Southbound in Italy Wednesday 4 to Saturday 14 October

Italy Wednesday 4 to Saturday 14 October

Wednesday 4 October.   Bit slow getting away from the Orvieto area because of road works, but once we’re on the motorway we are fine.   Most of the drive (about three hours) is open country side with hill top towns, 

apart from the outskirts of Rome which is a bit industrial.

We are low on fuel when we reach Ceprano, but find a fuel station easily enough (thank you Google).  At many fuel stations the petrol or diesel is €0.20 to €0.30 per litre (£0.18 to £0.26) cheaper if you pump it yourself, rather than have it done for you, so, of course, we pull up at a ‘serve yourself‘ pump.   The challenge comes when we read the ‘pay before you self serve’ instructions which bear no resemblance to reality.   The instructions, we realise, relate to a now defunct payment system.   The chap at the garage is not helpful but in the end we work out the new 'pay in advance' system and get the diesel we need.

On to the overnight stop, that is well reviewed but hard to find as it is lurking behind a restaurant.   It is a pleasant place - more of an overnight parking place (‘sosta’ in Italian) than campsite, with EHU, but only one bathroom/ loo, but it costs only €20.  The restaurant is called Le Ganze which translates as ‘The Girls’, though it seems it would be better called “I gatti” [The cats ] as there are a lot of them about.   

We talk to a Finnish chap who is en route to Sicily with his wife, and a three wheeler vehicle (in a trailer behind their mo-ho) to spend winter there.   Oh, the advantages of being in the EU - we’re restricted to 90 days in any 180 days….. 

We have dinner at the restaurant, which is a good meal for not very much.   It’s a busy place with most of the other customers being Italian men.  And the cats.

Thursday 5 October   Have breakfast at the restaurant and get on the road.  Today we're going to Pompeii just south of Naples and only about a two hour drive.  Our campsite, Camping Zeus, is very close to the entry gates to the ruins of Pompeii….. and again, lurking, disguised as a car park. But, several point turns, and a second time time round the block later, we arrive at reception.  The campsite is under olive and citrus trees, and manoeuvring is a bit tight, but we find a spot and set up.

This is the place to come for a Pompeii T shirt, rude apron (think nether regions of Michaelangelo's 'David'), limoncello patterned tea towels or plastic Roman sword .  None of which we want.

Walk the ten minutes to the nearest supermarket to get supplies and are quiet for the rest of the day, but do suffer from mozzies or some other bitey creatures.  It's warm outside and the insect repellant doesn't work very well.

Friday 6 October.  Visit today to the Pompeii ruins.  We booked admission on line, but are turned away with the QR codes on our phones to go back ….to the ticket office to get actual paper tickets.  The guide we've uploaded to our phones is useless; note to anyone visiting to get the paper map or audio guide.

That being said, Pompeii is amazing.  Founded in 600 BC it was a port with a population of around 20,000 when, in 79 AD, it was covered in ash from a volcanic eruption from Vesuvius with about 10% of the population losing their lives.   It was excavated in earnest from 1748.   Many buildings are still standing, albeit roofless, and many murals and frescoes have survived.   

Wonderful to walk the old streets and see where carts had worn grooves in the stone and to visit the Villa dei Misteri with gorgeous wall paintings.

But, it's very warm, and we didn't bring any water 🙄 so after about three hours we head back to the campsite for a late lunch and reflect on what we've seen.

Saturday 7 October.  Today we are going to Naples by train.  The train station is very close

and we get there in good time to buy tickets for the 9.50 am train.  Only to find that we've been given duff gen as the train timetable on the campsite map / general info sheet is wrong.  So we have to wait for nearly half an hour …. and then it's standing room only.  

Reach Naples Piazza Garibaldi station and spend 20 minutes trying to find the metro, queuing to buy metro tickets and getting on the train (very new and clean).  But it beats a 30 minute walk on a warm day.  

Visit the Naples National Archaeological Museum which has many statues and artefacts from Pompeii and spend an interesting few hours there.   

