After 3 nights in Stresa on Lake Maggiore, it was time for us to journey to Tuscany where we would be staying at a Tuscan farm house near Pienza for a week.
The travel included a train ride from Stresa to Milan, change of trains in Milan and then speed train to Florence, where we would pick up our rental car to drive to Tuscany.
Our first train from Stresa was at 9:40am, but we ended up sitting there on the train in Stresa for over an hour as there was ‘an accident involving a person’ that had to be investigated. We were sad for what happened but also going a little nuts as the man assigned to one of the 4 seats in or little section must not have had a shower in a week. When you are stuck on a hot non-moving train and smelling in really bad body odor, it makes an hour seem endless and I was literally gagging and coughing at one point. It was so odd too because he was a really good looking young man from Geneva who was super polite and brought us water and chocolate that the train station was giving away because of the delay.
Another challenge of the delay was that we would miss our connection in Florence and need to take another train. There are pretty much trains going from Milan to Florence every hour, but unfortunately, the next 3 trains after the one we were missing were already sold out in 2nd Class. I could only trade my ticket for another 2nd Class ticket and the next available train would put us into Florence to late to pick up our rental car. What to do? I end up buying business class tickets for us on a 2:20pm train – the next available train – at a cost of $175! It’s these decisions you make when traveling that can make or break the connections you need to make, so you need to just fork over the money as you can’t always depend on public transportation to be on time. Especially in the summer with the crowds.
As it turns out, when we got to Milan, the conductor said ‘oh no problem, you can go on the next train at 12:20pm even though it is sold out, just go to train car #5.’ That turned out to be a luxurious dining train car with all leather reclining seats and just a few people sitting there. Versus the 2nd class cabins that were packed like cattle. What a break!
Except that…we now had non-refundable $175 train tickets for a train we were never going to need to board! Ugh. We decided to at least try to get a refund when we get to the Florence train station. I wait for 35 minutes in the customer service line at the train station in Florence which felt like a sauna and was packed. Also it is known for pick-pocketing and begging from tourists. Dana stood against a wall and watched several shady things go down, while giving the death stare to anyone approaching her while I waited in the line.
When I got to the front of the line, I explained my ‘situation’ to the customer service rep. He said, ‘this is a shame.’ He went away, came back, went away, came back (I’m melting in the heat while I wait). Then he comes back with paperwork and says ‘We need to fill this out.’ I’m not even sure if I am getting a refund, but it seems I am making progress. I fill out the paperwork, write out what happened. He stamps it and says, ‘Okay, you will get your refund back on your credit card.’ YAY! This must be the trip of refunds.
We then proceed to get a taxi to the rental car place. The lady taxi driver asks us where we will be driving. I say ‘Tuscany.’ She says, ‘You are IN Tuscany, this whole region is Tuscany.’ LOL. I guess it is like someone arriving in Los Angeles and renting a car and saying, I am driving to California. LOL!! Touché.
We get to the Hertz rental car place and our met by the friendliest rental car rep I have ever met at a Hertz counter. She says, ‘We have upgraded you to an Alpha Romero, brand new.’ Wow. Yay.
We then ask about a bathroom for Dana. She says, ‘We do have bathroom, but it is not suitable for the ladies, if you know what I mean. For a suitable bathroom, you must go to a bar.’ I was all, ‘A bar?’ She says, ‘Yes, a bar.’
So Dana heads to the bathroom at the bar while I figure out the car and our directions. She comes back to our car with cold waters and cookies for the 2 hour drive and says the bar bathroom was indeed perfect.
With that we are off on our driving journey to the Tuscan Farm House near Pienza.
