We left the hotel at 7:15 AM. Metro to Termini.
Then we headed down the coast to Naples. We had an entire train car to ourselves. Most slept, I watched for California. Good thing too, they were all over!
I started feeling sad. Such a great trip, I hate for it to end.
Then we could see the sea! The Mediterranean on one side Mount Vesuvius on the other.
Our train was late getting into Naples. Because of this, we had to take a later connecting train on the Circumvesuvius. This got us to Pompeii later and pushed everything back.
Had to plan as we went. Our tour was supposed to last about 2 hours. Another 30 minutes back to Naples. Then I wanted to take everyone out for pizza. Plus we had to catch our train back to Rome. Since we started our tour one hour late, it wasn’t looking good for pizza. This also pushed out lunch time back late. Hot sun, hungry people. Not a good mix.
The weather was gorgeous. It was hot, but perfect blue skies. There was a little cloud (maybe smoke) just over the volcano. The last time I was here, it was a cold rainy day in March. This was much better!
The tour was good. I’d never used the guide before, he was okay. Certainly no Luca or Paolo. But, he knew what he was talking about.
I spoke with the teachers about our dilemma. Either get some boring food at the station and make our train, or try to switch to a later train and eat pizza. We all agreed that Napoli pizza was the way to go.
Once we got back to Naples, I ran off the train to the ticket counter. Since we had reservations, I was a little concerned about being able to switch. Our train was scheduled to leave in 30 minutes. I was willing to pay for an upgrade, or a reservation change. Whatever it took to get pizza. But, there was no problem. The guy switched our tickets and we now had new reservations, and an hour and a half for pizza.
Pizza was invented in Napoli and there are two dueling pizzerias that have been at it since about 1928. I’ve read that they are the best. One serves just two kinds, one with cheese, one without. The other has more options. We opted for options.
In Rome, cars stop when you cross. They may act like they are not going to stop, but they do. Even if it’s an illegal crossing, jaywalk style, they’ll stop. Never tried, but I bet if someone tried to cross a highway, the cars would stop and think nothing of it. Naples is different. Even a legal crossing at a red light with cops all around is risky. Cars do not stop, in fact, I think they try to run people over. So, our hike to the pizzeria was an adventure. I warned everyone to watch their pockets and be brave when crossing streets. And it worked, no one was robbed or run over.
We walked a few blocks (about 10 minutes) to the pizzeria. I’d never been, so I had a little trouble finding the street. We walked up, and they were closed. Great. All that build up of the best pizza ever and it was closed. Luckily, the older of the two pizzerias was open. So we walked across the street.
It was packed. They had maybe 10 tables. We had a group of 15. But, they said the wait was only 10 minutes. Not too bad. We still had about an hour before our train left.
Ten minutes passed ‘ten more minutes’… ‘ten more minutes’… finally they seated us at 4:00 PM (train departs at 4:30 PM, add in a ten minute walk. Pushing it!
But we were starving. So we sat. And waited. Shift change!
At 4:10, they took our orders. Food on the table by 4:15. Food gone by 4:20. And a quick run to the station.
We got to the train at 4:29, and it was delayed! We could have made it too!
Well, it was an adventure.
The train arrived and we boarded. We had two reserved cabins, plus three extra seats. The first cabin was occupied. Locked with the curtains drawn. I yanked open the door and attempted to kick out two kids. They didn’t care what I had to say, so Mr. Crisanti came in and got them out.
The other reserved cabin was also occupied. They did not care that we had reserved seats. They said they were there because their cabin had no air conditioning. They did not care what I had to say, what Ms. Freeman had to say or what Mr. Crisanti had to say. They were not moving.
Tracked down the conductor and he booted them out. They listened to him!
We all settled in to our 2.5 hour train ride.
There are several types of trains in Italy (Europe)…
The EuroStar is the super fancy high speed train. Nice dining car. Windows do not open. Great air conditioning. Comfy reclining seats. Even laptop power ports.
Then there are the trains with windows that open. Some have air conditioning, some do not. The seats do not recline. The trains are slower and grittier. Typically a more interesting group of people than the EuroStar.
My favorite type of trains, though, are the ones with private compartments. Doors that close and a curtain for added privacy. The windows open, and they have air conditioning too. I’ve always loved these trains. But, I’m usually alone or with one other person. This time was perfect. There are six seats in each cabin, and we had them all. Another great thing about these private cabins, the seats fold all the way down, making a flat bed. So, we closed the door and curtain, slid down the seats and took a relaxing 2.5 hour nap. Ah, Italia.
Tonight we were on our own for dinner. When I have young people, I always offer to take them to the Hard Rock Cafe one evening. This was that evening. I was not surprised when diner for 8, turned into dinner for 15. Everyone wanted to go and I even invited an Atlanta seminarian, Josh Allen, to join us.
Burgers and salads and rock n’ roll all around.
From here we started our night walk through Rome. Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon – GELATO – Piazza Navona, Saint Peter’s Square. Bed.
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