces and clothes.

Turning north from the piazza, we walked by Teatro San Carlo, famous for its amazing acoustics. The upcoming show list announced The Marriage of Figaro and I wondered what it would be like to hear an opera in a real Italian opera house. We couldn’t really appreciate the architecture from the outside, since it was under scaffolding, but I did see a couple young ballerinas exit a side door and get into their parents’ car to be whisked home somewhere in the city.

Across the street from the theater is Galleria Umberto I, a cathedral-like shopping mall made of shining glass and yellow stone. It is topped by a big glass dome that is visible from most of the city. It was a short walk from here back to the hostel for showers, rest and relaxation.

For dinner we nipped out to a local grocery market for cheese, wine, bread, pasta, and sauce. Since our hostel has a large common room with public kitchen, it was easy to make our own meal there. Erin cooked up the pasta and sauce for a very enjoyable dinner! We talked afterwards with fellow travelers: first, a young couple from Leeds, UK, with whom we discussed travel food, dring, British TV shows, and more. Then came Steve, a fellow from Michigan who is traveling in Europe most of the year. He recommended CouchSurfing.com as a neat way to experience travel, and also PuebloIngles.com (a Spanish-language program that pays you to fly to Spain and speak English with students). Our roomates included Steve, Augustus (India-born Londoner working in U.A.E and on vacation for 40 days), and Larry, an Italian-American here to see Italy and possibly visit some relatives on his mom’s side. It was fun to chat and share travel tips and stories of our adventures.

Tomorrow is a ferry to Capri and more sight-seeing in Napoli.

Related Link: cheap travel insurance