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  • Naples Airport – VIP Lounge Caruso

    The entrance to the only lounge at Naples Airport, which is used by both Priority Pass and the airlines for their status customers. It’s located airside, near to gate C17 and access is limited to three hours (although I’m not sure that’s actually enforced).

    The interior of the lounge, which is spacious and has a modern design. I would note that I took these photos when there was a gap in custom, as when I entered the lounge it was nearly full. I found a seat at a high table which was comfortable, but it didn’t allow me to charge my devices. Fortunately a group then left and I was able to move to seating which had power points near to it.

    The food selection was a variety of cold items, such as pasta, salad, doughnuts, pastries, meats and vegetables. The quality was decent and I went through quite a lot of the pasta. They also had doughnuts and custard pastries which were equally delicious. The food offering seemed reasonable to me given the size of the lounge and it was kept topped up.

    The drinks selection was generous, this is the soft drinks section and there were fruit juices on the lower shelves in the fridge. There were wines and spirits on free pour, although customers have to ask staff for beer and coffee. On which point, all of the staff seemed friendly and helpful, with the atmosphere in the lounge feeling calm and relaxed.

    I was pleased, given that my flight departed at just before 23:00 to discover that the lounge closes at 22:00 and not the 21:00 which is advertised. Perhaps this is to cater for the British Airways flight, as a good chunk of customers in the lounge were from BA.

    The lounge was clean and organised, with the staff members coming to collect plates and glasses on a regular basis. There are toilets within the lounge so customers don’t need to return to the terminal and there’s a selection of newspapers and magazines.

    I was surprised at how many customers came in to pay for entry via their credit card, as it’s €25 per person, with one couple paying for just one hour’s access. It seems marginal to me whether this is worthwhile, although I suppose it works out for anyone who wants a few glasses of wine, as that wouldn’t be cheap in the nearby airport restaurants and bars.

    All in all, this was a perfectly acceptable lounge, although it does feel too small for the number of customers it’s serving. The food was fine, but there do perhaps need to be more power points and also information for customers about which products they have to ask staff to get for them. But, it’s calm and peaceful which is always a useful feature for a lounge.

  • Flights – Naples to Gatwick South (British Airways)

    This is the last British Airways flight of the day from Naples to Gatwick Airport, which had only a light load with around 50% of seats taken. The aircraft was an A320, flight registration G-GATN, with this being another purchase by BA in 2015 to bolster their Gatwick fleet. The aircraft had previously belonged to TAM Airlines, a Brazilian airline, for just over a decade.

    The boarding arrangements were a little ridiculous, as although customers were called through by their group number this just meant that they got to stand outside for longer waiting for the bus to the aircraft. The bus was over-filled so it managed to be an uncomfortable journey for many customers, although I had fortunately found myself a seat for the brief transfer. Priority customers were mainly then on the wrong side of the bus when it disembarked, which I noted upset a couple of people.

    I had an emergency exit row seat and had all three of the seats to myself, which was marvellous. The crew were friendly and a little informal for British Airways, but that’s something I think works, airlines can be too serious otherwise. I couldn’t see clearly into the Club Europe cabin, but it looked as though the eight rows were occupied by the grand total of one customer.

    The crew took orders for food and drink via their tablet and hand-delivered them, rather than traipsing the trolley through the cabin. I liked this service style as it meant that there was less disturbance, and it wasn’t a slow process as not many customers purchased anything. The aircraft cabin remained dark for the flight so that customers could sleep, indeed it was so dark that I struggled slightly to find my seat again after visiting the washroom.

    The flight arrived into Gatwick a little early and the pilot made the appropriate announcements in what felt like a friendly tone. I’ll mark this down as yet another smooth and comfortable flight from British Airways, it’s making it hard for me to be tempted back to Wizz Air and Ryanair….

  • Gatwick Airport – Signage

    What slightly humoured me wasn’t that something had gone technically wrong with this screen but that there were numerous passengers trying to stand sideways in an attempt to read it….. I need to get out more. Or perhaps stay in more…

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Sorrento Photos)

    We spent the evening in Sorrento on the fourth day of our trip, but the rain unfortunately made it difficult to take as many photos as I’d anticipated.

    It’s a pleasant little town which is popular with tourists because of the number of antique shops. There are also an abundance of restaurants and given the high reviews and competitive pricing there are some good value dining options available.

    There’s a lower beach village to the town and the scenery in the area is also quite stark, with high rock slopes, waterfalls and buildings constructed into the rockface.

