Towards Sorrento - 8th May

Oh well – we are seasoned business class travellers now – off towards Rome – China Airlines remains efficient – polite – the food good – the people friendly.

13 hours  to Rome – need a good sleep - immediately test the power point for the sleep machine – bugger! – it will not be a great sleep – convince myself to make the best of it - lay back the seat – have 8 hours of apnea studded sleep – awake  in an apnea induced haze at least thankful for some sleep,

We land in Rome – we fear the immigration shambles of our last visit – we resist any temptation to dally – rather we maintain our position towards the front of the arrival queue hoping that our plane has landed in a traffic lull – our hopes are dashed as we enter the arrivals hall – streams of passengers enter the hall from all directions – our hearts sink – we reflect back – two hours in a long snaking queue awaiting inbound processing while watching as EU passengers streamed by and exited the arrivals area in a flash – then we notice the sign – electronic passports this way – we see the flag symbol for Australia among the 6 or so eligible countries – we join the fast moving queue – the  relief that we would not have to endure the experience of our last visit doing much to remove our flight induced malaise.

Off to the station – we have booked our ticket into Rome Central and onwards to Napoli – booking the ticket into Rome was a waste of time – the trains frequent and the crowds moderate – we ask if we can travel on an earlier train – No! – later train? – YES! – earlier train – NO! – we watch as lightly populated trains leave for Rome Central – we worry about the 15 minutes we have available to find the platform and lug our goods and chattels in order to board the Napoli Express from Rome Central.

We wait – at last our train arrives – we board – we wait – we wait a little more – already 5 minutes of our 15 minute transfer time has been eroded – off we go – at least this is an express train! – well express turns out to mean that it is not scheduled to stop at intermediate stations – we soon discover that it does not mean it will not stop in the course of its transit! – we watch the in-train indicator screen – arrival time now plus 7 minutes – tension rises – arrival time now plus 10 minutes! – concern is obvious – we are not going to make it – how will we contact the driver who has been paid to pick us up in Napoli? – it gets worse – arrival time plus 15 minutes – no hope.

We compose ourselves – such is life! – we will just have to wait around in Rome! – a new screen appears as we approach Roma Centrale – departure times for connecting trains – our Napoli train is indicated as departure time plus 7 – we steel ourselves – tight but worth the try.

We gather our bags – we attempt to occupy prime position at the exit doors – unsuccessful! – eventually we alight – off in the confusion that is a roman train station platform – two exits – at the last second and for no apparent reason we force our way out of one exit lane into the other – we emerge – “Signora Fortuna” is with us – we emerge in the regional train hall – we look for our departure platform – “Signora Fortuna” tests our faith – the departure platform is at the far extreme of the hall – panic sets in – time is flying by – our time tolerance evapouraing.

The two aging traveller run down the hall – the interaction of their luggage wheels on the rough floor combined with their rapid inhalation and exhaustion of  air makes them sound like the approach of an entire contingent of Roman Centurions – crowds part way as they traveller pass – they arrive at the platform – the train is awaiting them! – the departure plus 7 minutes has expanded to departure plus 10 minutes – the travellers can shift their focus from travel anxiety to contemplation on how long it might take for their heart rates to return to an acceptable and comfortable frequency!

The Napoli Express is truly an express – 300 kph – Napoli Centrale is achieved.

We are told Napoli Railway Station is not a safe place – the driver awaits us at the end of the platform – we are loaded into his min-van – he mumbles – “have to get out of the station” says he – we don’t understand – off he heads into traffic that one would be generous in describing as chaotic – the black van has been standing in the sun while he awaited our arrival – it is uncomfortably hot inside – Bernie asks for the air conditioner – he responds in the affirmative – we wait for the temperature to decline it fails to eventuate – she asks again – he mumbles  - she asks again – she asks for the window to be put down – he responds in the negative – he is preoccupied -  he exits the station into more traffic chaos – he turns and turns some more – he picks up his phone - he changes lane – and changes lane again – I contemplate the usefulness of modern blind spot warning devices for the traffic is so dense that lane changes would never be contemplated should the advice of such technology be taken in the environs of the Napoli Railway Station - car horns give short blasts as one driver becomes a little concerned about the movements of another driver – another lane change – another pick up of his phone  - suddenly he is heading back into the station  - past the parking area that he originally exited! – now we understand! – exiting the station – battling the city traffic and returning to the station is the only way he can effectively turn left out the parking area.

Once  the effective left turn is executed we are quickly onto a dual carriage way claiming to be an arterial road but an arterial road that the Taiwanese would deem not to be an arterial road at all  - magically the air conditioner starts to work making the bumpy road at least tolerable - we pass through the outskirts of Napoli towards the Amalfi Coast – we reflect back on Taipei – it looked much more kempt and more affluent than this part of Napoli – the signs indicate that we are heading towards the Amalfi Coast – I think of the American comedian Anthony Jeselnik, a comedian so dark that he could do a stand-up routine about his support of a friend visiting an abortion clinic – the person who chose these suburbs of Naples as the gateway to Amalfi Coast must have been a comedian of the same ilk!

The roadway improves – we will be in Sorrento in instant – wrong! – we turn off the arterial – into the coastal suburbs – turn – turn – ignore every sign that says Sorrento – turn – turn – change lanes – stop for pedestrians – turn and turn again – then – magically we turn back onto the arterial road! – what was that all about? – we later learn that the arterial was blocked by maintenance – pity the poor daily commuters forced into the narrow town centres of these Neapolitan  outer suburbs.

Into the long tunnels and approach Sorrento – the Airbnb owner is on Whatsapp – have you met the driver – we affirm – you will be here in 20 minutes says he! – the driver wants a smoke – he insists we stop for a photograph of the Bay of Naples looking towards Sorrento and Mt Vesuvius.

Sorrento at last!

We are met by Nico the owner of our accommodations – he insists on an extensive briefing of the premises and an even more extensive briefing on Sorrento and the tours we should and should not undertake – helpful? – of course! – would we have preferred just being shown the bed? – absolutely! – 42 hours since we left Brisbane!

We do nap – then arise to shop – to stroll – to eat – what else but Italian Pizza! – we are convinced we shall enjoy our stay in this pretty little place.