Rome to Naples and Pompeii

In the beginning ...

It is dark and cold, threatening rain, at the meeting place in Rome. Inside the small and shabby office a peculiar mix of confusion and indifference reigns. The waiting area is full of people being ignored while grey-faced employees lurk behind the counter shuffling paper and muttering among themselves. Minivans load and reloaded passengers in the predawn drizzle. The crowd in the waiting area increases and grows restless - a disparate group uniting now in the increasing certainty that the tour company hasn’t a clue.

The deadline for departure passes, outside the drizzle increases and the darkness thins. There is no tour bus in sight. Any attempt at making enquiries of the staff is met with please wait.

Young Arab men carrying crumpled bits of paper lead clumps of dripping people inside. Soon the tiny waiting area is crowded and those who cannot squeeze in, huddle outside in the dark under the dripping awning. Complaints in a dozen languages fill the air.

Three buses pull up outside one behind the other and simultaneously six people in blue uniforms emerge from a doorway behind the counter. With a sudden urgency the waiting people are organised into groups, ordered onto buses. Confused and damp, clutching vouchers, they obey, try to check they are on the right bus, but the only response in English is, please sit.

The driver and guide board one of the buses. The guide shouts Pompeii as the engine roars into life. Someone runs from the back of the bus yelling Pisa! Pisa! Stumbles down the stairs and disappears into the gloom. The guide casts a withering look at the remaining passengers and then engages in loud protracted discussion with the driver.

Patience, and the ability to enjoy the moment are worthwhile qualities on guided tours in Italy . Tourists have been visiting this country for millennia and the apparent confusion that seems to reign at the beginning of each tour seems to be always resolved. Even better Italy has some of the world’s best tour guide.

Observer

longline8.blogspot.com