Posts Tagged ‘train’

Day 21 – up amongst the mountains to Sulmona via Bari & Pescara

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Enjoyed our night in our trulli, up early, and a coffee was made in the pot on the stove while I went and found some pastries down the street. Had to go to a restaurant for our breakfast (like in Lecce) but we got more that a coffee and croissant – we actually had bacon & eggs! Excellent service – being waited on by three attentive guys that wanted us to come back for a meal (but we were leaving town later in the morning), and we indulged from the buffet with cake, cereal, & yoghurt. Most of the old town streets had developed into an open-air market and we had time to wander around the transformed car parks looking at shoes, clothes, linen and fresh produce. Lots of interesting things to see, and I noticed the fellow (below) arranging the celery, but Wendy didn’t…

Travelled to Bari on the train and bought tickets to Pescara (*note to reader[s] – you should be following our travels on a map or atlas as it will do wonders for your geography) and thought we’d got some window seats but didn’t. Slightly upset because these tickets cost 25 euros each and our compartment had five people in the six seats while two compartments next to us had one each! This was an InterCity train and you get a reserved seat which is where you have to sit. A young guy and also a girl shared our space – they didn’t talk, but we did and once we pulled out our large ‘Rough Guide’ map of Italy we were able to engage with her and chatted about our travels. In Pescara, raced around trying to get off the platforms and had to go down and out & back in again before I could tickets for the next leg while the girls waited on the platform. Not very well sign posted for travellers in a rush. The next train that would get us to Sulmona was in five minutes, so a mad dash back up, and down, & up again, as we had to move across platforms. Had about a minute spare! Just a little bit too exciting – but good to be on the right train. A very scenic ride to Sulmona with the train weaving along a valley and through tunnels and following an elevated roadway.

As we pulled into one of the stops along the way, a young bloke seemed to be loitering behind Maryann who was standing at the window. He seemed to be undecided about something, and as the train pulled to a stop, rushed past us and gave something to a girl behind us, said something, and jumped off the train. He had given her some sort of note (written in rough block letters and finished with ‘CIAO’ (yes, dear reader I did sneak a look over the back of the seat). The girl read quietly and then rang a friend and had a chuckle about it, and then she got off at the next stop. We can only imagine what the note may have said. It was nice that the third train trip for the day wasn’t as crowded as the previous two. A fairly long day on the trains today and a couple more to go before we get all the way up & across Italy to Riomaggiore, the beginning of the Italian Riviera at the Cinque Terra.

Caught the local bus up to town and got off the bus a little too early (someone misunderstood our question) and asked a lady for directions and she turned out to speak very good english. She’d been born in Sulmona and married an Englishman and had come back for a visit because the Pope was coming. Checked into our digs and took a turn around the centro and enjoyed the atmosphere with everybody out doing their stroll. Groups of old men chatting and gesticulating, old ladies on the benches clasping handbags in their laps. Past the fountain, under the ancient aquaduct, and through Piazza Garibaldi with lots of scaffolding and chairs piled up getting ready for a big event. Later we checked out three restaurants on the map before we found one that was open and tried some pasta. I had mine served but the girls were still waiting after I’d finished! Apparently the waiter mixed up the order and a couple on another table got the girl’s cabonaras, and they had to wait while they made up some more. We didn’t find out about this till later though, and were a little annoyed that we paid then 4.50 euros for service and no apology!

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Day 18 – Cosenza to Lecce by train in the rain

Monday, June 28th, 2010

(Sunday 27th June – It’s been a while since the last post as interweb access is a little difficult, and we’ve been busy getting out & about, so here’s a few posts to try and catch you up.)There was very heavy rain overnight in Cosenza and nice to hear it on the roof, except for when it started raining inside the room… We were on the top floor and it was just a small leak that lasted for a few minutes and got mopped up with a towel – happy that it wasn’t over the bed!


