My 1000th geocache!!!!

And another wonderful day of solo travel. I wasn’t too ambitious, but I managed to fill the day. I had three goals - visit the Archeological Museum, get that elusive geocache, and eat the most famous Napoli pizza in Italy! Mission accomplished!! Here’s what happened. 

I must admit that thanks to Google, it’s easy to get around almost any place in the world. It’s hard to believe how much mapping and resources went into creating Google Maps. The one thing about Google Maps is there should be a setting to avoid hills!! I swear I would walk up one slope and then go right back down the other side. Now why is that? Maybe when you’re walking, it takes the shortest distance. I don’t know, but it’s all good. 

Narrow streets in Naples

And the streets are just crazy. Some are narrow, some are wide. Some are long, some are short. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to them. Sometimes there is a sidewalk and sometimes there isn’t. And that path may have a rickety railing right on the edge of a drop off. One thing I love is that it’s every man for himself here. Europe doesn’t have much to do with safety precautions meaning they assume you have common sense. It’s very refreshing from being in NA where the slightest thing is blocked off!  

A sketchy looking railing

Let’s just say that one must be 1000 percent attentive at all times. The surface you are walking on is not for the faint of heart since it’s not always smooth, and there are holes, gaps, uneven surfaces to contend with. 

As a careful pedestrian back home who NEVER crosses in the middle of the street? Well, you can throw that concept out the window here. No one crosses at the corner, HECK—- I think I only seen one traffic light to help pedestrians across the street and that was at the train station. The streets are a zoo and literally, you scour for the slightest break in the traffic, then step out confidently and pray a lot that everyone will see you and stop or in the case of motorcycles/scooters that they will weave around you. It’s total chaos!!!!

I will confess that I suck at walking with Google Maps and so many times, I get going in the incorrect orientation. My brain just doesn’t get it, but I find where I’m going - it just may take longer than originally planned. 

I had not pre-bought tickets to the National Archaeological Museum, so I had to wait about 10 minutes before I could get in. But no big deal. The building is huge and we did not get a map. I was specifically looking for stuff related to Pompeii, which I found or overheard someone say it was on the second floor. 

The exhibits consist of many items that were found as Pompeii was excavated. It was totally fascinating and I definitely want to read more about it when I get home. I managed to find a small book in the bookstore to read more. 

Of course, anything organic (people, wood, textile, etc) were completely gone, but the things made from metal or stone were fine. There were loads of mosaics and look at the scale. Can you imagine working this small?

Tiny mosaics

The most fascinating thing was the model of the entire town. It had been replicated on a scale of 1 CM to 1 M and was absolutely breathtaking and that’s where you got a really good idea of the city and how big the ruins are. 

The model of Pompeii

This 3-D model has been explicated EXACTLY as the town was found. If the walls were missing in town, they are missing on the model. If the walls were painted, they are painted on the model. You can see some of the paint in the picture below. 

Detail of the Pompeii model

WOW —- I could have looked at that model for hours. In the foreground is one of the temples and can you see that larger square behind with the circle in the middle? We were there. That is a market and the circle was a large platform where fish were cleaned for market. Can you just imagine the smell?? 

More of the scale model

Our guide said a very interesting thing (he was 30) that the people of today would not last more than one day in Pompeii. Well, during that era. With the smells and the lack of services, most of the people from today would just die. I agree with him. Even back home, living in the country with few amenities would throw people off and if they didn’t have access to the internet, they would die. Well, I would die traveling if I didn’t have the internet. OK — maybe I wouldn’t die but it would take me a long time to get anything done! 

There was also a map of the city on the wall, but not in quite as much detail and I believe those two large sections are still covered in ash. Wow!!!! Those are probably more houses? But who knows. I wish I had seen that map before going to Pompeii, but it’s a reason to go back another time. In the middle on the right-hand side, you can just see the curvature of the large amphitheater, which held 20,000 people or something like that. The Colosseum in Rome holds 50,000. About 1/3 is left to be excavated and will likely ever be excavated. 

