Brussels to home

We had breakfast in the hotel, which was very nice. They had smoothies on tap. I asked for a takeaway cup for my second tea. Left at 9am. It was a nice sunny day. Belgium felt deserted. We went past Ghent and into France again.

We stopped in Cora in Dunkirk for Very Important French supplies. Sadly, we couldn't find a great source of confit, but got some small and expensive tins all the same. We also stocked up on sirop and Lu cakes.

After a short drive, we got to Eurotunnel Calais at 12.24, so missed our train. We got a place on the next one though, which was fine as we weren't in a particular hurry. We plugged in to charge and got some food in the terminal - I had some soup. It was just as deserted as Folkestone had been on the way over. Really odd.

The train journey was uneventful and the trip across the UK fairly painless. We got home at 2.30.

Como to Brussels

We had a quiet breakfast downstairs. There didn't seem to be many people staying in the hotel. We checked out and packed the car.

This morning, which dawned bright, if not particularly warm, we had a little walk down to the lake to look around. It was so beautiful, even though that part of the lake was completely in shadow at that time of the morning. I decided that we definitely had to come back.

We set off, driving the long way around the western side of the lake rather than going back the way we'd come. Almost every view was beautiful. We stopped to take photos, but none of them are any good. Stopped again in Argegno, which was absolutely stunning (but didn't have any toilets). Really want to go back.

At Menaggio, we left the lake and turned west, climbing from Como, through a town, until we came upon Lake Lugano, skirting its northern edge until reaching the city of Lugano. We kept on until Monte Ceneri to charge - our old friend. As usual, we drove through the long valley for hours - the traffic was very slow before the tunnel, so we listened to an audiobook.

After the tunnel, we left the main road to find a toilet for Christian, and had a lovely detour through Swiss villages. We were in Beckenried before we knew it. We spied a supermarket on the way in, and so left the car charging, and walked to the Denner to buy a picnic lunch for the road.

Then past Lucerne, waving at Egerkingen up on the hill, then Basel (Pratteln) for a charge. Then we crossed into Germany and drove on the autobahn for a while. I wasn't even aware we were going 150.

The next stop was the Mercure at Strasbourg airport for a charge - we met some very friendly Dutch people charging their Model X. In the hotel bar, I tried to get ice cream and failed. Had to remind myself to speak French again so I could order Christian a coffee. It was the day of three languages (Italian, German, French).

Then, just for a laugh, we went into Luxembourg. It was very strange and quiet - we didn't really see any people. The architecture was quite generic, without an overarching style. There were also weird diversions on narrow dark roads that made you feel lost. Our next charge was the Legere Hotel in Luxembourg - middle of nowhere. I had to move cones aside to get the car in, and a coach was almost in the way. Christian had a coffee in the bar.

And then into Belgium, stopping at Arlon to charge. It was a very odd construction site, but a very shiny hotel, with shiny new chargers. After getting lost in the not-fully-constructed basement looking for the toilets, we got water. Then we ate the rest of picnic lunch for dinner in the car park.

We arrived at the shiny Van Der Valk Hotel late (10.45). They made us wait at the desk for ages, but eventually we were checked in, and found our shiny room, with particularly shiny bathroom. They had sushi on the room service menu. Bed and sleep.

Pozzuoli to Como

We had an early breakfast, packed the car and left the hotel at about 8am, having said goodbye to the divers who were up and about.

The traffic through Naples was pretty horrible, but we made it out of town without incident.

Our first charge and coffee was at Albergo Ristorante, not far from the A1. It had a strange dirt car park across the road, which is where the supercharger was. Before we sat down for coffee, we had a wander. It was a lovely venue, with the outside set up for a wedding.

More A1, which was definitely sunny, and free-flowing traffic wise. Our second charge was in a beautiful spot called Frangellini, but we couldn't get lunch in the hotel because it was too early. There was a pool, an amazing view, and a cat lounging in a hammock.

Back on the road, I realised that our route would take us right past Orvieto. I joked with Pidge online about having a return visit, but dismissed it as spoiling our schedule and charging plan. As time went on, though, it seemed a shame not to, so decided in the end that we had time and charge enough to do it.

