Hi all, Back at the end of February and the beginning of March, the wife and I made one of those bucket list trips that we have wanted to do for years and everything finally fell into place. We had a limited time and couldn't do everything we wanted but with all the advance planning my wife did, we fit a huge amount into a short time. It was a blast and the best part is we rode a lot trains, a tram, and some metros. I will throw in a scenic highlight here and there for days we didn't ride the rails but mainly stick to the trains. Day1 - Atlanta to Rome (it was really 2 days in 1 with the time zone change) We departed Atlanta at 7:30PM on Sunday Feb.23 and arrived in Rome at Noon on Monday Feb. 24. The Delta Airbus A350 was nice but shall we say less than comfortable. Once we had claimed our luggage, our very first adventure was to find and ride Trenitala's Leonardo Express regional train into Rome. There were plenty of signs in the baggage claim area for the trains The first task was to get tickets. I'll note that we found regional trains were better to just buy the tickets the day of travel as the prices don't really change for them. We succeeded in finding the ticket office And we cleared our first hurdle by me not running afoul of these guys The train was located and we were off on our adventures Departing the airport Arrived at Roma Termini Station Trains everywhere!! Woohoo! I'll do a thread as well on all the different trains and schemes I saw and stick to the travel as best I can in this one After being granted a few minutes to enjoy the trains, it was off to the Metro and to find the hotel. Was our only trip on the Metro in Rome. With our trip on the Metro complete and surviving the stairs up to the street, we checked in, rested a bit, and went out to explore. The food was good and one thing about Rome, there seem to be fountains everywhere And so ends Day 1 Day 2 (Feb. 25, 2025) was filled with the treasures of the Vatican (Counts as another country visited you know ) and more wonderous sights. No photos allowed in the Sistine Chapple but the art was beyond beautiful. We did get a little rain outside St Peter's but was still fantastic. After the better part of a full day at the Vatican, we crossed the boarder back into Italy to explore more of Rome. So many marvelous things to see. Got a cool shot of the Castel Sant' Angelo at night to warp up day 2. To be continued! Stay tuned
Michelangelo's painting of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, without a doubt, is the most awe-inspiring art I've ever seen.
Day 3 looked a bit cloudy and dreary when we first rolled out of bed but by the time we finished breakfast, the sun was out and it was promising to be a beautiful day. Our first stop was one you just can't go to Rome and not see, the Colosseum! The weather was warm for the end of February, mid 50's. There were many more sights we visited and of course more fountains. This is Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). The wife managed to navigate us to the front so was able to get a decent pic but honestly, as beautiful as it was, the crowds at this place were so huge that it was hard to enjoy. Day 4 (Feb. 27) was back to the trains! After catching a bit of the action at Roma Temini station, we boarded .italo for a trip to Florence. This was my first of several high speed train rides. Was surprisingly smooth. Upon arrival in Florence, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and went right back to the station where we bought tickets to Pisa and it was either a mad dash to make the train that was leaving in a couple of minutes or wait an hour for the next one. Surprisingly, we made our train. Pisa was a really cool little town. Their building skills were apparently a little questionable though After a bit more sight seeing and a good dinner, it was back to the station for a return to Florence. Day 5 (Feb.28) was some morning sight seeing around Florence. After lunch, it was back to the station again for another ride on .italo, this time to Venice. We were in coach1 and according to the on board magazine, this was the layout of our 11 car train. Then after another fast yet comfortable ride, we were in the land of boat traffic. More to come.
Looked up 247 KM/H and it converts to 153 MPH. Yep, you were moving right along there. Keep the photos coming!
Oh my God, Deja Vu. the angle you shot looks about the same that I took?? They had pulleys holding n up back then so maybe a little progress.
Day 6 (March 1st) - We spent the day enjoying the many unique sites of Venice. Our first stop was the Ponte de Rialto bridge It was also the Carnival festival in Venice which added some colorful characters into our visit. Day 7 (March 2nd) found us boarding another .italo train and heading for Milan This was our last trip on .italo and I'd highly recommend them. Service was goo and the rides were relaxing and comfortable. This is the wife's seat and we had these same type seats on all our .italo trips. On the other side of the aisle, it was two seats wide. The train station in Milan was quite beautiful We managed to find the most colorful trolley too We spend the afternoon and into the late evening out exploring the sites of the city. Here's a good spot to add that I really enjoyed seeing all the "different" to me cars in Italy.