Morning with blue skies with fluffy white clouds up behind the castle. During breakfast down in the kitchen with its long (like most of the of the side of the room of about 3 mtrs) white enamel wood stove with a modern gas hot plate installed, it started raining again and it now it looks like it’s here to stay for the day. We did venture out to get some supplies from a small supermarket and did a quick tour of the old town and visited the duomo, and then down to the confluence of the two rivers that join at one corner of the old town. Both were flowing well after the rain, and the water was brown with mud. We’d heard that a scenic steam train ride from here up through the mountains has been closed because of landslides – apparently they have had a lot of unseasonal rain. Seeing lots of tokens of love locked onto significant landmarks, I remember we saw this phenomenon first on a bridge in Vilnius on 2007. Padlocks with engraving or black texta left by couple betrothing love to each other.


Back to the room for bags and then down to the old station and bought tickets for the short ride to the new station where the intercity trains leave from. Met an American girl who was spending a couple of weeks travelling at the end of a year of study abroad. She’d been studying art history (in Italian!) and applied for a travel scholarship to see some of the churches in the south and was hoping to catch up with her mother in the next day or two. The train ride was great, travelling through some picturesque countryside with farms and orchards and olive groves galore. The train wasn’t  crowded, the people were happy and in good humour, and conductor was helpful. At one point we stopped on a siding and all the Trenitallia personnel hopped off the train and lit up a smoke – we apparently had to stop here to let another train through on the single track. The Italians do seem to smoke a lot (not inside of course) and at all ages. We clicketty-clacked through a wide valley lined with mountains, very cultivated with more olives, peaches, citrus, rolled hay bales, and cows and appreciated that the rain stopped. Lots of wind turbines sprouting in stands along ridges and rotating gently, and I’m guessing, supplying the electricity needed for all the trains. We changed trains in Taranto and again in Brindisi before getting down to Lecce in the early evening.


Found our way into the old city and our B&B where Tullio gave us the run down on how things worked, a quick survey of the old town and where we could go for some dinner. He gave us some vouchers for a cafe where we need to go for breakfast and have a 1.80 euro credit for a coffee and a pastry and he suggested we try a pastiacotto which is a local pastry from the Puglia region. He lived another floor up, on the roof-top terrace and showed us the view and landmarks from there. The room was nice enough but a couple of draw backs. You need to use your room key to turn on the lights, power and airconditioning. So, when you go out, nothing gets re-charged (netbook, phone, batteries etc.) and the room doesn’t keep cool. We grabbed a map and did a bit of a tour around the old town as the locals and heaps of Italian tourists were doing their stroll. Found the Roman amphitheatre (being set up with red plastic chairs and a stage for some dance recital), the Cin Cin cafe (breakfast destination), and some other landmarks that we’ll need to check out more thoroughly tomorrow.

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Day 06 – More markets, churches, piazzas and choofing to Cefalu

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

On foot is the best way to see a city, you’re up close and personal with the people, sights & smells. Walking around Palermo, you are either on a narrow stone footpath, a paved road with large etched stones (that are often polished smooth and would be very tricky underfoot in the wet), or on bitumen road where the tar seems to be a hot viscous/magnetic membrane laid down on the road. I imagine it might all get unbearable during the height of summer once the stone roads & buildings have absorbed the sunshine all day and begins radiate all that latent heat… So, jostling amongst the crowds and negotiating the traffic makes for a good insight into the organised chaos that we wouldn’t tolerate at home… More churches in the morning and each one is different in architectural style and decoration. Some amazing carvings and lots of relics on show at San Domenico. A pity it costs so much to see the Oratory (€ 6) as we’d be tempted a 2 or 3, but $10 is a bit much. Walked through a section of ironmongers who seemed to do all sorts of work with their wares out in the street from utensils for the kitchen, through to plumbing supplies and made to order metal work…

At the station and enough time to buy tickets for Cefalu and pick up some espresso & Sfogliatella & Grangolosa to enjoy on the train. A warm, un-airconditioned train at that. Well, after about 40 minutes I noticed that the sea was on the opposite side of the train that I thought it should be, and yes, we were heading the wrong way on the wrong train! Off at the next station and straight onto a train (this time airconditioned) back to Palermo Centrale. Once back there, we were lucky enough to be able to cross the platform and get straight on the train heading in the right direction… So instead of an hour – it took us three to get where we were going. Would have been annoying if we’d had to wait for trains at the stations. We did meet Santo on the train who asked where we were from, and then told us that we was born in Brunswick! He introduced himself and we had a lovely chat, talking a little politics & philosophy and laughed a lot – I’m sure he enjoyed it as much as we did. His parents had come out to Australia and he was born there, but they moved back home as the family ties were too strong.

