It was 830am in Bari (our watch still showing 730am, there is one hour time difference between Greece and Italy) and our ship docked at Bari. We disembarked and went to the train station in Bari to enquire about the train to Naples. We were told that the train to Naples would only come 150pm. We bought the kilometric ticket, which allow up to 5 people sharing a total of 3000km journey at a very discounted price. SO we hang around Bari, which is a university town basically. Big Mac was having a one-euro offer, so we had our Big-Mac lunch at Bari.
At 150pm, the train from Brindisi calling at the station and we quickly hopped on. Very comfortable seats with head holder to keep your dozing head from invading people’s shoulders. I like the Italian train. Whenever fast speed train zoomed past, our train will be swerved to the side though, due to the pressure.
We reached Napoli in the late afternoon. Z said it is cheaper we get the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. We walked to the station and buy tickets. As the counter Italian man was passing me the ticket and change, he spoke to me in a string of Italians and in very exasperated expression, keep pointing to his watch. I finally understood what he was trying to tell us. We raced to the platform and just in time to catch the 640pm train bounded for Sorrento. It is rush hour and the train is jammed pack. With my backpack, it is gonna be quite a ride as Sorrento is the last station.
We reached Sorrento and walked to the hostel. This hostel (should be ostello le sirene if mymemory never fail me) looked quite clean. About 7-8 people squeezed into a room. There was a couple that actually made love in the room and switched off the light so that I can’t see them, so funny. We went out for some furnace-baked authentic Napolean pizza. Gelato is a must to wrap up the day nicely. There are so many gelato shops around and so many flavours that one is spoilt for choice.
Some postcard scans of Sorrento:
The next day, we have free breakfasts. This is my first time having brekkie in a hostel. So contented with the latte they made for me. They kept asking Z if the couple made love in the room that evening.
We went out for a walk. Sorrento is very drizzly. From here, one can actually catch a boat to the Capri Island. We quite like the drizzly environment.
Once afternoon 2pm, all shops closed and it is siesta time. We sat in a local coffee joint and enjoy our tiramisu.
According to Z, Sorrento is a very charming English tourists favourite town. It is not hard to see why. We followed the Let’s go guidebook and went to have seafood risotto at a recommended restaurant. It was so fabulous that I claimed it to be my best rice dinner in the whole trip. So many seafood wrapped inside the aluminium packet that it is, as the Let’s go author claim, “a steal”!
24 May 2011 Fri Pompeii
From Sorrento, we took the same train to Pompeii. The historic relics are really a treasure. While walking towards Pompeii however, I lost my wallet. Lucky only coins are inside and nothing else.
We spent the whole day at Pompeii as we like it quite a bit.
Took the train to Napoli and managed to catch the train to Rome. We were frantically calling all hostels in Rome as most are fully booked. No luck. Couldn’t get any beds in Rome. We were pretty worried when we walked out of Termini. A very imposing Italian man came to our direction, introduced himself as working with Ministry of Tourism (crap) and asked if we need room. We said yes. Then we introduced a hostel to us and pointed us the direction. We asked him for map (how gullible we were, really thinking that he is from the Ministry of Tourism).
There are many black guys in Rome and I get a bit scared walking along the road to get to the hostel but no choice. Sky is getting dark. We continue to walk on and finally, after finished walking the Termini till Porta Maggiorre (u have now an idea how f**king far it was), we came to a building and saw the name Pink Flamingo. Press the bell, some one answered in Italian and the door was opened. Then we walked up the stairs and an Italian old woman greeted us and show us our beds. There is an Argentinian guy, an Iranian guy, an American guy, two Canadian ladies and an English man inside the room. The Englishman has a very long hair and beard, you won’t miss him, he looked like he hasn’t been shaved for months.
We put our bags down and started to look for food. Z brought me to another hostel to meet his friends from Chem Engine who happened to be in Rome as well, their hostel seemed so nice. They came from the North (Holland + France etc) while we inched up from South.
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