Italy Trip 2004
(Sept 21st - Oct 3rd)
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2004
Started today at Termini train station.
We went to cash some travelers checks and was shocked at the commission they wanted to charge. They wanted to only give us 78 Euro for 100 Euro in travelers checks. We ended up bargaining up to 89.50 Euro. The next time we pass an American Express location, we'll cash the rest of our checks for free.
Had to wait in line for over 30 minutes in order to get our train pass validated. This made us miss the first train and threw our plans off quite a bit. We were also surprised to discover a 12 Euro booking charge when taking the EU trains. We'll try to stick with IC trains which don't have this charge.
Walked around the station for a bit then hopped on the train. Two hours later we found ourselves in Naples where we caught a local train to Pompeii.
The local train was more like a subway. The area we traveled through looked quite poor and wasn't well kept. Even the train wasn't in great shape.
We got to Pompeii and explored the ruins. There were body casts in some locations made from the remains of the people who once lived here. Their poses are a little chilling.
It took us about 2 hours to walk around the main section of ruins. We then headed back to the train station.
Because of the delay earlier in the morning, we didn't have much time to explorer Naples. We stayed in the area around the train station and weren't impressed at all. This part of the town is quite dirty. The traffic is similar to Rome, except drivers will NOT stop if you happen to be in front of them.
We decided to catch the next train back to Rome, as it was starting to rain. On the train, Adam met a girl who allowed him to practice his Italian.
Back in Rome, we found a nice little restaurant with great food. I had Risoto with Scampi sauce. For desert, the waiter was nice enough to provide me with a sampling of 3 of their available cakes.
Adam ordered from the tourist fixed price menu. For 18 Euro, it provided a multi course Italian meal. Since the menu was in Italian and the waiter didn't speak English, he wasn't sure what he'd be getting.
The meal started with two appetizer plates. One had a selection of grilled vegetables, while the other has a selection of deli meats. The next plate was a pasta dish, which he really enjoyed. When the waiter came to clear the plate, Adam tried to ask the waiter what the dish was called. The waiter didn't understand. From his reaction, I felt he thought Adam wanted another pasta dish. I told this to Adam and he started to worry about how he'd finish all this food, considering there was still a meat dish to come.
As expected, the next plate was a pork chop which was cooked to perfection. After finishing it he was stuffed. Minutes after the plate was cleared, the waiter came out with another plate of pasta! Adam had to refuse it as there was no way he could eat it. The waiter took it back without any fuss. I couldn't help but laugh.
We made our way back to the hotel after dinner and called it a night.
--> SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25
