Monday afternoon
Arriving into Roma Fiumcino Airport was an interesting experience.
Arrivals was almost deserted and I realised I had perhaps been on one of the first planes to arrive into Rome since airspace had been reopened that morning.
Walking out into the main concourse of the airport was an eye opener. It was like that scene from ‘Gone With The Wind’ where Scarlet O’Hara is impeded in her progress through the streets by a few men lying on the floor. As she plows through the camera pans up and away from her to reveal a cast of thousands of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers bivouacked all over Five Points, Atlanta. Rome Fiumcino was like that. The moans and groans of the delayed and undeparted filling the hall with a cacophonous fury.
Again the scale of the impact of the volcano hit home, but for me, the air route was over. I had come as far North and West as I could and farther than I had dared hope in Sydney. The only other airport nearer to home that had been open had been Milan, and I later learned that it had closed again that day and no flights had made it in after all.
I made it through the 60’s quasi-futuristic tube labyrinth of Fiumcino to the airport train station. And because there were no planes landing there was of course noone in the station and no queue for tickets!
I was about to get a one way ticket to Roma Termini when the ticket guy asked me where I really wanted to go.
“London” I said.
“I can’t help there, but you can buy tickets for the whole of Italy here.”
I gave Plan J one last roll of the dice.
“OK. Can you get me a train from Milano to Paris?”
“No, I am sorry I cannot do international travel. You would have to go to Milan and buy another ticket there”.
The words of my friend rang through my ears. I wanted to avoid Milan at all costs. PLan L it was.
“OK. How close to Nice can you get me?”
“Ventimiglia. A train leaves Roma in two hours. You will arrive at 23:59 tonight.”
I had visited Ventimiglia a couple of times on holidays along the south coast of France and knew it to be the last town in Italy before the border… If needs be I could get a taxi to Nice from there.
“Ventimiglia then please”. PLan L was avanti!
Arriving into Roma Fiumcino Airport was an interesting experience.
Arrivals was almost deserted and I realised I had perhaps been on one of the first planes to arrive into Rome since airspace had been reopened that morning.
Walking out into the main concourse of the airport was an eye opener. It was like that scene from ‘Gone With The Wind’ where Scarlet O’Hara is impeded in her progress through the streets by a few men lying on the floor. As she plows through the camera pans up and away from her to reveal a cast of thousands of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers bivouacked all over Five Points, Atlanta. Rome Fiumcino was like that. The moans and groans of the delayed and undeparted filling the hall with a cacophonous fury.
Again the scale of the impact of the volcano hit home, but for me, the air route was over. I had come as far North and West as I could and farther than I had dared hope in Sydney. The only other airport nearer to home that had been open had been Milan, and I later learned that it had closed again that day and no flights had made it in after all.
I made it through the 60’s quasi-futuristic tube labyrinth of Fiumcino to the airport train station. And because there were no planes landing there was of course noone in the station and no queue for tickets!
I was about to get a one way ticket to Roma Termini when the ticket guy asked me where I really wanted to go.
“London” I said.
“I can’t help there, but you can buy tickets for the whole of Italy here.”
I gave Plan J one last roll of the dice.
“OK. Can you get me a train from Milano to Paris?”
“No, I am sorry I cannot do international travel. You would have to go to Milan and buy another ticket there”.
The words of my friend rang through my ears. I wanted to avoid Milan at all costs. PLan L it was.
“OK. How close to Nice can you get me?”
“Ventimiglia. A train leaves Roma in two hours. You will arrive at 23:59 tonight.”
I had visited Ventimiglia a couple of times on holidays along the south coast of France and knew it to be the last town in Italy before the border… If needs be I could get a taxi to Nice from there.
“Ventimiglia then please”. PLan L was avanti!
Finally! Somewhere on your trip I have actually been! Ventimiglia! Easy to get to Nice from there!!! And such a lovely place to do travel overland!
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