Saturday 7 June: Return to Roma

Today Gary and I had to leave the paradise that is Sorrento. Fortunately, we did not have to go until the afternoon, so we were able to spend several hours hanging out by the water, just chilling and watching the constantly changing spectacle of sun, sea and sky. A little rain in the morning gave way to the bright sunshine of southern Italy. We kept going out onto our terrace for yet another last look at the magnificent sight of the volcano sleeping over the sea.

A taxi quickly took us to the station, where we boarded the local Circumvesuviana that had brought us to Sorrento. The trip to Naples, where we would catch our train to Rome, was less than an hour. The Circumvesuviana is a lot like public transportation in Rome: they almost never check for tickets, unless you’re part of a group of Italian ragazzi in their early teens. Of course, one such group was on board, and we had gone only a couple of stops before some rail authority in a very impressive uniform (all Italian uniforms are impressive!) hauled the boys off the train for riding illegally. They never asked to see anyone else’s tickets.

Once again, Gary and I were taken by the contrasts of the countryside leading up to Naples. Huge tenement complexes alternated with fields of tomatoes and pastures of water buffalo. We encountered a few more stacks of uncollected trash; apparently, the government still hasn’t resolved that crisis, either! Once in Naples, we found the track for our train to Rome, and having a couple of hours to wait, we headed for the one place in an Italian train station where you can find both seating and a free restroom: the local Mickey D’s. We were thirsty, so we ordered Cola-Cola Light, apparently Italy’s second-favorite soft drink after Orange Fanta. I decided to get a couple of regular hamburgers. When I asked for them, the guy at the counter said “no salsa, no salsa.” Well, I didn’t quite know what he meant, since I don’t expect sauce on a Mickey D burger, so I said fine. “No salsa” apparently means “we are going to serve your burger completely plain, without pickle, onion, or ketchup.” Gary and I were sort of amused by this, so I went back up and ordered two more hamburgers a few minutes later. The same guy told me, “Now it’s after 3:30, so you can have salsa.” Sure enough, these burgers had onions, ketchup, and pickle (Gary always gives me his pickles). I don’t know the significance of 3:30, but it was funny.

The train to Rome was unpleasant, to put it mildly. Until then, we had been impressed by the Italian rail system. This train was not only filthy, with trash on the floor and half the seats, but it was also sweltering. It must have been 90 in our car! If you know me, you know how I feel about heat. I’d rather freeze than break a sweat. Luckily, the trip was less than two hours (I love high speed rail!), and there was a great breeze if you stood near the door connecting cars.

Other than the crappy train, we arrived back in Rome without incident. The apartment was stuffy because it had been closed up. It cooled quickly once we opened the big windows. It was now past 8 pm, and we were hungry, but too tired to sit in a restaurant. Trastevere is fortunately supplied with a range of eating establishments, so a couple of slices of pizza a taglio and a bottle of wine to go set us up for the evening.