But which you’re not likely to see until Saturday. . . or Sunday . . . (bit hectic here, to be honest)
- Last week, Monday, an email advising that my train from Turin to Paris three weeks’ hence has been cancelled (because of something on the track — my Google research suggests that heavy rains in the French Alps have mucked things up, to be technical about it). If I want to re-book or apply for a refund, I’m invited to do so, and I’m thanked for my understanding.
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday . . .Attempts to book a route which will get me from Italy to Paris via Switzerland were complicated by a freight train derailment in the Gotthard Tunnel — ticket sales were suspended, at least during the days I was gnashing my teeth and wringing my hands. Yes, I exaggerate, but not as much as you’d hope.
- Friday, I finally re-booked a route which used Zurich as a pivot point. This required cancelling a hotel in my original Italian city of departure — for that original train journey which would get me to Paris in one day. My new plans required two days’ of train travel, so not only a hotel reservation in a different Italian city of departure, but also a reservation in Zurich. And a notification to my hotel in Paris that I’d be arriving one day later.
- Two days later, belated due diligence about scheduled train strikes in Italy revealed the frustrating news that the day before my cancelled and now rearranged travel to Paris — that would be the day we have train tickets to get us from Siena (our last day on the Via Francigena) to, respectively, Turin (me) and Rome (him) — there’s a national train strike. Well, okay, then! This is going to be a character-building experience! Time to get re-acquainted with the joys of coach travel as an alternative. At least the destination bus station is very close to my hotel, chosen for its proximity to city centre attractions and the central train station, from which I’ll be catching a train the next day.
- And then this morning, I got another email. Ominous heading masquerading as cheery: “Your trip has changed.” They did include a “We’re sorry” in the next line, but then advised that the change has not only denied me the seat for which I’d paid (a very modest) extra (view of the road ahead, on the aisle so easier access to the toilet), but will also be taking me to a station which I see is about 12 kilometres from my hotel. . . (Paul, meanwhile, should be back in Rome and getting ready for another adventure which begins the next day. More on that later.)
So for now, I’m remembering to breathe and reminding myself that there are likely to be taxis or perhaps local transit that might not be on strike. And I’m countering Five Stressful (Pre-Travel) Things with
Five Happy (Pre-Travel, Home Life) Things:
- I’ve been reading Louise Fitzhugh’s delightful children’s novel (first published in 1964) Harriet the Spy to my granddaughter of the same name — via FaceTime about 8 most evenings, until the Harriet who’s not a spy begins yawning too much for either of us to ignore. Sometimes our sessions are joined by one, or both, of her cats — who swish tails across the screen and then settle down to stare straight at this reader.
- Two lunch dates (separately) with two friends (both a few decades younger, and I enjoy that diversity) I’ve made since moving here (if you’ve been reading here for a few years, you might remember a few posts about friendship and moving. I’m making a note to post more about this when I get back — remind me, would you please?
- I also spent a very satisfying day with a good friend on the island who’s going through a major life event. So much to talk about, so much strength and wisdom on display along with honesty and laughter (and tristesse, yes, but there’s still some happiness or perhaps, rather, grace to be found in sharing these passages)
- A fabulous few hours walking downtown to the Art Gallery for a brilliant exhibition, Fashion Fictions, and then lunch after, and the walk home in perfect fall weather (you know the kind: crisp enough that you get to wear that new jacket which won’t cut it in next month’s rain and wind; warm enough you can leave it unbuttoned . . . sky blue, a bit of wind but no gloves or hat required. . .)
- Last night, Paul and I walked to see a play, a one-man performance by playwright Tetsuro Shigematsu of his very entertaining, moving, and thought-provoking Empire of the Son, an autobiographical coming-of-age and more, a reflection on masculinity, ethnicity, and especially on the father-son relationship, as seen by the son after his father’s death. So good. If you’re in Vancouver, you have until October 21st to catch this. Highly recommended.
Honestly, I could go on, far past number five. The colourful leaves on the trees against the blue sky and their visual echoes against the sidewalk’s grey concrete below. My teen granddaughter requesting I knit her a pair of Coraline gloves (have you seen that animated film? do you know the gloves she means?). A delicious bowl of risotto I ate by myself at a sidewalk table Friday afternoon, breaking up my last training walk before I try the Via Francigena again (I enjoy having lunch with a friend, a daughter, my husband; but oh, I really savour having a lunch all by myself when I’m in that mood).