A wall map showing how much is still to be excavate

Many painted walls (fresco) have been removed from Pompeii and were in the Museum, but so many were damaged and then reassembled. What a job that must have been to reconstruct. 

This is the ceiling on the second floor of the Museum. It was a large room with paintings on the walls. 

The ceiling inside the Archeological Museum

The only negative about the day was the number of school groups. Good grief —- they are loud in that echoing place. I totally get that children should be exposed to museums, but I swear they were in and out in minutes, rather than learning anything. Maybe they need to be given a scavenger hunt or something to keep them engaged. 

And let’s not forget about the bookstore. I almost missed it. I had walked out of the Museum and then remembered I wanted to look at the books, so I went back only to discover a group of young children in the bookstore. They were ravaging the children’s area, but many of them had money to buy a souvenir. 

Since the maps were few and far between, it was very challenging to find the toilet. Yes — the toilet, not the washroom or the rest room. Call it as you need it! I think there were only two in the entire place, one in the basement and the second on the third floor up many stairs, or you could take the slow elevator. And of course, there was one door that doesn’t shut properly which is OK if you are two, but alone? I waited to get one with a door that closed. 

It was a fascinating visit but after several hours, your brain just shuts down, so I left. 

The very noisy children in the bookstore

Oh shoot —- Google only shows me the first part of my pictures for yesterday, so I’m going to have to email them to myself. I’m going for breakfast and will finish later. I have the time advantage on my side this morning. 

And I’m back —— the free breakfast with the hotel room is amazing and I fuel up for the day!! However, I also needed to be sure to eat the most famous Napoli pizza. M had forwarded me the link to the restaurant and I took her word. Let’s say that finding the place was a bit challenging but was in the same area where I was. 

As I approached the restaurant on a odd little side street, I see the street teeming with people 

The line-ups outside the pizza restaurant

This is where you need to stand back a bit and observe what is happening and how the system works. You have a take away line beside the building and that line never stopped. The rest in the middle are either waiting for their take away or waiting for a table. At first, I got in the take away line, but then I wanted to be able to sit down and eat in comfort and there are NOT any public places to sit. So I got in the restaurant line. They were currently serving number 34 and I was number 48. But it went rather quickly. 

However once inside, the wait was LONG. The good news is that there were many Italians in the line so you knew the pizza was going to be good. When I asked M where she found this place, it was from a BOOK!!! Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. OH MY GOD — it was a movie. Now I have to watch that movie. The pizza is in the movie trailer!!!!

Julia Roberts is in the movie so you know it’s going to be good. Thanks M!!!!!

Pizzeria da Michele

They must have had to remake more dough or something because we all waited a long time for the pizza to arrive at our tables. The menu is short —- FOUR options. The actual pizza was so huge that it was falling off my plate. But remember, the crust is whisper thin. The lady at my table and the two beside me (we all arrived at the same time), they devoured their pizza and left immediately. I ate almost all except a bit of the crust. YES —- it was amazing and I’m so glad that I got to experience that. Thanks again M for showing me the way!!!

My world famous Napoli pizza

Before the pizza place, I found the geocache outside the Museum. It’s always fun to be reaching down to feel underneath planters or along fences in very public places. So when I couldn’t find it quickly, the thought breezed through my head to cheat and just log it without actually putting my hand on it. But then I went to the front of the planter which was along the street. This side was elevated so it was easy to peek underneath and there the darn thing was. 

The geocache

I took a picture of it so no one could accuse me of cheating!!! LOL. Only I would be know I had cheated. 

And thank goodness I did NOT because this was my 1000th find!!!!!  Yeah me!!!! 1000 geocaches in the many yeas I’ve been geocaching is small, but it was a milestone nevertheless  and to say I found it in Naples is pretty darn cool. 

My 1000th find!!!!

And there is that elusive virtual badge that I so desperately wanted. If I get any other geocaches, they are bonus, I got what I wanted. 

