I was looking forward to lots of walking in Rome today. Jump on a train, quite a few, and in 30-35 minutes I am in the most lovely train terminal. Roma Termini. Simply go to Platform 3 (Binario 3) before the designated arrival time to my station. Seems easy…unless you are so busy people watching, that a train pulls up on Binario 2 just before yours arrives. And on I go.
Mia and Alice let me know I am on the train to Milano. Awesome. Hours away and gorgeous stops in between. Mia looks up all the stops on this train, and I choose Arezzo. Somewhere I wanted to see – perfetto. So rolling with the new travel plan, I pass Orvieto and head onto Arezzo.
Arezzo is a city in eastern Tuscany (Toscana). With a population topping 100,000. I am guessing it is much more modern with numerous ancient landmarks, buildings, cathedrals and sculptures. There are many antique shops, museums and interesting things to see. Sadly my time is limited.
Okay, I’m good with that. I am pretty sure that there will be trains back through Orte. And I might come back for a day or two later….
Across from me Mia and Alice sit. They look quite young to me and it is only through them that I realized I’m on the wrong train. We start to chat and it is quite interesting. They both speak English, are seniors in high school and going to see a friend in Bologna and spend 3 days there. They are from Terni, a neighboring town to Orte. Mia did a semester in Sweden – high school there. So many cool educational opportunities for students in Europe. They comment how university is cheap in Italy but just about free in Sweden and Germany. An educated population provides so much to a country. And of course they ask about America and we have a long chat about healthcare, education, politics and family. Lovely hour to spend before arriving in Arezzo.
The train station is an easy walk (across the street) to the city. It seems a mix of old and new buildings and the more modern ‘look’ reminds me of Rome. I know the Piazza Grande is the major tourist landmark with a museum in the main church. What they don’t tell you is the piazza is on a downhill slant. So sitting at an outdoor cafe, choose your seat wisely!
From there I head over the a church called The Basilica of San Domenico, a gothic-style church dedicated to St Dominic. It is renowned for a painted crucifix by Cimabue. What I found very interesting was the head of ‘David’ placed in the piazza there. Looks like he has a few tattoos also. And then it was time to head home. Plenty of trains (just about anything going south) will stop in Orte. Oh the best train station!!! I’ll head to Rome another day…but soon.
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