leaving torino, heading to the airport, italy wins the world cup!!

Sunday morning I slept in and then lingered a little longer than normal having my breakfast on the beautiful patio at my hotel.

I was too tired to pack Saturday night and so I had to get it all done and be out of the room by noon. I figured that would be pretty easy to do but in n the end, I got down to the desk to pay the bill about 11:50 am. It took longer than normal because I decided to pack also for the plane ride home, putting all the items in my roll-on bag that I planned to check in at the airport so that I would not have to pack again while watching the Italy-France World Cup final.

After checking out, I had about 2 1/2 hours to kill and then I had to head to the train station to catch my train. I decided to go back to la Mole and the Cinema Museum. I saw this cool car while walking to la Mole...

(Forza Italia!! a couple ready for the big match!)

I really loved the Cinema Museum and lost track of time wandering around, watching clips from different movies. I ate lunch there as well. I had a great pesto pasta for lunch which surprised me as I didn’t expect such good food at a museum café. Fotos from la Mole and the museum are all posted on my "first day in torino" post.
At one point, I realized that I had 30 minutes to catch my train! I did some speed walking back to my hotel which was halfway between the museum and the train station. I grabbed my bags that I left in the storage room at my hotel and then continued speed walking to the train station. I made it with 5 minutes to spare and then of course the train ended up leaving 10 minutes late. When I arrived, I was pretty out of breath. I saw this guy saying goodbye to his girlfriend or wife at one of the entrances onto the train. I played the helpless girl act hoping that he would offer to lift my bag on board. He didn’t get the act but the girl did and told him to help me.


My last destination was an airport hotel – Hotel Villa Malpensa.

The options to get the airport are:

1. Bus from Torino directly to the airport. A two hour ride that leaves at 7 am, 9 am, or 3 pm. I tried to find the bus station a couple of days earlier and only saw on a map that it was pretty far from the train station. My concern was that I only had one choice which was the 3 pm bus and wasn’t sure what I would do if it was full or sold out. Also, because of the taxi strike, I was not sure if the strike would be over on Sunday and since reservations were not possible on the bus, I did not want to get there and then find out that the bus was sold out. I also did not want to spend two hours on a packed bus. Also, I prefer trains as they are roomier, you can walk around, and there are bathrooms on trains. I decided not to choose this way to the airport (but in the end, I think this would have been the best choice as was recommended to me while planning my trip).

2. Take the train to Milan (1 hour 50 mins) and then the 50 min bus to the airport from the Milan train station. Advantages, roomier seats on the train, being able to walk around, a bathroom on the train, and for the bus ride, a much shorter bus ride with buses leaving every 20 or 30 minutes so if one was full, I could wait for the next one.

3. Take the train to Milan, the metro (subway) to a 2nd train station in Milan, and then take this train (Malpensa Express) directly to the airport. Advantages, no bus rides, bathrooms on both trains, more room on trains. Disadvantages as I later found out, craziness getting to & on/off the Metro.

My original choice was number 2 - train to Milan and then the bus to the airport. The train ride to Milan was uneventful. However, when we arrived in Milan, I immediately had to go to the bathroom AFTER getting OFF the train. I don't know why but I didn't even think about using the bathroom on the train. BIG MISTAKE! Once at the train station in Milan, I could not find the bathrooms and even if I did, it is usually pretty impossible to use train bathrooms with all my luggage when traveling alone and Milan is not a place where I would leave a bag outside. Also, the bathrooms are usually pretty impossible.

SO, I changed my mind and decided to take the metro to the other train station in Milan and then take the direct train to the airport so I could use the bathroom on the train instead of being on a bus for almost an hour without a bathroom.

Little did I know the adventure I was about to take. I took out my notes that I wrote on all 3 choices before I left for Italy. I looked for the signs and found the Metro sign. I followed the arrows and a crowd of people and soon found myself at the Metro station. I then realized that I had no idea where I was going…what line to take and which way I was heading! Tons of people were arriving in Milan for the final game of the World Cup. People were running through the subway station wrapped in Italian flags, blaring the horns, singing and chanting. I could see that the older security men that were working at the Metro station getting irritated at all the commotion. This was not good as I needed to find a friendly security guy to help me with directions.

