Our Italian Adventure

With the Sorrento sun already basking the cliffs in sunlight, we woke up early hoping the Travel Gods were in a good mood. It was Friday, May 16th. There is no easy way to reach Marina Piccola from Sorrento. With limited bus service and without a local taxi company, walking was our only option. Thankfully, Sorrento has two public elevators taking passengers to Marina Grande. With our suitcases and backpacks, this was much appreciated. At Marina Grande, it was another 10 minutes of maneuvering over boardwalks and construction zones until we reached the Alilauro ferry dock at Marina Piccola. The ferry was fast, smooth, and the seats were comfortable. We made it to the Naples dock by 9am.

Next up on the travel agenda was a short bus ride to the Napoli Centrale train station on the Alibus Airport Shuttle bus which leaves about every 15 minutes from the ferry docks. Yes, these blips about transportation aren’t exciting, but they can completely disrupt travel plans for the entire vacation if your planned transportation means goes awry. The first curveball for us was ITA cancelling Chicago to Rome Tuesday flights. The Italian transportation network is well-known for their monthly employee strikes. There had been an airport and train strike shortly before we had traveled to Italy and the ones occurring in May luckily happened on our non-travel days. None of the localized bus or taxi strikes would affect us on this date, but would affect us soon. There was an Alibus waiting for us, and we arrived at the train station well ahead of our Trenitalia departure to Florence aka Firenze.

Amy, who is Norwegian and Dutch by heritage, was asked by a priest at the train station, whether or not he was at the right train station. With blonde hair, Amy doesn’t look Italian, but was asked several times for directions or advice in a store during our Italian adventures! Our train destination was Siena. However, there are no direct trains to Siena from most locations except from Florence. So, what happened on the first time we had a connecting train to catch? Yep, our train was late leaving Florence by about 20 minutes. This meant our train would arrive in Florence about the same time our regional train from Florence to Siena would be departing. After a three hour ride, we arrived at the Firenze Santa Maria Novella station. Another tip for first time travelers to Italy is to know that many of the larger cities have multiple train stations. Make sure you know which station you’ll be using.

For those travelers utilizing Italian trains, needing to validate tickets is where many public blogs get it wrong. This is primarily because the blogs are outdated. In the past, all tickets had to be validated with a small ticket machine before boarding the train. Today, no digital tickets need this validation. It’s been this way for a few years on the high-speed trains, but in 2024, they even got rid of this requirement for the regional trains if you have a digital ticket. Even with this knowledge, it can be confusing. For our first train in Rome, we kept trying to use the Trenitalia app by scanning our digital tickets on the entry machines leading into the train platforms. Nothing worked and then I saw many others simply walking thru an entrance which didn’t have machines. They do have security at those entrances, and they may confirm that you have digital tickets. This is how you enter the platforms with a digital ticket. The machines are for those who have purchased paper tickets at the kiosks.

Even though we missed our assigned regional train to Siena, they operate every hour, so we cooled our heels at the Florence train station. When they finally got around to announcing which platform our train would be at, we found ourselves shuffling for space amongst many other passengers. Regional trains are a whole different animal than the Frecciarossa trains. Mostly populated by locals, there are no seat assignments on the regional trains. When the trains are packed like this one was, it can get crazy. Plus, unlike the roomy luggage racks on the high-speed trains, storing luggage can be difficult or non-existent on these regional trains. As we headed toward the second from last carriage, I noticed a very large school group of what appeared to be middle school kids apparently returning from a field trip in Florence. I instantly told Amy that we would take the last carriage to avoid these middle school kids who we all know are the strangest and most rambunctious of all kids. As we were about to board, we were suddenly pushed aside by those kids as they tried to barge past us. One of their teachers was kind enough to hold them back until we boarded. Within minutes, about 40 kids and their teachers had filled up this carriage. We had taken up four seats because we had to put our suitcases somewhere. One girl came over and told us that we would have to move so her friends could all sit together, but the conductor and a teacher firmly told her to find other seats. In a car, the trip to Siena would have been about a 25-30 minute drive. Since regional trains stop at many small stations, this train ride would be 1 1/2 hours long. Thankfully, the kids got off about three-quarters of the way to Siena. I kept thanking our lucky stars, that the only other regional train left during our trip would be the Siena to Florence segment.

Finally, we took a taxi to our VRBO which was located in Piazzetta della Selva. The location has everything to do with the pictured rhinoceros. More on that later. The day of transportation stress was nearly over, and we made it to Siena only one hour later than expected. Siena would become our base camp for a couple of guided tours in Tuscany. Since we had arrived in the late afternoon, there was only time for a few activities. We did some walking around the city and were instantly amazed by the beauty and size of their Duomo. Siena is not a large city, but their Duomo signified power. We arrived at the one of the most famous squares in Italy, Piazza del Campo. This beautiful square transforms itself into a horse racing venue twice a year. In early July, and then again in August, the town levels the square with dirt and barricades and the world renown Palio di Siena race is watched by thousands of spectators jammed into the square. This also has to do with the rhinoceros. In Siena, neighborhoods or districts are called Contradas. Each Contrada is served with a headquarters building. This is where neighborhood baptisms, funerals, weddings, and special events take place. Our VRBO was right across the Piazza from the Selva Contrada Headquarters/Church. We did witness a day-long funeral at this HQ on one of our days in Siena. Each Contrada is represented by symbols. It might be a tiger, but our neighborhood’s symbol was the rhinoceros. The concept of Contradas was established in the middle ages in order to supply military companies to defend Siena against their enemies which primarily became Florence. The Contradas take great pride in their hoods and the desire to win the Palio di Siena is intense. We felt proud to be Selvaians for our stay. I rarely buy souvenirs, but we proudly hang our rhinoceros plaque in the house.

On our way back to our VRBO, we picked up some groceries. This was our standard protocol for our destinations. We never ate breakfast out. Our lunches were probably in the range of 75% out and 25% in. With the exceptions of leftover pizza on a couple of occasions, our dinners were always at restaurants. That night, our dinner was delicious pizza and a beer. Tomorrow, we would discover what a hilly city Siena is.