Transportation Revelation

I finally, finally, got to experience just how bad Italian transportation can be. And dear god, ladies and gentlemen, it can be horrid.

After we left Siena we headed down to Rome for two nights, after which we traveled down to Naples, Pompeii, and Capri. Getting there was absolutely no problem what so ever, we had a comfortable cabin, there was no one on the train, the boat left on time, all that jazz. Getting back to Rome, however, was a different story.

To begin with, I believe that yesterday set a new record for number of different modes of transportation taken in one day. To get from the top of the mountain down to the dock, we had to take the Funiculare (cable car, and yes, I was humming "Funiculi funicula" the entire time we were on it.) It was crowded, and smelly, and just awful. After, we got onto the boat that ferries back and forth between Naples and Capri, which was just fine. From the dock in Naples we had to take a tram to the train station, from which we took a train to Rome, and then a bus to the hotel. I know. Nuts.

But the most interesting part is the trains. Thusfar, I have had no problems with Italian trains. Maybe one is a little late. Maybe one is a little dirty. But on the whole, fantastic. Yesterday, not so much. The train that we were taking was delayed first five minutes, then 10, then 20, then 25, then 40, then 45. When it finally rolled into the station, it was an hour late. We all clamored on to the cars, shuffling here and there trying to find the appropriate seats. Once settled, we realized there was no A/C on the train. Fun. More waiting in the sweltering heat of Southern Italy. Then, behind me, a small child of about seven starts wailing. And I mean wailing, bawling, tears flowing, whining at the top of her lungs: Noooooooonnaaaaaaaaa *cry cry sniff* Nooooooonnaaaaaaaaaaaaaa *cough gasp wail* non voooooo-ooo-ooooglio partiiiiiire Naaaaapoliii-iii-iiiiiii. I could have killed her. (translation: Graaaaaaaaaaaaaandmaaaaaa I don't want to leave Naples!!") OH MY GOD CHILD. You are going to see your grandmother again. I promise. It's not like you're leaving forever. And after about 20 minutes of this, her younger sister joins in, in a deeper, more obnoxious cry-whine. Another 10 minutes go by, all of us on our last nerves (Mike at this point is laughing at the fact that all I want to do is turn around and whack this kid) when the conductor comes on and says "Oh sorry, the train doesn't work. You'll have to take a different one." Blank stares all around. Shit.

So we book off the train and are trying to figure out what train to take. Track 19, 3 tracks over from ours, is a train to Rome. Salvation. We start scrambling over the tracks, being yelled at and cheered on by security personnel. Finally we climb onto the train, it's a free for all for seats. Once settled, I find, much to my displeasure, that another lady had reserved the seat I was in. So I moved. Only to find at the next stop that I was taking someone else's seat, and that the lady who had displaced me before was a liar and didn't actually have that seat at all. I ended up a car down from where my bag was, passed out in a cabin with Mike and Richard and three Irish people. At last, at 9, we got back to Rome.

Oh Italy. I'll miss you.