Our first Gypsy

We survived our first Gypsy in Milano!

After our trip on the glacier express we got the train to Zurich and then to Milano ready for an over-night train to Roma!!!
But when we arrived in Milan, there was only 15 minutes to spare and to get a reservation for the train. So we raced down two escalators to the ticket offfice only to find it closed up for the night 2 minutes before. We found a ticket machine but couldn't figure it out, especially when it was firing Italian at us.

So there we were in a rush and then this lady appeared out of thin air. And came and pressed all these buttons. I was paranoid that she was going to do some crazy Gypsy voodoo and somehow get herself a ticket for free. Or steal $1000. (I couldn't find a pound button!) But luckily for us she managed to book us on the train we needed at the time and price without stealing anything from us. I was impressed. We grabbed our tickets and turned to run back to our train, but she was already begging with a handful of change, so Richard threw some change into her hand and legged it up the escalator before I'd even realized. That run to the train with my 10 tonne rucksack about killed me!

We were given sheets and a pillow in a packet. And water in a little sealed pot. We shared our cabin with an Italian who couldn't speak a word of English but he was very friendly. I was surprised by how well I slept on the train and we arrived in a very sunny Roma at 7am. We had to walk across the city to find our hostel, it was hard work trying to keep at Richard's pace with my bag. An hour later I spotted that the temperature was 24 degrees, in the shade - Our first sunny day! No wonder I was so warm!

Once we had found the central station, we locked up our baggage and headed out with The Book to find somewhere to stay. On our 3rd attempt we found ourselves in a launderette/internet place and were unsure that it was the right place, but the people were pretty happy and wouldn't let us leave. When we asked if they had spare bed, his response was yeah yeah! But he then disappeared to the computer to check on hostelbookers. After a few phone calls to other hostels and he found us two beds in a dorm. Relieved we'd found somewhere to stay we went to the place to pay, and headed straight back out for a coffee and a croissant for breakfast. Once we had left our luggage with the hostel, we went out to explore our first day in Rome.