I'm in Florence, Firenze, but here's the story about how I got here. I left my hostel in Milan and walked out to grab a ticket for the street car. I get on the car, but after about 5 minutes I hear this crash and crunching sound as we halt to a stop, with a mini van stuck to the side of the car. I guess they parked too close to the trolly tracks and when we took the corner the sideview window crashed through the sliding door and we pulled the van along with us. So, everyone got off at which point I followed the mob, until everyone started to disperse. We were in front of a bus stop, I checked for my stop, it was there so I got on. You get to travel as much as you want within 70 minutes for 1 euro so I didn't pay any extra. Bus takes me to the train station and I am forced to figure out the how to buy I ticket. I don't see any people selling them so I go to the machine, but it doesn't seem to be working. nor was the second one I checked ___________________________________________________________________
I go over to the information desk and ask when the next train is leaving for Florence. They tell me the trains that go there and direct me to the next one, but it's already leaving. I try the machine and it's not working out for me. I go to the window again and they tell me to check the train service information, so I go there, and homie doesn't speak english. I go back to the machine and try to buy the ticket again, but now it's telling me therer are no seats available on any of the trains until one at 5pm. I try to buy it but it says, "See ticket window." So I walk around and find the ticket window on the bottom floor of the station. I get in line where there are 4 venders selling tickets to my line. Two are unavailable and two are available. When it's my turn to go, a third vender turns his sign over to unavailable, but the guy behind me is encouraging me in Italian to go ahead. I point out that it says Closed in Italian..... Non Something, with closed written inunder it. He's saying "No no, blah blah blah. and after abotu 3 of these point less exchanges some impatient woman half way back in the line starts in with the blah blah blah, and then she hops out of line and goes to the closed window, where she is waved off. I don't know why I was the only person who understood that this "Closed" sign meant that it was not "Open". So instead of walking back to her spot she stands beside me. I'm not cool with this, but there were too many witnesses around to just go ahead and drop kick her. I was ready to pounce when the next window came open, but it was the one to the right, and she was to my right, so she beat me to it. After she finished she said Gratcia and some other words I didn't care for, nor did I care for the "Non Operento" Sign that this vender turned around as the woman left. Now there's only one window available, and it's occupied. not too long after another one opened and I got a ticket for 1pm-ish, which was not available on the machine, so it's a good thing I found this place. The machines must have been messed up because there were loads of seats available on the train.
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Train ride was nice, got to see some vine yards and nice country side. Got to Firenze and I have to figure out another bus system. I go to the information desk and tell the girl I need to get the 25 bus, so I need to know how i pay for the bus. She doesn't know anything about buses and directs me to the bus information desk. I tried to make sure she understood my question but she jsut repeated herself so I didn't want to ask again. I figure she thought i was asking her about the schedule for bus 25 when really all I wanted to know was how I got a bus ticket, or did I pay when I got on, I could find the bus on my own.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
I find someone else to ask, but it turns out to be a baggage storage, but he points out the bus information spot jsut across the way. I go there and ask for a ticket and where to catch the 25 bus, because i couldn't find a sign around for 25 among all the bus signs. He points down to the right, but this could mean a kilometre in that direction for all I know. I walk down that way, then I notice 25 pull up across the street. So I go ove rand wait for the next one. I get on and put my ticket in the stamper but I'm not sure if it worked. Other peopel seemed to be having trouble with it too, so I jsut left it. I'm watching the stops as I go along, andI tihnk I know where I'm supposed to get off. I get on at 4pm and make my way up this big hill where I get a really nice view of Florence as we make our way up. I'm watching stops but I'm not sure if I've missed one or not. I think I know where I'm supposed to get off but the order of the stops is not making sense. I was supposed to get off at the first stop after Ponte Rosso, the first Bolognese stop, but there are a few Bolognese stops I see, yet I have not seen a Ponte Rosso. I'm stressing a little but not too much at this point. eventualy we are at the top and heading down the other side. then we pull into a parking lot and the bus stops