Day # 4 - Traveling to Lake ComoSep 20, 2011
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| Made it to the bus stop by 8:30 am & got caught in morning rush hour. The bus was jam-packed & people were less than happy. Bought my ticket to Como & was on my way!!! Not bad for speaking almost no French & dealing with people who spoke very little English. * The trip down the French Coast was lovely. Next time I have to stay in the town called Menton. It’s peaceful & cozy, with little beachfront coves along the Mediterranean. Hit the Italian town called Ventimiglia where I had to switch trains. The ladies bathroom was straight out of the early 1930’s, no toilet seat & you had to pull a string on the wall to release the water to flush the toilet. * Hopped on the train through the Italian Riviera- the views were gorgeous!!!! Once the train hit Genoa- the gorgeous views disappeared. It was basically boring, industrial countryside. * Made it to Como. Logic & the Italian way of doing things does not always go hand in hand. There was no bus route map or even a map of Como in the station. The bathroom however, was fabulous!!!! The stalls were 6x8 ft. with hooks for bags & shelves for luggage in each of the stalls. * I came across Paola- a young lady who kindly helped me to get a bus ticket and walked me to the proper bus stop for getting to my hotel – even though it was in the opposite direction of where she was heading. * The bus did not arrive as it stated on the bus schedule. That’s when I met Simon, a young man who kept me entertained while I waited for my bus to show up. 40 minutes late (it was on Italian time) the bus arrived. Recited the Italian Simon taught me & got the bus driver to help me get to my hotel. * The hotel- from the outside was less than impressive. I checked in, un-packed and brutally murdered the daddy long legs spider walking across my room. Met my tour group for dinner at 7:45 pm & discovered that 90% of the group was 65+ years old. I was one of 3 people under 40. * Dinner was late- even for Italian time. * Found out that Cosmos had bastardized my tour group’s itinerary causing the original tour guide to quit and a new one to be brought in at the last minute. They put us in a less than ideal hotel, miles away from town with no view of the lake. |
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