We decided to drive up into the town rather than take the funicular, and so wound our way up a reasonably good road. We arrived at about 1pm, having negotiated some scarily narrow cobbled streets in the very wide Tesla. We parked in a tiny square, and walked until we found civilisation. The Duomo loomed into view before long, and after trying a few different lunch places, settled on a pizza place a little way from the worst of the tourists. There were still opportunities for people watching, and not long after we sat down, a woman asked if she could use an adjoining table. We agreed. She was an American ex-pat, and was content to do all the talking. She let us into a few Orvieto secrets, having lived there for a number of years, and gave us some recommendations of where to go. She was certainly eccentric, but it was fun to be able to speak English to a local.

Strangely, Orvieto wasn't really how I remembered it. Though to be honest, I really only have one picture in my mind, of a sloping street with lots of jewellery shops on it. It was grey and overcast that day, and so today felt very different.

We left Orvieto soon after, now being behind schedule. We had a stop at Montepulciano services for toilets, which was built over the road. Then we had a short charge at the Arezzo Park Hotel - a strange place in the middle of nowhere, with no services.

Not long after, once the A1 had climbed into almost mountainous terrain, we were presented with an alternative 'scenic' road. Without any real thought behind it, Christian found he was taking us down it. I was a little worried that it would add too much time to the journey, but actually, it was lovely having less traffic, and it was certainly interesting disappearing into tunnels every now and then.

We had another charge and coffee at the Hotel Real Fini Baia del Re, near Modena. It was a hip hotel with office folks drinking outside. We got there around 6.15 - it was getting dark.

The A1 after this was straight, flat, busy, dark, and boring. We stopped for dinner and a charge at the Roadhouse Grill in Francolino, outside Milan - this was about 8.30. After that, it was easy driving, and thankfully a short hop. We soon left the A1, and disappeared down through tunnels into Como.

Fireworks greeted us as we drove around the lake to our destination. Even in the dark, you could see how high up the lights were, and how amazing the landscape must be.

The Hotel Centrale was a block back from the lake, in Cernobbio. We arrived at 10.15. It was a nice, old building, with wide carpets on the stairs. It wasn't particularly sound-proof though. The check-in was easy, and we went upstairs.

We had a balcony, but only a view of the hotels across the road. Shower and bed.

Relaxing on Ischia

I had an early breakfast, and left the hotel about 8.10am. I got the train to Pozzuoli from Arco Felice, and went to the ferry port, via the ancient temple site that Annie et al had told me was just there in the middle of town. They weren't wrong. I wasn't sure where to wait for my ferry, but I made sure to check all the boats there to make sure they weren't mine.

The right ferry (Benito Buono) pulled in around 9am, and we boarded with no fuss. It was a big ferry, very similar to those I travelled on in the Greek islands. It was a lovely sunny journey, with seagulls gliding just an arm's reach away from the railings.

We arrived into Ischia port a little late, and any hopes I had of getting a bus faded, especially since I couldn't even find the bus stop. I went towards what I hoped was the taxi rank, which went on for miles, and then found the bus stop - too late for me, though.

I got the first taxi on the rank, which happened to be a little tuk-tuk thing, and the driver knew exactly where I needed to go (Terme Manzi spa), and took me there without fuss. It was a fun journey, but he charged me €20 for the privilege.

I arrived at 11.15, only just in time for my appointment at 11.30. I checked in, got my robe and thongs, and had a short tour of facilities. It looked truly amazing. Then I was asked to wait in a lounge and the doctor would call me (this was apparently necessary before I had the hot mud treatment).

The doctor was nice enough, and had quite good English. He took my blood pressure and asked me some questions, before deciding that I wasn't going to keel over from the hot mud. He recommended I have a hydrotherapy bath as well - I said that sounded good.

I was shown out of the doctor's office and asked to wait again. Before long, a lovely lady called Paola showed me into a treatment room. She didn't speak English at all, but with my very sketchy Italian we managed to understand each other. I got changed into paper pants in a side room, and then Paola took me back into the main room. The mud had already been turned out onto a plastic sheet on the bed. So I had to sit down in a huge pile of hot mud. It was very, very weird.

Paola then spread it all over me, and then wrapped the plastic around me, trapping my arms. She asked yet again if I was 'bene' (I was), and left me to it. The mud was really quite warm, so during the 15 or so minutes she left me for, my face was sweaty, and needing a scratch. Couldn't do a damn thing about it. It was nice being coccooned and warm, but ever so slightly claustrophobic.

Paola unwrapped me, and had me stand next to the bed while she unceremoniously hosed me off. Then she set the hydrotherapy bath going, and led me to it, leaving me there for another ten or so minutes.

