On the train down…

The title of the post was inspired by this.

So we leave Cortona and head on down to Cosenza.  It’s a long train ride.  Somewhere on the order of 8 hours in the train. The kids are miserable.  We’re on an InterCity train. They are notoriously slow and late.  This one was no different.

A train that looks like the one we took

The day was horrible for travel.  Outside, the temperatures hit 40 degrees celsius.  Not good for anyone who is traveling, but worse for us.  Our carozza (carriage) had air conditioning, but it was not working.  In one of the compartments, I put Rob and Lowell.  The two of them quickly found this was the worst experience of their life.  They asked me when I came to check on them if they could pay to upgrade to first class.

Then, an hour or so into the ride I hear a scream.  A loud one.  One that drew the attention of everyone on the train. Rob was freaking out.  The kids in the car gradually calmed him down, but it was not a good experience.  I felt bad, but there was little I could do to fix the conditions.  Traveling south in the summer sucks.

Another two hours go by.  I keep making wellness visits.  The kids are going well.  I open one compartment.  The curtains are closed.  I ask how everyone is doing and am about to close the doors.  I notice, in the center, someone is sitting in the middle in various levels of dress.  I’m assured that they are just giving each other massages and close the door. What a wild ride.

Eventually we arrive in Cosenza.  Well first Kelly and Amanda get off at Praja because their families live out by the water.  We get off in Cosenza and are swamped by host families.  It’s a mob.  Everyone goes off on their own.  I’m grabbed by Maria, my quasi-host mom.  She drives me home and I sleep.  I barely notice how we get to my host family. I’m zoinked.