Diary of the Train Ride from Hell (Pisa to Rome Style)

These people realy should not be smiling after that train ride

2:28 AM – We board the train, every car is completely full, and there is an utterly foul smell in the car we have entered.  I begin to understand that we might be in for a long ride

2:31 AM – Beau states he’s not staying on the train, too late buddy it’s already beginning to pull out of the station.  We move onto the next full car looking for a place to rest our weary heads. 

2:35 AM – We take up positions in our car, Gary, Elly, and I, sit on the little pull out side chairs in the hall, while Matt sits on the floor and uses his backpack as a sort of pillow.  The window where we are seated in the hallway is jammed open allowing cold air to flow over us.  There is a tarp-like window cover that flaps loudly; I occasionally put my hand over it to try to keep the noise down.  As I sit there, the packed train reminds me of my grandparents stories of their train rides when escaping Moscow during WWII.

2:40 AM – A strange looking bald man makes his way to the back of the train car to either use the bathroom or smoke a cigarette, he is the first of many, but is the most distinctive due to the fact he keeps staring at our group

3:00 AM – Elly and Gary give up on their chairs and are lying on the floor of the hall, as has Matt.  I jealously watch them as I continue to fidget around trying to find a comfortable seating position.

3:17 AM – Creepy Bald Guy (CBG) makes another trip to the back, I am fearful of his intentions at he continues to check us out.

3:34 AM – The train makes a stop.  Matt gets up to check on the rest of our group in the other car, while Gary and Elly go to the restroom in the back of the train.  A woman enters our car and notices there is an open seat in the seating room in front of me.  She asks me in Italian if the seat is vacant, I grunt in Spanish “No sé”, while shrugging my shoulders.  She opens the door and an awful odor emanates from the room as she enters.  I shut the door closed behind her before I pass out from the smell. 

3:39 AM – Matt returns and reports all is mostly well in the other car, and apparently Kristen is using her roller bag as a bed.  We reposition so that I may now lie down on the floor as well; however the lopsided shape of my backpack, due to packing, does not make for a comfortable pillow.  The cold air from the window above me and the flapping noises from the tarp do not help me sleep.

3:50 AM – CBG makes what has to be his third or fourth trip to the back of the car I suspect he may be thinking of robbing us, shanking us, or worse…

3:57 AM – Success! I find a comfortable sleeping position on my side, I sleep on my right side as to keep anyone from being able to reach into my pocket and steal my wallet.  I finally fall asleep.

4:53 AM – The train comes to a screeching halt which rouses me from my slumber and causes me to immediately jump up and ask “Are we in Rome yet?”  Matt simply replies, “No”.  I see we have been joined in our car by Kevin and Chris.  Elly and Gary are missing, but Matt tells me they found a couple of seats in one of the seating rooms.  Lucky them… I think.  Eventually I lie down again while people boarding the train walk by me.  In my groggy state I think one of them is staring at my ass. 

5:53 AM – I wake up again, this time for good.  We are close to entering Rome.  Elly and Gary have come back out into the hall; apparently their attempts to sleep were met with little success.  Elly announces that while she thinks this was an awful train ride, she is glad for the experience.  I heartily agree with her, after all this is the stuff great stories are made of.  I snap a photo of the group to commemorate the experience.  

6:15 AM – The train arrives in Rome and we quickly jump off.  It’s freezing outside and most of us are in shorts. We hurriedly make our way to our hostel, which is only a few blocks from the train station.

6:25 AM – We make it to our hostel only to find out that they won’t let us check in until 1 PM.  Someone get me an intravenous caffeine drip, this thing is going into overtime.