I go up to talk to the bus driver, and he is helpful but doesn't know much English. I'm pretty sure he's telling me that he will continue his route in 20 minutes and will be heading back to the station where I would start all over again, and I think he's trying to get me to walk up the hill a little and take another bus down back the way I came, but I'm not 100% on this. I'm nodding and saying yes to the bits I understand, but every now and then he loses me, and I just look like a tourist who is nodding and saying yes when i really don't get it. Eventually he walks me up to the stop and flags down the bus that shows up in about 20 seconds. he tells the bus driver where I am getting off and I try to give him 5 Euro'd for his time, but he doesn't take it. I get on and watch the stops as we make our way back down. After a while I feel like we must have passed it. I'm watching the stops, but I also hoped the bus driver would let me know when I should get off. He didn't, and the stops are a little different going down than they are going up. eventually we are back into the flat of the city and I'm frustrated. I check the next stop sign and we are almost back at the station. I get off and wait for the next bus to head back to the hill, but it's now 5:21, past my 70 min trip deadline, and I don't see any tobacco shops around to buy a new ticket. I just want to get to the hostel and I'm all in a fix, when I remember that the ticket didn't stamp the first time I got on the bus so my 70 minutes didn't begin until I got on at the top of the hill to head back down. I feel a bit better, but I still don't know if I'll find the stop or not.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The bus comes, and its the same guy that picked me up at the top of the hill, so I just get in the back door and feel like a stupid tourist. I watch the stops and see where I get off. It's not where I thought it was, and it's right at the base of the hill. So I get off and take a left as the directions explain, but there are no #8's this way. I look back and there aren't any to the right either. I'm frustrated and walking back and forth. Then I notice there are two 18's so I think it might be one of them and I just wrote it down wrong. Nope, not them. I walk a little farther right and I notice some numbers out of sync, like 18, 18, 16, 14 6, 12. I walk down and see a guy wring the bell for my hostel and I go up with him. I'm there, everyone's great and I'm content. I'll get into travel tomorrow from the train. I need some sleep now. later kids
I'm in Florence, Firenze, but here's the story about how I got here. I left my hostel in Milan and walked out to grab a ticket for the street car. I get on the car, but after about 5 minutes I hear this crash and crunching sound as we halt to a stop, with a mini van stuck to the side of the car. I guess they parked too close to the trolly tracks and when we took the corner the sideview window crashed through the sliding door and we pulled the van along with us. So, everyone got off at which point I followed the mob, until everyone started to disperse. We were in front of a bus stop, I checked for my stop, it was there so I got on. You get to travel as much as you want within 70 minutes for 1 euro so I didn't pay any extra. Bus takes me to the train station and I am forced to figure out the how to buy I ticket. I don't see any people selling them so I go to the machine, but it doesn't seem to be working. nor was the second one I checked ___________________________________________________________________
I go over to the information desk and ask when the next train is leaving for Florence. They tell me the trains that go there and direct me to the next one, but it's already leaving. I try the machine and it's not working out for me. I go to the window again and they tell me to check the train service information, so I go there, and homie doesn't speak english. I go back to the machine and try to buy the ticket again, but now it's telling me therer are no seats available on any of the trains until one at 5pm. I try to buy it but it says, "See ticket window." So I walk around and find the ticket window on the bottom floor of the station. I get in line where there are 4 venders selling tickets to my line. Two are unavailable and two are available. When it's my turn to go, a third vender turns his sign over to unavailable, but the guy behind me is encouraging me in Italian to go ahead. I point out that it says Closed in Italian..... Non Something, with closed written inunder it. He's saying "No no, blah blah blah. and after abotu 3 of these point less exchanges some impatient woman half way back in the line starts in with the blah blah blah, and then she hops out of line and goes to the closed window, where she is waved off. I don't know why I was the only person who understood that this "Closed" sign meant that it was not "Open". So instead of walking back to her spot she stands beside me. I'm not cool with this, but there were too many witnesses around to just go ahead and drop kick her. I was ready to pounce when the next window came open, but it was the one to the right, and she was to my right, so she beat me to it. After she finished she said Gratcia and some other words I didn't care for, nor did I care for the "Non Operento" Sign that this vender turned around as the woman left. Now there's only one window available, and it's occupied. not too long after another one opened and I got a ticket for 1pm-ish, which was not available on the machine, so it's a good thing I found this place. The machines must have been messed up because there were loads of seats available on the train.