How to transport yourself in Italy

First off, let’s get something straight. Travelling is hard work. I’ve had to put in extra hours of sleep (in hostels, in trains, in tents) in order to stay in the game. That’s why, after 3 weeks of moving about, I’m quite satisfied to say my days of intense travel are over. I’ve seen a lot and have enjoyed many interesting (and sometimes expensive) places, but moving from city to city every day or two is not the way I like to do it. Our routine has been brutal – typically it has involved getting to a place by train in the afternoon, dropping our packs at the hostel/campground, walking the main part of the city, dinner, sleep, get up in the morning, and catch the train to the next place. In the last week it has been better, as Lisa and I agreed to spend at least two nights per city.

Lisa, my cousin, went home (Albuquerque, NM) just this morning. And I am in transit. Let me tell you about Italian transportation. Buses and trains here require tickets. Before stepping on a train or after hopping on a bus, you are supposed to validated your ticket (put your ticket in this box that puts a time stamp on it). However, there is limited accountability as to whether you bought a ticket or not. For example, I’ve ridden on tons of buses, but never have they checked my ticket; I bet you half the people on the buses here didn’t buy tickets. With trains, it’s a bit more of a gamble. Especially on long train rides, you’re likely to get audited by a train worker who makes sure you have your ticket (or else he fines you). But for short rides you’re golden. And if you’re a good looking girl, I guess you can get out of paying anything even if you get audited, as I witnessed this morning. Lisa and I have been honestly every time except once, however, and we got caught. So, our train was late, and we had to change trains in less than four minutes in order to make the next train. Since we’ve only been buying single passes, we had to decide whether to go buy a pass for a later train or go without paying. Well, we ended up just hopping on as there was no way to know how long before the next train came. And of course, we get audited. I think it was a 15 euro fine.