My virtual geocaching souvenir

I know it sounds like a totally juvenile thing to do, but seriously? I have discovered many places that I would never have gotten to otherwise. And it’s a virtual souvenir — so you don’t have to find a place for it when you get home. 

By this time, it was getting late and I wanted to get back to the hotel. I spotted this adorable little outfit on the way. 

How cute is this?

Here’s a picture of the streets and sidewalk. You must pay attention. I will confess that while I was searching for another geocache and not paying attention, I ran smack into a woman. No one fell and thankfully it was on the sidewalk and not on the street in the path of a motorcycle!! I was a bit embarrassed, but what can you do??? Pay more attention — that’s what!!!!

The rough pavement

I will spare you the photos of the garbage that lies everywhere on these streets. It’s insane and there seems to be homeless people living in the area as well. Just an observation, not a criticism. And of course, there are armed guards, mostly around the train station. Last night as I passed the train station, I noticed a very heavy police presence. It looked like multiple disciplines but lots of police. 

I guess then that it should have been no surprise when I passed this shop. One display was for scissors, along with swords, knives, and hand guns. 

Scissor display along with knives and swords

The other side had semi-automatic guns. 

Semi-automatic guns

It is a crazy city and so casual. But I’ve found that in the US as well. I remember visiting Missouri Star Company in September for their 9th birthday bash. There was a market on the Saturday, and you could buy a gun from a street vendor. WOW!!!!! I definitely live a sheltered life! And at a quilt store I visited in Iowa, you paid for your fabric purchases in the MASSIVE gun shop next door. 

Crap - I got a bug bite last night on my neck. Thankfully I have Afterbite with me, but even with that it’s itchy!!

Today is a transition day. It’s the final one until I need to catch my plane in a couple of days. 

OH —- I am just finishing a book about the Grand Canyon, called A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko. OH MY —— if you want to know anything about the canyon, this is the book to read. It starts off quite frustrating, but the message at the end is amazing and something that we need to take away for every natural site in the world. Communities and the world are too quick to exploit our natural resources, just so they can make money and we as tourists can just decimate the place. A very interesting read. 

Have an amazing day!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS — In case you are wondering, I haven’t even considered looking for a quilting store or even a fabric store. Like I need more!!!!! 

The light at the end of the tunnel

I had a chuckle when I read the comments about finding a hotel room. I have had to search sometimes! I remember being in Kingston, Ontario and shocked to discover that there were no rooms. Turns out there was a hockey tournament! I found something, just not at the hotel I would typically book. I’ve always found something - just not always my first choice. And we won’t mention the sketchy Airbnb I had to stay at one time. 

Speaking of hotel rooms, it was only when I was out and about yesterday that I realized that I needed this hotel for THREE nights, not two as I booked when I arrived. I got that fixed last night and at the same good rate! 

Yesterday was an other interesting day - of course it was — there’s a story behind everything you do. You just have to recognize it as a story. 

When I arrived in Naples, I sat at dinner in the train station (more on that later) and found a tour As I had mentioned it wasn’t only finding a tour, but it was finding one that had a pick-up point close to me. I ended up settling on a half-day tour to Pompeii which was what I wanted. It left at 9 AM in the area just by the train station, although I thought the pick-up area was 2 KM away — so that was even better. 

Not that long after, I received a telephone call asking if I wanted to add Sorrento to my itinerary for free, but we would start at 9:40 AM at the same pick up spot. Sure — why not?

I scouted out the pick-up spot which was exactly where the elusive geocache was. I know where it’s supposed to be, but I didn’t find it. I might try again today or I’ll try a different one. Oh my —- there are loads of buses and people all waiting to get their tour for the day. I didn’t even know what company I had booked with. 

I sent a text and was told that the guide would call me. It was hilarious — no idea what kind of vehicle would pick me up, no idea the size of the tour, no idea the tour company. Just the time and the location — what more do you need? TRUST yourself. Maybe I would be a one tourist in a car! Then I overheard two ladies chatting about their tour and that they would be picked up at 9:40 for Pompeii. AHA — I bet we are on the same tour and when I asked them, YES — we were on the same tour. 