And then it was finished. Paola sent me on my way with a cheery smile, and I went back to my locker to juggle stuff. It was time for lunch, and so I went up to the roof via the slightly confusing lift that opened in different directions. It was utterly amazing up there.

I walked into the restaurant - there were only two other people there, and loads of staff, who were extremely attentive. I ordered a caesar salad, and they talked me into having a glass of prosecco too. I mean, why not? The food, drink and service were impeccable. I was in the sun before long, but didn't mind too much. I didn't order dessert, but they brought me a nice little biscuit to finish. Very impressed.

I went back downstairs to juggle again, and went back up to try the pool, which was quite cold, and there were quite a few people there too. I chose a sunlounger and settled in. It wasn't great, because I was in the shade of other umbrellas, and wasn't keen on so many other people. So I explored and found a lovely sunny part of the decking on the roof for myself. So lovely.

When I'd had enough, I went back down to try the thermal pool, which I had completely to myself, and which had amazing strong jets for neck and shoulders. I spent a good length of time in there, in line with doctor's orders. The statue at one end of the pool was a little unsettling. I kept expecting it to move.

I then tried the sauna, which again I had to myself. It seemed only right to do the proper Roman bath thing of moving to the tepidarium and then to the frigidarium (which was just a cold shower). I spent some time in the dark relaxation room, because I could, but I wasn't very comfortable there.

It was time to go, so I packed up and went to the desk to pay the bill, including lunch, and noticed that there was an extra charge on it for a hydrotherapy bath. I queried it, because I hadn't booked it. The woman went away to investigate, and it turned out that the doctor had prescribed it for me, but failed to mention that it would cost extra. Oh well. Was just a bit odd.

I had to walk quite quickly down the hill to make my 4.50pm ferry, which was very straighforward. The boat (Maria Buono) was already there, but didn't start boarding for a while. I tried to get on, but the man wouldn't accept the e-ticket on my phone, so I had to run to the ticket office half a mile away, get a printed ticket, and run back to the boat. Grrr. Anyway, it worked, and I got there in time, and I got on. This boat was busier, and there were noisy drunk Germans (happy drunk, so couldn't really complain).

While en route, I let Christian know I was on my way home. He decided to track me on Google maps, and also to take a photo of the ferry as it came into view around the headland and past the hotel. Funny man.

I got the train back to the hotel, arriving about 6.30, relaxed, and then we had our final group dinner in the hotel. They put on a very good show, and the owner brought out some of his own wine for us. They'd looked after us well.

Christian and I turned in relatively early and did the bulk of the packing. There was some late-night dive club politics in relation to an unreported incident earlier in the week, which was a bit worrying. But sleep was needed.

Herculaneum and Vesuvius

I was up and left as early as I could manage, which was 9.15. I was prepared with water and walking garb.

As I had done a number of times before, I walked to the station and took the train to Montesanto, then changed and got the metro to Garibaldi. At Garibaldi, I walked for ages inside the huge station to find the Circumvesuviana line, and attempted to buy a ticket from the woman on the desk. We somehow got into an argument because I'd seen a sign that made me think the tickets were more expensive than they really were. Anyway, I came away with the right ticket, and feeling a bit sheepish.

I waited on the platform for the train to Ercolano, with what seemed like the entire tourist population of Naples. The train arrived. It was a standard metro-style train, and was already pretty full of  commuters. Consequently, it was like a tin of sardines when everyone got on, and was a pretty unpleasant journey.

Ercolano finally appeared outside the train window, and I gratefully got off, leaving the Pompeii tourists to enjoy the rest of their journey. I bought lunch (a grilled but now cold bread/cheese/tomato affair) at a little cafe opposite the station, and packed it in my bag.

I then set off down the hill towards the ancient city of Herculaneum, following the instructions I'd read in advance. The town of Ercolano was busy but pleasant enough. Plenty of older people steadfastly going about their business in the shadow of a huge and volatile volcano.

The entrance was at town level, but the old city was lower, so the approach was on a bridge from which you could gaze down on what you were about to explore. I bought my ticket in the shiny welcome building, got a video guide (for which I had to leave a credit card as deposit), and began my journey through the surprisingly compact ruins. It was about 11.30 by now.

The tour started where the seashore used to be, with a shock. Those people who had managed to escape to the boathouses had been trapped. Each arch contained around a dozen skeletons. Then we moved on to the Villa of the Papyri, a grand residence with a large square and statue. At this point, I'd already started to get hot, and unzipped the legs of my walking trousers.

