My First Trip to Italy ...the last 36 hours

I woke up on the morning of February 24th feeling a little sad. The words of the song by Andrea Bocelli rang true and stirred within me. The one I am referring to is  titled  Time to Say Goodbye.  I was leaving this beautiful country and going home. I am a "travel bug"and I never want vacations to end ..but alas they always seem too. Needless to say.... I was bummed. It was raining, cold and damp. I had  breakfast at my hotel in Florence and caught  a taxi to the Santa Novella train station. It was early morning and in the US with day light savings time, it would have been  light, but in Italy at 7 am it's still dark. I got to the station about 45 minutes before my train was scheduled to leave for Milan. I decided to make a pit stop before the train left, but wasn't sure where the Italian coed restrooms were. The restrooms in Italy cost 1 euro  which I liked cause they are always clean and have paper,Not like the free ones in the US which are sometimes dirty,no paper, no towels ...I'm sure you get the drift. I saw a group of Policemen who I knew could direct me in the right direction, so I walked up and in my best newly acquired and not so good Italian asked: "Potrebbe dirmi dove la toletta per le donne? ". They coolly answered  in English saying  "They are over there next to platform 5,"  to which I laughed and thanked them.  Afterwards, I returned to the board that announces the trains  to find which platform to run too...they don't give you much time and dragging bags can slow you down. Well finally my train arrived I hurriedly dragged my bags and tried to find what train car I was to board. Where you sit depends on the price of your ticket. On my 2 previous train rides in Italy I had paid more for my ticket and was riding the Frecce trains, a better class, than the inner city train I was riding that morning. I was on carriage 8 and on the Frecce trains that is usually the last car...so I went to the last car and found it was carriage 1 so I ran back and to look for carriage 8 which was the first car on this train. A young woman was on the train and she asked if she could help me with my bags. Of course I said yes, after running back and forth I was glad to have help. I assumed she worked for the train company, Little did I realize until she asked for money  that she was working for herself. I gave her one euro ...she had only helped with one bag which I had made sure I could lift myself if need be. Then she stood and blatantly  asked for more.I told her that was all I had ...she looked angry and  exited  the car.  The man sitting in the car with me looked at me and said with them it is never enough. On the inner city trains,  in the carriage I was in ,you are sitting in what in the US is a compartment, which in Italy has 6 seats in an enclosed room. Not bad for the price I had paid which was under 20 dollars....still not as nice as the Frecce seats I had  had previously. I was tired from my trek to Pisa the day before, so  I dozed the whole way waking briefly when we stopped in different towns,  or people entered or exited  the compartment, to see snow now falling quite heavily. By the time we reached Milan Centrale it had turned into a wintery snow and rain mix.Nothing I wanted to be out in. So I exited the station and walked over to where the taxis were waiting. I asked how much to go to my hotel which I had picked for it fairly close proximity to the central train station. I just about fell over when the driver said 20 euros. I said too much and as I walked away he said 15? I kept walking...I am after all  a Cheapskate on the Loose! I saw another taxi as I walked  to where I thought the street of my hotel was. and showed him the directions I had. This driver told me my hotel was up the street on the right a few blocks. After living in a warm area , walking 3 blocks in the wet snow and rain,dragging luggage  can seem like an eternity. Well I finally arrived at my hotel wet but happy to be inside. I checked in. went to my room 124 which was was very nice and very modern and took off my wet clothing and changed into warm clothing and went out in search of food. It was a Sunday and not that many places were open in the area. I visited 2 supposed pizzerias run by non Italians...the food looked less than appetizing... so I looked further. thinking of one of  my newly learned Italian phrases  Ho Fame!! Luck was with me,I saw a ristorante sign shining like a beacon,  and walked toward it  I looked at the menu on the window and liked the prices so I went inside ate a good filling meal and also got food to take back to the hotel for later and for breakfast the next morning since I was going to the airport very early. I took a hot bath got under a heavy blanket and slept until the evening. When I awoke I tried to call the front desk  to request a wake up call, but discovered the phone in my room didn't work. Annoyed I walked back down to the front desk, I also wanted info regarding the internet passwords.

 There had been a shift change at the hotel front desk, Gone was the nice room clerk, replaced by someone who evidently should not be working in a hospitality  industry where people skills are a necessary trait. He was so rude and nasty. I had read the reviews for this hotel and they rang true in this respect. I ignored the reviews purely because of the proximity  of the hotel to the train station, shuttle to the airport and the fact that the hotel is rated 4 stars...though I wonder how it maintains  that rating. The hotel is also very reasonable in price.   I asked him if someone would knock on my door at the appointed time. since  my phone wasn't operational to wake me?  He replied that they would , but I was skeptical at best. Luckily I had slept enough on the train and the early evening so I wasn't in the midst  of a deep sound sleep   Another shift change and with it a new smiling courteous desk clerk  who knocked on my door at exactly 6:30 am that morning and called me a taxi whose driver  was also nicer than the ones I had encountered the previous  day. The other nice desk clerk had told me the previous day the cab ride should be at the most 5 euros,but when the weather is bad they tend to charge more. Well this driver was only going to charge me 6 euros but I gave him 10 which  I didn't feel was too bad since their meters start at 5 euros. So off I went to Linate airport on the shuttle bus from Centrale station. Later as I went though the gate to board my plane to leave Italy I  felt  sad inside  ....knowing that it was....... Time to say Goodbye !