I asked 2 different security guys and both quickly pointed while speaking rapidly. They both pointed towards the flights of stairs – but there were 2 different flights - one was for the train headed to one end of the line and the second was for the train headed the opposite way. I still was not completely sure which way to go but took a chance and lugged my bag down the closest steep flight of stairs hoping that I would not then have to lug it back up the flight of stairs and then down a second flight of stairs if I chose the wrong stairway.

When I got to the bottom, I saw a huge crowd of people waiting for the next train to arrive. I asked someone if this train went to the Cadorna Train station and was relieved to find out that I was on the correct side of the tracks. My new worry was how I was going to make it onto the train with this huge crowd of people and my bags. My eyes met this other girl that was also waiting with a roll-on suitcase and I felt like kindred spirits with her. The train arrived after about 5 minutes and I could see through the windows that the train was packed! We both pushed our way onto the train and staked out spots by the poles to hang on. The train was packed and HOT! I still had not gone to the bathroom at this point. The thought of pickpockets also went through my head as this was the perfect place. I held all my things with deathgrips as the train took off. I counted the 5 stops until we reached the Cadorna stop and then maneuvered my way off the train. Now I had to figure out where to go next. The signs were not great at first but eventually they appeared and I found the 2nd train station.

Last summer, I took the Malpensa Express train when leaving from Lake Como and remembered that it was a pretty quick trip. I did not realize that the last time I took the train, the connection point where I boarded the train was halfway to the airport. This time, I was at the beginning of the line and the train was going to take almost an hour to get to the airport. It also cost twice as much but in the end with the metro ticket and the 2 train tickets it only cost 1 euro more than it would have cost if I took the bus from Torino and that was without the cost of a taxi to the bus station, but it did end up taking about an hour or so longer to get to the airport. After buying my ticket and getting on the train, I sat patiently until the train took off and then immediately headed for the toilet!

I arrived at the airport, called the hotel for my shuttle ride and headed towards the pick up spot. I remembered my way from the year before from the train station to the spot where the shuttles pick up customers to transfer to the hotel and only had to wait a couple of minutes until the shuttle arrived.

The hotel was pretty close to the airport. I checked in, asked what time the restaurant served dinner, and then went up to my room and took a long shower. I ate early so that I could watch the big game. Although I was still “in Italy”, it was probably the most unexciting place to be as there was no big celebration since except for the few hotel staff, all the customers were tourists and so the passion for the final match was not there. I ate a VERY expensive dinner…ok food but definitely a rip off as there is no other choice. The waiter poured me a small glass of water before I had a chance to ask for a large bottle and so I ended up paying 5 euros alone for the water! After dinner, I went back up to my room to watch the game. I was happy with the hotel and my room was quite comfortable (only complaint was the ripoff dinner).

As everyone knows by now, Italy won the world cup!!

Also, the historic Zidane headbutt occurred. If you haven't heard the Zidane headbutt song, Coup de Boule ... click HERE to read more on the song and click HERE to hear the entire song.  

Even though I was in a quiet hotel room, it was still exciting watching Italy win, watching the team celebrate on TV, and also watching some of the celebrations on the Italian news stations. Katia and I sent each other a few SMS' during the game and about an hour after the game ended, Katia called so I could hear all the people screaming and horns blaring through her phone as her town continued to erupt in celebration.

Monday…my flight home.

After a quick breakfast, I took the shuttle back to the airport. Everything went pretty smooth. All the Italian workers looked pretty tired after a long night of celebration. I congratulated the passport control guy about the big win and he smiled (of course after he okayed me going through). I also congratulated the girl at the Continental ticket counter and she smiled. My bag weighed 19 kilograms which is about 41 pounds. She congratulated me for the weight of my bag. My plane took off on time. One of the flight attendants was wearing this cute Italian scarf/hat. He had us all sing the italian chant that was sung at all the games. I am not sure if he was Italian or American but he was definitely pretty excited about the win. Both plane rides and my connection in Newark all went smoothly.

