I wake first and realize it is almost 9am. The train to Florence leaves at 10:15. Panic. Throw on clothes. Zip suitcase. Fly downstairs to pay and grab something to eat. Follow last night's instructions to catch the bus to Milan Centrale train station.
We get off the bus and must literally run to the train. So very glad Carol thought to get tickets last night.
I am so lucky to travel with Carol. She is like Jim when it comes to travel plans and maps.
But I have to lift this huge suitcase up these stairs. Carol runs up the stairs and leaves me in the dust. Oh my gosh, I am going to lose her. I want to collapse. I can't lose her. ( I am sure this is where the fever blister comes in.)
I get to the top step and see her but she quickly disappears. There are so many trains and so many people. There she is! She knows exactly where to go. We run past the cars that say Business Class. More stairs into the train. Can I lift this one more time? A man grabs our suitcases and lifts them and puts them in the luggage bin. He wants a tip. I give him some Euros. "Not enough!" I give him more. Lesson learned. But where was he on the staircase?
Get off the train in Florence. Ahh, back to Plan A without the diversion to Milan. Carol has maps printed out. She has studied them. Her assignment is our transportation in Italyqq. We know the route to the B & B, just not the bus to take. I peek at my charged iPad. Google Maps says Bus 14, and the arrow indicates it is going to the right. I see a Bus 14 going to the right but Carol's map indicates we should catch it across the road and it should be going towards the left. I put my iPad away and cross the road. Lots of people. Sun in our eyes. Electronic sign says Bus 14 in 17 minutes. Many buses come and go. Bus 14 stops and people crowd the disembarking passengers. Big push to get on. Carol waits in line by the driver but I see the line thinning in the middle of the bus and get on there. No room to sit. No room to put my suitcase. Reminds me of a crowded subway in NYC. Carol seems to be talking to the driver inside the door. The doors close. We begin moving and I see Carol on the sidewalk.
Stop the Bus!
GLITCH 3
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