These days I seem to be traveling most of the time, but today traveling from London to Rimini in Italy gave me a form of transport I have never traveled before.
Rather than take a taxi from my home to Gatwick Airport, I took a train, or two trains, and knowing how public transport is usually good, but on the odd occasion there is a delay or breakdown, I find it better to take an earlier train or bus than I would normally take just in case.
This meant that I had extra time to watch the world go by in the departures lounge. I would have preferred an extra hours sleep.
As there is no direct flight to Rimini from London, I took a flight to Bologna, (Italy), a beautiful city I have visited before and having some great statues and history. See previous entries.
From Bologna, I had to take a train to Rimini and as I waited on the platform it started raining. So much so for sunny weather.
I had to buy a ticket for this train when I arrived at the station, but was told it was full. But then I was told, I could travel first class, Standing.
How can you have first class standing?
OK, I could get to stand in the first class carriage, with those extra wide and comfortable seats. But I would be standing in my shoes. Are they first class? My socks are quite old now and wearing thin, so not all that comfortable unlike the armchair seats.
Still I was superior to the “ordinary passengers, the other side of the dividing glass door.
Arriving in Rimini with sore feet, it was still raining, and I had to wait for a taxi in the drip, drip, dripping of rain, along with four other people. After a long wait, a taxi arrived and the first person got in that and disappeared, leaving another two in front of me. Shortly later another taxi drove up and the next person got in, and beckoned by the taxi driver so did the second person, the he asked me to get in.
The last time this happened to me was in Cairo, when I got a taxi from the airport to my hotel. Along the way, the driver picked up other passengers, and dropped them off, making a fortune at my expense. He was not happy when I refused to give a tip.
My Rimini driver still charged each of us the standard charge for each of our individual journeys,even though we traveled together.
Once in my compact room, I looked out of my window with a balcony, to see a big thunderstorm forming.
Oh well, perhaps it will not be my chance to see all those bikinis on the beach just across the road.
Oh Poo Poo.
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