The Napoli Caper, Part 1: Arriving

Listing out the things we needed to do to get to our place in Naples was easy. Check it out:

1. Drive from Collesano to Messina, the ferry town;
2. Board the ferry, get back to mainland Italy, drop off the family at the train station;
3. Return the car to the rental place;
4. Get back to the train station;
5. Make a very specific train to Naples;
6. Once in Naples, figure out public transportation and get to the vicinity of our AirBnB;
7. Once in the vicinity of our place, contact our host, or be sure to have them knowing a fair estimate for our arrival time so they may be around;
8. Check into the AirBnB.

Our ferry was scheduled for 10, and our train to Naples for 12:50. That pretty much meant that we had to leave Collesano before 7, or 7 at the latest, to get to Messina with enough time to figure out how to get to the ferry, get to the ferry and then onto the ferry. 

Ferry donut; he ate it so fast

I was pretty sure I could find the way back to the rental office, and, after studying Google Maps the night before, I learned that in the worst case scenario, it was only about 4 km from the office to the train station on the surface streets of Reggio Calabria, a distance I could surely walk in an hour.

We shouldn't have any real problems. Plus, it was out anniversary, so positive vibes were on our side.

Everything worked out according to plan, and since no cabs were near the car rental office, I had decided to walk. The rental agent who checked the car to make sure I hadn't crashed it and had filled the Diesel tank told me about the bus: there was a stop, and all buses go to the city center, which is close enough to the train station. I'd have to buy a ticket on board, but they were only 2€.

I knew I had two 20€ notes and about 72 euro cents in coins, and I figured I'd have to walk. But, nestled deep in my pocket was a 2€ coin, so, jackpot.

Of course a bus pulled away as I found the stop. So, I made like Brooklyn and started walking, keeping an eye out behind for the next bus.

I walked about half the way and took a bus the last half. Here's a street shot as I sauntered:

There's a large statue outside of the station, and Cass and I went to check it out while we waited for the train to Naples. It's of Garibaldi, the leader of the unification:

The train finally made it and then finally let us in. The trip was tiresome, as Cass was having a tough time until he fell asleep.

We made it to Napoli, learned the hard way that they do not have a unified Metro system, and had to ride a few stops to get to our neighborhood, a spot originally developed centuries ago right outside the old city's walls.

I have some more to say about Napoli in a bit. My feelings may have been blurred by the fact that we stayed in such a specific area and, in the end, lacked the energy to explore the entirety of the metropolitan area.

Anyway, after lugging our big backpack, the car seat, and the Boy for the majority of the walk from the subway exit, we found our address: 26 San Felippe

The apartment was a two bedroom place on the third floor, but each floor was double height, as in it took two full flights to get to the first floor above the ground level. Getting to our place was like getting to the sixth floor. We even had the Boy walking it, and by the time we got to the top floor, our floor, he was huffing and puffing like the rest of us.

Here's the view out our bedroom's tiny French balcony:

I love the density of the backs of buildings...

The last of our serious advanced apartment maneuvers was over and we could plan out the next few days. The next day was for Pompeii, and we settled on the last day as being a beach day, since we were so tired and mostly ready to stop having to struggle with everything---the language, no home cooking, no toddler routine due to constant change, no beloved cat...

Again, like Syracuse, we ran into some bitchin' Italian keys: