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| Boarding Flight in Helsinki |
Oh man! Finally on my train to Naples, but not without a few
bumps along the way. As far as my flight, it went great. Interestingly both at
Helsinki and in Rome we got on and off via an outside ramp and then shuttled to
the airport. I was impressed with Finnar. Even though it was only a three hour
flight, they fed us lunch, tea, and chocolate. More than what I would expect
from the average US flight. We even got in a little early, and it wasn't long
until I had my baggage and was off to the Leonardo Express to Rome. Although I
had previously purchased my ticket for an hour later, I was permitted to travel
on an earlier train. The Leonardo Express was a very nice ride. It gave me a
quick view of the Italian countryside and city. Four things, make that five
things popped out immediately. 1) There is A LOT of graffiti everywhere and on
everything. 2) The Italians are certainly not Dutch or German! Particularly in
respect to neatness and cleanliness. 3) Italians appear to love their plants.
Almost every apartment has plants, trees, vines, etc. covering their small
porches. 4) Italians appear to love warm
colors. Nearly all of the buildings are shades of yellow, orange, brown, and
red. Very few of the cooler colors. 5) The relationship between ancient and
modern go hand in hand. The old has been adapted, built around, or incorporated
altogether into everyday life. Some of the old looks stately, but a good deal
looks trashy.
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| Leonardo Express |
Although got an early
train from the airport, there was no way to change my ticket from the Roma
Termini to an earlier train (even though there were plenty of empty seats). Not
only was I now over an hour early for my train, but it was also running late.
With lots of people coming and going (not all travelers), and I a tourist with
all my luggage, I didn't really want to go do any exploring. Particularly with
Rome's notorious pick-pocketing thieves. ... One little story from earlier. There was a
boy at the baggage claim who was very excited about having arrived in Rome, but
his fascination was on Rome's notorious pick-pocket experts. He kept walking
around his parents and siblings, pick-pocketing their luggage telling them
"Rome is for pick-pocketing," "You better watch your
luggage!" "Oh, you lost your [water bottle], better be more
careful!" and the like. Although kind of funny, it was a reality reminder
that Rome is not a place to let one's guard down.
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| Roma Termini with "less" people :) |
Back at the train station
I found a spot away from the crowds where I could watch the billboards for my
train. While there I had a couple people come up and ask me questions. Although
I have no idea what they were asking, as I don't speak Italian, they were
certainly did not appear to be reputable individuals. One was asking for
change, another to sell me something, and another upon discovering I did not
speak Italian asked it if I spoke Duetch (German), I replied
"English" at that he shrugged his shoulders and walked off. In each
instance I kept my distance and my eyes keen on any motions near my luggage. Paranoid,
probably. But I wanted to be safe than sorry. Thankfully there were no
problems. Finally when the train did arrive close to 10:00 PM, the coach car
that I was supposed to be in was locked. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one, but
as I do not know the language, I could not understand the instructions in which
I was supposed to do. Rather than
complicating matters by trying to clarify, I just acted confidently and went
and found an open seat near the middle of the train. Now I'm waiting for my
arrival at Napoli Central (Naples). Hopefully this transition will go a bit
smoother than the lost one. :) I guess these are some of experience that come
with a good bargain. While waiting on my train at Roma Termini, I looked up the
cost of an earlier train: over six time what I paid for mine. On a more positive
side, I think I've figured out the basics of the Roman train system ~ we'll see
how well I do when I go to Pompeii tomorrow. Oddly enough, it's about halfway
into my train ride, and they still haven't checked my ticket. Perhaps they
don't care who's on at this hour of the night.
After thirty seven hours with only a few hours of sleep, I'm
ready to find my hotel for the night! Perhaps when I find internet I can find
an Italian/English translation app. :)
Note to Self: airports ate a bad place to exchange one's
money. I knew this, but my other options weren't better. ! I had read banks are
the best place to exchange one's money, but most banks will only do
transactions with their customers (at least that's what I read before coming.) At
Helsinki I only exchanged a little bit as they were seven cents higher than the
current exchange rate. Then in Rome, I needed to exchange a little bit more,
but the airport was now twelve cents above the current exchange rate! Although
good for now, I'll be keeping my eye out for a better deal. The best so far has
actually been the train station where it was six cents above the current
exchange rate.
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| Hotel Ideal (in the distance - next day) |
Update: Little over halfway and after several stops, there
was a gentleman who came through and checked our tickets. Upon arriving at the Napoli train station, I
quickly found my hotel and checked in. The doors were already locked, but I had
messaged ahead that I would be in late, so they had someone waiting for me. After
deciphering his Italian/English and with a few corrections, I was glad to
settle into my bright orange room. My first item of business was to find a
location in the hotel where I could connect to the internet to message back
home to let Ruth know I had made it in safely. I found enough signal one floor
down and a few rooms over. ... One thing the pictures cannot tell is the noise
level (or at night, the lack of it). Italians do not seem to use much if any air-conditioning
or fans, so the hotel was dead quiet. Something like when the power would go
out in the dorms and you can hear every noise across several rooms if not the
whole floor. Soon enough I was sound
asleep awaiting the next day's sightseeing.
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| Finland from the Air - lots of Islands! |
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Dinner on Airline - Very similar to the lunch I bought at the
airport, except mine was in a sandwich. It was something like
egg salad and coleslaw mixed together. The one at the airport
had a little bit of spice to it. |
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| Coast of Poland |
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| The Alps |
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| Italian Countryside - getting ready to land! |
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| And yes, I have a bidet ;) |
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| Room at Hotel Ideal |
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| Room at Hotel Ideal |
