Almafi

March 7, 2010

Erik and I have been anticipating this day for what feels like ages. Lindsay and Kory were arriving!! We took the midnight sleeper train up from Sicily directly to Rome. Both Erik and I were so excited it was all we could do to not talk about it. Before we boarded, I had an intuition that I ignored.. I remembered something a friend had said to me about “getting mugged in an Italiain sleeper”. I brushed it off, laughed at a time when hearing something like this would’ve scared me silly and boarded the train. We got to our car which we were sharing with two other individuals. These sleepers are TIGHT. With seats from both sides extended to make a quasi bed. There is no way Erik and I would’ve both fit, so he offered to go to another car.

Everything was going well, we’d see Lindsay and Kory in the morning and there was a chance we might actually get some sleep. I decided to sleep with my purse and hug it tightly, I really didn’t trust it anywhere else. Out of another quick bought of intuition, I felt uneasy and transferred my wallet (containing my PASSPORT! into my jacket). Why can’t I ever listen to myself?! At around 2 a.m. the train made a stop. People were getting both on and off, and when someone else entered the sleeper, I really didn’t think anything of it.

He was young and Italian, and cozied in right next to me. Kind of uncomfortable, but whatever.. it’s Europe, maybe they sleep like sardines. He must’ve sat there a long time, just watching me. I’d slowly nodded in and out of sleep, and he’d just sat there, feigning sleep, analyzing his prey.

When I awoke to my purse rubbing me in the most minute way, my eyes SPRANG open… This time my intuition could not be ignored. This is when I saw the dashing young Italians hand INSIDE my purse. I’m not kidding you, INSIDE my purse. (THE VERY THING I WAS WARNED ABOUT… IS HAPPENING. NOW.) I was panicking.. I immediately pulled my purse to my chest to see if he took anything. It was pitch black, and I was fumbling around looking for things the best I could. He just sat there as stunned as I was. Pick pocket gone bad. My mind was racing. Camera, check. Computer, check. As I was going through my check list, I was getting angrier by the instant. I immediately patted the breast of my jacket to find my wallet intact. He was saying ’silence!!’ to me in Italian and trying his best to step over me. I was so stunned, I couldn’t move or speak. Months ago, if someone would’ve asked me what I’d do if I caught someone pick pocketing me in the middle of the night on a train, I probably would’ve said something like, ’I’d club the sucker, or scream profane things, or hit him with my purse’. In actuality, I just sat absolutely in shock, as my almost burglar scooted away.

Adrenaline was soaring through me, and a rush of anxiety hit me like a wall. I was awake for the rest of the train ride, hoping and praying he wouldn’t come back. Every person who walked by our cabin sent a new wave through me. If I saw him, would I go after him? Would he come in here and take my things because I was a defenseless baby? I didn’t know. I sat curled up, trying my best to calm myself until we got to Rome.



Kory and Lindsay arrived at 10 a.m. in Rome Termini. It was AMAZING to see them. We all grabbed some coffee and talked about our travels. They were exhausted, and who could blame them, they’d been traveling since 10 a.m. the day before! Despite all of the lengths we went to, we were all geared up to go.

We were catching a train to Solerno, which is right outside the Almafi coast. We realized 3 minutes before the train was suppose to take off we were actually at the wrong platform. Never a dull moment, we raced to a new platform and caught the train right before it left.

Arriving in Salerno, we were met with a ghost town. Italy takes Sunday’s pretty seriously, so we had no one to help us understand how to get tickets, where to go to catch the bus, and how soon we needed to be there. Luckily, another family from the States was making their way to the Almafi coast, so we just piggy backed on their knowledge and made our way onto the bus.


The bus ride was beautiful….. and nauseating. We road the coast for a half an hour, so near the edge it was best to look straight. The road was so narrow that we honked to let cars from the opposite direction know we were coming.

When we arrived, we walked up 275 steps to our bed and breakfast. By the time we were half way up our legs were burning and we wondered how badly we really wanted to stay there. On the last step we turned around and saw why exactly we walked up. The view was UNREAL. Our bed and breakfast was neatly nestled next to a beautiful mosaic church. Our room over looks the ocean, and we have a tiled terrace to eat fresh breakfast and drink our coffee on.

Maori is no exception to the whole Sunday thing, so we were left without a grocery store, which ended up working our perfectly. Out to dinner it is! We found a family run pizzeria in the middle of town. We sat down for dinner early (6 p.m.) and each had our own delicious pizza. Despite our exhaustion we were able to appreciate the cozy Italian décor and the little English our waiter used to communicate. Lindsay and I had margherita pizzas, Kory had a ‘white’ pizza, and Erik had a mushroom supreme. On the way home we stopped and got some gelato. White chocolate, banana, cappuccino, and hazelnut. HEAVEN!

Back at our room we opened a celebratory bottle of wine, enjoyed the view, and stared at Kory and Lindsay over and over. Disbelief and happiness!! They are finally here!!!! Let the fun begin!