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Published: July 11th 2008
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I was looking forward to my first experience with the Euro rail, which is considered to be one of the finest rail systems in the world. We had made all our reservations online and so with tickets in hand, proceeded to our coupe. Each coupe was like a dorm room with bunk beds. A couple of American girls (students) sat cross legged on the topmost berth and giggled as we entered and asked us if it was our first time too. We said yes and instantly hit it off with them. A couple of French musicians came in next with their instruments. They were going to a contest in Verona and quizzed us all about life in the US. From them, we learnt not to sleep with our heads near the door of the coupe, because thieves broke in and made the travellers unconscious with anesthesia and robbed them. A very valuable lesson indeed!
The train took off and gave us a free tour of the beautiful French countryside. As the sun is out nice and bright until 10:30 pm, we glued our eyes to the windows and watched the beautiful French countryside pass by, with vineyards, chateaus, hamlets and
farms. Each hamlet was charming and filled with tiny little French cottages and a cute little church in the very center that was the tallest building in the hamlet and probably housed the school too. I wondered what it would be like to live in the tiny French hamlets in a quaint country cottage, definitely love to give it a shot!
The Euro rail was indeed a fabulous way to see Europe, with excellent service; and spotlessly clean and comfortable accommodations. It was great that we did not have to pay for hotel. The washrooms had an electric socket and Rajesh was relieved to re-charge our camera battery. We bought mozzarella cheese sandwiches and cookies from the dining car, chatted with our coupe friends and watched free travel channel outside the window. The musicians opened an Apple Mac and watched a French dubbed English movie casting Matthew Perry in it and laughed hilariously at the comedy. I changed my theory that everything about them was French; the Mac and the movie was definitely American! The American girls began to write their travel journal as we continued to enjoy the scenery and eventually fell asleep.
A group of Koreans,
traveling in few coupes next to us, woke up, packed their bags and thought their destination had approached. They were ready to get down at the wrong station until one of them realized that their passport was still with the conductor. They cackled in Korean and created such a racket in the corridor; which complemented with Rajesh’s early morning snores, led to the American girls giggling and me waking up to watch the sunrise. We were in Italy, another picturesque countryside and we were fast approaching the settings for so many of Shakespeare’s plays - Verona, Padua and finally, Venice. A lover of Shakespeare’s literary works, I wanted a glimpse at these historic places as they approached.
Verona is the setting for “Romeo and Juliet’s” love story. “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene”. The city still had an ancient ambience and I felt as though the Montagues and the Capulets were still in residence. Also, there is a 13th century mansion Casa de Giulietta that claims to be the "real" home of Juliet’s family and is a major tourist attraction. The famous balcony in the courtyard is the scene where Juliet
met Romeo secretly. There is also a bronze statue of Juliet. A friend of mine who had visited Verona said that men queued for pictures touching Juliet as tradition says that if you want love in your life, you must grab her. Women went inside the house onto the balcony and posed for pictures, pretending to be Juliet. It all seemed a bit tacky to me. If only Romeo knew of this, he would jump out from his grave with a sword and attack these people! As the train left Verona station, I recalled the Prince of Verona’s parting words, "For never was a story of more woe, Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
The “Taming of the Shrew” is set in Padua and the countryside near Verona. Padua is the oldest city in Northern Italy. The city was picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into a large communal piazza (square), and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione river, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat. I thought of Petruchio courting Katherina, the shrew of Padua and eventually marrying her. Taking her to his countryside ville near Venice, he comically
ill treats Katherina, refusing her food, rest, and new clothes. As they travel back to Padua for a banquet hosted by her father, he torments and contradicts her until she gives in and agrees to whatever he says. Totally taming the shrew, Petruchio proposes a wager on the most obedient of the new wives and wins. A delightful comedy, that Shakespeare probably visualized on a journey similar to mine! I wondered how I could tame Rajesh and then decided Nah! He would be boring if he were tame.
A sing song voice in the morning sang to us “Monsieur, Madame Bonjour!, Monsieur, Madame Bonjour!” and told us in French that we were approaching Venezia. Our musician friends had gotten out at Verona; and the Koreans at Padua. We crossed the Adriatic Sea and I gazed out sighting several boats and cruise ships. The train stopped at Venezia St. Lucia station at 10:00 am. We dumped our luggage in the lockers and freshened up at the train station rest rooms. In Europe, I found it ridiculous that you got to pay to use the restrooms in most public places. The restrooms in train stations are mostly clean and have toilets,
showers and changing areas. We approached the information desk and bought 12 hour transport tickets on the vaporetto (water taxi), and the lady threw in a map of Venice.
Stepping out of the train station, we were surrounded by water. Wherever I turned, there were canals and boats and tourists. We boarded the vaporetto and stood at the railings looking out as we passed the Grand Canal into Venice. The “Merchant of Venice” came to my mind. One of Shakespeare’s very famous plays, casting Shylock the money-lending Jew and Antonio the Christian businessman, who borrows money from the Jew and having lost all his goods in Venice, is forced to pay back with a pound of flesh. In the presence of the Duke of Venice, Portia, wife of Bassanio (Antonio’s friend), disguised as a lawyer argues, “A pound of flesh thou may take, But not a drop of blood thou may spill” and saves Antonio’s life.
It strongly hit me then that I was in Italy, and that too Venice!
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Karen Newton
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A very nice commentary on your eurorail journey!