April 14, 2007
Italy: Day 3
Day three ended up being what I will call a successful failure. I decided I was going to head up to Afragola, which is where I've been able to trace my grandfather's family. I was hoping to visit the church and see if they'd help me look through some records.
As I left the hotel this morning, I was wondering if I would regret lugging around the umbrella they let me borrow, but I'd checked the forecast last night and it said there would be showers. Trying to be safe with a new camera and not wanting to get stuck in the rain in a foreign country in any case, I took it.
I rode the train to Garibaldi station (which, incidentally, was where Antonio the "Taxi Driver" picked me up when I arrived from Rome) then took a bus up to Afragola. After asking a bunch of people which bus went to Afragola, one of the drivers took me to his bus and off we went. I ended up riding the bus the entire route through the city, since I had no clue where to actually depart. Once arriving at the end of the line, there happened to be another bus driver there who spoke very good English and understood what I was looking to do. He gave me a general idea of where the church is in Afragola, then said he would tell my driver to let me know when it was my stop. As an amusing side note, he noticed my camera and told me to keep a close eye on it, mentioning "you have to pass through this park over there and it's like Bronx in New York." I laughed and told him that's where I'm from, and he said "then you know what it is I'm talking about!" I waited about 6 or 7 minutes, then got back on the bus and headed back to Afragola.
Sure enough, on my way back along the route the driver got my attention and gave me the direction I should walk to get to the church. It'd started raining, so I took out my umbrella (Sono preparato!) and started walking in the provided direction. There stood the church, about three blocks outside the square just where it should be. I walked into what appeared to be a gift shop (what) and asked the woman behind the counter if the church was open. She said "Sabato" (Saturday) and shook her head. Of course they'd be closed.
It wasn't a total loss. I now know the exact route and stops necessary to get from my hotel to Afragola, so I'm a lot better off than I was. Tomorrow I'm going to put together a note outlining what I want to accomplish, run it through Google's translator from English to Italian, and print it out. Then anyone I encounter will get a much better understanding of what I'm trying to do. At least I hope so.
As for my day trip to Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi, it's booked and I'll be heading down there Monday morning. That's good timing, because lots of other stuff is closed on Mondays over here.
(14:51)
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