Cefalu seems to be a quaint old historic port/resort with an impressive cathedral. Strolling through the village though, highlights that it’s a tourist destination full of shops, bars, cafes and bed & breakfast accommodation. The beach, while lovely (complete with sand) is covered with private set-ups that rent you a banana lounge and umbrella and play music for you… There is enough public space though, so lots of locals also out enjoying the warm weather. Plenty of young tanned people lounging on scooters, prancing in the sand and doing what young people do. Fun to see a few oldies in the water with skirts hitched, enjoying the cool water lapping around their calves. We joined them for a bit and enjoyed the respite from the warm pavement we’d been treading. We came across an old communal washing place down some steps where a stream was exposed and some spouts installed along with washing stones and tubs. An icy granita was very refreshing an the way back to the train.

On the train we observed some francophile/latin tension when a Frenchman moved someone’s bag and sat in their seat (they were down the other end of the carriage in the toilet). An Italian gave him a blast about the rudeness of this and that it wasn’t appropriate to do. The Frenchman said that he understood but didn’t move, and the Italian suggested that if he understood, then why did he do it? It all went on for a bit, and all a bit of a chuckle – a couple of old guys having a go… We were fortunate to have Maryann with us to do some rough translation. We’ve caught up with Maryann (who’s been visiting some family before we arrived) in Palermo – she’s an old uni friend of Wendy’s with a Sicilian background and enough Italian to help us out now & then. For dinner we cooked up some pasta with pesto, spicy sausage, tomatoes & mozzerella balls – yum!

Thanks for your comments, appreciate them… oh, and any errors & omissions (you know typos & stuff) exempted.

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Day 01 – Getting there is not even half the fun

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Well dear reader, it’s amazing that you can come halfway round the world in an aluminium tube while watching movies, eating food and having a fair bit of broken sleep. We landed in Rome ahead of time which meant we could catch an early train and get straight to Naples by 10.30. Straight through customs without so much of a look in the eye. The EU means it’s all fairly open now and you don’t even get a stamp on the passport. Then a short wait for the luggage (all 13.5 kgs of checked-in bag) and off the Leonardo Express into Roma Termini. This half hour trip cost more than the two hour trip to Napoli. It’s is nice having been to Termini before so we could buy our tickets from the machine and have a coffee & brioche before sitting down for the slow trip on the Regionale class train.

Into Naples after reading up a little and listening to Hostelworld podcast on where the best places to eat and visit in the city are. On the Metro and out to our accommodation near Dante station in the older part of town next to the Spanish quarter. Checked in, dumped our gear, and headed for the funicular to get up to the Castel S. Elmo to check out the view. Walked through the open air markets with lots of fresh produce and heaps of fish (pesche) vendors. It seems such a busy place with everyone busy about their business, but with time to say hellos with a handshake and European kisses. It’s just life going on with markets outside small chapels and everyone seems local – we didn’t seem to come across many tourists at all. The views from the castle were amazing and the city looks wonderful with it’s buildings in shades of yellow and red ochres. Lot’s of cupolas dotted around and a large range of styles of church buildings. We walked back down the hill and had a rest in the afternoon before heading out or a walking tour down to the waterfront (Castel Nuovo) and kept bumping into a noisy (but peaceful) march protesting about the Israeli raid on the relief ship.

We came back up through the Piazza del Plebiscito and Piazza Trieste and finished off the day with a Margherita pizza and a Peroni a block from our ’6 Small Rooms’ hostel. Wonderful! So, while it might be a little cramped and boring trapped in a tube for a day, it’s amazing what you can do when you get to where you’re going. Tomorrow we’re off to Pomeii etc.

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