And now I am back to work and back to reality…..a great trip and more wonderful memories to cherish!

ciao!!!

asti & acqui terme

While planning my trip to Italy this summer, I planned to take a daytrip to Asti while staying in Torino. I almost stayed in Asti in 2003 and again almost stayed in Asti this summer until I read about Saluzzo. I also wanted to visit Acqui Terme and try to hook up with Diana, a woman I met through slow travel that runs a B&B. I called Diana earlier in the week and the plan was for me to take the 9 am train, which was a 40 minute direct train from Torino to Asti, spend a little time there, and then continue on by train to Acqui. Diana would meet me at the train station in Acqui.

While having a relaxing breakfast at my hotel, I lost track of time. I realized that I had only 20 minutes to make the train. I also needed to purchase a ticket. I did some speed walking to the train station and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. When I arrived in Torino a few days earlier, I did not see the automatic train ticket machines and so I headed to the ticket line hoping that it would move quickly. On my way there, I noticed a delay of 40 mins on the board for my train. I wasn’t sure though if this was true and so I still wanted to get to the train on time just in case the delay time changed. Since the train originated in Torino, I could not figure out the reason for the delay.

There was one person in front of me in the line and 3 ticket windows open. A woman with a german accent got in line behind us. She started telling us in English that she had 5 minutes to catch her train and expected both of us to let her cut in line. I was amazed that she just assumed we both spoke english. She was quite rude. The woman in front of me ignored her. I told her that my train also left in 5 minutes. She continued to complain and sigh loudly muttering about hating to be late. The people at the ticket windows completed their transactions and we all proceeded to the open windows. I was very lucky to get a very nice man. I asked him if my train was indeed late. He said that he had not heard about any late trains. He checked it out with his collegues and then confirmed that yes, the train was running 40 minutes late. So my speed walking was just for exercise.

I bought my ticket and headed for the train as I didn’t dare leave and come back in case things changed. There were many people waiting outside and a few people boarding. I asked a young couple if they knew why the train was late. They told me there was an “incidente” which later I found out was damage on the track between Torino and Asti. The train finally left 57 mintues later. There was an announcement apologizing for the “57 minute” delay, making sure to mention that it was not an hour delay but only 57 minutes.

About 10 or 15 minutes after the train departed, the train stopped in no mans land for another 15 minutes. I wondered if we left when we did and then stopped later on so that the train announcement would not admit that the delay was actually more than an hour. When the train started up again, a few minutes later it slowed down. Many people on the train got out of their seats to look outside. I joined them to see some men on the side of the road shoveling rocks back under the train track. The train creeped by until we passed that part of the track. I then understood the reason for the delay. The track was partly washed away from the storm the day before.

We finally arrived in Asti almost 2 hours later. I noticed on the boards that all the trains were now delayed at least an hour. I called Diana and made plans to meet her on the train departing about an hour after I arrived.

After wandering the town for a while, I decided that it was not as delightful as I had expected. I read about all these towers and thought they would be all over the town. There were a few, but not as many as I imagined. I did feel after spending a little time there that it was a town that I felt could grow on you. I stopped in a great little shop and bought some delicious pasta for lunch. The people in the shop were very friendly and helpful. I ate my lunch on a little park bench in one of the piazzas. It was a beautiful day outside. A nice elderly man sat on the bench next to me and started a converstation with me. He was very kind. After finishing my lunch, I went into the duomo. As soon as I entered, a man informed me that the church was closing in 5 minutes. I took a couple of pictures including a picture of a few Palios (banners) from the famous Asti Palios and left. I stopped for a coffee and then headed back to the train station.

