Frecciarossa to Napoli

The Frecciarossa goes up to 300km/h and is painted red.

Today we got up at the crack of 7 or 8, (Marie) got everything together and got on the train. It was one of the new ones, the Frecciarossa. Everything about the Frecciarossa is awesome. We had 4 super comfy seats around a table that folds out. The boys spent the time doing drawings, while the speedo on the video screen clicked past 200, then just on 300km/h. And it's smooth. Kids travel free. Tuesday to Thursday 11am to 2pm, tickets are half price. There's a Freccia waiting lounge. Near us, there were two toilets. When someone's in there, the WC letters change to red. We need that at work. Sometimes you end up going up 3 flights of steps to find a free one. 

Catching a train like that is cool.

The distance is about 220km, or Sydney to Budgewoi and it takes 1 hour 10 minutes. Napoli is another world. Marie says it's like Asia in Europe; bikes flying around everywhere, cars here and there, often there's no footpath. There's a table across one footpath. People were seriously gambling on the three cups and a ball thing. The back streets are a maze. We get lost. This place is positively medieval, a shock, and a taste of real Italy. They say they invented the pizza here, and it's seriously tasty. For the afternoon, we took a train to the seaside, and hired a 4 seater bike object. Ollie ran along beside most of the way.

Typical streets of Napoli

On the way home, we tried the lottery that is Napoli shopping. This time we lost. For a couple of bits of cheese, olives, a packet of pasta, pack of biscuits, and a bottle of wine, it cost 39 euro. Everything was artinasal, which means hand made and expensive. Stopping at another shop, we got a loaf of fresh bread for 50 cents. Lunch was 30 e$ for 3 massive pizzas, 2 beeers and 2 bottles of water. Can't complain.

Via dei Tribunali, where we're staying - claustrophobic, mad.

Naples is proof that people will drive no matter what. Our street is about 2.5m in the middle. The footpath is
just marked by steel bollards. Mostly people use the side to display things for sale, or parking. So people, cars and motor bikes mix in the middle. The cars and bikes are generally calm. A handful try to go hard and brake hard when people appear. It's crazy. This place is not designed for cars. Cars park here, there, double and triple parking on the main roads.