Photos from the ferry journey from Salerno to Amalfi….
Author: admin
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Amalfi Coast Trip – Toraldo
We had a wait of around an hour for our train in Naples, and so we found time to pop into a little cafe. It’s wasn’t Greggs, but sometimes you just have to make do with what there is…. It’s not the most glamorous of railway stations, but at least we found a few seats at this cafe.
This cafe has an internal area and an external area where you can order from. I can’t see the point of the external area, as if you order from there (which I did) then you still have to go in to pay. But the food looked reasonably well presented and customers could choose whether they wanted the pizza hot or cold. Staff member who served the food was friendly, although the service inside didn’t feel as organised as it perhaps could have been.
I went for hot and the pizza tasted fine, nothing exceptional, but the dough was light and the tomato sauce was rich and flavoursome. Given that it was just over £2, it was a perfectly acceptable snack. Bev went for wine, with Bev and Steve both going for some delicious looking pastry which had some rather random ingredients in it.
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Amalfi Coast Trip – Train to Salerno
With everyone now in Naples, our plan was to get to Amalfi by getting the train to Salerno and then the ferry from there. I got the tickets, which cost just under £5 each, very reasonable, although it’s confusing as the InterCity tickets (or whatever they call it here) were much more expensive. However, we had the right tickets (we think) and so on we went to the platform.
I took a photo of the above train for Dylan, vaguely hoping that this lovely train was the one that we’d be on.
Here’s ours….
I checked with a member of staff to ensure that we were on the right train, and pleasingly we were. After boarding Gordon broke some of the train.
We arrived safely into Salerno, although Bev’s last minute expedition within the train caused some concern that she wouldn’t disembark in time. But all was well and the 35 minute train journey was suitably comfortable. No power points on the train, but it was basically clean, although bits kept falling off the interior. They need some new carriages, like the investment that the UK rail network has already received. But, that debate is for elsewhere…..
Our next task was to find the ferry.
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Amalfi Coast Trip – They’ve Arrived
It’s all happening now, the other three members of the party have arrived safely in Naples. So there are now four of us – Gordon, Steve, Bev and myself. But the real talking point is not a person, it’s a bag. Now, I’m not one to go on about anything, nor am I one for gossip, but Gordon’s bag is the smallest backpack arrangement that I’ve ever seen. With the attachment of his charms and trinkets it really may be the talking point of the day. And with that, I doubt I’ll mention it again.
The plan for today is to go from Naples to Salerno by train and then get a ferry to our starting point of Amalfi. Hopefully this works out…..
PS, the bag would be ideal for Dylan on a little day trip to the beach.
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Naples – On fire…..
Unfortunately, it’s clear Naples has a problem with vandalism and fire. I’ve seen several bins on fire over the last day, this one was by the city’s main railway station and had just been put out and was still smouldering.
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Naples – Chinotto
In Malta there’s an interesting drink called Kinnie, which is quite an acquired taste. This is San Pellegrino’s not entirely different drink, it’s not unpleasant….
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Flights – Gatwick South to Naples (British Airways)
This is G-GATM, the British Airways Airbus A320-200 aircraft which was flying from London Gatwick to Naples. Interestingly (well I think), this aircraft initially belonged to ACES Colombia and was operated by them in South America. They went bust in early 2004, just a year after they acquired the aircraft, and Wizz Air took it on as part of their initial fleet of planes. It remained in the Wizz Air fleet until December 2014 and it was repainted and came into use by British Airways in January 2015 as part of their new second-hand fleet to be used at Gatwick on short-haul operations.
The boarding gate was spacious with plenty of seating and the screens were clear. The boarding process worked well and customers queued where BA wanted them to.
On board, the flight was relatively full, although the seat next to me was left unfilled. These are exit row seats so they were spacious and the crew member reminded occupants of their responsibilities in the event of any incidents during the flight.