Then we were taken up into the town proper, in which it was possible to recognise a gymnasium, homes, shops, bars, blacksmiths and baths.

The main things that struck me about the ruins was how advanced the society was. The roads were grid design, with aqueducts, the houses were two-storey in many cases, with the standard layout of atrium with impluvium, tablinum, triclinium, cubiculum. Another thing was how impossible it seemed that some of the decorations and frescoes and floor mosaics had survived for so long. Some of the frescoes looked like they'd just been painted. Astounding!

I began by trying to see everything, but near the end, I pushed on. I felt like I'd made a good job of it. I left the site, ate my lunch in some shade, and walked back up to the station.

At the Vesuvius Express office near the station, I bought a return ticket which included entry to the national park, and was assured that it was not too late to make the journey. After about a 15-minute wait, I and about five others were shown to a minibus. I'd hoped that it would be a larger bus, but considering how late in the day it was (about 3pm), it made sense.

Unfortunately, our driver was a total kamikaze and the journey was really not fun. As would be expected, there were a lot of switchback corners, and it was fairly steep in places. There were very few corners that he didn't squeal the tyres on. There were at least three Brits in the back of the bus, chatting away apparently unconcerned, but everyone else stayed very quiet. It wasn't until we all got off that it transpired that we were all Brits, and none of us had enjoyed the journey.

Anyway, we were given a meeting time (4.45pm?) and I set off walking up the hill, past a check point, and then past a little shop. This approach was not steep, but it was a relentless slog, on fine gravel. At least it was quite cool by now, at this altitude.

I tried to join a guided tour of the geology, but failed to find the right person. I had very limited time, so pushed on myself. It wasn't long before I was at the crater rim.

There was only about a third of the rim that you could walk around, so I aimed to go there and back. At the point that you joined the rim, you could just see Naples through the haze, and you could clearly see Sorrento from the far end. There were plenty of fumaroles to see, which was slightly unnerving. But I'm so glad I did it - felt like a real achievement. When you're up there, the crater is so enormous that it's not even possible to fit it all in a photo.

I marched back down quite quickly, afraid I'd be left behind, but found the group with the driver nowhere to be seen. He came along before long, and we had another white-knuckle journey back down the mountain.

Back in Ercolano, I quickly got on a Circumvesuviana train back to Garibaldi (thankfully empty now), the metro to Montesanto, and the Cumana to the hotel. It had been a huge day.

I found the divers busy drinking on the balcony, having had a singalong earlier. I left them to it, and had a little walk above the road to see what was up there. There was a park, but it was closed. I took some photos and headed down, taking some more photos from the balcony. I found my own drink, but the party broke up soon after.

I had a shower, and we got ready to go out for dinner, following behind the crowd. We discovered that they had failed to find a restaurant that was open, and so we all went to White Chill Out, on the opposite side of the road to the rest of the restaurants, which looked expensive and not particularly welcoming.

The meal was good (not great), and expensive, but it did the job. We headed back to the hotel and had a fairly early night.

Day of rest

On this day, I was hoping to go out with the divers and snorkel, but the site they'd chosen for this particular day wasn't suitable. So I didn't. Kind of lucky, because I did feel like I needed a break.

So after breakfast (by now I had the egg boiler worked out), I had a lazy morning on the balcony with the ladies. We drank tea, which was brought to us by the nice man in the restaurant, while they knitted, and we chatted about pressing issues such as families and childbirth and travelling.

Around lunch time, we wandered down the road for some food (with Alan too) at Trattoria da Biagio. I had melon and prosciutto as a main and the others had risotto pescatori and spaghetti frutti di mare. It was a very nice meal. Afterwards, I walked with Annie and Sue to a cash machine, and got some ice cream. They were playing the yellow mini game, which was hilarious.

I whiled away the afternoon doing nothing in particular, and the divers came back relatively early.

Christian and I had dinner in the hotel with a small group. They brought some lovely starters to us, including dough balls and bruschetta. For mains, some had steak, but we had fish - whole with bones, but delicious.

I think we retired for some telly before bed.

Naples

Today I went up for breakfast with Christian. The ladies were keen to go into Pozzuoli, so as I was going into Naples, I offered to accompany them to Lucrino station, help them get tickets, and see them to Pozzuoli station. We were out of the hotel at around 10.15.