But that’s enough. I have another list made up — (More than) Five Things (To Do!) Before Heading to the Airport Tomorrow! Time for me to turn the To Do’s into Done’s. Next time you hear from me, I’ll be in Italy. As always, while travelling I won’t be responding to your comments as often as I normally do, nor as promptly, but I will still very much enjoy reading them.
ciao for now,
f
Bon Voyage! Hope that you are able to navigate between those cities in a stress free manner…rail strikes seem quite common…on my last trip our friend who lives in Auvillar was planning to take the train to meet up with us in Provence and she ended up having to fly because the rail workers were on strike for ONE day…that same day that we were to meet up!
Look forward to seeing all your travel snippets.
Your solo lunch of risotto sounds sublime .
Leslie
Hostess of the Humble Bungalow
safe travels ~ I look forward to your next post
After all that excitement, good & bad , I’d need a lie down in a dark room for a while , but I’m not you . You sound raring to go . Travel safely & have a wonderful time . I’m looking forward to hearing all about it , especially the walk .
Fly well, Frances. Looking forward to your posts from afar as always, Leslie
That is a LOT of rearrangement – well done for the scenic detour via Zurich. Do you know the Rome2Rio website? It seems as if there are several options for getting to central Turin from Turin bus station – assuming it’s Turin Stura you’re arriving at:
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Torino-Stura-Station/Turin
A good workout for your Italian – you’ll do much better than I would, dredging up my Higher Italian from school.
Bon voyage and bon courage!
PS – have recently discovered the Pilgrim Routes account on Instagram, and enjoying it very much.
There are always those uncertainties no matter how carefully we plan. I find myself with a touchy tummy on travel days now. I’m so much better spending longer periods at each destination so that I keep my jitters at bay.
Sounds like a busy time, all in all. I hope you finally find yourself comfortably staring out at the mellow countryside as you let your mind wander. Trains seem to be a common problem at present.
Frances,have a woderful and a safe travel-hopefully, all of your holiday problems are ,from now on,solved
It was stressful to read,let alone to solve
Dottoressa
Torino has an aura of travel complication to me because of the two train stations but I hadn’t considered adding the bus…now it’s even worse! You’ll be fine though in the end. These are inconveniences not show-stoppers. (if the show actually stops please forget I said that.) Can’t wait to hear all about your travels, as time and energy permit.
Buon viaggio e stai calma! Andra tutto bene.
Have a wonderful trip! Looking forward to hearing all about it.
Safe and happy travels, Frances! I really know how those cancellations can cause such stress. Last year it was a constant issue when we were travelling and I’d hoped things would have been smoother by now.
I liked your reminder to breathe (because that’s what I kept reminding myself to do)!
Best wishes for the VF. Xx
I am reminded of a trip I took with family members in 2018. A Danube River cruise.
At one point we had to change ships because of drought and the water levels were too low to navigate. after a day on the new vessel once again we had to disembark because of low water . We had to make our journey to Budapest, or final destination by bus, through seemingly endless miles of wind farms. Our little group was lucky, some passengers were not able to get there, were rerouted to Bratislava, never even got to go to Hungary. and then both coming and going there were issues at the airport and we almost did not make our flight home. And yet I have such wonderful memories of that trip in spite of the problems.
Have a great time!
Have a wonderful trip. Hopefully not too many more unexpected travel surprises…..only the good kind- grazie!
Enjoy
Suz from Vancouver
I just hope that from Italy, all the travel issues sort themselves out with minimal fuss!
I sympathize with all the changes. You are not only managing well; you are doing it with panache.
We were going to fly from Venezia to Rome and Rome to Bari. (Ryan air has direct flights, but they cancelled the one we could make about a week before we left Edmonton.) So we had to take a train from Venezia to Bari, Puglia. A long way – crowded too.
When we got back to Venezia – after Bari and Torino – the vaporetti were on strike. The apartment we rented was not far from the train station, but there were several bridges. And I struggled pulling up my carry-on. A sweet Spanish girl rescued me half way up the high bridge. So not as frustrating as your travel issues but irritating none the less. Enjoy the sketching course!