Nothing a pair of clean socks can't fix

Monday, October 20, 2008
Travel from Naples to Florence, Italy


Well today started.....not too early. I had a reservation on the 1049 train from Naples to Florence. I was boarding the train when I realized I need to pay more attention to things when I do them. I had a second class reservation but I am carrying a first class rail pass. Of course it was a little late to change it as the train was pulling away from the station but I will know better to look a little closer next time. It seems people see the backpack and assume I am a poor backpacker....I think we all know better than that.


This train ride was actually not too bad. I sat with some very nice people….not that I understood a word that they said and they seemed to figure out pretty early that I did not speak Italian. There were some very intense conversations going on around me and the only thing I could figure out is that they were all annoyed at the fact the train was running 30 minutes behind schedule.


Anyway, we pulled into Florence about 30 minutes late…...and not to the station I thought we were going to stop at but a couple minutes studying the schedule and I found my way to the correct one. Really either station would have worked but I had planned on my walking trails from the main train station so really with my inability to navigate I really did need to get there. I found it, found a good city map, was pointed in the right direction and was able to walk to my hotel in around 15 minutes. Florence is much flatter than Rome or Naples so it was no struggle at all.....even with my 18kg (about 40lbs) backpack.


By the time I got checked into my hotel it was after dark and I really did not feel much like wandering the streets, so I did the next best thing......I wandered to the nearest Wash and Dry (about 5 minutes away) to do some laundry. I have been pretty much washing everything in the bathtub at my hotel but the socks were looking a little...well let's just say it was time to wash them for real. I was very relieved to see that all the signs were written in Italian and English (with all the hotels in the area, it is pretty necessary). I also happened to run into a very nice couple from Australia and a man from Canada who all had the same thought as me. We all agreed that Laundromats have not been that prevalent anywhere else in Italy which explains why the only people I met in this one were tourists.


So all my whites are looking a little bit whiter. Tomorrow I will have to wash everything else. Anyway, my hotel here is very nice. A small little 4 star in what seems like an ancient building. The light fixtures and chandeliers look straight out of the early 1900’s or something like that. It should do the trick for the next four days.


So the plan tonight…sleep. Tomorrow, I think I will go visit David.


Julie