Kiwi adventurer exploring the world one country at a time

Accidentally missing the 9:38am connection for my trip from Florence to Nice, I retired to the fact I would have to catch the much later 11:58am train.

At the station I hoped on the train & another passenger said the train wasn’t working & we had to change platforms. After a speedy change to the next platform we were off.

The next 3-4 hours were breathtaking – I had been for 3 months without seeing the sea & to my delight I realised this train ride was going to take me along the coast of Italy and the South of France. There were cute towns precariously nestled into the unforgiving cliffs overlooking the sea.

It was getting dark and it was time for the second changeover of the day. At the station beggars and unsavory characters staggered towards me and a lady muttered something to me in Italian and walked off.

The new train was just sitting at the station and my eyes widened as the train engine went off. I looked around and no one was in my carriage – panic set in. I got off the deserted train and I could only see one other person at the whole station. It was dark & I was scared and I had no idea where I was. After a few minutes I found a policeman. Unfortunately he didn’t speak a word of English, but I got him to type where we were into my phone…Savona.

I quickly worked out a new route to Nice and that the next and LAST train for the day was departing in 8 minutes. Finally off I was on my way to Ventimiglia.

I’m starting to calm myself down when the train comes to a roaring halt & everyone starts getting off. I ask a passenger what’s going on and she tells me the tracks are blocked ahead and we have to catch a bus.

I follow the lady onto a bus, where no one speaks a word of English. I don’t know where we are and all the local Italians are staring at my bright pink bag, blue eyes and blonde hair. It’s 8pm at night and we’re travelling through the pitch-black Italian hills.

To my relief we pull up to a little station, where a train is waiting for us. The station is rural & nothing is open, homeless people are sleeping inside the station room. I just want to be in Nice. I hop on the train and eventually it pulls off.

Finally I arrive at the last changeover for the day – Ventimiglia. And yet again there were plenty of shady characters.

At midnight I pull into the beautiful city of Nice. Sometimes the above is the price you pay to get to one of the most beautiful coastal cities in France and I would do that day again just to be back in Nice.