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four (Burning Biscuits)

    These are the Amaretti biscuits which Bev will be setting fire to on her return to the UK. Seems a strange way to spend €5 to me, but each to their own. I can’t even begin to understand why the restaurant wouldn’t let her set fire to her biscuits in their premises….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Inflatable Horses)

    We saw this inflatable horse on a passing bus and were momentarily amused by it.

    Then, in the sky, Bev spotted this. We can only assume that a child let go of his or her balloon, but Bev has decided that this has enormous significance and meaning. She’s probably right, you don’t see a flying horse every day….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Five (Pompeii Photos)

    Pompeii was an undeniably interesting site, but I didn’t feel that on my first visit I really understood the enormity of it. On that basis, I don’t have much to write about my visit, although I do have a lot of photos. Certainly no shortage of photos.

    And here are just some….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Two (Path of the Gods Photos)

    We completed nearly all of this ten kilometre trail, the Sentiero degli Dei, or Path of the Gods, on our second day. It was certainly spectacular and once we were on it, it was a well kept and easy to walk trail. It was once the main route that locals would use to get between the villages along the Amalfi Coast, with the main coast road only being constructed much later on.

    Here are some of the photos….

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Five Summary (Sorrento to Pompeii)

    Our final day together started with an unnecessarily large breakfast for Bev and I, with Gordon and Steve having a lovely walk along the seafront before we all met up. The idea was to have a pleasant train journey to Pompeii to look around there for a few hours, before the other three went to their hotel before their early flight whilst I caught a bus to Naples airport.

    The train journey was a bloody nightmare and Bev was very vocal about what she thought about some of the occupants of the train. The railway service was hopeless, there were two trains but few people seemed to have a clue which was which, with both running late. The train that we were on was packed, a situation which just got worse as we got nearer to Pompeii.

    Steve and I, who are selfless people, decided that Bev and Gordon could have the last remaining two seats. We found an area that we could stand in, whilst watching as people crammed themselves onto the train. It’s fair to say that some people are politer than others, but on the bright side, Bev didn’t bite anyone. Gordon also realised at the end of the journey that he could have just opened a window to get some cold air in.

    We got off the train to have a leisurely lunch, where Gordon kindly shared his chips. He’s so graceful and elegant like that. Gordon caused a slight scene by nearly walking into the kitchen rather than the toilet, but I felt that it all added to the excitement of the proceedings.

    Then it was on to Pompeii, which proved to be a far larger site than I had realised. We walked around for three hours and it was clear that we had only scratched the surface of what there was to see. I then read that the area of the site accessible to the public today is only 30% of what it was in the 1960s.

    I won’t repeat the areas of the site that Bev wanted to see, but they were certainly not for children. After our long walk, we decided to just stop exploring the site, as it wasn’t brilliant in terms of the amount of signage or information and it all began to be just a little confusing. However, it was a fascinating site and I’m very pleased that I went. I can imagine going again in the future.

    One little rider actually about there not being enough information. Bev had found a book somewhere along the route and she decided to be our tour guide. Steve and I ran off several times, but Gordon listened occasionally, and when he stopped listening Bev just told anyone who happened to be nearby what she could see in her guide.

    And then Bev had another little incident, when she dropped her map outside of the site. Gordon and I didn’t feel that we were qualified to hang off the side of a stone wall to get the bloody thing back, but Steve, who is a professional, managed to secure it. He’s so very brave.

    Then it was the sad moment for the others, the time had come for me to depart. They all left me alone at the bus station, but I was brave and managed to cope well and find my bus. I was very brave coming to think of it. With regards to the bus, it was only picking me up as I had pre-booked and it was a request pick-up only, but I was relieved to see it to be honest.

    I’m now at the airport in the lounge waiting for my late night flight to London Gatwick with British Airways. The others are no doubt drunk in some bar in Pompeii…..

    And with that, that’s the end of this blog in terms of the day by day summaries (unless something really exciting happens to the other three that I need to write about urgently). However, there are many more photos and some more exciting text about some of our adventures during the week to come. How very exciting….

    PS, there’s one more thing to watch which comes from this week. Bev is holding a party at her Norwich abode for anyone she invites where we will burn her biscuits, for reasons known only to her.

  • Amalfi Coast Trip – Day Four Summary (Sant’Agata to Sorrento)

    And so the last day of walking was upon us already. The morning started well, with my card payment going through at the hotel (their machine hadn’t worked the day before). The breakfast for Steve, Bev and myself was substantial and I’m sure that the staff didn’t mind clearing up Bev’s coffee spillage. There was pleasant views over the countryside and Bev and Steve enjoyed their play in the lift.

