I am SO tired. Today we made a train journey from Capo Vaticano to Naples.

It took about 5 hours. The whole story below.

We first took a car to the train station, spent an hour and a half getting to Lamezia. In Lamezia, we changed trains and spent about 3 hours on the train to Naples. At Naples Central station we took a taxi to our airport hotel. Whew…

I have to say, as tired as we are tonight (they are both asleep as I type this), everything went according to plan. No hiccups whatsoever. Just a loooong day.

Julie suggested to bring sandwiches on the train. I stopped by the market before boarding and brought fixings – bread, salami, prosciutto, juice boxes, some candy, a few lollipops. I made sandwiches right on the train, and it was great. We did leave some crumbs but we cleaned up with wipes that I always have in my backpack. All seats have trash receptacles.

Both train were comfortable- especially the InterCity – the seats were huge and soft. I wish planes had those seats. The kids spent time watching their iPads, doing legos, fighting, eating, and staring out of the window.

Also, people in general continue to be so helpful. I guess when they see two young kids, it’s natural to want to help them get off and on the train or lift their suitcases. In Naples, a random taxi driver blocked traffic so we can walk across the road and get into our taxi.

As we were approaching Naples, I rang our hotel to ask how much I should expect to shell out for the taxi. They said €40, but be prepared the taxi drivers will try and charge you €60 or €70. Me: 🥴 I feel super uncomfortable because I may have to haggle.

So we get out, Napoli Centrale is PACKED, I am a ball of anxiety, there is police everywhere AND some people that look like they may be part of some armed forces. We barrel through the bodies, get outside, and into the taxi line. The line goes fast, and it’s our turn. I go to the taxi driver “Caseria, cuarenta euros.” He hesitates, but I can see it’s a yes, we quickly pile into the car, I have cuarenta *CASH* ready, plus some coins so cuarenta y cinque (45). The ride is about 15 minutes long. We arrive, I pay, say thank you and exhale.

Naples. From what I have seen out of the taxi window, Napoli looks like a bit of a dump. At least the area around the airport. I am sure there are central areas that are more taken care of, but this section by the airport: uffff. It was not clean, many stores were closed, graffiti, and lots of apartment buildings with peeling paint.

We get to the hotel and it looks like something that belongs in Las Vegas: all gold and white roses. The room is hot as hell but the air is slowly seeping so once we seal the room, it gets marginally better. We go down to the store to buy some juices and snacks for the plane. We pass a chicken place and get an order of wings and some fried potatoes. Both delicious as we eat back in the hotel room. Well, L and I eat, R just nibbles.