Rich Italia

This post has to be as fast as italian driving. That means very fast, and I would know...

I arrived in Napoli on Tuesday and took the one hour local oven-on-wheels to Sorrento. At the campsite I met a South African couple I'd spent time with in Roma. Andrew raved about his day on a scooter so naturally I decided to rent a scooter the next day.

WOW.

I couldn't have had a more intimate experience with the italian culture than that day on the scooter. From 9am wednesday to 9am thursday, I was as Italian as I will ever be. (yes, mom, I wore a helmet, they all do). The driving, though, notorious, is actually an art. It's not the Italian drivers I worried about, it was more the tourists such as myself who concerned me. These driving know EXACTLY where their motorized vehicle is (this means scooters, cars, and miraculously, buses). I figured it out, though. Travel at whatever speed is comfortable on the right and just be predictable. Yield to passing traffic in either direction and stay the hell out of the way of the buses (who kindly honk before approaching hairpin curves). There are also mirrors everywhere to aid in taking curves.

So from the scooter I saw very little of the unbelievable views (eyes to the road and mirrors). I took many stops and even more pictures, though, as I wound my way along the coast to Almalfi. These coastal towns are so beautiful, I could stay here for months!

But I can't stay here for months, I have places to see and things to do. Today I'm off to the north with Cinque Terre as my destination. I don't know if I'll be there tonight, I may hop off the train in a nice looking town and stay a while. Only 16 days to go!

Ciao for now!

Tom