The weather in Bellagio has changed. Yesterday it was sunny and warm, but this morning it’s chilly and drizzling. Oh well. We’ll be inside a boat, train, or a bus most of the day. We’ve just set out on a day-trip to Milan.
Ieri (Yesterday)
After having lunch in Varenna yesterday, we returned to Bellagio and took it easy the rest of the day. We needed to rest up. This is a vacation, not a marathon, but we’re not in this neck of the woods very often, so we’d like to make the most of it.
We used our time yesterday to get organized… Train tickets? Check. Receipt for tour tickets? Check. Museum tickets? Check. Reserving tickets in advance locks us in, so it cramps our style a bit, but at least we know we have places reserved. For some attractions, like Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” you have to buy tickets weeks or months in advance.
I purchased train tickets on the internet, I think, before we left home. I say, “I think,” because I’m not sure I did everything right. Trenitalia’s website is in Italian. (Trenitalia is the Italian train operator). It can get kind of tricky.
But I did receive tickets. They had the right date on them, so I was pretty sure we were OK. The train for Milan would leave Varenna at 9:30 AM. We wanted to get to Varenna by 9:00 AM to be safe.
Ieri Notte
Last night we had another good dinner in Bellagio. The evening’s entertainment was a Jack Russell Terrier that belonged to the people at a nearby table. Jack Russells are known for being rambunctious, but this little guy had excellent under-the-table manners. He didn’t beg, and every once in awhile his daddy would hand down something for him to nibble on. We both agreed that he was quite the little gentleman.
It’s nice that dogs are allowed into restaurants over here. They’re almost always well-mannered. Maybe because the other ones don’t get to go inside. They sit under the table, stay out of the way, and wait patiently for their owners to have their meal, which can take quite awhile. That’d be a pretty tall order for most of the dogs I know.
Oggi (Today)
This morning we got up early, had breakfast, bundled up, and headed out. We boarded the battello as planned, which took us to Varenna. Then, just as we had done on our scouting trip, we hiked up the hill to the train station.
The train station at Varenna is a single building standing near the tracks. Quite a few people were standing outside on the platform, waiting for the next train to arrive. There are only two ways you can go – towards Milan or away from Milan. When we were there, everyone was standing on the “towards Milan” side of the tracks.
When taking the train in Italy, the law requires that you stamp your ticket in a machine to validate it before boarding. The machine stamps the date and time on the ticket.
Find the Ticket Stamper
Ticket-stamping machines used to be yellow boxes that looked more or less the same no matter what country you’re in. That was helpful. As for where they might be located, that was anyone’s guess.
Sometimes they’d be inside the station near the ticket window. Or one might be mounted on a column out near the tracks. Most of the time, ticket stampers seemed to be on the opposite side of the column I’m standing by when I’m looking for one.
Now that I think I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting the little yellow boxes, they’ve changed the colors, at least in some train stations in Italy. The new ones are sleek, modern looking, and not yellow.
When you’re on the train, a conductor comes around and verifies that you have a ticket and also that you’ve stamped the ticket. If you don’t stamp your ticket, theoretically, ( and with a bit of doctoring), you could use it multiple times.
On short trips, the conductor might not make it to the car you’re riding in. Sometimes you see ‘em, sometimes you don’t. If you had a way of knowing in advance, you could ride for free. Most of the time, though, they show up.
Either Milan or the Italian Pokie
We checked the electronic arrival/departure board to see if our train was on time. It was due in thirty minutes. The next incoming train was due to arrive in just five minutes. Not only that, it was going to Milan directly, meaning that these fortunate souls wouldn’t have to change trains in Lecco like we were supposed to.
Our train wouldn’t be here for another thirty minutes. If we jumped on this one with these other people, we’d probably save an hour of travel time, and a lot of hassle, too. Hmmm…
So how does it work? If you have a ticket to Milan and there’s room on another train to Milan, does it matter which train you get on? We asked a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing. (His english was pretty good).
He told us that if we got caught, he didn’t think they’d throw us in the Italian pokey for getting on the wrong train. The train arrived. We climbed aboard. It’d be either Milan or the Italian Pokey for us!
To be continued…
Just for fun…
ieri – yesterday
oggi – today
domani – tomorrow
