Lets start from the beginning, we had picked out the best train option ever to take us non stop to Monterroso (one of the 5 cities of Cinque Terre) nice and early to adventure. We all woke up and got ourselves ready to make the train that ended up not existing. Maybe it was cause it is Sunday, maybe it doesn't ever exist who knows. Well quick change of plans, got us a delicious breakfast and caffè. So none of us were too upset. We got back on another bus ride around Torre del Lago and then arrived in Viarrggio. The hope was we would jump off, buy a few week bus passes and jump right back on the same bus. Nope, didn't happen, which really fits with the future to come. We walked around Viareggio for an hour or so and then the next bus finally came and we made it to the train station.
We got on the train that again appeared to be the best fit, La Spezia bound. Now, we think we are set. We find a seat and get comfortable. At this point, I should have had a clue things were too good to be true. The seats were clean and very comfortable. This is not what I remembered of Italian trains. Turns out we were in a 1st class reservation only car. Erika and I for sure didn't have 1st class tickets and the rest of us also didn't have reservations. So, when the ticket master came to check our tickets, he was not too impressed with us. He grabbed his little mobile device and tallied up how much it would cost us to stay in these glorious seats. He showed us the amount and we all stood up thinking we would just merely move to a lesser class car. He had other plans for us. He walked us to the exit and told us to get off. We are pretty sure it was an unscheduled stop just to remove the scoundrels trying to sneak into first class.
Here are a few of them:
We grabbed the next train and finally made it to Monterroso, a 90 minute train ride turned into 5 hours. And as Erika likes to say after a surprise Mexican siesta, "5 HOURS!!!!!"
Not as much to tell once we finally met our destination. Great food, great views and of course great vino!
The view is great behind dad's hand, really it is.
Boom!
The calm before the storm.
Which transitions us into the finale, the grand finale of the KNOW YOR TRAIN day. We ventured to the train station to catch the "6:30 train DIRECTLY to Torre del Lago." (quote by Mike Simmons and I wish I could show you the hand gesture). The problem was... my dad wasn't exactly 100% spot on when it came to the trains we were trying to catch today (Sundays are tough). So, Erika decided to go in and ask some questions... and my dad joined her. Her attempt to get a straight answer turned into a loud, emotional combattimento (between my dad and the attendant) with words and body language that could be universally translated. The first thing that clued me into the event, my dad burst out the doors yelling "KNOW MY TRAIN, KNOW MY TRAIN!?!?" And I will cut it off there for the sake of my PG readers.
Quite the day! No he didn't get arrested... and yes we did finally get on a train that would take us to our italian home, sweet home.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Monterroso, Italy
Great story! I bet I could guess what Dad really said :)
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