Spring In My Step: Step III

Thursday, 4 May 2017

There were many sounds during the night from the Piazza del Campo and other street noises: vehicles and people walking and talking and laughing. Being so close to Piazza del Campo, this was something I expected. I didn’t sleep all that well but it was OK. Either I stay in the centre and put up with the noise or stay outside the centre and end up walking to the centre and bus stations.

Palazzo Pubblico

Torre del Mangia

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia

I went for a brief walk this morning around Piazza del Campo before returning to the apartment for breakfast. Eduard had told me there would be new guests checking in today, early check-in too, and that it would be better if I didn’t leave my bags behind and collect them later as he didn’t want to be responsible if the new guests removed or did anything to them. Also, he needed the keys back so that he could hand them over to the new guests. What this meant is I had to bring all my bags along with me to San Gimignano and back.

I left at 08:05 and headed for via Tozzi. The bus to San Gimignano was already there and I had to bring my bag on board the bus (no storage compartment below the bus). We soon left Siena and took country roads heading deep into the Tuscan countryside. Spring was definitely in the air. The bus stopped at a few towns along the way and picked up quite a few Japanese passengers at Poggibonsi. It took about 75 minutes to reach San Gimignano from Siena.

Now San Gimignano is a walled medieval hill town and I was initially worried if it would be anywhere as hilly as San Marino. There were cobbled streets and yes, there were steep hills too but there are alternative streets you can take. The main artery through the historic centre was not exactly flat but still manageable. The bus stops at Piazzale Montemaggio outside the town walls and you enter and walk along a street lined with shops selling leather products, souvenirs and even truffles. Thursday is market day at Piazza del Duomo, one of the squares in town. I asked some of the traders at the market where the tourist information centre was but when I got there, found it to be closed. Having managed to conserve 14 towers of varying heights (don’t think I saw all of the towers), the town is also known as the Town of Fine Towers. The town is small and you can easily cover it in two hours.

San Gimignano

I took the 11:45 bus back to Siena and arrived via Tozzi about an hour later. I had planned to take a later bus to Pienza and thought if I could find a kebab place near Porta Ovile bus stop (where the bus to Pienza departs from), then maybe I could have a kebab and perform prayers there like I did in Bologna. So from via Tozzi I walked down via Vallerozzi to Porta Ovile. Boy, was I glad I was walking down that steep road and not up! I reached Porta Ovile in less than ten minutes and at first glance couldn’t see any cafés or kebab restaurants around. I looked up and saw the bus to Pienza approaching and made a quick decision to just board the bus. At least it would provide me shelter from the sun. So I got on, hoping there’d be a kebab place in Pienza. I had bought the bus ticket earlier. Oh, one more thing, there are only a few bus 112 services to Pienza from Siena and all start in the afternoon. If you go at 13:12 as I did, you will arrive in Pienza at 14:25 while the bus back to Siena is at 14:41. Obviously, this is too short a time to spend in Pienza so if you’re planning to return to Siena, you need to change buses somewhere.

Pienza is a much smaller town than San Gimignano. There’s a terrace that overlooks Val d’Orcia which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in itself. I walked to the terrace (stumbled upon it by accident) and spent a while admiring and enjoying the view before taking the long route back to town. I walked leisurely through the town area and even then was done before long. I tried finding a halal eatery but couldn’t sight any. After a while, I went out and sat in Piazza Dante Alighieri. I had planned to take the 17:56 bus to Monteroni and from there take the train to Pisa Centrale and I had about a couple of hours to kill.

Looking out to Val d’Orcia

Pienza

The time finally came to say goodbye to Pienza and I reached Monteroni at 18:45. There was another bus behind ours and a lady was gesturing for me to get on the bus, indicating the bus was bound for Siena. Well, I had planned to take the train to Pisa Centrale and I would need to change trains at Siena but I was didn’t know where this bus would stop in Siena. If the bus passed the train station, it would be fine but if it went all the way to Porta Ovile, I would have to walk to the station and I wasn’t keen on that as I wasn’t sure of the terrain (Siena is pretty hilly). So I thought quickly and decided to stick to my plan of just riding the train. I asked directions to the train station and headed there.

