13th May 2000 Rome to Sorento
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2000
1
17
81
Trip End
Aug 09, 2000
Rome,
Italy
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Guess what? Traffic in Rome starts before 7.00 am, that's if it ever stoped from the day before. It is hard to believe that we packed so many experiences into this one day-probably the most memorable day of our holiday so far. We drove out of Rome in a reasonable amount of traffic, however the route was fairly straightforward. What we hadn't realised was that along the Via Nuvo Appia, the outer suburbs of Rome blend into a string of villages that seem to go on forever, all with narrow streets packed with Saturday morning shoppers. It took an hour and a half to travel about 60 km. As we had left before breakfast, we eventually just bit the bullet and parked in the main street of a village and walked until we came to a bar. We had a "viennese" pastry and a coffee before resuming the slog through windy hill roads and settlement after settlement with the bare minimum signage. Apart from the fact that most signs appear literally at the street you have to turn, with no early warning, they only seem to have them at the beginning of villages (particularly allowing for you to bypass the village), and we had to assume that if we came out the other side of the village, we were on the right road. This got us into trouble later in the day.
After four hours we came to Ninfa. It was supposed to be just a four hour drive to Naples, and here we were just 70 km south of Rome. Arrived at Ninfa to find that it was only open one day in May and that was to be tomorrow (Sunday). It is a medieval settlement that became overgrown by dense vegetation but has now been partially restored and surrounded by gardens. We eventually discovered that a special tour had been organised for a group coming from Rome, but they weren't due until 10.30. As it was now 9.45, I figured we were already so far behind schedule, we couldn't afford to wait.
We headed on for Sermonetta, a walled medieval town. Driving along the base of the mountains with a vast coastal plain of mixed industry (lots of chemical companies), we came to the base of the mountain on which Sermonetta is perched. The castle is right on the top, with the village spilling down on side. Found the turnoff, and climbed the winding road to the top, where we parked outside the walls and walked in. Spent an hour or so walking all the side lanes. This is not really a tourist town, other than for Italians. While there was a busload of families visiting for the day, there was no evidence of any other tourists, and we found ourselves drawing attention, particularly when we wandered into lanes where women were sitting having a chat, and most people were going about their Saturday morning business. The surrounding hills covered in Olive trees, and grazing large sheep. Could hear bells and now assume they were on the sheep.
On leaving Sermonetta, we must have take a wrong turn. We spent several hours wandering some pretty uninteresting country roads, up mountains and down hills, through market garden fields, and eventually ended up back on Via Appia, just short of Terracina. We drove through town looking for Da Buffone, which is on the waterfront. The guidebook is probably technically correct, in that it is in Terracina, but is really on the outskirts, so far out, you a sure you are just driving a stretch of coast between towns. We missed it originally, and when we came to a maze of new roads heading south and inland, we retraced our steps, and discovered it, literally right on the beach. Quite a large restaurant (could probably seat 100 or so), but there was just a couple and their child sitting in one corner, and it was 1.30 pm. Eventually another elderly group arrived and later in the meal we had the enjoyment of listening to them "gum" their food. We had a fantastic lunch. Shared a beer and mineral water. Ches had Risotto, which she said was much drier than we make, loaded with Mussels, baby clams, baby prawns an calamari. I had basically the same but with pasta. The prawns were in the shell, and I think they were probably cooked in the olive oil because they were loaded with it. Probably steamed or pan fried the shellfish, added the chopped fresh tomatoes and parsley, then the prawns and drizzled extra olive oil over the whole lot. It was brilliant, and proof that quality olive oil adds a flavour that is stunning. We followed with fresh strawberries and ice cream. In an empty restaurant, when it take them half an hour to serve your meal, you know it is being prepared fresh-no pre-cooked sauces etc. Don't know if it was under new management or if they had been closed for winter, but he said they were just re-opening and didn't yet have credit card facilities. Fortunately we had our stash to pay. He advised that Sorrento was an hour and a half's drive, maybe an extra half hour if traffic was bad on the peninsular. He also recommended that rather than head inland to the main motorway, we should run down the coast and right around the Bay of Napless.
