Another day another bus. Though I suppose I've mostly been doing trains lately. I am now on my way from Palermo to Catania. In Sicily for those of you not up on your geography. I'm back to short sleeves. Slightly annoying. It's not really hot but I'd still prefer to carry a giant bag in the cold.
So what have I been up to since I last wrote? Stuff. I have been up to stuff. Some has been good. Some has been not so good. That's travel for you. I spent a few days in Sorrento. Though I didn't end up spending all that much time actually in Sorrento. I'd planned in having two and a half days which seemed like enough time to do Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples and laundry. But then I lost the half day. To get to Sorrento you get a train to Naples and then take the local circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. Nice and easy. Unless the train line between the two gets damaged somehow. Then you get a third of the way there and wait for 20 minutes and then hear an announcement in Italian and some people get off but others don't and a train full of tourists are looking around trying to figure out what's going on. Took a very long time to figure out that the problem was the track and the train was going back to Naples. Took even longer to find out that we could get a bus from there to past the problem and get back on a train to Sorrento. Then there was the finding of the bus stop and the waiting and then the shoving as a train's worth of people and their luggage tried to fit in one bus. I managed to get a seat (having had the back entrance to the bus pointed out to me) and spent the ride with my massive backpack on my lap. I've had more comfortable rides.
And then we got to Pompeii and everyone got off and I asked 2 people if this was where I could get on the train to Sorrento and they both said yes and so I got off too. But could not find the train station. There were zero signs. So I asked someone and he said there are no more trains today. You have to take a bus (which I just left) or walk to the next train station, 1km on the right. And I thought that's not too bad. Only about 15 min. I can do that. So I did. But after walking for about 15 min and not seeing any signs I asked someone again. And they asked which way I was going. Naples or Sorrento. And then they informed me that the train to Sorrento was back the way I'd come. About 1 km. On the right. The train station I was walking to only went to Naples. Why would the last preson have assumed I wanted Naples? I never said anything of the sort.
So I walked back. Still couldn't find the train station so I asked some different people and they said just up this hill here that looks like it doesn't go anywhere (I'm paraphrasing here). And I walked up the hill and still didn't see any signs so I asked once more and was told it's this building here. Because the only sign is only visible from pretty much right in front of the door.
So I got on a train to Sorrento. An hour trip took me 4 hours. Which also meant I didn't have time to do laundry or see Sorrento that day which made my stay on the Amalfi coast a bit rushed.
Next day I did the laundry thing then went to Pompeii. It was raining quite a bit. I walked around for a few hours. Saw the creepy body casts. Wandered the streets and looked in the empty houses. Then I got back on the train and headed to Herculaneum. I got there at about 3.29. They sell the last ticket at 3.30. But I got in (for free because their computer system was down so they couldn't scan the tourist card I got which gets you free entry to the first 2 places and then half off everything after that. I would have gotten it free anyway because it was only the second but it meant I got a third free too) and I'm really glad I went. Not only is it smaller and less crowded than Pompeii but it's dealt with a bit differently. It seems like most of the really well preserved stuff in Pompeii had been taken away and put in museums. And they only let you into a handful of the buildings. At Herculaneum they only keep you out of a handful of buildings. And most of wall paintings are there still and more second storeys. Some if the original wood is even still there. Apparently to preserve wood for 2 thousand years you have to bury it in hot mud. Some of the houses really made me wonder at how you excavate something like that. My guess is slowly.
The next day my plan was to get up early and go see sorrento for a couple of hours then head to Naples to visit the archaeology museum and eat some pizza (both are meant to be of the best in the continent). Because of the way the timing worked out I only ended up with 40 minutes to see what I could of sorrento. It was pretty. That's about all I got.
Turns out the Naples museum is closed on Tuesdays so I missed out on that one. Went and got an actual sit down meal pizza instead. It was pretty tasty but to be honest I think I like our home made stuff better. Then I went to a castle and the cathedral and wandered around a bit. Got a pastry thing. Looked at shoes. Headed back to the train station to wait for my night train.