The walk to Lucrino was quick, but we had to cross the road to the tabacchi. After a comedy of errors with the nice man at the tabacchi, we got enough of the right tickets, and crossed the road back to the station to wait for the train.

It trundled along eventually, and we got on. They went their own way at Pozzuli, and I stayed on until Montesanto, which was now my old friend. I navigated my way to the 'scavi' that Nick and Sam had recommended, and on the way found myself on an amazing narrow street. It had books and music and jewellery stalls. I stopped to buy a brass ring.

Wandering pleasantly further down the street, which turned to nice-looking food shops, I found San Lorenzo Maggiore, which did seem like a bit of a tourist trap, but which I was determined to see.

I bought my ticket, and added an English-speaking tour for not much more, as one had just started. The tour began by looking at a model of the site. At ground level was a Franciscan monastery, which had beautiful frescoes inside the chapel and the accompanying rooms.



We then went underground, to the Roman 'Macellum', or market, of Naples, which had been covered up by a mudslide in the fifth century and since excavated. The excellent guide showed us where each shop had been, and we walked the streets that the Romans would have walked. We learned interesting things, such as the Romans using urine to wash and dye clothes.

One of the best things about it was that they could point to earlier Greek ruins underneath the Roman, which were identified both by the kind of stone used, and the construction techniques. An absolutely fascinating site.

After having finished the tour, I went upstairs to see the museum, which was more comprehensive than I'd expected. I spent about half an hour there.

I'd worked up an appetite by now, so I went back to a food shop I'd spotted earlier to get two arancini, and walk and observe while I ate. I was soon into a busy part of town, where roadworks made it difficult to make good progress.

I wandered towards the port, though the university precinct, and needed help from Mr Google to find where the boats to Capri left from. I crossed the main road, and followed the dull functional buildings to the passenger port. I wandered in with the luggaged hordes, and didn't find anything like boats to Capri.

I gave up on that, and went back out, past the cheap market stalls, and garish city tour signs. And then I found the departures for Capri in a much smaller dock beyond the passenger port. I looked at the times and prices, but by now as it grey and spotting with rain, I decided against it. Yet again I had failed to get to Capri.

I turned back towards Montesanto, winding uphill through the crooked streets into the Montecalvario neighbourhood. Where I found the Gelateria Napoli. I chatted to the nice man in there, asking to try the almost black chocolate fondant gelato. It was really intense, but I think I chose something else in the end.

It was a short walk from there to Montesanto. I got the train back to Arco Felice, and stopped in at the supermarket on the way back to the hotel, picking up some limoncello and some biscuits for the folks at work, along with some water.

We went out to Trattoria Da Rita for dinner with the whole group. Christian and I sat out under the awning at our own table. I can't remember what we had to eat - it was probably a fixed menu.

We wandered back to the hotel about 9.30 to bed.

Bay of Naples and Pozzuoli

I think Christian got up and left while I was still in bed. Either way, I think by the time I'd showered and got upstairs to breakfast, there were only a few diving stragglers left, and the ladies.

It was a cheery, bright room, and we seemed to be the only guests in the hotel. Breakfast was a simple affair - they had Twinings tea, which was welcome (though I had brought my own), along with cereal (I think), cheese and meat, pastries, and an egg boiler that looked a bit too scary to use.

I had a chatty morning with the ladies up on the balcony. It was good to catch up with Annie and Sue, and to meet Elaine. We decided to wander down to the water, near the dive shop, to get some lunch. As we left the hotel, we met Christian going the other way, as he'd forgotten something I think.

We said hi to the divers - it was a nice, laid-back area, though there wasn't 'beach' to speak of, and they seemed to have had a good morning underwater. Lunch in the cafe/bar nearby was very simple - most of us just went for pasta and tomato. When we were finished, I took my leave and set off for a walk around the bay.

The section down to Lucrino station was fine, but just after the narrow 'bridge', the footpath ran out, and as the road rose, it was very much about hugging the wall to avoid being run over. Oh, and crossing the road to try and find refuge every now and then. It was about here that I think I saw the divers' RHIB out on the water. The road back downhill through a village improved, but then got worse as civilisation ran out again and the road wound around a couple of huge bends.

After a climb, and after passing a camp site, I was at the Castello de Baia, which was sadly closed by this time in the afternoon. I wasn't the only one to be disappointed, as some other tourists asked me whether it was closed, and then asked me to take a photo of them. The view towards Naples and Vesuvius was almost worth it.

