Day 11 - Cassino - Sorrento

We got up in the morning, ate our prepackaged crescents and were eager to move on.  Nobody was there for us to check out, so we slid the payment for the night under the office door, left the key in our room and went out to wait for the taxi that we hoped the lady we'd talked to the day before had called for us. (We heard her make a call, but since we didn't understand it, couldn't be 100% sure that's what she'd done.)

At 9:00, when we expected the taxi, the black beetle that the lady had driven the day before drove up the hill.  This time, a man got out of it... I'm assuming it's her husband.  He also spoke some French, and he explained to me that he was going to take us to the cemetery.   I guess he felt bad for the mixup of the day before?  Not sure, but either way, it was nice.  He drove us to the cemetery, spoke with the gardeners to find Uncle Dick's grave, and then stood over near his car to give us as much privacy as we wanted.  When we were done, he drove us to the train station.

The cemetery is immaculate, and that says a lot.  Italy is beautiful, but it's rustic.  There's very little perfection here.    Buildings are old and have cracks, gardens have weeds.  Here in the cemetary, though, everything is kept pristine. It shows all kinds of respect.

After the cemetery, we went to the train station and killed a few hours with our ereaders in the cafe next door.  Our train came after lunch, and then we were in Napoli.... a place I've heard nothing good about, and I am not ashamed to say that I was afraid.  I've heard non-stop about pickpockets, thieves and small children to pull out guns and take everything you've got. (Seriously - I took the USB containing all of my photos out of my bag and hid it insidemy bra.  I figured that my clothes and camera could be replaced, but I didn't want to lose all the pictures.)  Happily, while I still have no desire to spend any extended time there, we had no problems.  We got off our train, went directly downstairs to the Napoli subway and got on it (with a million other people - this was the first time we've been packed in like sardines on trains) to go to Sorrento.

Sorrento is lovely.  More so, our B&B is incredible.     We really lucked out with this one.   It's outside of town, but the owner shuttles us back and forth as needed.  We have a room with a balcony that overlooks Mount Vesuvius, with the Naples Bay to one side and Sorrento to the other.    The owner, who is quite a character, has warned us that he charges 5 euros every time we look at the view.  It's on the honor system, and we're to report in before we leave.

This is, hands down, the nicest place we've stayed.  The owner has thought of everything that we could possibly need, and (except for the view) everything is included in the price of the stay.    The owner is a tall, dark drink of Italian water.  He's very suave, and a big flirt.  I'm sure he must get hit on by so many of the women who stay here, because it took him approximately 30 seconds after we met before he let us know that he's married.  Good for him - he is no doubt an excellent business man.  It's good to know he's a dedicated husband too.

Anyway - got here just after dinner.  I can hardly wait until morning to see the view in daylight.