Today was a long day, a five-train day. The view out the train window was pitch black when we boarded the 6:09 from Arles to Marseille, a beautiful sunrise on the 8:10 TGV to Lyon, sunny skies on the 10:38 to Geneve, the setting sun on the 13:39 to Milano, and then pitch black again on the 17:34 to Como.
All trains were on time except the last, which was 20' late. This last one was also standing room only (in first class), and lacked stop announcements. It was a short ride, though. The 2nd class Trenitalia from Geneve to Milano, the longest and most scenic stretch—mountains, vineyards, and pretty Swiss towns—felt like a budget airline, cramped and crowded with little legroom or luggage space.
It was an exhausting day and that's leaving out the embarrassing discovery that I'd bought train tickets for the wrong date. And then there was the tale of how shortly on arrival in Como we lost our apartment keys which lead us to banging on the windows of the closed Carrefour market where we knew we'd left them. It was a long day and by the time we were settled into our apartment (yes we got our keys) we were ready for a glass of wine. Or two.