The system for the night trains here is that you can get a 1st class ticket and choose what kind of bed you want or you can pay less than half the price and get a 2nd class ticket that doesn't have a reserved seat so if there are more people than seats you might not get one. I decided I'd take the chance. Get there early and hope not too many people wanted to go to Sicily.
Two big groups of army guys wanted to go to Sicily. And apparently the army isn't willing to dish out for the reserved seats. And in the whole long train there is just the one car for those of us with the cheap tickets. I managed to get a seat. But it was not the best night ever. At about 6.30 we got to Messina and there everybody split off. The train we were on was going to Palermo but most of the people (including the army) were going to some other part of Sicily and had to swap trains. I didn't. The compartment went from full to only 2 people and the rest of the trip was much more comfortable. I got in before 11am. Spent a very long time trying to find my hostel. The instructions they gave didn't really start from the train station but from 2 blocks over. But I found it. I also found some kind of protest. I don't know what they were protesting because it was of course all in italian but then they started playing the black eyed peas so I have doubts about the seriousness of their cause.
I did the wander the city thing for a few hours. Got some food. Looked at stuff. Then really needed a nap. Which was good timing because that's when the thunder storm started. Basically I ended up sleeping through most of Palermo. I could have taken a later bus today and seen some more of the city but I decided I just want to get to Catania and get settled. I have 4 nights there so should be able to relax a bit.
Then I have to figure out how to get to Greece. Not as easy as you'd think. Ferries only go from Bari or Brindisi, neither of which are easy to get to from sicily. Looks like I might have to have an expensive night in Lamezia Terme to make it work. But I will make it work. I'm kind of tired of Italy. Ready to move on. Maybe it's the traffic. Italy is just not pedestrian friendly. Except Venice which is all about pedestrians. Everywhere else you have to go with the they will stop for me if I walk in front of them technique at cross walks and even traffic lights. The problem being that sometimes they don't. So you have to walk with the confident I'm walking and you will stop gait but be prepared to stop if they don't.
Apparently I don't really have anything more to tell you about. So I won't.
So what have I been up to since I last wrote? Stuff. I have been up to stuff. Some has been good. Some has been not so good. That's travel for you. I spent a few days in Sorrento. Though I didn't end up spending all that much time actually in Sorrento. I'd planned in having two and a half days which seemed like enough time to do Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples and laundry. But then I lost the half day. To get to Sorrento you get a train to Naples and then take the local circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. Nice and easy. Unless the train line between the two gets damaged somehow. Then you get a third of the way there and wait for 20 minutes and then hear an announcement in Italian and some people get off but others don't and a train full of tourists are looking around trying to figure out what's going on. Took a very long time to figure out that the problem was the track and the train was going back to Naples. Took even longer to find out that we could get a bus from there to past the problem and get back on a train to Sorrento. Then there was the finding of the bus stop and the waiting and then the shoving as a train's worth of people and their luggage tried to fit in one bus. I managed to get a seat (having had the back entrance to the bus pointed out to me) and spent the ride with my massive backpack on my lap. I've had more comfortable rides.
And then we got to Pompeii and everyone got off and I asked 2 people if this was where I could get on the train to Sorrento and they both said yes and so I got off too. But could not find the train station. There were zero signs. So I asked someone and he said there are no more trains today. You have to take a bus (which I just left) or walk to the next train station, 1km on the right. And I thought that's not too bad. Only about 15 min. I can do that. So I did. But after walking for about 15 min and not seeing any signs I asked someone again. And they asked which way I was going. Naples or Sorrento. And then they informed me that the train to Sorrento was back the way I'd come. About 1 km. On the right. The train station I was walking to only went to Naples. Why would the last preson have assumed I wanted Naples? I never said anything of the sort.
So I walked back. Still couldn't find the train station so I asked some different people and they said just up this hill here that looks like it doesn't go anywhere (I'm paraphrasing here). And I walked up the hill and still didn't see any signs so I asked once more and was told it's this building here. Because the only sign is only visible from pretty much right in front of the door.