(Asti - last one I merged)

The train to Acqui was a pretty new regional train. It was very comfortable and the scenery along the was was beautiful. Diana was at the train station when I arrived. I told her about the hour delays and my morning experience and we decided to talk to the woman at the ticket window to see about the trains heading back to Torino. She was probably one of the kindest train ticket workers I have ever met. She actually called the Asti station to find out if the trains were still delayed. She said that everything was normal and I proceeded to purchase my return trip ticket. I always print out the train schedules and so when she was ready to sell me the ticket, I saw that I would have to spend an hour in Asti before transferring trains. I showed her my print out with a 10 minute wait to connect in Asti for the Torino train. In order to get this combination, you needed to type in the 2 train routes separately. She warned me that there was only a 12 minute time to make the second train. I figured the worst that could happen was I would end up taking the original second train she was going to have me take.

After purchasing the tickets, we drove to Diana’s B&B. It is about a 5 minute drive into the country from the main town of Acqui Terme. The B&B was gorgeous. I had originally considered staying there but thought it would be too difficult getting around without a car.

(Baur B&B) 

Diana gave me a tour of her place and then we had a delicous late lunch (2nd lunch for me) of a local cheese, fruit, and bread with her husband by the pool. The time went by so quickly. We talked about many different things and then finally realized that it was getting late. I took a few pictures of her B&B and then we drove back into town and I had a quick tour. Unfortunately there was not much time to see much, but from what I saw, I immediately liked the town.

(Acqui Terme - not enough time to take many pics here)

Diana dropped me off at the train station and I caught the train back to Asti. We ended up leaving about 5 minutes late and so I was not sure if I would catch that 2nd train after all. BUT, you can always depend on the trains to be late. I actually could have caught the train if I ran but because the second train was late, I had about 5 minutes to spare. I defintely want to put Acqui on my itinerary for a future trip.

After arriving back in Torino, I found a second Exki restaurant and stopped for a quick bite. I did not want to eat a big meal that night as I already had 2 lunches. I had some yogurt and a little piece of quiche. There was still some time before dark and so I decided to explore the area down by the River Po. There was a boat ride that I had thought about taking and I wanted to check out the schedule for the following day. I was amazed at the beauty in this new area of the city. Torino continued to surprise me. I think many people have missed out by not putting this on their list of places to visit. But, I guess part of the reason I liked Torino so much was because it was not overcrowded with tourists.

(heading to the Po River & on the river - Torino)

I saw a couple of restaurants that looked good and decided to return the next night for dinner. Down by the river are a few little bars bars. A rainbow appeared over the river. It was fun to watch people realize that it was there one by one.

(another pic I merged - rainbow and Monte dei Cappuccini)

Despite the morning train delay, I had a wonderful day today, especially getting to spend time in Acqui with Diana and Michael.

the reason having a car is nice

Friday morning, my day to travel to Saluzzo...

I knew in advance that this day would be my longest travel day. In order to get to Saluzzo by train, you need to take 3 trains. The first takes about 3 hours but luckily it is on a more comfortable train. I decided to take a taxi to La Spezia instead of the bus in order to make sure I would catch the train on time.

There were 2 train times that would work to get to Saluzzo in a reasonable amount of time -the 9:54 train and the 11:54 train. I made a seat reservation for the first train and ended up arriving in Saluzzo at the arrival time of the second train (which if you do the math would be 2 hours later).

My day started ok with the hotel having someone carry my bag up all the stairs to the parking lot. There, the taxi driver was waiting. After an incredibly expensive taxi...about 10 euros more than the hotel quoted, I arrived at the train station with time to spare.

I was pleasantly surprised to find new seating on this IC train. I had a nice seat and the ride to Torino was very pleasant. We did stop along the way for a while and then were told over the intercom that there was an "incident" in Levanto and the train would be 10 minutes "in ritardo"...those words I never want to hear when taking a train. In the end we arrived 25 minutes late meaning that I missed my next train by 5 minutes to Savigliano. I waited another 30 minutes to take another train to Savigliano. So far, things were still ok. I then remembered that I needed to call the hotel as the woman I corresponded with told me she would be happy to pick my up at the train station in Saluzzo.

