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Saturday, Jul 07, 2018
I arrived in Rome (well, the airport) at 10:20am. I had tickets already booked for taking a train into the city, but I arrived over an hour early and the tickets could not be swapped. Guess that’s the problem with being too paranoid and thinking the train will fill up. I now had to wander around the airport for an hour. Not too fun, but there was a trench exhibit that was fun to see and photograph.
One tricky thing was simply finding the right train terminal. Probably took over 30 minutes just doing that. Sometimes it’s good to ask directions. I may have to rethink my stubborn ways.
I was then on a train from the airport into the city. It was great to be back after so many years.
Now, I had my train ticket for Rome to Naples already too, but needed to explore Rome for a while before heading south..
I was back amongst nearly two-decade old memories; however, it was like I’d never left. Rome was exactly how I remembered it from a 2000 trip--my first time out of the country in fact. Everything just felt so familiar.
The weather was different though. I had a LOT of weight on my back, and it was a crazy hot summer day. But no matter. I could relax whenever I needed. I pretty much just walked to the big sites: The Colosseum, the Old Forum, the Pantheon. And it’s never a bad idea to walk along the Tiber River as well. There was even a trip to a small shop for some chocolate gelato. Yeah, I was pretty hot that day.
It was a wonderful afternoon, but in due time, I headed back to the train station and boarded my train for Naples.
This wasn’t a terribly exciting train ride, though there were some nice views of the Italian countryside. Trains in Italy can be quite scenic at times. Lots of rolling hills and vineyards...and sheep!
In Naples, there was little to do except find the train to Sorrento. This one was a trip I had read warnings against. Mainly warnings about pickpockets and the like. But knowing all that, one can keep valuables in a most unreachable place and just cling to the luggage. Overall, the people were fine. It was primarily blue collar workers, or locals and not filled with tourists, and yet a very interesting ride.
Finally, I reached Sorrento. Leaving the train, I texted friends and met up with them in the main town square. We then headed to the AirB&B flat and I essentially just sank into bed. Getting separated from my luggage at last was divine.