Well, I found the miniscule train station alright but it was closed. No one was there at the station or any one of the two platforms and there was no sign of life. I decided I wouldn’t start to panic just yet and went back up to via IV Novembre. Sighting a pharmacy, I went in to ask. Alhamdulillah, one of the girls there could understand a bit of English and after discussing with her colleagues and a pharmacist in store, she advised me to go to a tobacconist further up via IV Novembre. I hurried on (it was a good thing I had a screenshot of the train schedule and knew how much time I had left before the train arrived) and finally found the tobacconist. I told the lady at the counter I wanted to buy a single ticket to Pisa Centrale and showed her my screenshot so that I could travel at the chosen time of 19:36. That done, I paid €11.50, thanked her and hurried back to the station.

The timetable showed that trains to Siena would depart at platform 2 so I hauled my bags down the stairs across to platform 2. Not long before the train was due, I heard an announcement which mentioned binario uno and due. I looked across to platform 1 and saw the screen lighted with the word Siena on it so I hurried back down the stairs with my bags to platform 1. The train was approaching when I got to platform 1 and saw to my dismay that the train continued on to platform 2 so I ran down the stairs again with my bags and rushed to platform 2. Seriously fmfl.

I didn’t know if the train was waiting for me but I somehow made it huffing and puffing and panting. I put my bags down at the first vacant seat I found and rushed to use the bathroom. The train was a regional one with only a few carriages and the bathroom is like the one in KLIA Express. I performed ablutions and performed prayers in the train.

We reached Siena at 19:53. I had to take the 20:18 train to Empoli and change trains again at Empoli for the 21:32 train to Pisa Centrale. As I had more than 20 minutes, I decided to go to the washroom at the shopping mall to freshen up. All that running and huffing!

The train for Empoli left Siena just as dusk was settling so I performed prayers on the train again after a few minutes. At the few stations it stopped at, I noticed the ground was wet – it had rained and stopped in some parts of Tuscany. I did see some dark clouds in the distance while in Pienza earlier. I decided that if it was still raining when we reached Pisa Centrale, I would wait a bit or take the PeopleMover to Pisa Airport.

We arrived at Pisa Centrale at 22:08 and I walked the 1 km to Pisa Airport as the rain had stopped. I sat down and decided to try taking a nap after checking the social media, knowing full well that we’d be asked to vacate the terminal building shortly anyway. It had been such a long tiring day of travelling.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step II

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

I woke up early today and left after performing prayers and a light breakfast. I walked quickly to the bus station at 18 Stycznia for my 07:03 bus to Modlin Airport. I arrived at 06:50 and stood there waiting. 07:00 came and went. Then 07: 03. 07:05. 07:07 and still no sign of the bus. I was starting to panic and thought of my options. I had run out of Zlotny and my other option was to hike it to the train station and take the train to Warsaw Central and take a bus to Modlin Airport from Plac Defilad. I was starting to really panic when the bus finally arrived after 07:10. Alhamdulillah! The bus was quite empty but picked up passengers in other towns. Despite the late start, we arrived Modlin Airport at 09:56 (ETA 10:15). I sat down and repacked my toiletries. My larger ziplock bag tore at KL Sentral just before I boarded the bus to KLIA and I filled up my smaller ziplock bag and then placed it in the larger ziplock bag (I usually bring a lot of toiletries and would need about three ziplock bags but alas, each passenger is only allowed one bag). After a light meal and repacking, I went in and Alhamdulillah, cleared security check.

We boarded the plane and as luck would have it, my seat was at the very last row (row 33). I saw that there was a row of three vacant seats at row 32 so I moved up after the door had closed so I could stretch out and also perform prayers.