    We waited for Gordon to arrive from his luxury hotel and I was disappointed that he didn’t arrive in a carriage pulled by horses. Instead he jumped out of a little car and you could see his eyes were glistening with excitement at the walk ahead. Bev and Steve had another little play in the lift of our hotel and we were ready and waiting for the adventure ahead.

    And then there was an incident. Another bloody dog decided to walk with us to our destination, just as with the previous day, the dog wasn’t that good with traffic and liked running out. I don’t know why we are attracting so many of the dogs in this locality, but such is life….. We think that the dogs are perhaps looking at Gordon’s bag and wanting to mate with it, but we’re not sure.

    I won’t give the finer details of another little incident that happened, but Gordon ended up getting a view of Bev that she hadn’t expected him to see. All very exciting for him.

    As some conversation, Gordon explained about his little medical issue whilst we walked towards our first destination, which was Bagni Regina Giovanna, the site of a Roman villa. I knew that there was a beach there and Bev wanted a little swim about, so we bravely marched off there. Bev couldn’t really keep up, but we had a chat and decided that if we walked quickly that would inspire her to walk faster.

    We got to the beach and there was a sign nearby saying that there was no swimming, although it’s clearly a popular swimming site and the sign just seemed to be warning that there was no lifeguard. Bev dived (well, waded clumsily) into the water, whilst Steve had a paddle and then a swim. Gordon sat on a rock and I padded in about four feet, which more than enough excitement for one day. Bev pretended to be a mermaid, Steve pretended not to know her and Gordon briefly considered having a little paddle.

    The swim reinvigorated Bev and she was ready for her afternoon wine, which was fortunate as there was a nearby restaurant and bar. Gordon ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and we enjoyed the breezes from the sea. Very lovely and we enjoyed looking at Bev’s sunglasses.

    We then walked back into Sorrento and Bev irritated everyone (by everyone, I mean me) with her constant demands for photos. We decided to try the tactic of rushing off to see if that inspired Bev to walk faster, but again, that didn’t work. She mentioned later something about her being ill so she couldn’t keep up, so we realised why she wasn’t inspired.

    There was a little incident where Steve and Gordon nearly ended up sharing a room, which would have made for an excellent series of blog posts. Unfortunately, that situation got resolved and they enjoyed their snacks and quick 20-minute lesson on how to use their keys to get into their accommodation. Bev also confused the B&B we were in and we nearly ended up in one room as well, until I mentioned that we did have two rooms booked. The hotel we were in didn’t have some key facilities that I might like, but it did have a shower where guests can change the colour of the lights, so I was entirely satisfied with this.

    Bev and I left the hotel to meet up in the town’s square and we started to head towards a beer place which looked lovely. Anyway, that was shut. Then it started raining, so we got wet, before meeting up with the others in a cafe on a market square. There the waiter actually irritated me more than any waiter I can remember in some time. Bev liked him as he was chatting her up, Steve, Gordon and I found his behaviour entirely off-putting. But it worked as Bev bought wine and snacks that we didn’t need. The waiter, I think, was left in no doubt of what I thought of him. Bev then had a dilemma of whether she gave 50 cents in tip, as that was all she had, or whether she should keep it. She kept it.

    Then we went to the beer place again. That was shut. But opposite was a decent restaurant that had excellent reviews. And I for one was very impressed, although a couple of us walked in looking like drowned rats. Bev then tried to get the staff to set fire to her biscuits, but they refused as they didn’t want their restaurant to burn down. I was very pleased with my seafood platter and then panna cotta, and the others enjoyed the food. Bev moaned about the lighting, but she enjoyed her meatballs. Gordon looked ill, but he felt better after ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, a rather large pork chop.

    Then we went to the beer place again. Which finally wasn’t shut. They had a large selection of beers and there were some interesting options on there, although very little dark beer. However there was one which met my requirements and Bev ate nearly all the crisps as she needed salt.

    It was still raining outside so I wanted to rush off back to the accommodation. Unfortunately Bev was faffing about, so we decided we’d see if rushing off made her walk faster. Pleasingly it had better results on this occasion, and before we knew it we were back in the accommodation all safe.

    So, it’s sad that the walking element of the trip is over and this is my final night in Italy, although the others have an overnight stay before flying back Friday morning. It’s all been very lovely.