Promptly at 9:40 a white bus pulls up. This was smaller than the coach we had on Sicily and I think five of us boarded the bus. There were people already on the bus, so it had stopped at other stops. We were the last to pick up and we were off. 

I have to tell you what happened with the tour. The two ladies who got picked with me were from Amsterdam and at lunch I asked them how long ago they had booked their tour. Months!!!! Their tour initially was Pompeii, lunch and then Vesuvius. However, the day before, the Vesuvius part was canceled. When they asked the tour guide at lunch, he said something about the roads being unsafe and therefore the mountain was closed. So the tour company substituted the afternoon with a trip to Sorrento. 

I just happened to fit into this tour and so I got lunch and Sorrento added in for free. There were also a few people from a cruise ship on our tour. 

I will say that this bus driver was NOT as skilled as the one on Sicily. It looks as big, but it was not. 

Our tour bus for the day

I will be honest that I don’t have a huge knowledge of history, but I knew that the city of Pompeii had been destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius. The date was October 24th, 79 AD. The city was in the process of rebuilding from a major earthquake in 62 AD. Of the 20,000 inhabitants in the area, approximately 4 - 6 thousand died, but the city was completely buried in ash and other volcanic debris. The people mostly died from the toxic gases or the heat shock of 500 degrees. 

The weight of the ash on the roofs of the buildings eventually caused the roofs to cave in. It was discovered in 1599 and in 1748, they began to excavate the site. Why? Money of course, as there was a lot of jewelry, coins, etc buried.

We had a wonderful and enthusiastic tour guide which made the whole day a lot of fun. And we were able to visit at least one of everything in the city. I took loads of pictures, here are some of the them. He spoke very fluent English, French, and Italian. 

This was a square where the gladiators practised I believe. It’s just outside the larger of two relatively small amphitheaters. The larger one was used for comedy and tragedy plays. A smaller amphitheater was used for music and poetry. 

 

A square outside the amphitheater

The larger of the two amphitheaters (5000 seating capacity) used for the plays. 

The larger of the two small amphitheaters

Do you know what these stones are for? Imagine a city that is built on a hill without a sewage system and you can now guess what potentially went between those rocks!!! I believe it was mostly urine you would potentially find in the drainage roads. I never did get where the rest goes. 

Stepping stones across the streets

Some of the fresco is still in pretty decent shape inside some of the buildings. I believe this was a house and there are holes in the wall to pass things from one room to another. That just seems pretty silly — why not go out the door and into the next room? The walls were very thick. 

Inside a house in Pompeii

What stunned me is that it was a city. I know — that sounds so silly, but the streets are there, the buildings are there (almost all of the upper floors are gone), but it looked just like an abandoned city. And to think that it was covered in 4 - 6 meters of ash. Can you imagine sifting through all that to find people, artifacts and then to clean it up? What a Herculean task!!!! Actually, they did not find people as they had been carbonized, but they found cavities in the ash where people perished and have made casts of some of them. You could tell they died a horrible death. 

On the streets of Pompeii

But they were very creative and this is one of the baths. I believe this was the cold bath for the men. There were tepid and hot bath areas as well. It was all very well thought out and all were beautifully decorated, although with exposure to the elements and the ash, some of the stuff didn’t hold up. The fresco was painted on after a 2 inch layer of “concrete” was applied to the stone walls. 

Inside the cold bath

We visited one of 35 brothels!!!! Imagine that! Apparently it wasn’t only for the residents as many people travelled through Pompeii and the brothels were for the travellers as well. What was hilarious were the frescos in the building. Since many people didn’t speak the same language, you entered the building and pointed at one of the pictures to show what you wanted!!!! Oh MY!!!!  I’m sure it wasn’t comfortable as the beds were made of stone. I took a picture, but didn’t include it here. 

The menu (in fresco) inside one of many brothels

Any idea what this is? That’s a scale. There are half orbs carved in the replica shown below and when you bought something in the market area, it was weighed and you paid accordingly. 

