Monday 3 November 2014

Train strikes and early departures...

So when we left Venice to head to Florence, we discovered when we got to the train station - it wasn't as easy as hopping onto the next train out.  Why??? you might be asking yourself - well because the next two trains to Florence were actually full booked.  That's why!!  And so realistically one should give yourself a full day to travel if you haven't booked in advance... which on this trip proved wasn't the safest or surest bet either.  So after seeing the incredible Academia we decided we wouldn't make the same mistake about leaving Florence and heading to Orvieto on Sunday - we would book early and know exactly what time our train would be leaving.  

So after meeting up with Dottie for coffee - we all headed to the train station to book our tickets and I wasn't too keen on the Kiosk machine booked ticket - I wanted to speak to a human... and I'm so glad we did.  When we got to the teller - he told us there was a train strike and there would be no trains to Orvieto on the Sunday (so glad we didn't book our Sunday tickets via the kiosk machine).  The train station was crazy - but we didn't have any idea it had to do with the train strike.

We rushed back to our Monastery to chat to Bill, Dottie, Misty and the others to find out our plan of action.  We confirmed the train strike.  We all headed back to the station to find out if we could book a train to Orvieto on Saturday instead - which we could.  We booked and headed back to pack and checked out and basically rushed out of Florence.  It all happened in a whirl and before I knew it we were back at the train station waiting for the next train out.  The station was manic and stinky hot.


Feeling a little dejected that Florence had eluded me.  So close but hardly close enough.  I didn't even get to walk (my favorite part about visiting these incredible places).  Of course I didn't get to see the Birth of Venus or any of Botticelli's works.  And I wanted to do some shopping for the girls here before I got to Orvieto.

In hindsight.  It's my biggest regret about this trip - that I didn't get that extra day here.  And that I delayed and deliberated on buying things for the girls and I didn't get to go into the Duomo!  That being said - the queues to get in were relentless and I'm not sure we would have had a chance - but there was still Sunday morning.  I guess that is all part of the adventures of traveling that you can only control aspects of things, where others, circumstances are completely out of your control.  But one thing is certain - you have to embrace what comes and move along swiftly with what doesn't.  And you have to trust that everything is exactly as it should be!  Who knows maybe I will get a chance to come back and maybe it will be even better... 

 
But for now I will cling to my precious finds... and let them be enough for now!

Beautiful Orvieto and precious San Lodovico here we come...

No comments:

Post a Comment