We landed at Bologna Airport at 14:40 but it took a while before the doors were opened. At the terminal building, I bought an Aerobus ticket for €6 to the train station (I had earlier bought an ordinary bus ticket for €1.30 as I had planned to walk to Birra; unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any pedestrian lane and no one I asked could point me in the right direction so I had to return to the airport and buy the Aerobus ticket). The journey took about 25 minutes.

I went into the station briefly before heading out. Spotting a hotel across the road, I headed for it to ask for directions and a city map. Ever since my bad experience in Madrid years ago, I had found that hotels are the best place to head for to ask for directions or at least get someone who can speak English. I was not disappointed; the kind lady at the reception handed me a map and some general directions and I set off. I walked down the seemingly endless city arcades until I reached Le Due Torri (Two Towers), i.e., Towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda, which are the main symbols of Bologna before walking back towards the train station. I also managed, with the help of another lady at another hotel, to locate the canal of Bologna.

Back at the station, I queued at the ticket office to buy a ticket to Rimini. The chap who attended to me was a jolly friendly man and he told me to take the 17:35 train as it would take me less time and cost me less. I reached Rimini just as it was beginning to get dark and went to find Hotel Alibi (I had booked and paid to stay at another hotel but due to their system error, the other hotel was unable to accommodate me and arranged for me to stay at their another hotel in their group). Unfortunately, there is no underpass at the train station which meant I had to walk the long way to cross the train tracks to get to my hotel which is on the other side of the tracks. I finally found my hotel (got a bit confused with the directions) after 30 minutes. I checked in and went to my room and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

After prayers and showering, I went for a brief early morning walk to the beach. It was an overcast morning and as I walked, it started to drizzle. I walked up to the beach which at that hour was deserted except for a lone jogger. I returned to the hotel shortly after and gathered my things before checking out. Turned out I had to pay €1.50 city tax for every night of stay. The bloke at the reception told me I had to pay this tax at all hotels in Italy.

I left and began the trek back to the train station. It took ten minutes brisk walk to reach the station and I bought ticket for the 11:47 train to Bologna for €9.85 (I could have bought a ticket to Siena – with a train change at Bologna - but this would cost me either €52.10 or €57.10 depending on time of travel. I found it more economical to break the trip: Rimini-Bologna ticket for €9.85 and Bologna-Siena ticket for €36.10. Total cost would be €45.95 compared to €52.10/€57.10! When I first started my research, the total cost was €31.10 from Rimini to Siena *cries*). It would leave me a short time to visit San Marino and although I could have taken a later train, I wanted to reach Siena earlier. Then I walked to the bus stop for the bus to San Marino which is outside Albergo Moderno, a 3-star hotel. The bus arrived at 07:55 and after storing my bag in the bag hold beneath the bus, I went up and paid for my ticket. I didn’t manage to buy a return ticket from the driver (I later found out that I could do that at the Tourist Information Centre. A return ticket costs €9 while a single ticket costs €5) and settled in for the ride. We reached San Marino bus station at 09:10.

 This is what I meant. If I had bought a train ticket from Rimini to Siena, it would cost me either €52.10 to €57.10 depending on time of travel. Ticket price had increased since I first did my research!

I decided to check the Rimini-Bologna and Bologna-Siena ticket prices and they turned out better. I only had to queue at Bologna station to buy the ticket to Siena but still, it gave me some saving

From the coach station, there’s a lift going up – the Old Town of San Marino is very hilly and I had to struggle walking uphill with my bag (no left luggage that I could spot). The republic is made of a few towns with the capital (also called San Marino, like Singapore) high on a mountain top. The day started to clear when I was there and I could see the Adriatic Sea far in the horizon. It was fun walking the narrow winding streets although I could do without the cobbled parts and the steep climb especially when I had to haul my bag behind me! You can appreciate why San Marino has one of the highest life expectancies in the world when people there walk up- and downhill every day and observe a healthy diet.