Then walk up the street to the Antica Pizzeria Port' Alba, a long standing, if not historic, pizzeria.  You can't visit Naples and not have pizza - and very good they are too.

Metro back to the station and misjudge where the train will pull in… so we're standing again back to Pompeii.

Sunday 8 October.   Quiet day today with a bit of shopping for groceries

Monday 9 October. I have a Zoom meeting with the UK and then we pack up and head west (ish) to Sorrento.  It's not very far, and the initial bit is fairly quick, through tunnels and over viaducts.  But when we reach the Sorrento 'burbs the roads narrows and everything slows down.  

Eventually we reach Camping Nube Argento, which seems to be carved out of the cliff face, and the entrance to which involves a 180° turn off the main road with two goes at backing and turning to get the mo-ho facing the right way.   Then it's down and down and down negotiating several hair pin bends, until we reach reception.  Friendly and English speaking, and they have a bar/ shop that sells bread in the morning, and beer and cocktails.   We are shown a couple of pitches with EHU to choose between, under the olive trees.

Tuesday 10 October.  Through the campsite we have booked a visit today to the island of Capri.   Leave about 8.45 am to walk to the port which takes about 20 minutes, including some 120 steps down to sea level, and then 10 minutes to find and queue for the ticket office.    We meet our guide, Rosella, and other members of the group - Australians, Brits, Italian, German, French and Argentinian.  Rosella speaks everyone's language but tends to focus on which is the greatest number of people - so the anglophones and Italian speakers get plenty of chat, but the French couple (who speak no English or Italian), are left out.  I translate for them, which they appreciate, but John calls me a polyglot,which just sounds rude 😉.

A bit chaotic but we get the ferry at 10.00 am.  We sit with and chat to an American couple from Chicago (not in our group) who are in Italy for a 10 day holiday.  Ferry is quick and smooth and the crossing takes about 25 minutes .

Arrive to see high cliffs and hills with clouds on top;   the town pretty well goes straight up from the sea. 

We transfer to a much smaller boat and are taken on a trip clockwise around the island.  Our guide, Rosella, discourages anyone from visiting the Blue Grotto, for which Capri is so famous, mainly on the grounds of a two hour queue to get in and the visit itself being very quick.   

Beautiful scenery from our boat with the island rising steeply out of the sea.  Pablo Neruda’s house is pointed out and various famous inhabitants and visitors past and present (Gracie Fields, Winston Churchill, Sophia Loren etc) described.    Stop at one point for a few well prepared souls to go for a swim from the boat.

Back in port we are persuaded to take a bus trip to the ‘other’ Capri, called Anacapri.  The bus climbs the road up the cliff side from the port and I have my eyes tight shut at certain points.  We reach Anacapri bus station, are de-bussed and given a very lengthy talk about how expensive everything is (yes) and how we have to be back at the bus station at 4.00 pm.  Walk into the town centre along a pedestrian route and are shown the chairlift (no thanks) and advised again about not getting lost and being at the bus station on time.   I translate all this to the French couple, which is fine, but then they want to chat…

We wander around, window shop and admire the views then go for lunch in the town centre.  A modest meal of two bottles of beer, a pizza and a tuna salad comes to over €65.  

Stop later for a beer in a restaurant overlooking the main harbour - beautiful views and the beer is "only'' €9 (£7.85) per bottle. 🥺

Afterwards we go for a walk along some of the back streets and get a bit lost (and very warm) but reach the bus station in time for our bus back to the port.   More chaos as it is not made clear by Rosella the guide which bus we should be on, but we find one for the trip back to the port.    

Our return tickets say we are catching the 1650 ferry but we’re firmly told that we’re on the 1720;  we all queue in line until the ferry pulls in, and the gang plank is put out, at which point it's every person for themselves.

Safely back to Sorrento port, say good bye and thank you to Rosella and walk back to the campsite - which includes plodding up the 120 or so steps.   Apparently we have done nearly 13,000 steps today.

