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Published: December 28th 2005
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Check out the marks
After carrying our packs for so long my shoulders were marked and thats through a jumper and coat.. ps thats my new golddigga shirt (she takes my money.. haha) Well if you remember our last blog entry was written while we waited for the damn train workers to get their asses off strike. If only that was the end of our problems..
After spending the day at the train station in Nice we were informed, after waiting in line for 2 hours (twice) and given a million different answers, that there was infact a train to Florence leaving at 9:00pm that night. We were relieved, as otherwise we would have had to face John Cleese and his hippy commune another night and it was almost too much to bear..
Well since we had all day to wait we spent most of the day writing our last two blogs (which we know you loved), eating McDonalds (hey it was a hangover) and reading Harry Potter (Jak) & The Blind Assasin (yeah wtf lauren? I asked that too). We occasionally took time out from looking like complete retards who had nothing better to do with there life than read books in McDonalds to watch people walk by. I was starstruck when I thought I saw the Dali Lama. I swear it was him but apparently they were just your garden
Laurenzo's bruises
This is from walking through the train and getting bashed. Brutal. variety buddist monks, complete with matching bags/beanies/Eskies in the colour Maroon. Was a funny sight of 8 grown men with shaved heads wearing robes. Wouldn't see that in Rocky. I think they were Broncos supporters though (Maroon and Gold robes a dead giveaway!).
Ok well back to the train debacle. The train finally arrived over an hour late and when it finally came we were so happy to get in (we had to extract ourselves first from being frozen to our seats) that we didnt even realise the train had 2 ends and it split apart further down the line - one to Rome, one to Venice. We were confused. No signage whatsoever. After getting on the train we finally learnt we were on the wrong end and had to get to the other. Not an easy task as the corridors are 30cm wide and with our packs we are double. We came out battered and bruised but at least we were going to be on the right train - or so we thought.
Settling into our compartment (we decided not to go with a couchette - see Blog # 7) we were joined by a red haired
Sleepy head
A bed in a real hotel. No bunks.. Just what we needed after the ordeal and bearded americaaaaaaaaan named Jim (Herein known as Jim Henson - the muppets creator - we have found yet another lookalike!). He was ok at first but he talked to much and pretty much just got annoying. The carriages are weird and they have 3 seats facing each other in 2 rows seperated from the next. A little too cosy.. Specially as the seats fold down to make like one big bed. I made lauren sleep next to Jim Henson. Muwahahahahaha. He was harmless though. OK ok well I am really taking my time telling the story but what can I say? Mum Im finally putting my degree to good use!! Although I have been reading a lot of books over here so maybe they have effected my narration skills. Im working up to the climax and there are unsuspecting twists as well. Ok ok I hear you back to the story (If you are even reading still).
Ok well the first drama arose when we accidently didnt wake up to get off at Pisa. (Well it was in the early hours of the morning and they dont make announcements at the stops) but not to much drama we
Ahhhhhh
I look a mess but at least my teeth are clean.For your benefit ma thought as we could get off at Rome and catch the train to Florence anyway. It would all be ok. We thought. Turns out the train didn't want to stop at Rome. The Pisa-Rome-Naples train didnt want to fucking (sorry mums) stop at Rome. We were in shock and awe. We had already been on the goddam train for 10 hours at this stage and were now getting hijacked to Naples, down the bottom of Italy. Now my geography isn't that good but I knew that we were supposed to be heading the other way. Plus Naples. Even the Lonely Planet has a written warning that in Naples, people, or their things mysteriously go missing. There was no way we were leaving the station when we got there.
Once there we had to go directly and line up for the next train back to Rome. The excitement continues. At least we ditched Jim Henson at the station. I think in him I met someone who whinged more than I did. Yes OMG. So anyway we spent pretty much the rest of the day on a train. I got to sit next to this lookalike of the big black buy from The Green Mile who was apparently sleeping but just kept rolling his head around with his eyes closed and mouth open. It was disgusting and I endured it for 3 1/2 hours. I cringe now typing about it. I must have had some negative karma coming to me. And stop laughing everyone it wasn't funny!!
Well the rest of the trip was pretty smooth sailing and we arrived in Florence at about 8pm, only 2 hours shy of 24 hours we ended up spending on the train. Aside from getting asked for money in new ways, in particular women using their babies and children, asking on the train when you cant run away, we were just happy to be off the train. Finally. Anyway I think this has been the longest blog entry so far but I can just imagine the laughs everyone is getting from it. I will finish with the
Five Things We've Learnt So Far
- Never, ever trust a train driver. Or a train attendant. Or a train ticket seller. THEY ARE ALL EVIL CONSPIRATORS. Got it?
- While look-a-likes seem funny at the time, they're not. Usually crazy (John Cleese), annoying (Jim Henson) or just downright scary (Green Mile GIANT)
- Dont close your eyes on a train. Even for a minute. You never know when the train is going to stop. Or not.
- Never comment or even look in the direction of a cute baby/kid. Chances are there is a begger of a mother lurking behind them waiting for your money. NO joke.
- 22 hours on a train is better than 22 hours on a plane. At least we can say we have experienced both.
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