We’re packed and ready early, caffe at the bar with the
commuters. This morning we’re joining
those commuters on the ferry to Naples.
This high speed hydrofoil makes the run across the Bay of Naples in just
40 minutes, and this is our first time on a vessel like this. Here’s what we learned. Unlike a boat with a standard hull, the
hydrofoil rides on top of the water instead of cutting through it. That means in today’s big swells the front of
the boat is rising and falling about nine feet at a time, over and over and
over and over. Add that
pit-of-your-stomach roller coaster feeling each time and this was not the
experience we were hoping for. I look
around and realize a few things. 1) The
back of the boat is bouncing way less than the front of the boat. 2) We are in the very front of the boat. 3) Those smart commuters are in the back of
the boat, unaffected. 4) Mandy is
turning funny colors. My engineering
education has not gone to waste as proven by our decision to change seats. The rest of the ride is mercifully uneventful.
Docking in Naples, we wrestle our bags to the line at the taxi
stand. Cab scams are rampant in Naples,
and our driver loads us and another couple headed for the airport into a cab
together. Only problem is we are headed
for the train station. Cabbie thinks
he’s slick as he “accidently” throws his hat over the meter. I open my door and step out, negotiate a flat
rate to the station and demand to be dropped off first. Once we’re settled, he turns out to be an
excellent driver.
About driving in Italian cities.
At first glance it appears to be total chaos, but there’s a rhythm to
it, a flow, a hierarchy. When we
commented on the crazy motorbike drivers to our driver to Sorrento. she
explained that “we all buy those bikes so we can weave through traffic”. It’s expected. Our cab driver will make illegal U-turns, but
will yield to any bike trying to squeeze through. So the hierarchy goes like this: The busses and trucks let the cars slip
through. The cars let the scooters and bicycles
slip through. And pedestrians are king
and everybody comes to a stop for them.
It’s way less crazy once we understood.
The high-speed train to Rome is peaceful sanity. The first thing we see as we disembark are
three lingerie shops including Victoria’s Secret. Not sure what they were expecting on the
train, but I’m willing to take another ride and find out. We cab it to Hotel Indigo on Via Giulia. It’s a swank boutique in a very cool section
of town. I should thank my travel agent,
so I decide to buy her lunch.
We head to Campo de’ Fiori, a square ringed with restaurants and
the market filling the interior. Lunch
is a yummy affair in an outdoor café involving a calzone like pizza, squash
blossoms, rocket salad with cherry tomatoes (rocket = arugula) and of course
daydrinks. We check our hotel map and
decide we can walk to something called Piazza della Rotonda. We get there and wonder what the big old
building with the columns is and wonder why so many people are looking at
it. I check the sign. Oh, it’s just the Pantheon. Rome is like that. You just wander down the street and trip over
the 8th Wonder of the Ancient world.
The famed Trevi Fountain is only a few minute walk from here, so
we set that as our next destination.
Sometimes when something is so famous it can’t possibly live up to the expectations. I’ve seen the massive animated fountains in
Vegas. I’ve walked in the best fountains
in Paris. Turns out, this one is by far
my favorite. The scale is massive, 160’
across and 86’ high, it’s the entire width of the square bearing its name. It’s also a creative marvel. Instead of being a fountain in a tub in the middle
of the square, it’s seamlessly integrated into the façade of the palace behind
it. Architecture and sculpture, water
and stone, nature and man, power and tranquility. Well, tranquility may be a stretch, as the place
is mobbed.
It seems we’ve accidently started the Heart of Rome Walk, so we
continue onward. Next stop is coffee at
Gran Café in Piazza Di Pietra, right across from the Temple of Hadrian, a huge
Roman temple façade with 11 massive columns.
It was built in 145AD in dedication to Hadrian, the first man of
non-nobile lineage to rule the Roman Empire.
We head to Castel Sant’Angelo but are stopped in our tracks by yet
another massive and beautiful structure. This one is not a museum or palace,
but the Palace of Justice, the working home of the Italian Supreme Court. We had to read the sign to figure out this
one, too. Like I said, Rome is just like
that. We loop back to the hotel, feet
exhausted.
Rome, like Philly, is a city of neighborhoods. Mandy has a few specific neighborhoods she
wants to explore and tonight it’s Trastevere.
A bohemian area with a lively night scene, virtually every bar offers a
happy hour where for about 10€ you can get a drink and munch off the
buffet. Needless to say, this area is
flocked with students and young working professionals from late afternoon to
late evening. We dine at Taverna Trilussa,
a century old joint decorated with a dizzying variety of prosciutto and
cheeses. After our meat and cheese sampler
appetizer, I get the traditional Carbonara (the best we have had) and Mandy
gets their specialty Ravioli Mimosa, a secret recipe that tastes exactly as
good as it sounds. We stroll home
through the energetic district taking in the sounds and sights of modern Rome
in these ancient streets.
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