"Fareweel Ye Banks O' Sicily..."
Today we take leave of this island of ancient history, harsh landscape, harsher drivers and excellent food. Pam and Merv are flying back to Rome and then return the tomorrow to the States. I have decided that it will be a great adventure to drive up the Boot of Italy in the footsteps of Monte and the British 8th Army. (Meanwhile, the remaining Allied Forces would land north at Salerno to encapsulate the Axis.) Sharon decided to accompany me and we will stop at Pompeii to see the results of the explosion that was Mt. Vesuvius.
Nearby our abode was a Micky Dees and there was a consensus the we should go there for breakfast. With visions of Egg Mcmuffins and large cups of American style coffee, we set out for a little taste of home. Unfortunately I made a couple of wrong turns and we found ourselves on the autostrada where we had to drive 5.5miles to turn around and come back. And we passed through two toll booths that cost another €3 or so.
Finally arriving at McDonalds, we entered to find no Egg Mcmuffins and nothing that looked like American coffee. They did have a crispy bacon and egg on brioche which looked interesting. However, when we tried to order it, either it was too late (being only 9 am) or the equipment was down or something else we did not understand, but we could not order breakfast. So we left, went down the road to the local autogrill where I got a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant and two mini paninnis, one to take back to Sharon.
We then took leave of our hosts, Matteo and the lovely Anna. Dropping Pam and Merv at the Catania Airport at around 11:30am, our next goal was to reach the ferry at Messina where I had already booked passage on the 4pm ferry to cross to Villa San Giovanni. This day had started out with some early showers and, as it progressed, so would the rain. Fate was with us and we got to the ferry, checked in around 1:15pm and were told to proceed directly to the ferry where we were the last car to board.
Being only a 20 minute crossing, we remained in the car. I remarked that the boat was swaying but had not realize that we had left the dock until we saw them lowering the forward ramp. I figure that with a little longer ferry, we could have driven straight through slowing down just a little.
We quickly made our way through Villa San Giovanni and were once again on the autostrada. My original plan was to leave the autostrada just north of Vibo Marina and drive along the coast until we decided to stop and then find a place for the night. However, with our early passage, we decided to continue with haste on the autostrada and overnight in Naples for an early start to Pompeii. Besides, with the continuing rain, the coast road would probably have not been as scenic as I had hoped.
Of the trip to Naples, let me just say that, with the weather and the tunnels, it was somewhat of a challenge. We would enter a tunnel in rain, exit several kilometers later in sunshine, reenter a long tunnel and exit to fog. And when we weren't in tunnels, we were often on bridges that perched on the sides of the mountain. We passed through several tunnels in excess of 2km and one that was 3.8km in length. (I do not think that Monte had the assistance of tunnels but had to trek up and down the mountainsides.)
We stopped at an autogrill for lunch. (For an explanation of an autogrill, see my page on driving in Italy.) This autogrill was large, being a combination of a fast food joint, bar, grocery store and liquor store. We had a quick sandwich of some kind and got back on the road.
Arriving in Naples, we began to look for a hotel. Having no luck, Sharon suggested that we head toward the airport where we should find a plethora of reputable hotels. The autostrada proved to be a nightmare at rush hour but we eventually made our way to a Holiday Inn. While not our idea of the ideal accommodations, as Sharon said, "Any port in a storm". We had to pay for one night what we paid to stay a week in Tuscany.
To top off the day, I ordered an American cheeseburger and fries for dinner. The burger was large and tasty though the meat had been over compacted resulting in a dense burger. With that we called it a night.
Aboard the Messina Ferry Vietato Furare -
Vietato Furare means “No Smoking”.
Along the E45 -
One of the many tunnels along the E45
An example of the many towns that lay at the base of the Apennine Mountains which extend the length of Italy
Approaching Naples with our first view of Mt Vesuvius in the distance
Along the E45 -
Coming upon one of the many tunnels along the E45