There was a queue of aircraft waiting to take off, including easyJet and BA planes.
Another BA aircraft joining us in the queue for take-off, which didn’t seem to take an overly long amount of time. Our flight ultimately actually arrived a few minutes early into Naples and it was a smooth journey with no turbulence of note.
These look like clouds at first sight, but it’s the Alps. The captain made an announcement telling customers on the right hand side of the aircraft to look out, and as luck would have it, that was where I was sitting.
Shortly before landing.
Naples Airport is one of those where customers are shuttled to the terminal by bus transfer. There were two buses which left promptly and weren’t over-filled. I was slightly concerned when I saw that there were literally hundreds of people at the immigration desks, so I was anticipating a long wait. Fortunately those with passports were despatched to automated kiosks and so my wait transpired to be under three minutes from entering the terminal to leaving it.
Overall, another smooth and successful journey with British Airways, who seem to me to be delivering some consistently impressive flights. The flight cost around £32 as a single fare in what is a crowded market as Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet all operate to Naples, along with numerous other international carriers.
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Gatwick Airport – No.1 Lounge (South Terminal)
I’ve written about the No. 1 Lounge at Gatwick before, but this was my second visit and I remain quite impressed by its offerings.
The welcome from the staff member was friendly and professional, and I was offered the same menu as I had been given on my visit in early February (by same menu I mean that the contents were the same, it wasn’t the exact menu I had before). I went for the fish finger wrap, a basic item which isn’t going to overly excite in terms of the portion size or its presentation, but it’s a handy snack. I still wonder though for someone paying full price to enter the lounge in the morning whether they’d be entirely satisfied with the one item they can order.
The main seating area in the lounge and there are power points below the seats which proved useful.
In addition to the single item from the cooked menu that’s available, there’s also a variety of other food to choose from and this is unlimited. The mini muffins and pastries are decent quality ones, with a selection of fruits and yoghurt. There were a couple of different cheeses available, but it was the cheddar cheese which pleased me greatly, a rich and mature flavour.
Everything in the lounge was clean and organised, although since I was the second person in, I’d have been surprised if it was all in a mess. The staff were visible and helpful, keeping the lounge clean and tidy, and I noted they were willing to help with a customer’s complex food allergens question. I was in the lounge for around 40 minutes before I decided to move on, but it’s a relaxing location in the morning to stay for longer.
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Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 4)
As I’ve posted about (three times before), the Grain Store is part of the Priority Pass scheme at Gatwick Airport South Terminal. I visited here this morning at around 5am and it was moderately busy inside with a staff member promptly acknowledging me on entry. There’s a choice of more cafe style seating or restaurant seating, but as usual, I went for the latter.
I’m working slowly around the menu and since I haven’t had tea here before, I went for something new. I have next to no knowledge about tea, but it tasted fine to me and there were enough for over two cups full. It was nicely presented in a black teapot and the water was at boiling temperature.
The chorizo, avocado and poached egg on toast. There was an interesting variety of temperatures going on, with the egg, chorizo and toast being hot and the avocado, feta cheese and the plate all being cold. The presentation was just a little odd as well with some random elements around the plate, it’d have probably looked better on a slightly smaller plate. Anyway, that sounds like I’m overly concerned about the plate used, which isn’t really the case.
The egg was cooked perfectly so that it was runny when I cut into it, with the portion size of the chorizo in particular being generous. The avocado was evenly spread and had a decent flavour, although it had made the toast quite moist. The toast and chorizo did though both add texture and the chorizo had a firm but pleasant taste to it.
There was no check back during the meal and the service seemed a little scripted, but it was efficient and the food and drink was brought over promptly. The restaurant was clean and seemed organised, with the pricing being reasonable given the quality offered. The meal price came to £14, which was within the £15 allowance which is provided for by Priority Pass.
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Naples – Streets
Just a few photos of streets in Naples, with the city being surprisingly busy with tour groups.
