Sandra is a very smart girl!! She booked us at a hotel right near the Rome airport so we would have no issues making our 10AM flight the following morning.
We checked out of the Relais Blu, said our goodbyes and were on the road by a little after 11AM. The drive was supposed to take a little less than 3 hours so we planned to check in at our hotel then take the "speedy" train into Rome for a nice dinner and our last taste of Venchi gelato. That was not to be the case.
The distance from our hotel to Naples where we could catch the multi-lane autostrada was a little less than 60km of 2-lane highway. That 60km, which should have taken us less than an hour, ended up taking almost 3 hours!!!! UGH!!! There must have been an accident somewhere up the road because the opposing traffic would disappear for about 10 or 15 minutes, then a string of cars would show up, then we would move a bit, then we'd see some Polizia, then ambulances and there was no other choice of road. That was it, we just needed to deal.
We eventually made it to the autostrada and, once again, I could relax on one of the nicest highways ever. The speed limit was 100kph, I was driving 120 and getting passed like I was standing still. I finally sped up to 130 (80mph) to keep up with the trucks in the far right lane so I wouldn't get run over and, still, the cars in the far left lane were flying by. At one point, I sped up to see how fast they were going and didn't feel comfortable going over 155kph (96mph) and watched the car in front of me just disappear. It would have been so cool to have been in a faster, safer car. Oh well, we got amazing gas mileage!
We made it to our hotel, The Golden Tulip (?), by the late afternoon and decided we were too tired and it was too late to head into Rome. The airport is on the coast outside of Rome so, even on the "speedy" train, it takes about 35 minutes to get into the city and we just didn't want to have it end up being a late night. The Golden Tulip was nice but it was obvious that it was a "corporate" hotel. We got a couple cocktails and some ice for one of the Birrificio Sorrento beers and just chilled a bit before dinner. Though it was a corporate hotel, the restaurant was surprisingly decent - of course, nothing like how we had been eating, but quite good, nonetheless. Our last dinner in Italy.
Tomorrow, we sit in a flying sardine tube for 12.5 hours!!! Happy Day!!
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