4 cities. 3 days. 2 Americans. 1 Lithuanian. 1 Dutch. This
loosely describes the details of my epic Easter-break adventure that included nearly
missing our starting train, waiting over two hours for pizzas, paying $20 for a
shuttle that was thirty minutes late, and wasting nearly an hour trying to rent
scooters before failing the test drive and being forced to rent a car. It seems
every place we went we were just a little too excited, getting our start bright
and early at 8am each day. There was no rest for the weary as we walked over
25km during our trip, exploring restaurants, monuments and viewpoints
throughout the South of Italy.
Napoli was the first stop on our tour. Armed with an
Underarmour backpack and a cross-bag, I was prepared for a dirty and dangerous
town. To my pleasant surprise, Naples was not only beautiful—it was safe. We wandered through small side
streets and bright shops all the way to Castel dell’Ovo, where we enjoyed a
panoramic view of the city. We dined at Sorbillo, taking the classic Margherita
and all agreeing that a two and a half hour wait was worth it for the food we
consumed.
Pompei was our next destination, and the one that I was
personally most excited about. After having one Latin class in high school, I had
really been fascinated by Pompei. We arrived at the archaeological giant with
just under two hours to visit before it closed for the evening. In those two
hours we were able to explore the various shops, homes, arenas, theaters and
brothels the relic boasted. I was in awe. It made the 2km walk to our hostel
for the evening seem like nothing as our first day came to a close.
The next morning we got up at the crack of dawn to grab a
quick breakfast and climb up the Pompei Tower. It seems we didn’t quite
understand Italian time, as the tower didn’t open until 9am and we were there
at 8:30am. The tower was worth the wait, as it boasted a unique vantage point
where you could look over the remains of ancient Pompei from one side and see
the new city rebuilt on the other. After the tower we realized we were going to
miss the bus to go hike up to Mt. Vesuvius….or so we thought. After waiting
nearly an hour to figure out a shuttle, we then bussed up to Mt. Vesuvius so
that we could begin our hike up. Allotted two hours to hike up the mountain,
see the crater, and hike down, we took off at a mad pace, wanting to be sure we
could make use of those two hours. Not even thirty minutes later, we had seen
the entire crater and laughed at ourselves for even thinking that we had to
rush.
You’d think we would have learned our lesson regarding
Italian scheduling when we headed to Sorrento, but alas no. As we attempted to
rent scooters to take to Positano, we thought we were perfectly on time by
arriving at 9am sharp, when the store was scheduled to open. After waiting
thirty minutes for the owner to arrive, we went through paperwork and copying
of driver’s licenses. It was then that they told us that the two drivers (not
us poor Americans, who weren’t equipped with international licenses) would have
to pass a test drive. Our Dutch friend passed…barely, but as our Lithuanian
friend took to the bike, it was evident that there was no way the owner was
going to let us leave the premise. Realizing that it was nearly 11 and we had
to catch the train back to Napoli at 3pm, I rushed down the street to start
paperwork on a rental car.
The day in Positano was fantastic—we hiked down towards a
semi-private beach where we laid out and tanned in the sun. After dining in a
restaurant that overlooked the ocean, we realized we would need to hurry a bit
if we wanted to make our train. The drive back to Sorrento was peaceful, but as
we neared the time for our train’s departure, all four of us realized we were
going to have to hurry. We had arranged to drop off the rental car at the
actual train station since the rental agency would be closed at 3pm due to ‘risposo.’
I dashed out of the car to go buy our tickets while the other three girls went
to find the parking lot. I was getting nervous as we closed in at five minutes
to departure time when Airida, our Lithuanian friend, wandered out from one of
the doors, carrying no bags or telephone, I immediately asked her where the
others were. She had no idea, she had gotten out of the car to ask for
directions. My heart sank. If we didn’t make this train to Naples, we would
surely miss our connecting train back to Rome. Suddenly, out of the corner of
my eye, I saw Halle (American) and Charlotte (Dutch) sprint up the stairs
towards the platform. Loaded down with all four of our backpacks and purses, I
hurriedly distributed tickets and began to move towards the train. I was hoping
I could hold the door open to make sure we could all make it. Halle was yelling
to hold the train and Airida was trying to get Halle through the electronic
gate despite the three bags she was wearing.
At the last moment, the four of us collapsed into a railway
car, jeans, shoes, and purses strewn across the floor as we burst into
laughter. Every single attempt we had made at being early and sticking to a
schedule had gone completely awry, as wait times, unexpected driver’s tests,
and late transportation methods kept knocking us off schedule. BUT, looking
back, we were able to do all four cities we had planned too, seeing all of the
major things we had planned to see, and doing everything we had wanted to do.
Every meal we ate tasted fantastic and the pictures we have to remember the
adventure by will be treasured. In three days I got a taste of Italy that I had
not had in my one and a half months here, but every moment was worth it. It was
an Easter break that I will always remember, with friends that I will never
forget.
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