So I got on a train to Sorrento. An hour trip took me 4 hours. Which also meant I didn't have time to do laundry or see Sorrento that day which made my stay on the Amalfi coast a bit rushed.
Next day I did the laundry thing then went to Pompeii. It was raining quite a bit. I walked around for a few hours. Saw the creepy body casts. Wandered the streets and looked in the empty houses. Then I got back on the train and headed to Herculaneum. I got there at about 3.29. They sell the last ticket at 3.30. But I got in (for free because their computer system was down so they couldn't scan the tourist card I got which gets you free entry to the first 2 places and then half off everything after that. I would have gotten it free anyway because it was only the second but it meant I got a third free too) and I'm really glad I went. Not only is it smaller and less crowded than Pompeii but it's dealt with a bit differently. It seems like most of the really well preserved stuff in Pompeii had been taken away and put in museums. And they only let you into a handful of the buildings. At Herculaneum they only keep you out of a handful of buildings. And most of wall paintings are there still and more second storeys. Some if the original wood is even still there. Apparently to preserve wood for 2 thousand years you have to bury it in hot mud. Some of the houses really made me wonder at how you excavate something like that. My guess is slowly.
The next day my plan was to get up early and go see sorrento for a couple of hours then head to Naples to visit the archaeology museum and eat some pizza (both are meant to be of the best in the continent). Because of the way the timing worked out I only ended up with 40 minutes to see what I could of sorrento. It was pretty. That's about all I got.
Turns out the Naples museum is closed on Tuesdays so I missed out on that one. Went and got an actual sit down meal pizza instead. It was pretty tasty but to be honest I think I like our home made stuff better. Then I went to a castle and the cathedral and wandered around a bit. Got a pastry thing. Looked at shoes. Headed back to the train station to wait for my night train.
The system for the night trains here is that you can get a 1st class ticket and choose what kind of bed you want or you can pay less than half the price and get a 2nd class ticket that doesn't have a reserved seat so if there are more people than seats you might not get one. I decided I'd take the chance. Get there early and hope not too many people wanted to go to Sicily.
Two big groups of army guys wanted to go to Sicily. And apparently the army isn't willing to dish out for the reserved seats. And in the whole long train there is just the one car for those of us with the cheap tickets. I managed to get a seat. But it was not the best night ever. At about 6.30 we got to Messina and there everybody split off. The train we were on was going to Palermo but most of the people (including the army) were going to some other part of Sicily and had to swap trains. I didn't. The compartment went from full to only 2 people and the rest of the trip was much more comfortable. I got in before 11am. Spent a very long time trying to find my hostel. The instructions they gave didn't really start from the train station but from 2 blocks over. But I found it. I also found some kind of protest. I don't know what they were protesting because it was of course all in italian but then they started playing the black eyed peas so I have doubts about the seriousness of their cause.
I did the wander the city thing for a few hours. Got some food. Looked at stuff. Then really needed a nap. Which was good timing because that's when the thunder storm started. Basically I ended up sleeping through most of Palermo. I could have taken a later bus today and seen some more of the city but I decided I just want to get to Catania and get settled. I have 4 nights there so should be able to relax a bit.
Then I have to figure out how to get to Greece. Not as easy as you'd think. Ferries only go from Bari or Brindisi, neither of which are easy to get to from sicily. Looks like I might have to have an expensive night in Lamezia Terme to make it work. But I will make it work. I'm kind of tired of Italy. Ready to move on. Maybe it's the traffic. Italy is just not pedestrian friendly. Except Venice which is all about pedestrians. Everywhere else you have to go with the they will stop for me if I walk in front of them technique at cross walks and even traffic lights. The problem being that sometimes they don't. So you have to walk with the confident I'm walking and you will stop gait but be prepared to stop if they don't.
Apparently I don't really have anything more to tell you about. So I won't.
Thanks for the home pizza vote!! You sound tired. Hope there is a good rest awaiting you in Greece. Momb
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