Well, on Friday the transport gods were with me! Since the email of the previous day which announced the strike, I did not know how far I would get once on the train to Strausbourg. Marcel had pointed out that I really did not have much time to connect-21 minutes at the most under even “normal” circumstances. But I made the connection from Strausbourg to Basel, Switzerland, with enough time to buy a delicious pumpkin seed “bretzel”. The train actually pulled out for Milano a minute early, and I watched a most distressed woman talk (calmly) with the train employee on the platform about her missing the train. (Yes, I could relate!)
We were late arriving at Milan, but that did not matter to my schedule. All I needed to do there was buy a ticket to get to Alessandria to meet Gloria. Oh, easier said than done!! Huge crowds and long lines blocked the information/ticket booths. I spotted some machines to buy tickets, so I thought, that should be easy enough to figure out! Plus there a guy nearby who helped me at least to know that the machine would not take credit cards. (I could have figured that out!) When I had my ticket in hand, he asked for some change or at least a euro (today equal to $1.33) for a coffee for his "help"! “Come on,” I said, “I thought you were just being a nice guy!” THEN I remembered the women at the train station at the Rome airport last summer who helped hoist people’s bags onto the train with the expectation of a tip.
Now where would this train leave from? There was no one in sight to ask, so I asked fellow travelers with no luck. (One man tried to send me towards Torino, but also said I had the “simple” ticket, which was only good on some lines. Had I followed his help, I would have been going in the wrong direction.) Finally I spotted the board which listed the stops, as Alessandria was not showing up on the board. So I found the Asti line which left from Platform 23. I knew this was not right place for my “simple” (I beg your pardon!?”) ticket, but I did not care at this point. It was nearing 6:30, when the train was going to leave. I was really tired by now, and charged ahead to the train. Once on board, several people said stay on; I knew that I would be really delayed trying to find the correct platform. I was supposed to meet Gloria at 8, which was when this train was due to arrive. The train pulled out of the station, and I waited for train conductor to come check tickets….There was a spectacular sunset to watch-I took THAT as a sign, as I also envisioned him screeching at me and making me a “Grey Panther” Amanda Knox! (ALL I could have said was no parlo italiano!) He came; he punched my simple ticket; he proceeded on without a word. WHEW!
An accident delayed Gloria in Milan at the EXPO, so her lovely daughter Valentina and her boyfriend Antonio picked me up at the station and took me to Gloria's flat, where I was so happy to have the end of a long "travel day"!
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