Italy through a glass window

We got up extra early today so as not to miss our train. We had breakfast, checked out, and took a cab ride to the station. The internet reservation for the train tickets worked out well. You get a number through email and when you get to the station you enter the number in the self service machine and you're ticket is printed. Our train got in a little late so we had to wait some time in the station. Our seats on the train, 74 & 75, were diagonal from each other (the train is set up with four seats around a table). The lady next to me asked me in pretty good english would I like to change seats with her so that I could sit across from Jadine, which was nice of her. Afterwards, Jadine asked if the trains in Italy usually run late, but now she couldn't understand and kept looking at us puzzled. The guy across from her now launches into some joke about Americans and they have a laugh. I gave them the stink eye -- we'll see who has the last laugh. The guy on the train proceeds to hit on the girl asking her what her favorite number is and what her favorite fruit is -- wow is this where romance originated? At some point, she becomes disinterested, though. She leaves the train at Rome and he has no way to contact her -- too bad. Anyway, the scenery from the train is nice and we make it to Naples about 12:15. We pick up the Circumvesuviana tickets and head out onto the streets of Naples with luggage in tow. There is a TI booth in the station where we picked up a map but it didn't have the street with the Rick Steves recommended pizzeria. The streets of Naples during the day near the train station are like the sketchy areas of new york -- full of con artists and people selling ripoffs. The Rick Steves pizzeria was not looking close and we stopped at a pizzeria where the waiter was standing outside. Jadine ordered a Margherita and I ordered a Diavola (salami and crushed red pepper). The pizzas were good and the service was not so great. Some old lady sitting next to us was crooning some song while sucking down a pack of cigarettes (seems everyone smokes in Italy). We paid and went back to the train station. After a half an hour wait, our train pulled in. We hopped on board the graffiti riddled train (the grafitti actually worked to our advantage as it provided shade for the hot sun). After about an hour on the local train, we made it to Sorrento. The Sorrento bus stop proved challenging as there were several buses and no clear indication which was the one we (our any of the other travelers) wanted. Finally, under constant pressure from the disgruntled customers, the bus driver caved and put up his sign -- bus to Amalfi leaves at 4:30. We picked up our tickets from the snack shop along with an overpriced (3e) Powerade and waited. The bus got going on time and started along a very scenic, yet extremely winding road (hairpins similar to those we rode near Nikko on the way back from Kegon Falls). After an hour of it, I couldn't take much more and had a "What About Bob?" on the bus moment (false alarm). We made it (I still a little green) to Amalfi at 6 and our hotel was a short 5 minute walk away. We checked in and then, after my brain caught back up that the ground was no longer moving out from under me, we headed out for dinner. We took a look at several menus along the sea sidewalk and decided on one serving a spinach salad which appealed to Jadine. The place turned out really well. We had the spinach salad, a baked fish, and a house special fish cooked in a light tomato sauce. The house fish is prepared in a way which we also saw done at the Naples restaurant where it is cooked whole and then filleted tableside. After dinner, we did a little exploring and got some limone sorbetto and amaretto gelato at a little shop on the main drag. We returned to the hotel weary from the day's travels.