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Train ride was nice, got to see some vine yards and nice country side. Got to Firenze and I have to figure out another bus system. I go to the information desk and tell the girl I need to get the 25 bus, so I need to know how i pay for the bus. She doesn't know anything about buses and directs me to the bus information desk. I tried to make sure she understood my question but she jsut repeated herself so I didn't want to ask again. I figure she thought i was asking her about the schedule for bus 25 when really all I wanted to know was how I got a bus ticket, or did I pay when I got on, I could find the bus on my own.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
I find someone else to ask, but it turns out to be a baggage storage, but he points out the bus information spot jsut across the way. I go there and ask for a ticket and where to catch the 25 bus, because i couldn't find a sign around for 25 among all the bus signs. He points down to the right, but this could mean a kilometre in that direction for all I know. I walk down that way, then I notice 25 pull up across the street. So I go ove rand wait for the next one. I get on and put my ticket in the stamper but I'm not sure if it worked. Other peopel seemed to be having trouble with it too, so I jsut left it. I'm watching the stops as I go along, andI tihnk I know where I'm supposed to get off. I get on at 4pm and make my way up this big hill where I get a really nice view of Florence as we make our way up. I'm watching stops but I'm not sure if I've missed one or not. I think I know where I'm supposed to get off but the order of the stops is not making sense. I was supposed to get off at the first stop after Ponte Rosso, the first Bolognese stop, but there are a few Bolognese stops I see, yet I have not seen a Ponte Rosso. I'm stressing a little but not too much at this point. eventualy we are at the top and heading down the other side. then we pull into a parking lot and the bus stops I go up to talk to the bus driver, and he is helpful but doesn't know much English. I'm pretty sure he's telling me that he will continue his route in 20 minutes and will be heading back to the station where I would start all over again, and I think he's trying to get me to walk up the hill a little and take another bus down back the way I came, but I'm not 100% on this. I'm nodding and saying yes to the bits I understand, but every now and then he loses me, and I just look like a tourist who is nodding and saying yes when i really don't get it. Eventually he walks me up to the stop and flags down the bus that shows up in about 20 seconds. he tells the bus driver where I am getting off and I try to give him 5 Euro'd for his time, but he doesn't take it. I get on and watch the stops as we make our way back down. After a while I feel like we must have passed it. I'm watching the stops, but I also hoped the bus driver would let me know when I should get off. He didn't, and the stops are a little different going down than they are going up. eventually we are back into the flat of the city and I'm frustrated. I check the next stop sign and we are almost back at the station. I get off and wait for the next bus to head back to the hill, but it's now 5:21, past my 70 min trip deadline, and I don't see any tobacco shops around to buy a new ticket. I just want to get to the hostel and I'm all in a fix, when I remember that the ticket didn't stamp the first time I got on the bus so my 70 minutes didn't begin until I got on at the top of the hill to head back down. I feel a bit better, but I still don't know if I'll find the stop or not.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The bus comes, and its the same guy that picked me up at the top of the hill, so I just get in the back door and feel like a stupid tourist. I watch the stops and see where I get off. It's not where I thought it was, and it's right at the base of the hill. So I get off and take a left as the directions explain, but there are no #8's this way. I look back and there aren't any to the right either. I'm frustrated and walking back and forth. Then I notice there are two 18's so I think it might be one of them and I just wrote it down wrong. Nope, not them. I walk a little farther right and I notice some numbers out of sync, like 18, 18, 16, 14 6, 12. I walk down and see a guy wring the bell for my hostel and I go up with him. I'm there, everyone's great and I'm content. I'll get into travel tomorrow from the train. I need some sleep now. later kids
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