It has to be your destination - otherwise there are too many other places to distract you on our way - or too many frustrations to overcome so that you simply give up on the 'Italian Way' and stop at another place.
While not the easiest of entries into Italy - we were finally successful and arrived at the apartment by 7 pm.
After a few mishaps and stumbles (and I might add a lot of walking and long lines) we maneuvered planes, trains, buses, boats and cars to reach our modest apartment on the Island of Procida in the Bay of Naples.
Barbara's flight arrived over two hours late in coming from JFK to FCO. Joined by about 100 other arriving visitors, waiting tour groups, limousine drivers - I spent my time playing musical chairs at the FCO airport's international flight greeting area. Thankfully - FCO had about 20 chairs for us to fight over.
We missed our 1 pm first-class reservations (73E) on the Frecciarossa fast-train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. Thankfully - Barbara purchased 'flexible tickets' which gave us a 'flexible' 2 hour window to change our reservations. We needed the entire allowance - the 35 minute Leonardo Express train (14E) from Fiumicino Aeroporto to the Roma Termini and the very popular (read: long line) Trenitalia desk at the Roma Termini to exchange our first-class tickets.
Napoli Centrale is best described as a zoo - one where visitors are the caged occupants. The people of Naples must love the zoo. There are thousands upon thousands of them all around the Napoli Centrale area. After consulting the Centrale's information office, we purchased tram tickets to the nearby Seaport. Luckily (my description, not Barbara's) an enterprising gentleman latched onto our luggage and towed us along an otherwise unexplainable route to our tram (read: local city bus). Smiling he warned of us pickpockets before leaving us holding unvalidated bus tickets and wallets that were now 10E lighter.
Graciously another rider instructed us on the correct stop for us to disembark the packed city bus, helped us by clearing the crowd, and with suitcases in tow sent us on our way towards the Port. The four blocks from the bus stop to the Port of Napoli is, like the Napoli Centrale, an action packed part of the town. Cars, people, and cobblestone streets are bad travel companions for suitcases -not to mention exhausted travelers.
In keeping with the "Italian Way", the Caremar Ferry desk was unmanned. Eventually, its cellphone engaged patron return to the desk and sold us tickets for the 35 minute crossing to the Isola di Procida. As with all good ferry rides, ours was uneventful. I must admit to reading the emergency instructions to checking my seat for the life preserver. The complete absence of North American-style safety briefing was another reminder that home is now far away place.
After a quick stop at the local travel agent shop, we sped away along Procida's narrow streets to our apartment and new home - but more about that later.
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