BUS STORY # 469 (Cathy’s Bus Story # 1: In Italy, You Can Get There From Here -- On The Bus)

Downloaded from *Logged*: Cinque Terre -- Day 17

My two cousins took a trip to Italy together, and recently, one of them described their adventures which happened to include a charming bus story.

They had taken the train to the town of Cinque Terre with the name and a picture of the hotel they had booked back in the States. When they got off the train, they didn’t see any bus stops, but they did see a long row of taxis. They had hoped to avoid the taxis because they understood the fare would be expensive. But with no alternate transportation in sight, they decided to bite the bullet.

However, when they went over to the taxi stand, there was no one around. Cathy figured it must be siesta time. She had her sister go back into the train station to ask about other transportation. When her sister came back, Cathy asked her what she had found out.

“I couldn’t understand a word she said.”

As if on cue, a bus pulled up in front of them. Cathy went to the front door and showed the driver the picture of their hotel. The driver shook his head “no.” Unfortunately, Cathy spoke no Italian and the driver no English. Once they both realized further efforts to communicate were hopeless, the driver closed the door and pulled away.

And then stopped.

The driver was waving them back to the bus. After a brief debate between the sisters (“It doesn’t go there.” “He wants us to come.”), they went to the front door. He motioned them aboard, and they boarded. They eventually ended up at a place with a well-marked bus stop and the driver indicated they should get out here.

Cathy remembers their bus had a letter rather than a number, and that the bus stop had a list of the buses that stopped there. Their driver’s bus letter was not on that list.

When the next bus came, they again showed the picture of the hotel to the driver, and he motioned them aboard. A co-rider who spoke some English directed them to stay on the bus when they got to the stop where everyone got off.

This they did.

And, sure enough, when the bus finally resumed it’s route, a long and winding uphill climb brought them to the front door of their hotel.

Cathy says she is sure the first driver left his regular route to get them to the bus stop where they could get to where they were going.

She loves Italy.