Would I Visit Naples Again?
Naples keeps drawing me back and of course I’d go again.
The Excellent Italian Rail Ticket Machines
Buying rail tickets in Italy is easy and it is true to say, I’ve never failed to buy a ticket, when I needed one.
They are very easy to read and navigate and work in several languages. Here’s a picture of a machine working in English.
The Excellent Italian Ticket Machine
One big difference between Italian machines and those in say Germany or Sweden, is that when you change the language, they change the destination names. Note how Genoa in this screen is shown as the English spelling.
I suppose it helps that Italian is a language which uses a pure Roman alphabet like we do, with no accents, umlauts or cedillas.
Ticket machines should use plain characters to help tourists.
Exploring Naples In The Morning
As i said here, I got back into Naples without difficulty on the free bus and explored the city in the few hours I had before my train left for Rome and Genoa, where I would spend the night.
I didn’t have to carry my bag, as there was a good left luggage office in the station. It was probably best, as last time, I visited the city I was mugged. The story is here. Two pictures refer to this incident.
the only problem I had was getting back to the station, as the Metro had stopped. I even got an honest taxi driver, who said it would be much cheaper to take the Metro as it was only a short journey. As it was it cost me only a few euros, but I made the train with a few minutes to spare.
If I go back to Naples, I’ll explore the city differently by taking the Metro to Cavour and then walking down the hill to the station. That way the Metro won’t be able to let you down.
A Big Mistake In Naples
I know Naples well and I like the city a lot, but I still made a big mistake, by not getting a hotel right in the middle and preferably by the station.
I choose to stay at the Holiday Inn and it all went well getting there as the taxi was just ten euros.
I then needed to get back into the city to have something to eat. I wanted to get to Umberto’s restaurant, which is one I’ve used before that is very celiachia-friendly.
I thought there would be a bus, as coming in, I’d noticed the stop on the other side. But the guy at reception said that the only way to get back to the city centre was to take a taxi and he would call one. Like an idiot I believed him.
The taxi driver appeared about twenty minutes later and insisted I wanted to go to Pompeii. I ignored him and felt that perhaps the best thing to do was take an early night. He then called the receptionist and as I was hungry, I negotiated a trip to Umberto. I didn’t get the direct route and it cost me twenty euros to return.
But at least the meal was worth eating, even if I was a bit stressed. I finished the meal off with this ice cream.
Ice Cream at Umberto’s
It tasted as good as it looked. But then I trust Umberto’s, as everything gluten-free is clearly marked GF. And they even do gluten-free pizza!
Coming back, they sorted the taxi for me and I got back to the hotel for fourteen euros. As they said, I should have got a hotel in the centre.
The room in the Holiday Inn was actually quite comfortable and good value.
In the morning though, when asking another receptionist (female) how to get to the city centre, she gave me the timetable of their free shuttle bus. And of course, one would have been convenient to have used in the evening.
I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near a Holiday Inn again. Especially in Italy!
Up The Coast To Naples
This wasn’t the most interesting of train rides. I can’t even find a picture worth putting in this post. The train didn’t even stop at a station, that was worth an overnight stay until Salerno.
The journey was enlivened though by two things.
I shared the compartment with a Dutch couple and we discussed a lot of things about our lives.
There was also an Italian gentleman of a certain age, who I think had a hearing problem. He had the speaker on his mobile phone switched on and pointed to his ear, whilst he shouted into the other end. If I’d known some Italian, it might have been a better experience.
The Dutch couple got out at Salerno, as they were going to Pompeii and Herculaneum, before carrying on to Naples after a couple of days.
On the other hand, except for a banana kindly given by the Dutch couple, I was hungry by the time I got to Naples.
Crossing The Strait Of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the strip of water between Sicily and the Italian mainland. you don’t change trains, but they shunted it into a ferry for the crossing.
Unlike the crossing from Denmark to Germany, I took in my return from Stockholm, you can stay in the train if you like.
Would I Go Back To Palermo?
That is a stupid question to ask, as there is only one answer.
Yes!
I’d also try to get a good deal at the Palazzo Sitano and have supper at Gagini again.
The only thing that would improve Palermo, would be to go with a classy lady.
One thing that Palermo does seem to have is quite a few clocks. Could it be, that because of its unwarranted reputation, few people wear a watch in the city.
Do Italians Talk With Their Hands?
I only have a few words of Italian, but at least I can pronounce celiachai, which is Italian for coeliac well enough to get served gluten-free food.
On the other hand, I find Italians easy to understand, as they seem to use their hands more for emplasis, than other nationalities.
I must learn some more Italian!
At least I know most of the words for food, although at lunchtime one day in Carluccio’s I wasn’t sure what rapa was. But then there was a translation.
My Hotel In Palermo
I stayed in the four-star Palazzo Sitano.
The only problem was that I’d booked a single room and it wasn’t ready when I arrived, so I got an enormous and very comfortable suite for the same price.
I liked it and would stay there again.
It says on their web site, that it is close to the centre of everything, and I certainly didn’t have to go far to the station and important sites like the cathedral.
And the staff were excellent, as was the map I was given to find my way around.
the television system was also very good and remembered the last channel, when it was switched off.My Sony in this house does that, so why does the usual television in a hotel forget?
Into Palermo By Train
Getting into Palermo from the airport is easy by train, especially if like me you’ve chosen a hotel within walking distance of the main station.
I took the trip in, on a fairly empty train with a German girl, who was going cycling over Sicily. That is not for the faint hearted, as the island is fairly mountainous.
Sicily has quite an extensive rail network and it must be third only to the UK and Irish railways in size for an offshore European island.
The Anonymous Widower 