Good report, I am intimidated by buses and trains but look forward to trying it again. I'm leaving in a couple of days for Italy!

The celebration and other contrade partying in Siena is one of the reasons that it is probably my favourite city. The Palio is not just a tourist occassion - it really, really matters to the Senese. They have a wonderful sense of belonging and that pride in contrada and city is very obvious.

We had a wonderful time in Florence, and the weather seemed especially glorious. As I’m sure fellow travelers know, the light on the Arno is something special that is hard to find elsewhere. We had to leave all too soon, and took a cab to the SMN Station, where we had a relatively uneventful transition back to Rome via the Eurostar. The only little stress point there was the wait for the track number to be posted for the train – it didn’t show up until about 10 minutes before the scheduled departure and there was a lot of milling about and shuffling around. On the train we sat next to a mother and her teenaged daughter, and they were obviously planning some outing or meeting in Rome, as they had printouts of the Metro map and MapQuest directions to somewhere. They spent some time reviewing the directions and memorizing Metro stops. Their discussions were in Italian, of course, so I only got the drift, but it made me realize that non-Romans are not so unlike American tourists!

The arrival back at Termini was more exciting. In my innocence at home before leaving, I had booked a hotel for the final night in Rome that seemed to be a perfect location – almost on top of the Vittorio Emanuele Metro station, just one short stop from Termini. (In my at-home innocence I had planned to take the Leonardo Express back to FCO, so wanted to be near that connection.) We arrived a little after 5 PM -- rush hour – so you can imagine the dance we had to do with the rolling bags and other luggage to first make our way to the Metro, and then to actually <b>get on</b> the train to go that one short stop. But, we did it, and luckily we picked the right exit from Vittorio Emanuele and had to only walk a half block or so to the hotel. (Later that night, when we returned from dinner on the Metro, we happened to pick the opposite exit and I’m sure we were a sight, circling Piazza VE II in the dark looking for the hotel… “How could we get lost now?” we kept wondering.)

We finally wised up and had the hotel arrange a cab for us the next morning, which made life a lot simpler. The ride to the airport was exciting; the driver was an older fellow and obviously took pride is his navigation skills. I closed my eyes several times as he maneuvered to gain that extra foot and to wiggle in front of that Fiat or around this bus. Each time he had a “victory” he would make this clicking sound with his tongue, as if he were keeping score. I was really amused when someone on a motorbike wove in and out of traffic and schnookered the driver. He shook his head and “tsk, tsk’d,” as though to say, “Look at that irresponsible guy taking risks on the bike!” But he was an affable guy, and spoke a little English. We were obviously Americans going home, and he said, “You leaving Italy? <i>Arrivederci, Roma,</i> eh?” And then he began to sing …

We had a wonderful trip, buses and trains and all. We found the Italian people to be warm and accommodating for the most part. When they weren’t, it was almost comical. Our first taste of this was upon arrival at FCO at the passport checkpoint. The surly guy took our passports, stamped them and tossed them back as if they were dead snakes. It was so over the top that it was amusing. There was also a grumpy fruit vendor at the Mercado Centrale in Florence; he had a sign, in English, on the apples that said, “If you touch I will cut your little hands. Viva Napoli.” What could be more fun than that?

Thanks again to everyone for their advice and encouragement. It made things easier (just think what might have happened without your help!) ;-)

Becky

hi purduegrad,

loved the report - warts and all, especially your attempt to buy bus tickets to siena.

I know it's no use to you now, but your can actually get a TRAIN to Siena from Termini, which takes about 3 hours. the train station in siena is a little out of the way [down a hill i think] but there's a bus to the centre.

just so you know next time!

congrats on the PhD

regards, ann

Hello, thank you for your report. We came back recently from Rome Firenze , it was terribly hot and we had a great time as you did. Your report touched something in me because the first time I went to Rome stayed at 38 Via Firenze in the , in those days, well known Pensione Texas. I know so well that part of Via Firenze always well lighted because of the Ministry of the Interior, ...I agree with you, Italians are very nice people, most of the time kind and welcoming,
having said this, of course some are not nice, comical? I do not know but not nice, but on the whole I agree Italy is a wonderful place to visit. The more you go the more you love it.

Thanks for a delightful report. Your transportation-related adventures are so familiar. Despite meticulous planning, I've spent many harried moments looking for the bus stop. Although I've encountered a few grumps, more often than not kindhearted locals have provided (even volunteered) their assistance.

DH and I took the Leonardo Express out of town, but we had to do a half an hour's worth of legwork the night before to find the right platform. We've used it upon arrival, too, and it works splendidly, but you do have to be in the right place at the right time.

I have never used the Leonardo, for me it does not make sense, I paid recently 35 eu for chofered car waiting for us, instead two tickets in the Leonardo, 18, plus a taxi from Termini
15...no way...

Yes, Graziella, we hit the Ministry of the Interior when we were wandering around lost on Via Modena; almost approached one of the guards to ask for directions, but the uniforms put us off!

DH has a prejudice against taxis -- afraid of the "grand tour" that you can unfortunately get sometimes, and I guess he feels more in control with trains and buses. However, even he agreed that there was a limit, and the cab was worth every cent back to the airport.

Besides, we would have missed the oh-so-exciting final ride through Rome traffic -- we were amazed that the car came through it all with both side mirrors still attached!

Super! As I said, you two reminded me of DH and moi. We went in circles a couple of times. Lasting memories, eh?