 Palazzo Pubblico and Piazza della Libertà

Looking down at the town below and the Adriatic Sea in the distance

After a whirlwind tour of the historic centre, I returned to the coach station for the 10:30 bus back to Rimini.

From Rimini, I rode the train to Bologna and queued to buy ticket to Siena. As I had time to kill, I went for a walk around the train station. I found a kebab restaurant and asked if they have a prayer room. Yes, they do have it at the basement and yes, I could use it to perform prayers so I hauled my bag down to the basement. After prayers, I returned to the station and had to go to platform 18 which was a few levels below ground. I was glad I decided to return early to the station as it was quite a bit of a walk to get to the platform. The train was a very comfortable one and we travelled mainly in tunnels under the Apennines for it was dark outside most of the time except when we neared Florence. I had ten minutes to change trains at Firenze Santa Maria Novella and of course the train would have to stop just before the station. We finally pulled into the station and I practically jumped off and ran to the boards to see which platform the train to Siena would depart from. I made it to the train with about 4 minutes to spare...

We pulled into Siena on time and I followed the directions to exit via the shopping mall. A series of escalators connect the train station to the old city; I think the escalators took me up about 4 or 5 storeys and I was so grateful for this because no way could I climb up any hill that high with my bag without help. From the station, I walked to the Airbnb which I had booked – accommodation in Siena is frightfully expensive. The nearer to centre, the more expensive of course but I wanted to stay as close to the centre as possible as I planned to visit San Gimignano and Pienza the next day and the buses depart from different stations in the town centre.

It took me more than thirty minutes to get to my Airbnb at via Cecco Angioleri, mainly because I stopped every now and then either to take photos of the buildings or to consult the map. I enjoyed the map and no one bothered me, no one looked at me strangely and at no time at all did I feel any hostility or being treated like a stranger. I did ask a few locals to determine I was indeed going in the right direction. This is yet another thing why I love Italy and the locals: it’s a beuatiful country and the locals are unfazed at strangers.

I didn’t realise I had to turn off at Piazza Tolomei and went on and when I discovered I had missed my turn-off, I retraced my steps back to the piazza. I finally reached the building and buzzed my host. The apartment is right on top of the building and I huffed and puffed up the stairs with my bags. I got acquainted with Eduard (my host), received some tips, placed my bags in the room and had a quick online connection before leaving to explore the historic centre. Good thing I had performed prayers in Bologna eh. I heard some drum noise while in the apartment and when I looked out the kitchen window, I saw people practising drums for the annual Palio di Siena at the little square below.

The heart of Siena, the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, is literally a couple of minutes’ walk from the Airbnb apartment with the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia forming one side of the piazza. Before heading there however, I went to check the bus station at via Tozzi for the bus to San Gimignano the following morning. I walked around the area before asking at a hotel about the buses and was told I could buy the ticket at the ticket office below the street level. So I returned to via Tozzi and searched for stairs to go down. I then bought a return ticket for the bus the next morning and a good thing too for I found from the timetable given to me that the first bus for San Gimignano would leave at 08:20 and not as indicated in the timetable. I then walked along the streets of Siena before heading for Piazza del Campo. I then had a quick visit to the Duomo, a mixed Gothic and Romanesque building, before returning to Piazza del Campo. Dusk was settling then.

After a while, I walked to Pizzeria San Martino at via del Porrione and bought a slice of pizza margherita for dinner. Eduard recommended this pizzeria. It was good but I think the pizza at Pizzeria Spontini in Milan was wayyy better. I then explored some alleys before taking a circuitous route back to the apartment. There was some noise again and when I looked down the kitchen window, I saw some people enacting a play in the square below. This at almost 11 in the evening!!! The Sienese are indeed fiercely proud of their culture and history and take them very seriously.

To be continued