This was when things started to go wrong. My phone did not work. Nothing... I tried and tried to turn it on but nothing happened. I was sure I charged it the night before, but perhaps it was 2 nights ago?? I hoped that she would not be waiting for me at the train station as I was definitely not going to be there at my original time. I did write that I would call her that morning to confirm the time and hoped she would wait for my call.

When I got to Savigliano, I found out that the next train to Saluzzo did not leave until 4:03 pm (I was supposed to originally take the 2:03 train). And so...there I was with all my bags at a tiny train station with not much to do. I had heard that the center of the town was quite charming and so off I headed down a street, hoping to find the center. After a little while, I saw a sign pointing to a store with the words centro on the sign.

Because it was the afternoon, everything was closed except for the bars and some pastry shops. The one thing that I did notice was that there seemed to be a place to buy a gelato at almost every corner, sometimes even 2! I only had a piece of focaccia and a couple of nectarines on the train since breakfast and so I was pretty hungry. Also, it was VERY HOT outside. I eating gelato twice during my wait in Savigliano. The town was cute but it is difficult to judge when most everything was closed. A woman at the pastry shop where I purchased my second gelato told me where to find the most picturesque places to see.

 (Savigliano)

After taking a couple of pictures, I headed back to the train station and waited for the next train. This train was one of those tiny trains with only 2 cars. The ride only took about 15 minutes to reach Saluzzo. Once there, I took out my map that I printed off the internet and headed towards my hotel. The hotel is actually an old farm redone with beautiful rooms located about 15 minutes by foot from the center and about 25 or 30 minutes on foot when lugging baggage from the train station.

I finally arrived with sweat pouring down me. Everyone was so kind to me when I arrived. The woman at the desk immediately got me some water and had me sit and rest. The hotel is owned and run by a very nice family (a woman, Jean, from England and her husband, Tony, from Saluzzo). Once I got to my room, Jean called me to apologize that she did not arrive at the train station to pick me up and I told her that it was my fault as my phone did not work. The one day I really needed that phone and it did not work!! Luckily it was just the battery and so I immediately charged it and have charged it every night since!

The rooms here at the hotel are so beautiful and comforable. The hotel just opened last fall and so everything is new. I usually am not a fan of baths and prefer showers, but this hotel has a combo and so I took a long luxurious bubble bath to pamper my sore feet.

 (view from my window)

 (my room)

 (the building which is part of complex across from our rooms)

After my long soak in the tub, I finished upacking and then headed out to explore the town. Tony, one of the owners, volunteered to drive me into town and he also gave me a quick tour and also pointed out everything to see on the map. Saluzzo is a very charming town!

I had dinner at a pizzeria/restaurant called Quattro Stagione, which was recommended to me by the hotel. The food was WONDERFUL!! I was happy that they started serving at 7:30 as I was really hungry. I also wanted to get back to the hotel in time to watch the Italy-Ukraine match. I headed back just as the game began. In town, there were bars crowded with locals with reserved seats sitting in front of TVs waiting for the game to begin. I was near my hotel when Italy scored as all the cars started honking wildly.

Italy won!! A great game and now they play Germany...

A long day in which a car would have been nice to have but I arrived safely and survived. Both the hotel and town are lovely...

more later.

ciao!

arrival in lerici

Monday morning, I had a quick breakfast with Francesco's parents and then I was off to the train station. I was glad that I made a reservation as there was only 1 first class car on this train and all but the last 2 compartments of seats are now pre-reserved. At the stop after I boarded the train, more people got on and an argument began. I think it had something to do with where to put the luggage and other people already int he compartment in the un-reserved compartment. All I understood was this lady continually repeating that she was not interested (in something??). Other than that, the train ride went without incident. When I arrived in La Spezia, I found the automatic ticket machine inside the station and bought my tickets for my next journey on Friday. This journey will be my LONG train journey for this trip...something I am not looking forward to. I made a reservation (the train I will be taking is the same train I was on from Empoli to La Spezia).