A replica of a scale

We walked past temples and the market area and well, as the guide mentioned, we visited one of everything - houses, amphitheatres, stores, bordellos, etc. It was a pretty fascinating place to visit and I’m glad I took the time to go there. I believe our tour was two hours after we got organizes our earpieces and visited the jewelry shop where the clean toilets were! 

Then we had lunch which consisted of spaghetti and pizza. That pizza was so amazing and it was only tomato sauce and cheese. Pizza back home will never be the same. Here’s something I bet you didn’t know about pizza. Most people equate pizza as coming from Italy and that’s not true. Naples was a separate region and are the originators of pizza. With the unification of Italy in 1861, it became part of Italy. 

Pizza and spaghetti for lunch

Then we were back on the bus and on our way to Sorrento, which is a beautiful city on the Italian coast. There is a massive fracture in the middle of the city and this is an old flour mill. That’s a long way down. 

The fracture in Sorrento

So much beautiful stuff to buy and I spotted this gorgeous sunflower ceramic, but I didn’t buy it. I’m too old to buy souvenirs. And while I spotted many magnets, I didn’t get any. However, I spotted a thimble, so I picked that up. 

Beautiful ceramics

This is overlooking the harbour, which is a LONG ways down. 

The harbour is a LONG way down

Lots of magnets to choose from

I needed to use the washroom and decided while I waited for the pickup time I would have a snack and got to be entertained by a puppet show across the street. This restaurant was sort of in the middle of the street and I wasn’t sure they had a toilet. Yep —- it was downstairs where the kitchen was. I tell you —- these cities are crazy!!!!! 

The puppet show

WAIT — I forgot to tell you why we went to Sorrento. First, it’s a beautiful place, but it’s known for it’s Lemoncello. I’d never had it before, but we went to a store and got a taste of three different kinds as well as some small cookies and sweets they make. YES — Lemons is a big deal here and you see them growing on all the trees, as well as oranges. EVERYTHING screams lemons — clothing, tea towels, Christmas ornaments and so on. It’s totally crazy!!!!

I did purchase a small leather LEMON pouch which I thought would be a great reminder of the trip and I can put sewing supplies in it. It was 15 Euro, so it fit my budget. 

I got a chuckle out of some of the people on our tour. TWO people were wearing orange, so it was easy enough to keep track of them. I never feared of losing them. 

Follow the two ladies in orange

You can see the oranges on these trees. It was hard to get a picture from the moving bus!

Oranges on the trees

Has anyone ever driven down the coast from Naples to Sorrento? Let’s say it’s a wild ride! There is a very twisty road right on the edge of the cliff. The bus driver made a wrong turn and we had to turn around. Our Sicily bus driver would have taken that in stride, but this guy had to engage the help of someone to get him turned around. Of course, the crazy traffic doesn’t help. 

The road to Sorrento

And did I tell you about the motorcycles? Let’s say you are on a two-lane highway. Cars and buses (no trucks - it’s rare to spot a truck in this area, so goods must be shipped via boat? Or on the old inland road) are in their respective lanes and there is ZERO passing because there are always many cars coming and going. BUT the motorcycles — they make every road into a four lane road because they ride just inside the center line going both ways. It’s totally crazy!!!!

The motorcycles make their own rules

Speaking of which, there are around 6 -7 cars for every 10 people. Meaning that almost every adult has a car. Let’s just say that the congestion is insane. 

On this road from Naples to Sorrento, there are THREE tunnels, th longest being the Santa Maria de Pozzano tunnel which is just over 5 KM long. OH my —- it was slow on the way down to get through that tunnel, but it took almost 50 minutes to come through on the way back. It was insane and for some reason, I don’t think the bus driver had the AC on, so we saw the temperature rise from 22 degrees to 27 degrees. I think that was the outside temperature, but it made the bus hot. 

