A Floating Train

An early start for a transit day from Rome, by train to Sicily, and then a ferry from Milazzo to Lipari. The train ride was stunning. From Naples we mostly had views of mountains on one side and of the sea on the other. It was train travel at its romantic best. It got even better when we reached the terminal to cross the stretch of water to Messina. I couldn't believe it when I saw a whole train getting disgorged from the ferry, soon to be replaced by our own. It seems like an extraordinary thing to do.

It took a few attempts, but slowly we were shunted on to the ship, at which point we left our seats to enjoy the trip in the open air. At Messina, we went down to return to the train, which was quickly shunted off, soon to be travelling at speed … in what we soon realised was the wrong direction. We learned later that the train split in two at Messina and we sat back down in the wrong half. There were no signs or announcements. We got off at the first stop we could (a long way down the line as it was a fast service), only to find the next one back was a very slow stopping service, which took three times as long to return as it had taken going in the wrong direction, ironically with lots of information screens! It meant that we missed the ferry we were booked on but at least gave us a good story to tell.

Post marathon, my elbow is patched up with lots of sticking plaster, although I did leak blood over the sheets at the hotel. My right knee (the one with serious history, having been broken and patched up with metal and screws) has swollen and meant I was hobbling a bit today. Going down steps was difficult. The legs themselves actually felt fine. Once the swelling subsides, I'm confident I'm going to be good to go.