On the 31st of July 2011, the day before the 1st Ramadhan, the three of us (Mr.W, Hubby and I) woke up early in the morning around 4 AM just to get ready for our trip to Venice/ Venezia.We had to be at the train station before 5AM to catch the early bus to the Gallarate Train Station. The reason we chose to travel by bus this time was because starting August, Europe was in the mood for the Summer time. Thus, the train from Ternate to Gallarate was closed for operation due to maintenance and construction.
Meeting Mr. W out of the apartment, the three of us started our journey of the day by walking down the dark, quiet and empty streets towards the train station. This time around I put on my white Nike sneakers instead of the green wedges shoes. Knowing that I had to do a lot of walking, giving such comfort to my feet is much more important. Hubby was all smiling from ear to ear when he saw me walking faster ahead of him. The words "I told ya" kept coming out from his mouth. His sarcasm didn't rile me up though. I swallowed it slowly and gave him a sheepish smile. "Haven't I told you I love this guy really much?" (placing my two hands on the shoulder while my eyes looking up to the sky)....LOL!!
The moment we reached the bus stop, I checked my watch and we were absolutely on time. Yet, the bus was not in sight. Assuming that the bus operation was similar to Malaysia which is never on time, we gave it extra 10 minutes to make an appearance. We settled ourselves on the benches provided, waiting patiently while shivering due to the cold temperature.
As time slowly passing by, I noticed that we had waited for almost an hour for the bus.....Oh crap! We had the feelings that everything we had planned would go down the drain. We had no other days and time for a trip. ~sighed~ The silence and the coldness kept us quietly rooted to the seats. I heard dogs barking in the distance and the sounds of an owl coming from somewhere in the dark sent a shiver running down my spine. What a creepy feeling. Uuuuuuuuuu!!!
Hubby was really cold and sleepy before he decided to walk further down the street. He went too far and as he slowly disappeared down the corner of the road, I heard the sound of the expecting bus and it appeared a split second after that. Seeing the sight of the bus out of a sudden, Hubby jumped a little and he dashed towards us as fast as he can. The driver who noticed him, smiled. Though we boarded the bus one hour later than our plan, we were still lightheaded and looking forward for the trip.
Once arriving at the Gallarate station, we ran to the particular platform to catch the early train to the Garibaldi Station. Lucky we had bought the tickets earlier the night before. The counter ticket was closed and the ticket vendor machine was not functioning. Looking at others with no tickets in their hands made me feel sorry. We had experienced the same thing too. Speaking of 'Lesson Learned.'
Let me tell you a bit about the ticket system in Italy. Similar to Malaysia, tickets could be obtained from either the counter or the machine ticket. The only thing that is different in Malaysia is before we enter the train platform, we have to validate our ticket at the automatic gate right? We would insert the card and the blockage is cleared off once the ticket is scanned. We would retrieve the ticket and board the train without having to wait for the train conductor to approach us just so he could have our ticket validated. In Italy, cursing like crazy thanks for the less available but under maintenance ticket machines plus the only one open counter with a slow worker right behind the counter, we managed to get our tickets after lining up in a long queue. A mental torture moment. In contrary to Malaysia, before heading to the platform, we have to get the ticket validated by a small yellow ticket puncher machine which is placed nearby. It is compulsory for you to have it validated as to avoid being fined by the conductor once he checked your ticket when you are already boarded the train. Of course we do not want to spend lots of money on that right? Not a chance...
Actually, there are two options that you can choose to go to Venice. One by the slow train which stops at every station available or another is the express train which heads straight to Venice. In our case, we accidentally bought the tickets for the slow train and we ended up spending almost 3 hours in it. To make things even worse, a group of loud students who were extremely excited to start their holidays in the summer sat together with us in the coach. Throughout the journey, all we could hear was their chit-chat and laughter. Luckily they spoke in Italian. If else, I'd be terribly dizzy. Guess I could still bear listening to a few chinese and indians speaking beside me. At least, they don't use a really high note of voice intonation.
Finally, in the train
A very magnificent place with a beautiful view
Along the way...caught on camera
Nice seeing this isn't it?
I didn't get the chance to ride in it... :(
Captured moment together with Hubby
On one of the bridges
In between the buildings
At one of the souvenir shops
Truly loving and enjoying the scenery
Heeee....:p
Among the tourists
Checking over the map looking for our way out
I was in Venice!! Yahoo!!
Found a halal place to eat Kebab
A wall plasted with complimentary notes
Some comments from Malaysians
Hubby was in the middle of placing our comment on the top spot
Here's the comment that Hubby, Mr. W and I wrote
Ta-da!! Hopefully other Malaysians can read ours too
Lucky that we found the place..
I could still remember the juicy and tasty Kebab in my mouth...:p
Too bad that most of the souvenirs were expensive..if else..
Making our way through the small streets...exploring
Too tired to walk any further...huhu
Typical me, after I got what I wanted,no one has to force me to say "let's leave now." I'd be willing to say "Yes" due to exhaustion. Walking all over the places hurting my legs you know.
We headed back to the train station with a bag of souvenirs each. Not many things could be bought as they were so expensive. Might as well save your money instead of spending them on unnecessary items.
While waiting for the express train, we made sure our bladders were not full. Luckily both women and men toilet were clean. Instead of placing a cleaner sitting behind a desk in front of the toilet, there was an automatic gate right up front. We needed to get in line and prepared 80 cents in hands before having them inserted in the provided slot and the gate will automatically open for us. We can't simply walk together through the gate with someone who paid for the entry. If we did, the CCTV would caught our act on camera and further actions will be taken on us. So no tipu2 Ok.
As for the return journey, we spent only 2 hours to get back to the Garibaldi station. It was getting dark when we reached the station. It was around 11 PM and according to Mr. W, it was the time for the last bus ride back to Ternate. Lucky was on our side when the moment we stepped down on the Ternate station, Mr.W saw the sight of the bus. We hurriedly stepped down the stairs and stopped the bus just in time. We held out our money to the driver for the tickets but he refused to take. Man, weren't we so lucky? We didn't have to pay for the ride. Later, we safely arrived in Ternate and walked back to our apartments happily. What a day!!
Thank you Allah for the opportunity and experience you have given me to see more of your creations. :p
