Corny word play about the French Riviera town is permissible if it makes a point, and ours is: Don’t even think about sitting down in the Nice train station. There’s not a chair or bench anywhere in the lobby, and since wait time between trains can be considerable, we don’t think that’s very nice of the French rail authorities. Also, consider traveling through the Nice station with nothing larger than a backpack. There are no escalators or elevators to take you between levels, so you struggle with luggage down, then up, then down and up again before your train leaves. As for the overnight sleeper compartment experience, it was “interesting,” but at least there’s more legroom than flying.
The French might well take a lesson about passenger comfort from the Italians. Arriving at Termini Station was a piece of cake –- luggage carts for the taking at no cost as you alight from the train, tracks and taxis on the same level….just a pleasant experience all around, and no passport control either. We thought that was pretty remarkable, especially since we had to surrender our passports for “security reasons” to buy some Internet time later that day. Maybe the Italians can take some lessons about border security from the Spaniards.
And those luggage carts…. There’s a line painted on the sidewalk about 15 feet from the curb where taxis wait. Try to push the cart over that line and it won’t move; the wheels seize up, thanks to an electronic gizmo inside. Free high-tech luggage carts...what a concept. Supermarkets might never lose a shopping cart with this technology.
Rome is a great segue from the quiet seclusion of Provence. We’re enjoying the comfort and convenience of the place we stayed five years ago, the Hotel dei Mellini on Via Muzio Clementi. (Friends who thought we’d be renting an apartment will hear the story of that adventure once we’re back in Hawaii.) We walked our legs off today and had a great lunch of homemade pasta, too….all in all, a great first day in the Eternal City.
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