It was warm, and I really didn't fancy walking back on those roads. I'd seen plenty of buses, but couldn't tell where most of them were going. Taking a chance, and guessing most would take the coast road to Pozzuoli, I stopped to wait for the next one. The one I got on didn't go to Pozzuoli, or Arco Felice, or anywhere useful. It went to Fusano, which was the end of the train line. After a lot of attempts, the bus driver communicated what was going on, and even helped me find the station.

So I waited for the next train. I decided that, given I was going to be on the train anyway, I'd stay on until Pozzuoli and see about some ferry tickets. At Pozzuoli, I saw a sign for an 'anfitheatro', and thought that would be interesting, so I followed it, up steep steps to a main road. The theatre was immediately across the road from here.

Once I worked out how to get into it, I found that the entrance fee was almost nothing, and so gratefully went in. Turns out that it was a Flavian Amphitheatre, which is the third largest in Italy, and its interior is almost completely intact - the inside looks amazingly preserved and I'd never seen anything like it. It had been excavated exhaustively over the years, and looked like it had been built on to host modern events at one point. Outside were some lovely sculptures that had been taken from elsewhere on the site. I looked all around it and underneath it, and felt like I'd learned lots and had my fill of culture for the day.

From there, I made my way down to the port to find someone who'd sell me ferry tickets. The port area was beyond a grand promenade, with lots of people out and about in the balmy late afternoon. I started at the southern end, where most of the restaurants were, and found the office for Caremar, which was closed. The schedules on the wall suggested it would not be my best bet, however. So I looked up the Medmar office (which was on the north side of the port), and made my way there, via a mint gelato.

The man there gave me the ferry times, but couldn't sell me a ticket over the counter that far in advance - no idea why. So I took a copy of the schedule, and turned hotel-wards.

I let Christian know that I was on my way back. It didn't seem worth getting a train, so I intended to walk, as it was only about 5.30. He offered to come and get me, so we arranged to meet in a car park just outside town. The drive back to the hotel was not very fun, but Christian seemed not to mind it.

Back at the hotel, we relaxed before going back out for dinner. There was a lot of faffing at the hotel, waiting for others, in the end, Christian and I led the charge, and as soon as we spotted Len and Rita in a restaurant, we went in to join them. The others didn't think much of Rosticceria Da Roberto, and kept going somewhere else.

It was a nice enough dinner - I had lots of small plates, including insalata caprese, and an arancino.

We were back at the hotel around 9.15, and I think we turned in, possibly watching some telly before bed.

Milan, and train to Napoli

Christian was up and out of Sam and Nick's at about 7am. I went back to sleep and probably got up at about 9am.

Sam made me some tea and I had some cereal. Then a shower and got ready. We ended up waiting for Nick, but apparently that's nothing new. I took my luggage with me.

We decided to walk all the way into the city, via Corso Buenos Aires, Corso Venezia, and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. It wasn't that far, and meant I would see more. The neighbourhood changed from dull classical residential frontages to more commercial. And then very shiny shops and pedestrianised shopping areas. And then we were in Piazza del Duomo, with hundreds of other people. It was brilliant sunshine, and lovely and warm.

The Duomo is a glorious pink/golden colour, and looked wonderful in the sun. Getting in would have been too difficult, so we kept moving. Sam and I went into a shopping centre to use the toilet.

We then wandered past La Scala, and up Via Dante, past a lovely fountain, to the castello. We walked through the gate into the forecourt, and Sam and Nick indulged in a beer from a stand. We then wandered through Sempione Park (where there was a running race/festival being held), and out the other side.

Up Via Garibaldi, to Piazza Gae Aulenti, where we found a nice place for lunch - we all had pasta. Then to a nearby station, where Sam and Nick did a little shopping, and I bought some things to eat on the train, and got cash to pay Sam back for lunch. We then got the underground to Centrale, stepping out to admire Piazza Duca d'Aoste, and then going into the station.

We had some time to kill before my train's platform was announced, and so I got some ice cream. I said goodbye to our lovely hosts, and boarded the train with no problems.

Unfortunately, I was going backwards, despite having booked a forwards seat. The train was mostly full. I managed to jam my charger plug into the socket so I could charge my phone.

The journey wasn't anywhere near as interesting as I thought it would be. Milan's suburbs weren't that exciting, and apart from a few hills and nice looking vineyards, wasn't much to look at. And then it got dark. I couldn't see much of Florence or Rome, but in Rome at least the train turned around and I was suddenly going forwards.

