Italy 2016

Traveling

In these days of open access to global communications, traveling is a different experience.
Like most things associated with the internet, having internet access while "out in the world" is a double edged sword.
 As far as making travel arrangements and even taking care of whatever you forget to do at home before leaving, it can't be beat. I remember going to travel agents and watching as they would look at their computers and then explain options. Really, the traveler was out of the loop, and subject to choices offered by the agent. One wasn't really aware of all the options, only those the agent decided would fit you.
The other side of the coin is that you don't get to leave anything behind unless you are that rare breed of human with intense personal discipline. Whether it's family squabbles, neighborhood scandals or national politics, you really can't get away. I understand that often our participation in our regular realities is crucial, but more often than not, it is optional.

Today is our departure day from Padua, or in Italian, Padova.
Padua is a wonderful city in north east Italy, so close to Venice that a canal connects the two. It is an ancient city, even for Italy. It's streets wind and curve from one piazza to the next. Wandering through the city can at any moment bring you into a timeless walkway, too small even for Italian cars.
Before coming to Italy, as far as canals were concerned,Venice was the place that came to mind. Well, Padua is the second Italian city on this trip, the first being Milan. Both, to my surprise have canals. Milan's canals connect the city to the Mediterranean(known as the Ligurian Sea in the north Mediterranean), while Padua's connect it to Venice and the Adriatic. Of course, both cities have abundant fish and seafood dishes on the menu. The canals are the ancient form of transportation for goods between the cities. It's much easier to float heavy loads(think marble) than pull it on poor roads.

Today is our twelfth day in Italy, 6 days spent in each city. We have realized that for many reasons, we need to stay longer in each place we visit. One reason is that as the days of your stay pass, you learn more about the place and realize things you want to experience. Another factor is that travel days are expensive, so the more of them you have, the higher the cost of the trip. The third factor is fatigue. Travel is hard and full of unexpected "adventures". For instance, our trip to Padua from Milan was fairly easy. The cab picked us up on time to easily get to the train station and the train was on time and comfortable. The ride was smooth and the scenery was interesting. What could go wrong, LOL. Well, it seems the trains stop in each station for only two minutes----no problem, right. So, there we were, in the area between the cars with the exit/entry doors. We were ready, suitcases lined up and passport locations verified, just visited the bathroom and ready to exit. Soooooooo, the train comes into the station and we see the sign verifying that indeed we are in Padua. The train slowly comes to rest and we hit the exit button next to the door. NOTHING HAPPENS. No problem, no panic, we hit it again and oh oh, once again NOTHING HAPPENS. Even though we know, as the train pulls out of the station(remember, it only stops for two minutes)that this is not the end of the world, it is still a very stress filled moment. So, I leave Bonnie with the luggage and set out to find the conductor. Now, Bonnie has much better Italian than I do(not hard to do)but my hearing is better than hers. I have to walk the entire length of the train, but I find the conductor and they tell me what to do. It is obvious. We get off at the next stop, go downstairs to another level, crossover to another set of stairs and go back up to the correct platform for the train going in the opposite direction. I should mention that we only had a total of 8 minutes to accomplish this and our luggage is anything but light. Being that our combined age is137, all of this is no easy feat, but we do it. So, here we are on the train again, wary and weary, wondering whether the door will open for us this time or will we be stuck on an endless loop of Italian railway reality. Well, the door does open, we get a cab and soon we arrive at our new Via Roberto Marin home for the next six days.

I am writing this from the train station cafe' while waiting for our train to our new home for the next 10 days in Florence. We should already be enroute but  our original train was cancelled.
Ah Italy---I love you.
Well, here we are, on the train. It was on time and we are smoothly traveling south toward the home of the Renaissance, Firenze(Florence for you gringos, LOL)