Eurostar Teain, Postscript

Just wanted to post some additional thoughts from the Eurostar train ride this morning.  We were in a first class car with reserved seats.  It was really very nice and comfortable.  No security lines or checkpoints at the train station and much more relaxed than flying.  Seats are two and two facing each other with a table in between.  Our seats were on the aisle.  Just before departure a very nice Swiss couple in their 50's walked in with tickets for the window seats.  Astutely noting our "newby" look, they offered us the window seats as they take the Eurostar frequently.  We accepted and then started a nice, lengthy conversation with the woman (mostly).  

She is a retired professional balinera who used to live and work in Rome, and was quite interested in our plans while staying in Rome.  She had also live and worked in New York for a few years, as well as in Paris.  Her husband is an architect (didn't say much, she was the friendly one for both of them).  While taking a few days of holiday, according to her husband, she read four newspapers each day.  Normally she reads two.  She likes papers with strong opinions and reads papers with different viewpoints.  So, of course, she wanted to talk about the upcoming US elections about which she had been reading a lot.  We had an interesting discussion.

It was difficult to really tell how fast we were traveling, but the advertised speed is from 150-180 mph for these trains.  Once we were out of the city it really accelerated.  I was surprised that the ride was so smooth at that speed.  The countryside flew by but was still quite viewable.  It was really enjoyable.

Before we knew it we were in Rome.  The train stations are quite large and busy, both at Naples and at Rome.  But they seem quite manageable, not much different than an airport, just minus the security lines.  Out Sorrento tour host had accompanied our group to the train in Naples and made sure we were all on board and in our seats before saying good-bye.  The Rome host was waiting for us on the platform with a small bus at the curb.  It was really very easy and convenient.