Hello again, I’ve just returned from Italy. Unfortunately i didn’t manage to find any computer with Internet connection or enough time to write my report, so i am going to write it now! By the way, i will keep on writing in English, so that people i met there can also benefit from my text. Apart from that, I said in the previous one, it is a great opportunity for you to practice your English.
Anyway, after spending my night in a hostel near the Roma Termini, i took the train to Napoli. The train was quite expensive. I paid 19,5 euros, when in Greece to go to Volos, which is more or less the same distance and it takes the same time, i would have paid something like 5 or 6 euros. Anyway, at least there were no chinesse people in the train.
The train was good, but not impressive. Quick enough (Rome – Napoli: 2 hours and 9 minutes) and very comfortable. Ok, not very comfortable but at least affordable! In the same cabin there where an Italian professor who was correcting some tests of his students, an Italian business man reading economic newspapers, an Italian young guy who was listening to music and none of them could speak English. Apart from them and me, there were two tourists from England, that were discussing having in mind that no one could understand what they were talking about. I had great fun because after an hour or something they were talking about Rome and they couldn’t agree on something, so I gave them the correct answer and they were very embarrassed because they realised that i have heard and have understood all they had say up to now. Needless to say, that they stopped talking after this!!!
Finally, i arrived in Napoli. This city is the definition of chaos. There were no chinesse people (logical, since all of them were in Rome), but the city is a chaos. I arrived in the train station and i wanted to go to the port to take the boat to Ischia. So, i asked about 20 people on how to go from the station to the port, no one could speak English (only one was speaking French, so i talked with him a little bit more) and all of them gave me a different information. They suggested around 10 different buses or trams and about 5 different bus stops. In the end, i found a map in a bus stop that was not ruined and i decided myself how to reach the port. Fortunately, i took the correct tram (number 1 by the way, if someone is intrested).
The tram was so crowded that i felt like being in a bus of Thessaloniki. After some minutes i arrived in the port. It was close enough to the train station, so i could have walked the way instead, if only i knew the streets! I bought a ticket to Ischia (13.5 euros for the quick ship). The ship was like a bus on the water. Impressive and quick enough, like flying dolphins (maybe it was a flying dolphin). Still no chinesse people in Napoli, not even on the ship. The trip lasted around 40 minutes, so i found myself in Ischia port in the city of Ischia (Ischia is both the name of the island and the name of the main city).
My trip was not over yet, since i had to reach Forio, a village in the other side of the island. This time, better luck. Everybody knew how to go there, so i only asked two people (the second just to be sure) about buses and that stuff. I took the bus number 1 (again 1) and then i had to guess where to get off.
The bus arrived in Forio, and i got out of the bus in the Forio port. It is the most common place in the village. I mean that everything is around there, people, stores, the main square, everything. But still, i haven’t reached my destination. I was close but not enoigh! The only thing i had to do was to find the Via Torrone (Via stands for street). Unfortunately, there was an other Via Torrione (only the i is different). So, i asked about 15 people (by the way noone could speak English) and everybody told me about the wrong road (all the conversation since Rome were in Italian that by the way i cannot speak).
Then i thought that this should be the right street, since i hadn’t found out yet that there were two roads with similar names. The good thing is that when i went to that wrong street, i found the building 11, and knocked the door. A man opened the door wondering who the hell am I. I explained to him what i was looking for and he was the one that told me that there is an other road with similar name. Accidentaly the man could speak English very well, so i took advantage to ask for more detailed information. I was speaking with this man for about 10 minutes when i had enough information (at least i thought i did) to go. So, we said goodbye to each other and in the last moment he asked me were i was from! I told him from Greece, and guess what… he was from Crete! So, we discussed another 10 minutes, this time in Greek.
After spending 20 minutes talking with this Greek guy i started again my way to this Via Torrone. By the way, it took me around 1 hour and half walking within the city of Forio until i found this stupid road. Just to mention, it took me less time to go from Thessaloniki to Rome!
I arrived at the house and the trip was over at last…
Enough for now… Thank you for you keep on reading… The next chapter will describe a little the city of Napoli and the island of Ischia. It will be on in 2-3 days, so keep on visiting. Ciao.
P.S. The photo is from the city of Ischia.
