We paid our bill but had arranged to keep our room key and leave our luggage in the room. We finished packing and finally went out about 11:00. We stopped by Monica's and she called our hotel in Rome, then put me on the line so I could inquire about their shuttle. Bad news, they said it stopped running at 8:00 p.m. and we were arriving later than that. They said just to take a taxi, which would be about 15 Euros ($21). Unfortunately, they didn't mention that we had to take a special taxi. More about that later.

We went by the ceramic shop and bought a few more items. Then we went to the Piazza Santa Maria d'Italia again to enjoy the view for half an hour. We walked up through Piazza Tasso to get a better look at the old water mill and the Greek town wall. We went to the start of Via degli Aranci (Street of the Oranges) where we think it was that we stayed in 1962 when it was still a rural area. There was a steep hill, though, and we didn't feel like climbing it.

Piazza Santa Maria d'Italia view

Hotel on old Greek wall

Jane in Piazza Tasso

We walked down Corso Italia past the Cathedral, and Jane did a little last minute shopping. Then we walked to the Foreigners' Club that I'd discovered earlier when looking for a tourist office. It had a restaurant with a large patio right above the Marina Piccolo, the Terrazza delle Sirene (Terrace of the Sirens). The view of Mt. Vesuvius and the shoreline from Naples to Sorrento was spectacular. We ordered a light lunch and sat far an hour, soaking in the atmosphere. Then we went to the Villa Comunale, the overlook near our B&B, and sat on a bench until 3:45. 

Motorcycles on Corso Italia

Lunch at the Terrazza delle Sirene

Us at Villa Comunale overlook

We went back to our room and did our final packing. We went out to the street a few minutes early (3:55) and our driver (with the unusual name Sabato) was there. He was very pleasant and friendly and even spoke a little English. Although he drove a large van, we were the only passengers. We (mostly Jane and Sabato) carried on a conversation in Italian the whole way. 

Vesuvius from the Autostrada

Traffic was heavy and slow along the Sorrento Peninsula but improved once we reached flatter terrain. As we neared Pompeii, destroyed in Vesuvius' eruption in 79 A.D., we got on the A3 autostrada (expressway), and Sabato really took off. We couldn't see Pompeii itself from the highway. I don't think we ever got within two miles of it. But we could see Mt. Vesuvius several miles ahead. Eventually we passed through the narrow gap between Vesuvius and the sea. We were less than a mile from the lower slope and probably about three miles from the crater. Very shortly after that, we passed Herculaneum, also destroyed in the 79 A.D. eruption.

Soon we entered the Naples metropolitan area and a few minutes later were at Naples' Capodichino Airport. It was just 5:00. Sabato had made the 90 minute drive in just 60 minutes. Sabato then took all three pieces of our luggage into the terminal, found out which counter we were to go to check in, and carried the luggage there. We couldn't believe the great service. I gave him a generous tip, of course, and we said our goodbyes.

After checking in and walking to our gate, we were still more than two hours early for our 7:20 Alitalia flight. The flight left 20 minutes late and landed at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino at 8:25, 15 minutes late. We retrieved our luggage and went out to get a taxi about 9:00. There was a huge line. When we eventually got into a taxi, the driver had no idea where our Fiumicino hotel was. It turned out that all the taxis here were from Rome. Fiumicino taxis were at a different location. The driver eventually located our hotel, the Comfort Inn Roma FCO. It was three miles from the airport, and the taxi fee was 25 Euros ($37).

The Comfort Inn was small but very nice. Everything was ultramodern. The bathroom was a dream, done all in marble and with a 3'x6' shower. But you almost had to be an electrical engineer to turn the lights on or off there or in the bedroom. We hadn't had dinner but were too tired to worry about it. We just ate some snacks we had in our suitcase and went to bed.