The Grand Plan

As you will know from the recent blog from Vicki, the 3 of us went to Italy recently. I was OK with going to Venice but not so keen on going to Rome so I decided to do something a little different whilst Gemma and Vicki were in Rome. It started off as a silly idea but then grew from there in that whilst they were in Rome I could visit a few other countries to add to my list of those visited. Thus the Grand Plan was born.

When it came time for us to leave Venice, I caught a train to Milan and then a connecting train to a little town called Ventimiglia which is about 9kms from the French border. On arriving there I found my hotel for the evening and went for a wander round the town. It was your typical border town in that there were plenty of shops that sold cheap stuff and most of it you wouldn't want. However, I found myself a nice little bar and settled down to my chicken salad and carafe of wine whilst deciding on the plan for the next day.

Having looked at various websites it looked as though I could leave my bag at Ventimiglia train station whilst I ventured across to Monaco. However, I should have checked this out when I arrived the previous day as when I went there the following morning it had closed down!! Not to be deterred I carried my, quite, heavy little bag onto the platform and waited for the train to Monaco. The journey was really good and very scenic as the rail route ran right next to the sea so you got some great views over the bay to Monaco.

On arrival in Monaco I decided that I would go up to the Palace and have a look around the place but I had just missed the morning "session" and the next wasn't until 2pm. Quick change of plans and a wander down to the town and the next thing I know I'm in the casino at Monte Carlo. Great place to look around and the walls and ceiling are spectacular.

Decided against going back to the Palace and instead took a boat trip across the harbour and then found a place to have some lunch whilst spending an hour or so soaking up the sun and people watching.

After a quick look around the town it was back to the station for the return to Ventimiglia and then my onward train to Genoa. Another great journey with amazing views of the coast but as I only had my mobile with me the photos are all on there.

On arriving in Genoa, I had time for a bite to eat and to get some water and a snack for my overnight train to Rome which left at midnight. I was hoping that the train would not be too busy and I would be able to stretch out and get some sleep (I was too tight to pay for a sleeping compartment). Turns out that I should have done as not only was the train packed but someone was in my seat. After about 10 minutes of arguing with this person (it helped that they spoke English) I managed to get settled into my seat and settle down. However the train was really hot so I couldn't get much sleep.

I got to Rome just before 6am on Saturday morning and thought it might be a tad to early to wake the girls up so I got the bus to the Vatican and saw the sun come up just prior to going into the churchy place where the Pope goes. It was quite impressive but I thought the paintings and ceilings in Monte Carlo casino were better.

As it was still early I thought I would go and queue up to visit the Sistine Chapel but when I got there there was already a huge queue so went to find the girls and to get some breakfast. Then it was off to the Colleseum and the Forum. These places weren't too bad but as I had seen them on TV quite a few times they weren't as impressive as I thought they were going to be. This might have had something to do with my lack of sleep and that by know my knee was really starting to ache.

The following morning I was again up before sunrise in order to get the train to Bologna Centrale and a connection onto Rimini. All went smoothly and I managed to check into my hotel for night at about 11.30am which I was grateful for as I didn't want to have to lug my bag around all day again like in Monaco. It was then off to find the bus stop for the bus to San Marino.

After a few minutes waiting at the bus stop a lady turned up on her moped and started to sell tickets for the trip to San Marino. It took about 45 minutes to get there but by the time we arrived my knee was aching a lot and had swollen up so I decided to do something that no self-respecting 40ish year old should do and I took a ride on the Dotto Train (how embarassing!!). However, each of the passengers were given a headset and during the trip were given a good lesson into the history of the country. Apart from it being about 62km squared (I think) I don't remember anything else about what I was told. After the train journey I went up to the main touristy area via the cable car, where from the top of the mountain/hill you got great views of the surrounding area and could see the Adriatic.

Spent a couple of hours looking round before taking the bus back to Rimini where after a look around the town a bar was found that sold cheap (for Italy) beer and had the football on. Couple more hours in here and it was time to head off back to the hotel for some well earned sleep prior to the train the following morning back to Venice, via Bologna, to meet up with the girls for the journey back to Bled.

All in all it was an enjoyable trip and I got to visit the 3 smallest countries in Europe as well as experiencing the "joys" of Italian train travel.

On arriving back into Bled it was time for some washing and a few days rest prior to our next trip to Munich and Oktoberfest!!!!