As it was now close to 3.00 pm, we decided it was time to head for Sorrento with no more stops. The road down the coast is a mixture of motorway and country road. Both provided unique experiences. On one stretch of country road, where there was some fairly dense vegetation beside the road, there were perhaps half a dozen prostitutes. All were African, and most wore very brightly coloured short shorts and half tops. Just standing on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere and waiting for passing trade. One of the motorways was elevated on pylons, perhaps 10 meters above the ground, and it ran for three or more kilometres through the countryside. It didn't appear to be a floodplain, and we conjectured that they just couldn't take the land from the owners, so they build it over their farms.
I thought I had made it clear that we would stick to the motorways, of which there are dozens enveloping the entire Bay of Naples area. Ches thought we were looking to avoid the motorways and use small roads to run right along the beach front. Big Mistake, Big Adventure, best mistake we have ever made. We exited the motorway at Pozzuoli, and for the next 25 kilometres or so, drove along the waterfront and its suburbs, right around the bay of Napless. Cook's Tourist's handbook of 1884 declared "Napless is ill-built, ill-paved, ill-lighted, ill-drained, ill-watched, ill-governed and ill-ventilated city" This is a quote from the Lonely Planet Guide to Italy, which goes on to say that Napless has made big strides forward since then. As far as we could see, not this part of Napless. It was heavily bombed in WW2, and while some of the original tenements remained, most were replaced by "jerry built" rectangular tenements on the same blocks as the old. So the streets are frightfully narrow, traffic is chaotic and we have never witnessed such rubbish anywhere. If they were to have "Clean Up Napoli" day, they would require a month rather than a day, and the rubbish tip would need to be about the size of the Olympic Stadium (now that's a good idea). I had heard that Napoli is largely controlled by crime "families", rather than the Mafia, and "Midnight in Sicily" hardly prepares you for the reality. The congestion, the filth of the place, and the open defiance of all laws. The families make their money in various ways, including the sale of contraband cigarettes (mainly American). We saw a young guy with a box on which he had a tray of cigarettes. He was set up into the street, so that vespa drivers could stop and purchase. On the sides of the street were numerous stands that consisted of large timber trays-like a dozen fence palings fixed together. On these where huge piles of fresh mussels. The traffic didn't observe a left or right hand side of the road protocol. You just aim at any empty space in front of you a drive into it. The traffic just weaves in and out of itself. Ches filmed parts of our drive, but she missed the best bits, as she was desperately gripping the door handle. Toward the end we came across a wedding-with the bride on the front steps of the church in the Piazza. What a contrast-all dressed up in a huge white wedding gown. All this driving is done at speed. Well, dodgem car speed. What a fantastic experience. We had no idea at any time, for at least an hour, as to exactly where we were. We knew that the Bay of Naples was to our right, a couple of hundred meters away. We knew that we were heading south toward Sorrento. We knew that there were at least five major motorways inland around and through Naples, and that we would have to run into one sooner or later. We did. Paid our 1800 lira, and asked if this motorway lead to Sorrento. Don't know what we could have done if it didn't. You can't exactly turn around or back off. He advised we should stay on for 20k's or thereabouts, and take the Castellammara turnoff.
We did. Well signposted to Sorrento, and we had a lovely drive out the peninsular. Great views back to Napoli, and all across the Bay of Napless. We had been warned about the drive along the peninsular. Narrow road, traffic and steep cliffs right beside the road. After driving Napoli, it's a piece of cake. We reckon that Italy is just made for Peter Mac's driving-he would be at home.
Pulled in to a tourist office on the outskirts of Sorrento, where we were given a map. Couldn't have driven through Sorrento, let alone find our hotel without it. It is just a maze of narrow streets that runs for 10 k's or so along the cliff, with sections of one way streets. Eventually began the long climb up the mountainside at the back of Sorrento, to find our hotel perched almost at the top, with stunning views down on the town and over the bay.
Booked in, unpacked, and made the biggest mistake of our trip so far. We went into the dining room. It turns out that this hotel primarily caters for package tour from the UK, organised by Thomson's. The food and coffee has as much right to claim to be Italian, as I can claim to be Scottish; related, but distantly. Bloody awful and expensive. Beer at 5,000 lira a pint, the recommended red wine was just OK (but we poured the last of it down the sink, which is a first.), the spaghetti was not aldente, and the sauce was something housewives in Australia cooked thirty years ago. The pan fried veal was reasonable, but the baked potatoes -forget it. In fact, forget the entire experience. We would never return to the dining room except for breakfast.
