The contrast between France and Italy was striking. France is a very modern country, almost futuristic. Yet, its history mingles comfortably with the present. The old is well preserved and cared for. Our introduction to Italy was Genoa. Unquestioningly, Genoa is an old city. After all, it was home to Christopher Columbus. Yet, it looks like it was built a couple of hundred years ago and hasn’t had a coat of paint since.
OK, so not everything needs a new coat of paint!
Genoa is famous for its pesto and the fame is well deserved. I’m not a fan of pasta salads, but trofie topped with pesto is a fine dish. Then, there are the Vespas. Genoa is where the ubiquitous motor scooter was born and the streets are buzzing with them.
We took the night train from Genoa to Naples. When we boarded the train, our second class compartment was inhabited by 3 other people. A sixth person joined us later. The compartment has 2 rows of 3 seats each that face each other. It is possible to pull the seats down so you can sort of stretch out from one row of seats to the other. This means that the 6 passengers are arranged side by side, head to toe. When the sixth passenger joined us in our compartment, she virtually took over, stretching out between Claudia and another passenger. Unfortunately, her idea of sharing fell close to “What’s mine is mine and thank you for your generosity.” She sprawled out on her own real estate, fell asleep and took over half of Claudia’s. At least she got off the train in Rome, as did two other passengers, making things more comfortable. Even so, it was a long night.
The Naples train station is a very modern affair with shops restaurants and cafés. There is even a McDonald’s claiming free wi-fi. However, in order to use it, you have to have an account with an ISP. Internet access is very, very spotty everywhere we’ve been in Italy.
Miraculously we were able to find our friend Al and his boat. He was berthed in a small marina in a cute fishing village about an hour by train from Naples.
We bought a couple of kilos of mussels for supper. The idea was to make moules marinières (mussels steamed in white wine and herbs, one of my favorite dishes). The mussels were harvested a few hundred feet from where Sparrow, Al’s boat, was docked. The mussels were so good, simply cracked open and seasoned with a squeeze of lemon, we ate most of them before they even got into the pot.
The next morning, we were underway on what turned out to be a virtual non-stop delivery of the boat. We did stop at a couple of places overnight to rest up, but most of the trip from Castellamare (south of Naples on the West coast) to Brindisi on the East coast was spent underway. We sailed past the steep Amalfi coast and little villages that spilled down the side of mountains into the sea.
It would appear that all of Italy is built for mountain climbers.
OK, so not everything needs a new coat of paint!
Genoa is famous for its pesto and the fame is well deserved. I’m not a fan of pasta salads, but trofie topped with pesto is a fine dish. Then, there are the Vespas. Genoa is where the ubiquitous motor scooter was born and the streets are buzzing with them.
We took the night train from Genoa to Naples. When we boarded the train, our second class compartment was inhabited by 3 other people. A sixth person joined us later. The compartment has 2 rows of 3 seats each that face each other. It is possible to pull the seats down so you can sort of stretch out from one row of seats to the other. This means that the 6 passengers are arranged side by side, head to toe. When the sixth passenger joined us in our compartment, she virtually took over, stretching out between Claudia and another passenger. Unfortunately, her idea of sharing fell close to “What’s mine is mine and thank you for your generosity.” She sprawled out on her own real estate, fell asleep and took over half of Claudia’s. At least she got off the train in Rome, as did two other passengers, making things more comfortable. Even so, it was a long night.
The Naples train station is a very modern affair with shops restaurants and cafés. There is even a McDonald’s claiming free wi-fi. However, in order to use it, you have to have an account with an ISP. Internet access is very, very spotty everywhere we’ve been in Italy.
Miraculously we were able to find our friend Al and his boat. He was berthed in a small marina in a cute fishing village about an hour by train from Naples. 
We bought a couple of kilos of mussels for supper. The idea was to make moules marinières (mussels steamed in white wine and herbs, one of my favorite dishes). The mussels were harvested a few hundred feet from where Sparrow, Al’s boat, was docked. The mussels were so good, simply cracked open and seasoned with a squeeze of lemon, we ate most of them before they even got into the pot.
The next morning, we were underway on what turned out to be a virtual non-stop delivery of the boat. We did stop at a couple of places overnight to rest up, but most of the trip from Castellamare (south of Naples on the West coast) to Brindisi on the East coast was spent underway. We sailed past the steep Amalfi coast and little villages that spilled down the side of mountains into the sea.
It would appear that all of Italy is built for mountain climbers.
1 comment:
Great story and photo's. Looks like fun guys.
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