Tom W Backpacking Europe 2014

On my way out of town and on to Catania, Sicily by way of Naples. I hear that Mount Etna is close by to where I'll be and is 2.5x Vesuvius and its currently erupting. They have tours and I'll be going for sure. More info:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Etna

Pic 1 - Annoying dingbats in the train playing loud ass instruments for tips.

Pic 2 - Sorrento train station. Sorrento is a great town to get to other places; Capri, Amalfi Coast, etc but really not the place for single travelers. Great food but lack of good beaches in Sorrento. I'll be returning some day but will stay on the Amalfi Coast. They say Positano is the best place to stay.

Pic 3 - Train to Naples. Pretty much anything going in or out of Naples looks like trash. Everyone tells me don't spend time in Naples. I didn't, but we drove all over Naples in a bus going to Pompeii and Vesuvius and I've never seen so much trash in my life. Another Euro wanderer told me they at one point had a strike of trash workers that lasted 3 years. I don't know about that but there was trash everywhere and a quick search brought me this WSJ article that talks about the problem including the Mafioso dumping nuclear waste.

http://m.europe.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527…

Glad I'll be there for less than an hour to catch the train to Sicily as ive had my max radiation exposure for the month.

Whatever the outcome for Naples between the volcano that will blow and cause mass destruction and their total dysfunction I would have to say they are pretty fucked. They make Mexico look clean and organized. I think I've got maybe 5 more days of southern Europe in me this trip then time to get up to Germany and the other countries up north where they do things on point.Les mer