I’m having one of the best vacations I’ve had in ages, which is funny because when this trip started last week, I thought it would be the worst. On the night train from Dijon to Rome, one of the other women in my compartment stole all the cash from my purse while I was sleeping. So much for women's solidarity. Then when I got to filthy, noisy, overcrowded, polluted and touristy Rome, it rained for almost 3 solid days. And, I was burning up with fever and suffering from what felt like the stomach flu, except nothing was coming out. Neat. Not.
The tribulations continued from Rome to Puglia. After the rotten first three days, I thought I deserved a first-class ticket for the train down to see Amory & Jim. So, I splurged, thinking I would have a 4-hour ride in the comfort of a modern, well-equipped train. This was true for almost the entire first hour of the journey. Then, the conductor came by and explained that we would all have to get off the train and onto a bus, because the tracks were washed out. (!!!???) The bus would take us to Foggia, where we would get back on another train. Of course, there’s no distinction between first and second class on a bus, and it was impossible to sleep with all the Italians jabbering away on their cell phones, not to mention the unbelievably overwhelming and unpleasant odour of stale cigarette smoke emanating from the couple sitting right in front of me that made it seem as though I had just licked several ashtrays myself. Then the second train seemed to be from about 50 years ago, so not exactly cushy travelling comfort, even in “1st class”. I am preparing another photo essay entitled “Italy: first or third world?” but that’s for another blog entry…
Luckily, things improved vastly as soon as Jim & Amory came to pick me up, right on time as usual (but the train was over an hour late!).
The weather has been nearly perfect, the food fantastic, the wine divine and the company splendid. We have spent time biking, chatting, eating and drinking. Amory has made several delicious meals at home, we were invited to a charming birthday party one evening, we ordered in pizza another time, and we had a fabulous evening out where somehow I managed to finish off everyone else’s pasta except Jim’s. I have overindulged in various kinds of cornetti filled with either vanilla cream or chocolate cream. Although I could almost fit into my skinny jeans before leaving Cormatin, I think that several weeks of major hiking will be required now before a true fit becomes a reality. La dolce vita !
