Taranto to Rome

November 27, 2023

Further adventures with Trenitalia

I got up earlier than usual to catch the 8:10 train from Taranto to Rome. The advantage of departing from Taranto is that the train is direct, so I don’t have to worry about changes. We were scheduled to arrive by 3 pm.

It was nice to see city as it was waking up. First I pedalled down the pedestrian street then over to the shore. Taranto is clearly the industrial centre of Puglia. There were lots of big freighters visible. Then I biked through the fishing port, and saw lots of boxes being loaded up for delivery.

I got to the station after an easy 4 km ride and confirmed that train access would be easy (no stairs!). I was hoping to get breakfast, but the Taranto train station is not in a commercial or residential area, and there is no cafe. Google showed one nearby that had multiple one star reviews. I had time to go a bit farther afield, so I did. But the cafe I found couldn’t take credit cards, and wouldn’t take my only cash, a 50 euro bill. The cornetti didn’t look that good anyway. I went back to the station, thinking that a lack of breakfast wouldn’t be a big deal. I had lunch supplies and fruit.

I’m learning my way around the trains, and booked myself a single seat in the bike car. It’s also the disabled car, which would be fine other than the three steps up to the train. That’s got to be a problem for someone in a wheelchair.

It was smart of Ferdinand II of Aragon (husband of Isabella) to put up a cell tower in his fort built in 1496. 😅

There are still lots of wooden boats around here.

The train left on time, but made very slow progress from about the one hour mark, apparently because of a signal failure. By 11 am, they announced that we were delayed by 2 hours. Argh. As an apology, they provided us with goody bags of water, juice, crackers, and a sweet treat. Breakfast problem solved!

As we traversed the Appenine mountains and climbed up to 650 m near the town of Picerno in the Basilicata region, there was a bit of snow on the ground, and more visible on far peaks.

I had a decent view of Vesuvius out the window. Pompeii is on my bucket list, so I hope to be back before too long.

I think that’s Mount Vesuvius under the cap of cloud.

By the time we got to Naples, we were 2-1/2 hours late, and we made up only a few minutes between there and Rome. I had planned this journey to avoid rush hour and get to my destination in the Trastevere neighbourhood in daylight, but now I’d get there in the dark, so took a commuter train instead of biking. Even that train was 15 minutes late departing. At least it wasn’t packed. And it was nice to know exactly where I was going, because I stayed in the same hotel with Sue early in the trip. In the end, it was 12 hours door to door. Because we were over two hours late, I’m legally entitled to get 50 percent of my fare back, if I can navigate the refund process on the website.

I had takeout spinach and ricotta pie for dinner, plus a slice of funghi pizza. I do love the Roman pizza style and crispy crust.

I was a long day. I’m very happy that I didn’t have to pack up my bike tonight. That’ll wait until tomorrow in Fiumicino.

Fun fact: Italians answer the phone by saying pronto, which means ‘ready’.

A quick trip through Taranto, including a fruitless search for a cafe.

Today's ride: 4 km (2 miles)
Total: 1,161 km (721 miles)

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