Rome and Naples
in 5 Days
  by Carol Cohen

Here is the report of our "italiatours" trip which my husband and I took in March, 2001. Since we had only 5 nights there, we planned a strategy to hit the ground running, so to speak. We carried one carry-on bag each, plus a daypack as a "pocketbook" so we didn't have to wait at the airport for checked luggage. We washed a few things every other night, and our mix-and-match clothing all worked out. We chose a 3-star hotel 1 block from the Termini train station, where we knew we could get on either subway line, and many buses.

As for money, we were unsure that the ATMs would take our bank cards because our pin nos. were too long (this from reading threads on this newsgroup), so we brought some cash in Lire and some travelers' checks in dollars, and hit an exchange/cambio place in the Milan airport. We wore our money, trav. checks and passports in those security travel pouches one wears inside one's clothing. There is a high percentage fee at most airport cambios. I think the American Express cambio in the Piazza di Spagna would have done us better, but we found instead that we used our credit card for purchases over, say, $10. Not that there were many. The costs of dinner ranged from $12-$44 for two, and we paid in cash, since these were small restaurants. The train tickets were put on the credit card, and the hotel was paid for by a voucher from italiatours. All entry fees, subway & bus fares, postcards, tips and snacks were in cash.

Rome is a lot like New York city: many young people moved there from other parts of the country to pursue their careers, and they all seem to wear black, have great haircuts and move quickly and smoothly through crowded streets. I felt at home, even though I am in my 60's, overweight and have a terrible haircut! It is a major, world-class big city.

Armed with various guidebooks, one small dictionary and a month of listening to the Berlitz Italian tapes, we made our own way around. Rome has a good subway and bus system, so you don't need taxis or tourbuses. We did lots and lots of walking, and I advise wearing thick-soled flat and comfortable shoes everywhere -- the cobblestones are beautiful but can turn an ankle if you are in heels. BTW, even the most recent guidebooks may not be totally up to date on info such as opening hours of museums, so you might want to check before you commit your whole day. And also, we think the audioguides at some sites are a waste of money, since one stands and listens to a rather dumbed-down monologue and fiddles with the buttons instead of reading and then gazing around.

We had read up on the Imperial Roman sights and sites we wanted to see, so it was just a matter of scheduling them so that we could see as many as possible in each all-day foray out from the hotel. For restaurants and other food stops (who could pass up a chance to sit out in the sun at a small table and have an espresso?) we ignored the guidebooks and prowled up narrow side streets to locate trattorie by the fragrance of their wonderful food.

Because the paid-admission sites (such as the Colosseum) close on Sundays at 1:30, we planned a Sunday afternoon in the hill town of Tivoli, to visit the fountain gardens of the Villa d'Este. One can take a bus there from the end of the subway line. And again, we prowled around to find a good family small restaurant, the Amfiteatro (great pasta e fagioli soup, and grilled sea bass and shrimp). The big meal of the day is usually 1-3 PM, and with a full buffet breakfast at the hotel (a nice surprise since we expected only coffee & a roll), we ate only the 2 meals a day. Plus those espresso and gelato stops. One gets very thirsty from all the exercise, so we carried bottled water with us which you can buy at any little store or newsstand.

Evenings are harder to use unless you like nightlife (we like classical music). But we went to the opera in the magnificent red velvet and gilt of the Teatro della Opera. There are a very few movies still in English (non-dubbed) but they are across the river in Trastevere, hardly worth a taxi ride to see an American movie, we think. And we used evenings to bone up on the next day's touring, wash things and to purchase and write out postcards. One buys postage stamps at any tabacconist shop.

But some book stores were open late, and people on the streets late, since work lets outs at 7 or so; and we also used the time to buy our tickets at the Termini train station to Naples, for Monday, which is when most of the paid-admission Imperial sites are closed in Rome. (The Vatican museums are open, though). 2nd class reserved seats are fine for this trip.

So we were on our way to Naples at 7:10 AM, on the fast (less than 2 hours) Eurostar train, enjoying the aqueduct ruins then the rolling hills sweeping by, returning on the 8:50 PM; so that we had enough time in Naples to visit the archaeological museum first where many of the murals and mosaics of Pompeii are kept, then take the Circumvesuviana commuter train to Pompeii and spend the afternoon exploring the excavated ruins, and then return to Naples for a wild, crazy rush hour bus ride crosstown (Vespa motorscooters, buses and cars all beeping; people yelling; pedestrians braving death by crossing the streets) to see the Galleria, a glass-ceilinged piazza, sort of an early mall, with a wonderful mosaic floor; then once again prowling the narrow side streets to discover a trattoria -- at this one we had braised goat and sweet peppers -- and eventually make our way back to the train station for the ride back to Rome. It was a full and tiring day, but it fit our schedule well.

People and guidebooks warned us about pickpockets on buses and other crowded places. On a Naples bus, I sitting and my husband standing, I saw a hand snake into the pocket of the man standing in front of me. I said "hey!" and grabbed the arm to stop this pickpocket. Oops -- turned out it was the arm of the man who wore the pocket. I apologized, and he nodded understandingly, and said resignedly one English word: "pickpockets."

That left us 1 more day in Rome for everything else -- the Ghetto, the Castel Sant'Angelo, St. Peter's, the other fountains. Plus the one rainstorm of our entire trip, which lasted only an hour, and we were wearing our Goretex raincoats as our outerwear. The clear light blue skies with occasional piles of puffy clouds were just like the skies in Renaissance paintings.

Returning home, we were able to make a very good exchange rate at the Thos. Cook cambio at Milan airport, and the few coins went into a charity bowl nearby. So there were no lire left over by the time we got on our plane home. Since Italy and other Euro countries are switching to the eurodollar next year, it was a good idea to get rid of the lire now.

It was an excellent survey trip and makes us want to return to see other areas of Italy, and also to study Italian in night classes beforehand. My high-school Spanish kept leaping forth when I couldn't think of the Italian word, and I'd like to suppress it. Although most Italians seemed to understand me when I had to speak Spanish (or pretended to understand me). Italians learn English in school, I think; so almost everyone knows a few words of English. Plus they are mostly friendly and helpful people.

In conclusion I want to advise you all that a short trip to Rome and environs is entirely possible, with good planning and good luck, and an eye for good food opportunities. (buy a Neapolitan pizza on the street, just pulled from the wood-burning oven, folded over and handed to you in a paper: 75 cents!) The hardest part is the long flight(s) there.

And newsgroupers, thank you all for the complete, detailed and varied advice you helped us with.

Copyright © 2001 Carol Cohen
Published March 17, 2001

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