The entrance to the 5 KM tunnel

Near the end, he turned on the AC. Like I said, he wasn’t the best bus driver around. But that’s OK. Once we were out of the tunnel (no particular reason for the slowdown), we breezed through the other tunnels. But then on the highway, we got stuck in more traffic from a multi-vehicle accident. I have no idea why there are not more accidents. They drive like maniacs here and I saw scratches on many cars. 

Let me say that I was very happy to spot the light at the end of that tunnel. 5 KM is a long way to be stuck under a mountain. There are “escape” doors along the sides. Where do they lead? Don’t you just want to stop and go through one to see what’s on the other side? I’m sure if the door opens that many alarm bells go off, so probably not a good idea to try that! 

As we drove along, the sun slowly sank and this was sunset as we approached Naples. 

Sunset approaching Naples

So I got very lucky. We were the last group to be picked up and we were the FIRST group to be dropped off. Where is the justice in that? I didn’t care about justice, I just wanted off the bus since it was now after 8 PM and we were supposed to be back by 6:30 at the latest. It wasn’t the bus driver, nor the tour guide’s fault — just a victim of the traffic. 

While I feel safe here, the area around the train station isn’t spotted with cute little cafes, so I grabbed some pasta while zipping through the train station and ate in my room. DH said I should try to find somewhere other than the train station to find food. And he’s right. I plan on stopping somewhere else - at least this afternoon. 

WOWSER!!!! What a jam-packed day and it was amazing considering that I booked it the day before. It couldn’t have worked out better. I was going to try to get to Vesuvius today, but I don’t really feel like it, so I’m going to hit the town and check out some museums. I found three that look very interesting and since I don’t have to coordinate with anyone but myself, it should be fun. And I will attempt to get that elusive geocache. I must get one before I leave!!!!

On that note, I’m out of here to grab something to eat and then I’ll walk over to the first museum. It’s Monday, so I wonder if it’ll be busier around town? Probably the same. 

It’s not high tourist season and we didn’t really have to wait for anything, but it was pretty busy everywhere we went. I can’t imagine coming in high tourist season. The weather is beautiful, so I’m glad I am here now. 

M and Dillon made it safely home and DH made it to Spain where he is playing golf with his buddies for a few days. And I have my next train ticket booked. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Transition day - trains and ferries

Transition days on vacation are never fun, but you can make the best of them by being patient. 

There has been a lot of goodbyes in the last couple of days and yesterday was the last of them as I am now on my own as Dillon and M had one day left in Taormina on their own, and DH is off to play golf with his buddies on their annual golf trip. He was going to Spain and well, his travel plans didn’t go as planned and I’m not going there. Some things are best left unsaid. 

I had a train to catch and rather than take a taxi, I decided to walk to the train station - it was only a 30-minute walk. OH MY —— the silly GPS takes me to the road which is OK, but I don’t really think I was supposed to be walking on that road. But no worries — there was a combination of road and path. And since I only have my small carryon suitcase and a small backpack, I was good. The joys of travelling light. I will NEVER, unless it’s for work, travel with a lot of luggage. And I brought many things that I won’t be using on this trip. That bugs me, but get over it!!

You can’t really appreciate the pitch of the ground in this photo, but let’s say it was steepish!!

The foot path down the hills in Taormina

Taormina is about 670 feet above sea level and I had to descend to sea level in a very short distance! This was one spot where I stopped and took a photo. Yep — I had to get to the sea!

High above the house tops

And the next thing you knew, there I was - at the train station. It was an super easy walk — OK — so it was an easy walk and then I had to wait a bit because I got there a bit earlier than I needed but I would rather be early (GASP!!) than running late. When I’m in my own environment I can cut corners on the time, but not in a strange city. 

Waiting for the train

The day before I purchased a first-class ticket for the train and it was all very civilized. The train ride would be 7 hours and it was worth it to have a bigger seat. Before I left home I had done some research on what to do after the wedding and how to get to where I wanted to be. I know — that is a bit shocking because I typically don’t do that - I just go. But when I discovered that there was a train on Sicily and that you could take the train to Italy main land via a ferry, I was in. 