Wednesday 11 October    This is a quiet / domestic day today with a walk to the supermarket (only three minutes along the main road but it takes twice that time to climb up the drive out of the campsite, with its hairpin bends, to reach the road) and do some laundry.  Our British next door neighbour complains about ants getting into her mo-ho and the price of (anti) ant powder in the campsite shop.   Oh how I didn't laugh when the ants start visiting us... climbing the wheels? Brought in on our shoes? 🤔

We go for a swim and reaching the beach of course involves walking down 100 or so steps to a tiny sandy beach (Spiaggia di Sorrento) in a harbour, surrounded by restaurants and bars.   

But the water is warm and it's a lovely  spot - even though we have the 100 steps to walk back up to the camp site afterwards.

Have a couple of glasses of wine and then I bump into Mr Frenchman from yesterday (he's not stalking me, he's on our campsite) who stops me for a chat.   My French is much more confident with some vino bianco in my blood stream.

Thursday 12 October. We walk into Sorrento town to explore the back streets - plenty of tourists, and lots of souvenirs for sale.  Resist buying anything (lemons feature a lot, as well as blue patterned fabrics) and settle for an early lunch in a restaurant with tables on the street/ alley.   Good meal with a bottle of rosé and then we wander around the town

and back to the campsite.

Friday 13 October. Unlucky day as we learn that Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association's legal action to prevent 'exploratory drilling' for oil near Balcombe had been dismissed.  This despite the Parish Council and West Sussex County Council unanimously refusing planning permission for the project. 😢

Pack up the mo-ho and pay for the site (I think the most expensive we've stayed in) and head out to the main road. A couple of wrong turns but then we're into Sorrento traffic and an hour's drive until we get to the motorway.  Another attractive route which I, as the passenger, get to appreciate more than the chauffeur;  mainly inland and then a long drive down to sea level where we reach Scalea .

Stop at a rather tatty sosta site, Martina camper;  very end of season but it is right on the beach.  And only €15 a night with EHU.  Have a couple of beers from the bar, at €2 each and then go for a swim.

Walk 15 minutes to a nearby shopping precinct to buy some food and then back to the camp site for the sunset.

Saturday 14 October. Go for a swim (I startle John by getting straight in to the water) and then a three minute / €0.50 hot shower.  Have breakfast and set off for tonight's destination, Cosenza, picked for its' historic centre 

and the fact that The Pogues Irish bar is showing the All Blacks v Ireland rugby match tonight (we've WhatsApped them to make sure).   Cosenza also has a car park where one can park for the night for €10 - no facilities, but we have all we need on board.

About 1.45 pm we reach the car park, which is very quiet, and walk round the corner for a beer.    Then settle down to read/ study Italian/ write blog.  About 4.00 pm there's a knock on the door and a man announces he's the "ragazzo de parcheggio" (parking attendant).  We communicate well via Google translate - he wants us to move the mo-ho as there are cars expected for a big church service, and he points us to an area used for storing building materials.   John and I are good at manoeuvring and directing the mo-ho, but it's complicated by the parking attendant's enthusiastic chum who is inclined to misdirect.  But we get in, and pay the €10 parking fee.

Head out around 6.00 pm to the town centre;  the wide pedestrianised main street is full of people of all ages out for the passeggiata (evening stroll) so we slow our pace to blend in.  Find The Pogues Irish bar in a side street and sit outside for a while, people watching. Definitely a local bar with folk meeting and greeting.  We head in to our reserved table and order from the burger menu - all the burgers are named after Irish people or bands.  I struggled to see either a Pogues or Irish theme to the place.  About four pictures of Shane McGowan on the walls and the décor was  mainly British football scarves and posters.

It starts to fill up around 7.30 pm with a fourteenth birthday party in one corner, people popping in for a drink or food, mum, dad and the kids out for a meal.  Very friendly and relaxed vibe.    

The nice manager made a point of checking that Sky sport was tuned in and working before the game started at 9.00 pm.   Great game but I've rarely seen John so tense as in its' last few minutes;  thankfully the ABs won against Ireland 28 to 24.   So we'll have to go through the tension again with ABs v Argentina on Friday 20th October.  NOTE on 20 October the ABs played so well that John was quite relaxed 😃