Italy and sun and traffic

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You don't have to be out of your mind to drive in Naples but that would certainly put you in the minority!

Up at just after 4.00am to get the 7.30am flight from Gatwick to arrive in Naples around midday to pick up the Fiat Idea, there is a joke somewhere there so I wil come back to it. It is a simple matter to get from the airport to Sorrento without going into Naples at all. The first step is to avoid any direction given by Gerry as it is invariably wrong. Worse getting off the motorway means getting amoungst the motor scooters. To understand why this is a bad thing you need to know that road rues in Italy do not apply to any two wheeled vehicle. As a motorist it is a fundamental duty to leave enough room for them to pass om the inside, the outside, or a space to mount the kerb and drive along the footpath if it crowded. Naples is a city of 3 million people and four million motor scooters. Pedestrians have all together given up on expecting anything other than the expense of repairs to save them from death on the roads. The cars in turn have no indicators and unhesitatingly burst out into oncoming traffic. I had to reverse up a main street to allow a truck to do a U turn! There is no speed limit and yu can park anywhere, it is truly terrifying and naturally I fitted right in!

At the airport Gerry had asked if I would drive, he unleashed a monster! one pedestrian hit the mirror because I got to close and one pedestrian got hit by the mirror because he got to close a one all draw!

Did I mention that there are few road signs in Naples and the ones that are there are wildly inaccurate, following them with some vaugue hope of actually reaching the destination is a fools errand. I missed cars bikes pedestrians and important archeological landmarks by the width of a coat of paint, used the horn more in one afternoon than I have in my life to date, and did a spectacular drifting U turn in the forecourt of some ritzy Sorrento Hotel before we finally arrived at the hotel.

More of it later but it is about 200mtrs above the sea with views across the bay of naples and a bar that serves exceelent espresso and cold beer!

After settling in we beat a hasty path to the town and I was practicing my Italian, all 8 or so words on everyone who would catch my eye.

We engaged one woman in conversation her with no english at all and me with my 8 - 10 words and we managed to get a recommendation for a restaurant for dinner. It was basically that only a fool or a tourist would actually eat out in Sorrento but if we had to we should go to the end of the street and turn left, so we did.

The restuarant unfortunately named the Holiday Inn Restaurant in total disregard for copywright, served Moet at 35 Euro and fresh seafood that was delicious. Followed by icecream and coffee at a gelateria and a slow ride back to the hotel.

Tomorrow Pompeii.

I have loads of pics but cannot load them yet!

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Photos

Moya and Gerry
Taken on the terrace of the hotel, Bay of Naples in the background

Grand Vittoria Hotel
Sadly its grandeur has quietly slipped away somewhat