When the train picked us up in Taormina, there were four cars in total and an engine on both ends. There were tons of tunnels along the train ride on Sicily. I took this photo for M as it was the last view of the Normand castle - right in the top left corner. You really have to zoom in to see it, but this was the kind of hill I had to walk down!

One last glimpse of Taormina

Our train was destined for the ferry docks. I know — a FERRY for the train, We were stopped and the train was separated. No idea that was happening. I mean I knew that was going to happen but we didn’t feel the train move at all. We were waiting for our turn to board the ferry. And then we were moving forward and onto the ferry. The other half was already loaded. It’s so absolutely cool. I can say I’ve been a walk on passenger on a ferry, by bicycle, and car. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a bus on the ferry. It appears that they could take more rail cars on the ferry but we were only four. 

The train is on the ferry in two parts

And then everyone shuffled up the stairs to the lounge, I think people mostly went there to buy food as the line was crazy. I had snacks with me but I should have bought a sandwich. No worries - I was fine. 

Going up to the lounge on the ferry

Gosh — it looks so much like the BC Ferries!!!

The lounge

It’s only a 35-minute crossing, but it takes at least one hour to disconnect the train and then reconnect it on the other side. I wasn’t in a hurry and it was so fascinating to be part of that that I didn’t care how long it took. 

The outer deck on the ferry

But I had a couple of chuckles when I initially got on the train in Taormina. A group of people were getting on the train - there were six of them and it’s not easy to get a large, heavy suitcase up the stairs and onto the train. This group sounded like they were so disorganized. Stuff was falling everywhere and they were making a lot of noise. 

The group beside me were into games! Two couples from Australia or Britain - I don’t get the accents and they were heavy into a trivia game when I arrived to my seat and they were collectively (at least the two men were) into a crossword puzzle when I got off the train. 

I had to laugh because the mannerisms of the gentleman “controlling” the puzzle made me think he was an accountant (very precise and meticulous) or he definitely had OCD problems The other gentleman across the table from him was leaning over the table and right into this guys space. I’m not sure he liked it, but they were definitely engaged in the puzzle. As they said the clues, I was trying to guess as well! But just to myself. 

Once we were on the mainland, we travelled along the coast. There were a lot of beaches, but they seem to very pebbly as they were in Taormina. The weather was glorious and you couldn’t ask for more! Again, many tunnels as we went under or through the mountains along the coast. 

The coast as we traveled on the train

Here’s one way to know if you are getting close to your destination. Use Google Maps to find your location. Thank goodness I got my phone issue resolved or I would have been dead in the water. How the heck did we ever travel without the internet? I would be totally lost without it. 

Where am I? 

It was interesting when we finally arrived in Naples, (the train was on its way to Rome - another two hours  away), I realized that the train now had more passenger cars than when we started. They must have added more cars when the train reconnected, which explains why we went back and forth a couple of times. 

The train got longer than when we started

And then there is the train station. Which is always bustling regardless of whatever train station in Europe you arrive at. They are all busy!

The train station in Napoli (Naples) 

OH — I need to be very explicit on the blog because I go back to reference it many times. DH was asking for the name of the hotel I stayed at when I was in Madrid. I had to check back because I didn’t remember the train station name (Chamartin) or the hotel (The One Hotel). But through the blog I was able to find the information, so I must be thorough for future reference since my memory doesn’t retain stuff like that. 

It was about 4:30 PM when I exited the train station. I had started my train ride at 9:35 - the train was five minutes late! Anyway, the first line of business is to find a hotel. I know —- what a risk taker to arrive in a foreign city and not have a room to stay. I’ve done it so many times that I never worry now. There is always a place to stay. Gosh — I think I started traveling like that when I turned 50!! You can teach an old dog new tricks! 

I think the most “exciting” experience was my first time walking the Camino and I arrived in a small town and there was a massive festival happening. The number of rooms was extremely limited but they found me a room and I was good. Except for the fireworks that went on and on that night. I barely slept! 