We arrived in Naples more or less on time and as people were getting off, I decided I'd nip in to the toilet. Bad idea, because they shut and locked the doors while I was in there. A guard came down the carriage and spotted me, and let me out. Great start.

I was really hungry, and so went in search of food. And failed. So I went in search of linea 2, which would take me to Montesanto station. I had difficulty with that too, and went out of the station looking for it, before realising that a badly labelled escalator was what I wanted. I bought a ticket, and took the nice metro to Montesanto.

When I got there, I soon realised that the metro station was not a junction for other lines. So I went out into the inky night looking for another station in Montesanto. I found it with the help of Mr Google maps, and attempted to buy tickets from the decrepit looking machines. They wouldn't work, and the ticket window was unattended. I found a tabacchi across the road to buy tickets. I went to enter the badly signed station gates, and came to the conclusion that I'd bought the wrong tickets. So I went back and bought more. This time I at least got through the gates, and went up the stairs. But here again there was little indication which of the two platforms I needed to use.

As I ummed and aahed, a Cumana train left just as I worked out that was what I wanted. So I waited for the next one. The trains themselves were small and narrow gauge, and covered with graffiti. Inside they were comfortable enough, but had minimal seating options - most were two single plastic seats facing each other.

There was not always a sign indicating which station we were pulling into, and it was dark too, so I followed the train on Google maps again. The girl opposite me asked whether we were at a particular station. I just shrugged. She then spotted a sign that told me that we weren't at my stop yet (Arco Felice).

We both tried to get off at Arco Felice, but the door wouldn't open. We soon realised that the door opened on the other side, between the tracks. The 'platform' was very narrow, and basically on the ground. Very safe, Italy.

I found my way out of the station and up the road, and finally to the hotel, which was even a challenge to get into. Eventually, after probably the most eventful train journey I've ever had, I sat down at the dinner table with the divers.

They brought me some food (it was 10pm by now and I was starving), and I relaxed. It was good to see folks, and Christian of course.

We retired straight after eating, and went to the room. It was quite nice, with a view out to the water. The car was parked almost directly beneath the window.

Bed.

Lille to Milan

The alarm was set at 6am, and breakfast was due to be delivered at 6.15. It turned up right on time.

We got on the road at about 6.40. The traffic was much busier than expected - were we on a major route for trucks to Paris?

Anyway, there was a beautiful sunrise to make up for the early.

Stopped briefly for Christian's comfort, and then again in Nancy to charge at 11.30. We went down to the Cora and bought an early lunch, some beach towels, and some pants for Christian (which didn't fit).

Next stop at 3pm was Pratteln (Basel) outside the strange hotel/conference centre. Then Beckenried, where we had a cuppa as we charged, and the woman who served us had absolutely no idea what tea meant.

The approach to the tunnel was busy as usual. We tried to go around it, but lost ground in the end. The going was very slow, and we got in touch with Sam and Nick to say we'd be late getting to Milan.

We stopped again to charge at Monte Ceneri. The approach to Milan got steady busier after we left the E64, and we managed to drive on a toll road without realising.

Arrived in Sam and Nick's neighbourhood at around 8.45. There was nowhere to park, so we went into an underground car park, paying €20 for the privilege - but at least it was going to be secure.

Sam and Nick met us with glasses of prosecco - what a welcome! Had a lovely evening with aperitivo, prosecco and tasty pizza. I went to bed much too late, and after much too much to drink, at about 1.30am.

Eurotunnel to Lille

I had a day off, and Christian was working from home.

The Eurotunnel train was booked for 8.20, but we left home before 4 to beat the traffic, and managed to get on an earlier train at around 7. The terminal was deathly quiet. It was quite eerie. But lovely.

We only had time for a quick toilet stop and to grab some sandwiches from Smiths for dinner before we had to board. While waiting, Christian got us hot chocolates and some desserts (Bakewell tart and something else), and helped someone struggling with their car.

The drive from Calais was easy enough, though I felt uneasy, as I often do when we set off on the wrong side on the road in the inky blackness.

Got to Lille at about 10.15. It was quite cold and windy, but the hotel was very nice indeed. As we got ready for bed, I called reception to find out whether we could have our included breakfast brought up to the room. Lovely. So we chose what to have and put our list on the outside door handle.

Bed at around 11.