Richard, last Thursday I discarded all 35mm film including travel both domestic and abroad as well as a 2nd purging of all prints so seeing the pics you posted was certainly wonderful to see. Curious, did you take any photos of inside St. Peters?
I might have taken one or a hundred sir 2025 is a Jubilee year and if I understood correctly, this particular set of doors in St. Peters are only opened during Jubilee years so was cool to walk through them. This is a terrible picture but the security guy in the right hand side was stopping people from taking pictures of the doors this close so had to do a grab shot.
Thanks for posting this. Brings back fun memories. I wish they triggered some from Milan in 1970. Just got of a train from France, got something to eat and took a bus to Florence. Don't remember much else about it.
Day 7 (March 3rd) - We were up and starting off to the next part of the adventure with a trip to the train station We were leaving Milan bound for Tirano Italy on this Trenitalia regional. On these regionals, we saw that they sell first class tickets in addition to normal tickets. Best I could tell, there is no first class section on these trains. That was disappointing and makes one wonder why it's offered. The long distance trains all had 1st and it was nice. Regardless, was a good ride and as you near Tirano, you pass Lake Como and begin to get your first glimpse of the southern part of the Alps. Once we arrived in Tirano, it was time to bid farewell to the Italian Railways. During our time in Italy, I did find 3 train magazines at a news stand near our hotel in Rome and one at a news stand here in Tirano a few blocks from the train station. Up to this point in Tirano, I had checked news stands in every train station we went to and didn't find a single train magazine so was happy that I found some at all. Here they are Now then, we are still in Italy at this point but our next train is Swiss and part of the Rhatische Bahn Railway. This is my first glimpse at what I thought would be our train but the power was actually cutting off and was replaced. and this would end up being the leader for our ride. Some great views from this Unesco World Heritage Site train This ride was simply the best ever. Narrow gauge, steep grades, and sharp curves just added to the interest. The scenery was majestic. I was so taken by it that I didn't realize how few pics I actually took during this part of the trip. Even my wife agreed that it was her favorite part of our trip. The end of this ride across the Alps is Chur Switzerland. It was a bit tricky here as we had just a couple of minutes to make the connection to Zurich or it was wait 45 minutes for the next scheduled train. We just barely made it. With luggage and my bad knee, it was so close that the doors closed and the train was moving within 15 seconds of me stepping aboard. Was a good ride into Zurich and the hotel wasn't far from the station and so ended a really great day of riding the rails.
That's more accurate than you think... we observed similar motor vehicles in Valencia some years back and were told that they essentially use lawnmower engines for power. If I recall correctly, the minimum age to drive them was lower than for a full size car, at least in Spain. Great travelogue so far, Richard!
Day 8 (March 4th) we travelled from Zurich to Paris. Didn't spend much time at all in Zurich but looked like it might be worth a return visit at some point. Here are a couple of shots right by the train station. Inside the station as with most we went through, it was open and well laid out. It was as crowded as most we visited but that was probably more timing than anything. I did get to spend about 20 minutes out on one of the platforms watching the morning action but when I saw the TGV Lyria train come in, I know it was time to go hop aboard. This is the train where we hit our highest speeds of the trip. I caught this one but no idea if we actually went faster. It was a smooth ride for sure and passed a bit too quick and before long, we had arrived at Paris Gare de Lyon station The Metro looked cool but we never did get a chance to try it out And now I get why they call Paris the City of Light Day 9 - No trains today. The Notre-Dame Cathedrale was fascinating and the teams there have done a 1st class job of restoring the fire damage And of course, no visit to Paris is complete without a date with this lovely lady
When we were in Valencia some years ago, one of the things that impressed me was how clean and spacious the train station was. I see that's not an isolated case across Europe!