I did look at the map and then decided to just start walking and the first one I went to, it was full. The second one just across the street had rooms. OK — so I look like a tourist because the guy greeted me in English! Did I want a single room? Yes — I’m OK with that. Do you want a single bed? Yes — I’m OK with that. And so for 130 Euro a night I got a very nice room with a single bed. That is a very good price. 

My bed!!

The room is only as wide as the bed and the door, but it’s long and has a very nice, large bathroom. 

Huge bathroom

The only thing missing is plugs and a small light for reading. But no worries. Thank goodness for that long cord I brought for charging my phone. It’s a slow charge, but it allows me to charge while I’m fiddling with my phone. I also have a fast charge which thankfully I used on the train to keep me connected. 

There is ONE plug in the room

Once I got into my room and dumped my stuff, I headed out to find something to eat. I found it quite dirty around the train station with a lot of garbage hanging around. It was Saturday, but still early. I ended up going back to the food court at the train station to get a sandwich. I then had a look at the pastries, but ended up getting nothing. I just couldn’t be bothered to go through the motions of buying something. How silly is that and they didn’t seem to be super friendly either. 

But that’s OK because I have snacks with me so I had some chocolate. Bringing or having snacks with you always is so important when traveling. The same for water. 

I switched my pillows around to face the other way which was more comfortable with that long cable. It was long, but not quite long enough but after switching the pillow, all as good. I’m sure that would have drove DH up the wall. You have to sleep with your head at the head of the bed. Not so when you travel alone. You can do anything you want. I love it!!!

So the question is what to do with the two days I’m here. I booked two nights at this hotel and so I need to fill the days. While I was eating, I was scouring the internet to find a tour group. Not only does one need to book a tour, but you must be close to where the pick up is going to be. So back and forth with Google and maps and so on and I found something for today. 

I hear over and over that you must book things in advance or you will never get in. I have never not gotten into where I want. Wait —- maybe I shouldn’t say that but if you look and are not particular about the time (I had tons of options), I got a tour and the pickup is very near this hotel. A short walk. Plus it was on sale because it was last minute. 

I remember when M and I were in Paris and we wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower. Sorry — no tickets for today. However, you could walk up and there was zero waiting. Guess what we did? We walked!!! There is always an option. 

Being able to get around and have little luggage makes almost all options available to you for whatever you want to do. 

When I got back to the hotel, the Tour Company called me to ask if I wanted to extend the tour for free and I said,  sure - why not. So I’m supposed to be doing two things today. Let’s see how that goes!! I still need to get a geocache so I can get my Italy virtual badge and I’ve located one in the square outside the train station so I should be able to do that on my way to the tour pick up point. 

I know there are a lot of people who would never travel the way I do and that’s OK. I don’t mind the last minute decisions and the hassle of doing the homework. So much can change and if you preplan everything, what happens if you are sick or tired. This way, I can do what I want when I want. Perhaps if it were in the heat of the high season I might not be as lucky but I would never consider traveling somewhere at high tourist season unless I had no other choice. That would be just too stressful and too many people!!! And certainly, not as much flexibility. Besides the weather has been perfect and not hot. 

This hotel includes breakfast so that is good — no need to wander outside to find something to eat. it’s called Stelle Hotel and its slogan is The Businest Hotel. 

I could not find the wi-fi code, and I checked everywhere. AHA — I found it on the key card which I needed to insert in the slot to get power in my room. I had to enter the darn password multiple times and could not get my iPad to connect to it. I had to take a picture of the card with my phone to read it - very small print even with glasses. So my iPad is running off the phone. You have to love technology. While the iPad is heavier than the mini keyboard, I’m getting the hang of it and not having to email the pictures is great. I may consider the iPad for travel in the future. I wasn’t happy about it, but so far, so good. 

I hand washed a few things last night and they are dry this morning, so I’m all set for the next couple of days. 

And with that, I’m out of here to get ready for the day. Another town, another adventure. 

Have a  wonderful day. 

Ciao!!!!