Arrivederci Italy

Arrivederci Italiano
Well I have survived 26 days in Italy without getting arrested, getting married, having my butt pinched, getting lost (well really lost that is) getting on the wrong train, getting off the train at the wrong place, or really getting myself into any strife whatsoever. Not bad for an old lady who doesn't speak more than a few words of Italian, who has never travelled anywhere on her own before, and who lacks confidence in herself.
A few anxious moments of course, and then today already I have had two. The first on the way to the train station – I only had a couple E50 bills left and the taxi ride this morning was on E5.50. Getting from the station to the hotel was E12. So the taxi driver was not very happy at 7.30am having to dish out all that change and in the end only charged me E5. One win to me for a change.
His loss actually because I was going to tip him because he had helped me with my heavy suitcase, but he made such a song and dance about the note, and didn't give me any coins in change, I wasn't going to tip him E5. So he lost out.
And then anxious moment No. 2. On reading the Eurorail book last night, I discovered that the train to Geneve' requires a reservation. Oh darn, here goes another 20 or 30 Euro on top of this dammed expensive rail pass. So when I get to the treno stazione at 7.55 and the train goes at 8.25 and I see the crowds and the huge queues at alla biglietteria (the ticket office) I decide to just get on the bloody train and hope like hell that nobody checks my ticket until I am just about at Geneve' (most of my tickets have been checked well into the journey , and I know now to write the date in before I get on the train).
But here comes Murphy again. The ticket inspector is on the job early this morning. We are 15 minutes into the journey, not even out of the greater Milano area yet, and he is babbling away in Italian and pointing to my ticket. I know what he is wanting, but I shake my head, hand him my passport and he tells me to wait there un minuto. Like I am going to go anywhere you silly man. I am on a moving train!!! So he brings back a younger man who speaks English who explains this is a Eurocity train and requirs a reservation. I smile my sweetest, dumb old lady smile and apologise most profusely and he charges me E13, clicks my ticket, he smiles sweetly and we are both happy. The old man then smiles sweetly and hands me back all my bits and pieces of paper and off he goes on his way obviously happy as well. Here's hoping the rest of the journey is trouble free.
And now it is 9.12am, not yet an hour into the journey and I have had my first glimpse of snowcapped mountains, and have been past a lake (two stations on the lake front Dormaletta -or something like that – and Arona. It looks lovely but as yet have not had a clear enough view of the mountains to snap a picture.
I can't get over how different things are here. Just as you get used to one way of doing things, then something else happens. This morning a boy brought a cart through the carriage selling coffee and food, but it was just as I was trying to sort out the ticket confusion so I missed out. But on all the trains I have travelled on I haven't had that before. Anyway it was only about an hour since I had breakfast so I didn't really need anything to eat or drink yet , but I wonder if he will come back a bit later in the trip.
Just as you get used to how to dress and eat a salad, using salt oil and balsamic, then it changes to just salt and oil, and up here in Milano just wine vinegar. One really has to be adaptable
The scenery is changing quickly out the window now and so I will stop writing for a while and just soak it all up. It is so pretty. Shame that there are trees all along the way, and train lines and power lines in the way of the camera, but I am clicking away as fast as I can.
Well the train has just stopped at Lausanne. And anxious moment No 3 has just cropped up. All of a sudden the announcements are in another language. I guess either swisss or German, but whatever, I don't understand a word again, having just gotten used to making out about one in ten words in Italian in an announcement. Oh darn. And guess what, I don't have a phrase book to help me here. I never really thought about it. All I really concentrated on was that I was going to a dancing event in Geneva, and so just assumed that the only language I would need would be English. Forgot about the train, the station, the hotel, the money machine etc.etc. I wonder what lies in store for me now.
I did manage to get an email through to the Kaleidoscope organiser, in response to an email asking me to confirm travel arrangements so that I could be picked up at the airport. I replied advising him I was travelling by train and I was at the time in Milan, en-route to Geneva and was not sure what train I was going to catch. At that time 8.25am seemed a bit early to be trying to catch a train in Milan, given how busy the station was when I arrived a couple of days ago. But then on looking at the train timetable the next one didn't get me to Geneva till almost tea time, so I changed my mind and opted for the early one. However, in the interim I had another email from Jerry, his main concern seemed to be that (despite three emails regarding the registration fee of E70 which I had difficulty paying from NZ and which we agreed I would pay on my arrival at the hotel) was did I have a receipt for my registration as they did not seem to have a copy of it, and if I hadn't already paid, would I do so. And also to phone the hotel on my arrival at the airport (didn't he understand I am coming by train) to organise a shuttle. So apart from now having the hotel's telephone number, I am really no better off than I was before I replied to his first email. The only other thing is that I know I have to get some money out of the machine at the railway station as I only have about E75 left in cash. I presume that all the euros are the same now with this EU thing. Much easier than when John and I travelled in the 70's, each border we crossed we had to get new money and make sure we used up the old stuff before we crossed over otherwise you were stuck with it. The Eurocard is certainly working well mostly (only Cortona where I had the problem) the only thing now is that the money is fast disappearing.
Well the time is racing by, and we are now following the lake , which suddenly popped up on the left side of the train some time ago. I was busy watching out my window – taking photos, taking in the view when I just happened to glance to my left and wow -there is this huge expanse of grey blue water with hills in the background.
And just like everywhere else in the world, grafitti along the train tracks, on all the bridges, on the stations, on the old buildings.
The sky is pale pale blue, with a lot of cloud, it looks cooler, but then I am sitting right beside the train airconditioning so I am feeling quite cold in fact, so I suppose I will be in for a bit of a surprise when I get out at the station – like when I got out of the train in Milano. It was so sticky hot there, sure hope isn't as hot here.
One good thing, while checking my emails last night, I was able to print off the Kaleidoscope timetable. Registration takes place between 4 and 5 this afternoon, dinner 6-7 then workshops tonight until 10. breakfast early and workshops all day with 10 minutes breaks mid morning and mid afternoon for coffee and one hour for lunch. A very full programme, with great topics – Can't wait to hear what they have to say. And then of course the dance tomorrow night.
Well, will be arriving in another 20 minutes or so, so I might rearrange my handbag, and pack this wee notebook away safely between my passport folder and my bruschetta plate (still carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and taking pride of place in my overnight bag – oh how I hope it arrives home safely).
Ciao for now