Saturday was our travel day from Nice to Sienna. As we loaded our bags into the car they were heavy and bursting with our own gear as well as assorted souvenirs and gifts.  Our plan to travel light to avoid checked baggage had worked well to get us to Paris, but it was quite clear that would not be possible on the return to Toronto, so we’ll be looking for an extra bag.  As I mentioned previously, dropping off our car was a joyous occasion and we reached the train station with time to spare.  Settled into our seats we pulled out of Nice for Italy.  One problem with booking tickets is the inability to book more than 5 seats at a time on Trenitalia, the Italian national line. Instead I had cleverly booked all six of us to Ventimiglia using Rail Europe, and then switched to Trenitalia’s system for the remainder of the journey, booking 5 people and leaving Matt to fend for himself.

On reaching Ventimiglia we exited our train and with only a short layover went scurrying to find our next train to Genoa.  Racing through the station we checked the board and discovered . . . We were back on the same train we had just left, but in different seats!  So much for brilliant planning.  The ride along the coast was beautiful, with the blue Mediterranean to our right and small villages on our left.  By 9 a.m.  the rocky beaches were filling up with people.  We had noted during our trip that the mattresses on our beds were incredibly hard, and decided that was to prepare people for the beaches, since everyone seems to just put down a towel on the rockiest shore and lie there contentedly.

After changing trains once again in Genoa (this time for real)’ we continued down the coast to Pisa.  This is our only stop for sightseeing today, and it’s a brief one. We exit the train, check our bags at the storage room and race off through town to see the tower.  It’s a long hot walk, since the tower is on the other side of the city and we really can’t do Pisa justice, but it is quite pretty.  We reach the tower, snap a few photos for posterity and head back to the train.

The final part of our trip to Sienna is on the local trains, which are slower dirtier and much hotter than the regional trains we’ve enjoyed to this point. We make one final transfer at Empoli to the slowest, hottest train of all.  There is no air conditioning, there are two small windows that open about three inches for air, and we finally arrive in Sienna roasted and tired.  A short taxi ride and we reach our apartment.  The driver asks if we’re sure of the address, as the building appears to be under renovation, but we’re soon greeted by a young woman who rattles some keys and directs us to the apartment in the basement of the building.  It’s actually not bad, with vaulted ceilings and large rooms.  Settled in, we walk out for our first meal in Italy.