Writing my name across Europe

A whole day on trains I had not really been looking forward to today. A program of 15-16 hours of travelling was not very exciting. It’s just such a long time. Frankly, the idea of it being train travel made it slightly more bearable because trains are more comfortable to spend a lot of time in than planes or cars. But, still, it was a long time. And there were some tricky bits that had the anxious traveller on edge. By the end of the day, when I stumbled into the BUNK Hotel in Utrecht, I was not only (effectively) on time, but had weathered the whole sojourn virtually without incident. I was easily as tired as I expected to be, but not otherwise out of sorts. Here’s how the itinerary unfolded: Santa Margherita Ligure — Milan Centrale The train arrived on time (6:07 am) and the trip was uneventful, I’ve done this leg a few times now so it was not noteworthy. Milan Centrale — Lugano A regional train (with no first class) that was the first link in the critical path that I...

Day 27 – Santa Margherita Ligure A view of SML from across the harbour where the big boats tie up Another slow day. However, this one contained a highlight through meeting a long-standing family friend of Paola and Silvia’s, Paolo. Paolo is the head of the local carabinieri in Santa Margherita Ligure and lives in Rapallo (3 km away). Paolo very kindly agreed to catch up with me after Paola suggested it and put us in touch. Paolo has some English, but says ‘not a lot’. I have essentially no Italian, in spite of Paola’s efforts to teach me over twenty years ago and my desultory use of a language training app over the last 9 months. However, when we met, Paolo and I managed OK, relying on the Google Translate app to make more complicated passages of conversation move smoothly. (That technology is pretty wonderful, actually. I’ve heard that in-ear Apple iBuds will soon be available with this capability built-in. Then, the Babel Fish will be with...

Visiting Cinque Terre A number of factors came together this morning that led me to decide, spontaneously, to visit Cinque Terre today. Having made the decision, I organised my train travel, collected my wits, and headed out. I’m still learning the ropes with the trains but managed to get a seat on the train I wanted, in spite of only deciding an hour or so beforehand. The other thing that I learned through the ticket-purchase process is that Cinque Terre is a district, not a single place. One cannot buy a ticket to Cinque Terre, one must select one of the “five lands” to visit (first). I chose Monterosso (at random) and went there. Happenstance made that a good choice, as it turned out. The Mediterranean with waves (from the train) On the train trip down the coast, I read up on Cinque Terre on Lonely Planet; something that I should have done before setting out! Anyway, what I discovered was that each of the five towns along the Cinque Terre coast had their own attractions, n...