Transport

This was the highlight of my day: my train from Taormina to Villa San Giovanni (on the mainland) going onto the ferry across the Messina Strait. You might conclude that the rest of my day was very boring indeed, which it was, but I deliberately booked a train that would go onto the ferry and have been looking forward to experiencing how it works. Answer: incredibly smoothly, even though my train had been 50 minutes late for its whole journey so you might expect that it had missed its ferry slot. 

The train I was on from the south of Sicily pulled onto the port side of the ferry and I wondered how it would be balanced. So neat. The train from the north of Sicily pulled onto the starboard side. The two of them would be coupled up on the other side to continue to Rome. I was absurdly excited to watch the whole process and to be allowed on deck and I messaged my children just to check that I am not seriously abnormal. Firstborn replied, "So cooooollll!" with an astonished emoji and Secondborn replied, "WHAT", "INCREDIBLE". So I am normal (yes, I do realise they were raised by me).

I switched trains at Villa San Giovanni for a very tedious 9 hour, 45 minute journey to Milan. Far too long to be in one place, even though the novelty of it on the way south two weeks ago had distracted me. 

The train got held up outside Milan and I began to think I would miss the strict 10pm deadline for checking into my hostel (30€ supplement for being late) but I messaged then phoned them and was reassured. I had to send a photo of my passport (every visitor in Italy has to be checked in with the police at every stop) and when I arrived at the office and hoped I had a bottom bunk, kind Javier said he'd changed my booking from top to bottom once he'd seen the date of birth on my passport!  And he kept calling me 'Lady' which, though I realise it's just a translation of Signora', somehow felt very sweet. I did tell him I was happy for him to use my first name, but I was 'Lady' for 15 minutes.