After buying my train tickets, I searched for the place to purchase the bus ticket. To reach Lerici, you can either take a taxi or take the city bus. The ride takes 35 minutes and so I decided to try the bus (I will be taking a taxi on the return trip). The bus was pretty crowded when I boarded, but I managed to find a seat and also store my larger roll on bag right behind the seat in the handicapped wheelchair area. Luckily there were no wheelchairs on board! I usually am not a fan of buses as I never know which stop is my stop (especially when going to a new area). I read ahead of time that my stop would be the last stop on the route and I counted the number of stops on the schedule posted at the bus stop. As the bus went along, more and more people boarded and no one got off. Also, the bus was stopping at way more stops than I counted. I also read that it took about 35 mins to reach Lerici on the bus and so my next strategy was to watch the time. Finally as we reached the coast area, people started to get off. Then we reached a stop near Lerici (about 5 mins away) and the bus driver told us that we all had to get off as this would be his last stop. Another bus would come by to take us to Lerici. Luckily, a very nice lady also was going to Lerici and so I stuck by her to figure out when to get off. When we boarded the second bus, the bus driver told us that we needed to go on a different route...a tour of the Lerici area! The lady was pretty funny with her comments about how we were now on a 1 hour bus ride.

Finally as we reached the coast area, people started to get off. Then we reached a stop near Lerici (about 5 mins away) and the bus driver told us that we all had to get off as this would be his last stop. Another bus would come by to take us to Lerici. Luckily, a very nice lady also was going to Lerici and so I stuck by her to figure out when to get off. When we boarded the second bus, the bus driver told us that we needed to go on a different route...a tour of the Lerici area! The lady was pretty funny with her comments about how we were now on a 1 hour bus ride. As we rode all around the area of Lerici, through a tunnel, up and down streets, we finally came to an area above Lerici where there was a bus on the side of the rode with people waiting outside. The bus had broken down and our (2nd bus) was sent to pick up the stranded passengers. There was quite a commotion as we stopped to pick them up (mainly from the people on board still waiting to arrive in Lerici). We then headed to the main town area of Lerici.

When we reached the stop that appeared to be the main stop in the center of the town, about 7 ladies, most of them much older, found out that I was headed to Hotel Doria in Lerici. When we got off the bus (which ended up NOT being my stop), the ladies were all very concerned about me and even asked the bus driver if he could take me to my hotel! I told them I was fine and would find the hotel. One lady accompanied me to the area where the stop I was supposed to get off of was located (Piazza Garibaldi - the main piazza). It was downhill and a very short walk so it was not a big deal. Then she told me to find a carabinieri or go into a store to find out for sure where the hotel was. She left me once she felt I was safe without her. Lerici is a very peaceful town and not a town where one should be worried about someone not knowing where her hotel was located but she was very sweet to be so concerned. I saw a sign pointing up a street with many stairs to my hotel about a minute after I was on my own. By the time I reached the hotel, I was huffing and puffing...a great workout!

The people at this hotel are extremely friendly and helpful. My room faces the ocean and has a wonderful view and great balcony. I took advantage of the sun and balcony and caught up on my laundry.

(view from my room - merged picture)

(my hotel- Hotel Doria - yellow x on my balcony)

Then I wandered the town, took pictures, and sat on some rocks by the water to catch a few rays. There are rocks to sit on, then a pay beach, and then further down towards San Terenzo, a free beach.

After an afternoon gelato, I headed back to my hotel, took a short nap, and then watched the 2nd half of the Italy - Australia match. A long 0-0 match with the winning goal during the last minute of the game on a penalty kick. The town erupted in cheers!! For dinner, I ate at a very delicious little restaurant in town. I had pesto pasta and focaccia col recco...my 2 favorite Ligurian treats! I wandered around the town some more and took a few more pictures and then headed back up to my hotel. The walk back up to the hotel continues to make me huff and puff and so I plan carefully before leaving.

(pics of Lerici)

I am now on the hotel's computer which is free. A mac with a keyboard which is different from other keyboards I have used while in Italy. Luckily, I know my way around a mac and found a way to switch to an American keyboard...the only hitch is that I have to memorize where all the keys are.

hope all is well with everyone.

CIAO!!