Positano to Rome - foot, boat, car, train, metro ...

We had a long day of travel yesterday to reach Rome from Positano. Jake carried my suitcase down the 284 steps to the beach to spare my aching knee. We got tickets for the 10/10 at 10 am ferry to Capri then waited for 40 minutes until our ferry finally arrived. The sea was a little choppy and the ferry boats kept getting smaller until our little red one arrived. We were herded into the enclosed cabin area and gamely headed off. The pilot attempted to steer into the waves, but the boat heeled rather abruptly a few times and several people turned various shades of green. What was supposed to be a 25 minute trip stretched to 40 minutes. We did finally arrive safely in Capri. After a pastry and juice at the port we got tickets for the funicular ride to the main town. Capri is very elegant and felt like Rodeo Drive or West Palm Beach. We decided it was too rich for our blood and went back down the hill to catch an afternoon ferry to Naples. That boat was much larger and had no trouble with the waves.

In Naples we caught a cab to the train station. I'm convinced the cab driver way overcharged us, but it was a thrilling ride that beat all cab speed records. Unfortunately, that meant we had an hour and half wait at the train station which is not the most savory part of town. There were blocks of people selling piles of used clothes and shoes around the station. There aren't really any good places to eat in the area that we noticed and the only cafe in the train station belongs to McDonalds! There aren't enough seats for waiting in the train station either.

The trains though are reasonably comfortable. We sat next to a couple from Buenos Aires and chatted with them about their trip and Argentina. They were on their way to Paris on an overnight train trip. The American couple across the aisle had just come from Positano as well, but not by ferry. Trains have tended to be a good place to chat with other travelers. Although on the ride from Florence to Naples the couple next to us was Italian and I'm pretty sure from their conversation that he was taking his mistress to Rome for the weekend. She spent most of the ride sitting on his lap next to me. I asked at one point if she'd like my seat, and he replied in English that she liked to sit on his lap and that "who could blame her?". What can you say in response to that?!

Once in Rome, we hiked a long ways through the underground warren of the train station to reach Metro line A. That took us to within 4 blocks of our hotel which is in a pleasant mostly residential neighborhood not far from the Vatican. Hotel San Pietro, reasonably priced and a decent size room with a comfortable bed. We got to the hotel around 7pm and at 7:30 headed out to find a place for a light dinner. The restaurant around the corner was recommended. When we walked in the staff were all sitting at a table finishing their own dinner, but they waved us in to a table. It quickly filled up while we were there with lots of families and locals and only one other table of tourists! The food was quite good, lots of selection.