This was the day of our departure for Italy. We followed our usual procedure of failing to pack and get ready to leave sufficiently early, so we were very late to bed the night before. Paul was even later than me, working away on the computer until about 4 am, so he had no brain at all the following morning. I wasn't much better, only remembering when we reached the airport that I had left the travel guide to the Naples area at home, which was remarkably stupid. I bought the only thing available at the airport, a Rough Guide to Italy, but it doesn't have enough information so we'll need to visit the Tourist Office tomorrow.
Paul forgot his Travel Plugs, so I took him to Boots in the airport and he was able to buy something relatively inexpensive, which he then left at the check-out! As I didn't accompany him there, I didn't notice his mistake until he noticed it himself after we arrived at our hotel.
The flight was relatively uneventful, apart from a very bumpy descent through the clouds, and we arrived to lovely warm weather. I located a Thompson Travel person who was able to direct me to the correct bus for Sorrento, and we were soon on our way. Paul was amazed by the looming presence of Vesuvius so close to Naples. It is quite striking, hovering threateningly over the town, with houses starting to climb the lower slopes. Paul took a few photos from the bus, but I had an aisle seat next to a very large man so I didn't even try.
Although the light wasn't good and it was taken through the bus window, it does correctly portray the gloomy presence of the volcano above the town.
We drove through some fairly unpromising areas of Naples at first, full of grimy apartment blocks. I don't think I've ever seen so much washing hung over balconies before - Monday must be washing day! Eventually, we began to pass through areas of slightly smarter apartment blocks, and then we were overlooking the sea, a wonderful sight with the sun setting over the Bay of Naples. The road wound around the coast, sometimes under the rocky cliffs and sometimes on top of them, with fine views over the Bay.
When we reached Sorrento, we were amazed at the narrowness of the streets down which the coach driver took the bus. And he wasn't the only one. Sometimes you could hardly slip a sheet of paper between our coach and the oncoming one on the other side of the road. We were dropped at a central point just below the station, and trundled our luggage off to find our hotel. It wasn't easy, I didn't choose a particularly smart hotel and it was rather hard to find. However, it's clean and tidy, it has a reasonable bathroom, and the bed is comfortable - and it's very near the station so we are conveniently placed for travel.
However, there is no Wi-Fi that I can find, though the hotel said it had Wi-if in public areas. I have no idea when this account can be posted - I'll try to find a connection tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:To Sorrento
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