Day 11 - Travel Day and Concert in Rome

March 21, 2019

The first full day of spring was a long one as we traveled from Sorrento to Rome. The day was capped by a evening concert at a 17th-century Baroque church in the heart of Rome.

To get from Sorrento to Rome, we first had to get to Naples using the secondary train carrier mentioned in a previous post. We had one last look at Mt. Vesuvius as we left the station.



This ride was painfully slow, starting with a gypsy musical interlude while in the station in Sorrento.

Upon reaching Naples, we hiked over to the Trenitalia station and purchased first-class tickets for Rome. Once again, there were no pick-pocket issues at the infamous Naples train station.

The ride from Naples to Rome takes less than two hours with speeds nearing 300 Kmh. There are over 30 trains running the route on a typical day.

We arrived in Rome in the late afternoon and checked into our Bed & breakfast / hotel.

Edith had bought tickets for a classical music concerto in the evening, so we had get to the Piazza Navona in time to eat before the concert started. The tight timing resulted in our first cab ride of the vacation. We made it in time to have pizza on the Piazza.

The Piazza Navona is is a square in the center of Rome, originally built in the first century AD as a Roman Stadium. Here's a couple of shots of the square.

We made the short walk to the church Sant'Agnese in Agone, where we were attending the concert. I took a couple of (not allowed) Iphone photos of the church interior prior to the concert.

The concert was performed by three people:

• a soprano
• a male guitar player
• a male who played violin, flute, percussions and other instruments as required

With were many people in the main area of the church, the concert started in a side room. The sound was very good and the small audience was very appreciative.

After about 45 minutes the crowds had left and the doors were locked. We moved into the main area of the church.

With the much higher ceiling the sound was incredible, especially the soprano's high notes.

By concert's end it was after 10:00 PM and we elected to take a cab back to our B&B/hotel. We'd be more frugal in the next five days in Rome using the local transit system (with all it's risks!).