Still it’s nothing compared to Florence station,which is nuts.I’m glad I came yesterday so I knew what to expect today.As you get off the train there’s a sort of informal holding area with guards but you can come and go as you please so consequently there’s a throng of people with their wheelie extension cases cracking into your shins like a Stoke City player on a cold Tuesday night ( I hate them,the cases also) after that is a similar area but with more people crashing into each other as they all run to different platforms at the same time.Luckily noticed my train was already waiting on the platform with loads of time to spare and I could relax and have a smoke on the platform.It’s a double decker too.So a nice two and half hour trip to the coast hopefully…
In La Spezia,journey fine and was surprised by how many young Americans got off there too.Not sure if they’re changing over to go elsewhere or not.Might have to check if the local Maccy D’s is mobbed to find out…hotel is not open for a few hours so found a sexy cafe bar by the nearest roundabout.Friendly staff and locals so feel hopeful about the place…not very up on my La Spezia apart from the naval history but reasearched that Shelly,Lord Byron & Dante all lived here at one time so this blog has a lot to aspire too! Don’t think they lived together in a Berlin Bowie/Iggy Pop styleeee in a doomed effort to get off the smack…
Found the hotel and it’s a pizza place! It’s actually not but that’s where I got the keys from and that’s where I have breakfast too(cold pizza for breakfast? All done that!) The fella was a bit miffed as I was early but bugger it who cares? Wasn’t gonna hang around till 6pm…anyway hotel round the corner on the 4th floor of an beautiful old town house type building with one of those ancient lifts that I barely fit into…also when I opened the window there’s a pride shindig going on in the square underneath.Also also the street’s about a mile long lined with orange trees that are bearing fruit.Unfortunately all the low ones have been scrumped already..,only been here a few hours and it feels a bit of a special place…gonna check out the docks tomorrow…
Spent the rest of the day roaming,although that not really true as La Spezia is built on a grid system l ended up roaming one street,it’s the one where my hotel is and it’s really long,as most of the streets here seem to be…I suppose there’s no reason to build a grid system if you’re gonna make the roads piddling little things…from what I gathered the road I’m on has a good end and a bad end.Naturally I’m on the bad end…
It’s raining! After consistently sunny days since being in Italy we finally have some rain and judging by the forecast we’re due rain my whole stay in La Spezia which is a pity cos’ my body is as beach ready as it’s ever gonna be(insert own joke here) looking out of the window it doesn’t appear too bad and it’s still warm which obviously poses the dilemma of wear a raincoat and stay dry but sweat up badly or don’t wear one and just get a bit wet.Personally I’d rather be a bit wet and not stink as much later…but the coat’s rolled up in the little back pack just Incase…
Laters alligators…
3 comments:
Morning Gareth
If your ears weren’t burning yesterday they should’ve been as I was talking about you with my old mate Young Stanley, we were doing memory lane stuff about folk when we were nippers, loads of names we couldn’t get and a lot of them from your old neck-o-the woods, I’ll run it by you one day !! Anyway,Young Stanley (real name, Rob) is midst chemo at the mo, he was struggling yesterday hence our memory lane malarkey, due to my old job I’m a good listener and I go along with his thoughts and moods. We do football,people,pubs,clubs,music,clothes,attitudes from yesteryear we somehow find it easier to talk about the past as he is worried he might not have the best of futures ahead…I get it !!
Yesterday he said he envied my travels (hence you forming a chunk of the conversation and then the memory lane stuff) and said it’s unlikely he’d do it now, I did the ‘when the treatment is over we’ll do it Rob’ knowing it’s unlikely we will (he’s quite weak and the treatment has buggered him up big time) but I’m hopeful he’ll pull through and we can do something!!
Soooo, get on with it me old mate,watch people,marvel at the sights,drink unusual beers,have a smoke,stand in queues,catch trains and most importantly,have fun.
Sorry for the sentimentality today your travel stories touched a nerve (nicely,but equally sadly that we have to live for the here n now)
Onwards Gareth !!
Cheers mate.Sorry to hear about Rob.Sometimes it’s easy to forget just having decent ish health to allow me to do this makes me very fortunate.That’s why when I feel a whine coming on about insignificant things I usually catch hold of myself and remember how lucky I am…hopefully things improve for Rob in the future.You never know.The one thing being on twitter & getting to know so many cancer survivors is that hope mental help does go a long way.It’s an amazing community even if some of em’ are wrong un’s ! Haha.Cheers mate.Send my regards…
Ps,you would’ve met,known Rob once upon a time (admittedly 50+ years ago but he remembers you !!)…circa when we were 10/11/12 ish..he was Steve Wood’s (RIP) cousin
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