Last Day

(Composed on the train from Cetona To Rome, 10/14)

Morning in our Cetona townhouse

The queens have mixed feelings today, as you might expect. We have been away from home two weeks now, and inspite of all the conveniences we do have we are missing the ones we don’t, and missing our own beds, not to mention our loved ones. I write this as we travel south on the train to Roma Termini — the train terminal where we will take a taxi to the airport Hilton in Rome for our last night (because I have an early flight out). We had a nice lunch of crackers, ham and cheese sandwiches and tomato and mozzarella sandwiches, followed by a little Italian chocolate, and now three of the queens are snoozing during the last 45 minutes of the ride.

Daphne, Marilyn & Gayle enjoy cappuccino in Pienza cafe

I look out the window at the gorgeous view, and then the train ducks into a tunnel and our ears pressurize and pop, then just as quickly we’re in the sun again.

The drive to the Chuisi train station drove me crazy. We followed the signs as we have always done since we arrived in Italy — most of the time successfully — but wound up in the old part of town with no sign of the train station. So, we tried again and ended up the same place. Then we tried a roundabout route by the lake and again wound up in the same place, no train station. Yours truly was quite frustrated by this time — we parked, and Marilyn and Daphne found and information office and got a map and instructions to finally get us there. Queen of Swords Daphne says we in America are spoonfed — it’s Life for Dummies — in that the information provided to us from signage of all kinds leads us to expect and demand the same kind and quanitity of information elsewhere.I had followed the sign to Chiusi, but there was no follow-up sign and no directions thereafter. Same at the train station. Our ticket is very specific, Train 585, Track 4, Car 2, seats 81 – 84. But the sign by the train had no satisfying “585″ next to it; none of the train cars have numbers on them; the seats are numbered but not as you’d expect.  It is the lack of clear information that, more than anything else (such as lack of phone support and internet) could deter me from wanting to return.

Last cappuccino, B&B in Cetona: Daphne, Nancy, Marilyn

But, on the ride into Chuisi we did discuss what we might want to do if we came back. In Venice, for example, we had so little time we could only explore on our own a little, did not have time for a professionally-led tour, and did not get the interesting history and stories that could have enriched our visit. In Rome, we would have liked to visit Hadrian’s Villa, Antica Ottica, and Pompeii. We did not have time to visit Siena or the areas around that portion of Tuscany — Pisa, Cinque Terra, and several other places. And, there is Milan and the areas to the northwest that might be interesting.

As our train nears Roma Termini, we have mixed feelings. We can’t wait to return home, but probably will always wonder about the places we had to miss. We are tired and in particulary I am weary of the frustrations, but will miss the lovely cappuccinos and the beautiful narrow streets down to the shops and museums.

View from beautiful Pienza

We miss our husbands and families. And clean towels! I think, nearing the end of the trip, perhaps my focus is tainted and I seem a bit negative about our experience. But I know all the negatives slip away when we relive what we have experienced here, and it has been unforgettable.

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