Day 27 - La Spezia to Rome (again) to Naples to Sorrento

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An early start. The rain stopped during the early morning and though the temp was cooler, it was a pleasant suitcase drag to the stationale for a very fresh croissant and coffee prior to boarding our train to Roma (again). Roy and I are so proud of ourselves, sussing out the trains, finding accommodation, etc. and all without a bad word between us. He beat me at a game of Phase 10 on the first part of our journey between Le Spezia and Rome, which we had done before but still found some interesting views. Changed trains in Rome, heading for Napoli (Naples). The train reached 301 kms per hour though I only caught 300 kms per hour on my camera. The onboard weather map was showing some pretty heavy showers for the coming days. In Naples we went down to the circumvesuviana train between Naples and Sorrento. Wellingtonians, don't you DARE whinge about the state of our old suburban trains. Seemingly these old carriages can accommodate up to 1200 people (in summer months - thank goodness we are travelling at this time of the year) and there were several hundred crammed into the train when we went to board the first one that came along so we decided to wait. We had heard about pick pockets at the station but didn't see that, just young children begging. Met a lovely chap, Frank, from Melbourne who is back in Italy for his third visit as he traces his roots. The seats on the circumvesuviana were made of hard-wearing plastic but we were grateful for them. In Sorrento, we called our host, Pasquale, and as promised he was there within 10 minutes and drove us up a bumpy road to his beloved Villa Monica B&B (found on Trip Advisor). The road did make me wonder what I had let us in for. As it was low season, we had the choice of two rooms, but "if I was his Mama he would give me this room" - and even though it has a very small shower/bathroom it is more than adequate. The view is nothing short of spectacular. We lay in bed and looked right across Sorrento and into the hills and the Med. Absolutely beautiful. He showed us the kitchen for breakfast and where the free red wine was. He gave us the free wifi code and also a timetable for his almost hourly shuttle service to and from Sorrento. There was a little gift of boxed Pandoro bread. It was all so much more than we expected. We learned lots of information from him and from his Tips books (comments from travellers who had stayed previously). We settled in, and rested for a couple of hours before he picked us up and took us to Vino Vera (in the hills near the accommodation) for dinner - a ristorante frequented mainly by locals. We were amazed by the size (his description made it seem like a little Italian kitchen). The service was excellent and the food great although eating Italian food late at night means a fairly restless night.

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