Onward train journey - unplanned,
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Getting a bike-friendly train to Milan, via Verona and Lake Garda was quite easy. Getting beyond Milan was not.
An hour’s wait in the ticket office meant that we missed the correct train. The only other train going (roughly) our way was the 2.15 to Genoa. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a bike train. The girl in the ticket office told us that it might be possible to get the bikes on but it wasn’t that likely. I asked whether a refund would be possible if we couldn’t get the bikes on. “No”, she said. Adding that maybe we could leave the bikes in Milan?
(If one has got a couple of hours to spare, as we did waiting for the next train, then Milan Central is not a bad place to be. It’s the biggest railway station in Europe and it’s easy to see why it was included in Michael Portillo’s continental railways series based on his Bradshaw’s Guide. For sure, it’s a very impressive building.)
Nevertheless, I bought the Genoa tickets and, sure enough, the train standing at platform 22, had no bike signs on the outside. Needless to say, when the coast was clear, we hoiked both bikes up onto the train and left them in an area reserved for wheelchairs. Nobody challenged us, so we got to Genoa at around 4.30. Not as far as we’d hoped to get today. We decided to see what other options might be available this evening from Genoa. The French border would be ideal, Menton or Nice maybe?
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Got tickets for a train to Ventimiglia which is about the last place on the Italian riviera before France.
There was an hour to kill in Genoa (just in time for a drink). The trip, along the coast took over two hours - getting us in at 2003hrs.
Booked ahead a place near the Ventimiglia station using Trivago. Quite near the beach - although it’ll be getting dark when we arrive.
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Next day
Up early. 5.30am
Train to Menton, France
Train to Cannes
Train to Marseille
Train to Béziers
Cycle 20mls to St Chinian