Getting to Mare Ligure, Part 1

27,849 steps.  13.18 miles.  1665 calories burned.  Those are the figures reported by my pedometer once I returned from my greatest Italian adventure: the quest to put my feet into the Mediterranean Ocean.  Even more specifically, the portion of the Mediterranean known as Mare Ligure, the Ligurian Sea.

I have had the opportunity to wade in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean (both on the west and the east), and the Gulf of Mexico.  So I didn't want to miss the chance to add the Mediterranean to the list while in Italy.  But I also didn't want to go to a turista destination - I hoped to see the "real" Italian beach.  So I ruled out going to Viareggio, Livorno, or Cecina.  They were all listed in my Italian guidebooks, so I suspected they would be the places americano would go, not italiano.

So using the wonders of modern technology to explore Italy before ever getting there, I used Google Maps to explore the coastline, found train routes and schedules on ItaliaRail.com, and planned my excursion to the beach.  Vada!  That's a town that doesn't show up in the guide books.  Google did turn up some nice photos of the area, and some people had posted reviews of their experiences there.  And the train would take us there!  Whoo-hoo!  I bought tickets for the regionali train for my wife and myself that would also let us take a side trip to Pisa before going on to Vada.

We bravely set forth to the main train station in Florence.  We were scheduled to take the train from Florence to Pisa, then switch trains to go on to Vada.  However, I didn't have the actual train tickets - all I had was a confirmation voucher showing that I had paid for tickets.  When we arrived at the station, I was clueless how to turn the confirmation into real tickets.  We got into the line for the live agent window - the VERY LONG line for the live agent!  But there were also computer kiosks that people could use to buy tickets.  My wife suggested I go see if they could be used for our purposes while she held our place in the line.  Good idea - so off I went...

First, I watched the people in front of me attempt to use the machine.  The first people I saw were tourists like me, although they were probably from Japan rather than the U.S.  (At least it sounded like they were talking in Japanese to each other).  They were clueless about the machine, so I learned a lot about what NOT to do.  Finally, they got their tickets and moved on.  The next person was either Italian or an experienced tourist.  He was in and out so fast I lost track of what he actually did.  Phooey!  No help there.

Finally, I asked the gentleman in front of me whether or not he "parle englese?"  He held his fingers close together and said "piccolo".  I pointed to my confirmation and asked if I could retrieve my tickets from the kiosk, pointing to the machine.  He responded, "Si, I think."  And then he took his turn and was gone.

I got up to the computer screen and noticed that there was a language option.  Great!  I could get it to read in English rather than Italian.  I know computers, so this should be a piece of cake!  I switched to English, and saw the option to "Retrieve ticket" and punched it.  The computer asked for my PRN. 

PRN?  What's that??  Oh, there it is on the confirmation form...  I typed it in and hit "continue." An error message came back.  In Italian. 

Hmmmmm.  No clue what it's telling me.  Maybe I mistyped the PRN.  Hit the back button and try again.  Error message.  Is it the same?  I don't know, still Italian and I didn't look that carefully the first time.

I glanced at my watch and discovered that it's past the time for the train we were scheduled to ride to leave.  Maybe that's the problem, so I tried the PRN for the return trip from Vada back to Florence.  Error message.  Yes, I think it's the same one as before.  Try one more time.  No good.  I began to feel like the Japanese folks that I saw earlier: clueless, and cluttering up the line.  So I gave up and returned to my wife.

Thankfully, her line was moving while I struck out at the kiosk, so we were slightly closer than before.  We got to the window, the agent spoke English, and he understood my problem.  I gave him the confirmation sheet.  He typed in the PRN and the computer spat out tickets immediately.  He handed them to me and said "Pronto" - which can mean a lot of things in Italian, but in this context meant "Next!"  I got the message and we moved away.

Glancing down at what I received, I discovered that we only had tickets for our outbound travel.  Florence to Pisa and then Pisa to Vada.  Because these were regionali train tickets, they were good for any train at any time going to and from those specific destinations for the next 30 days, but they could only be used once.

As we walked out to the trains, I discovered my next problem: I didn't know how to read the schedules posted on the walls to figure out which train departed from which track at what time to which destination.  Fortunately, a train employee was available to direct us to Platform 6.  We got to that platform, but nothing indicated that the train was heading to Pisa, nor when it was departing.  But we got on board anyway, found a conductor and he confirmed we were on the right train.  Success!!

 We left Florence and headed to Pisa without mishap.  Once in Pisa, we stopped to figure out the train schedule - this time with much greater success.  We learned that we had three options for getting to Vada and I carefully wrote down the time, train number and platform.  Then we explored Pisa and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  I'll write about that experience more specifically in another posting.

We were ready to move on to Vada in time to catch the 2nd option.  Got on board the right train and departed on time.  No problem!  I felt the flush of successfully mastering the Italian train system.

Then the conductor came through the car requesting to examine our tickets.  Problem.  There is no stamp on our tickets, she said.

I don't understand.  What stamp do I need?  I already bought the ticket, why do I need to buy a stamp?

Ticket Validator that I did NOT use!

Through some interesting conversation - and a very helpful seatmate across from us - comprehension dawned.  I don't buy the stamp, I validate the ticket by inserting it in a ticket reader, which puts a date/time stamp on the ticket, BEFORE boarding the train.  Regionali tickets are good for up to 30 days, but I must validate the ticket with a date/time stamp to show that I'm using the ticket for that specific trip when a conductor asks to inspect it.  Otherwise, someone could buy one ticket and then use it multiple days.  Boarding a train without getting its validation stamp invalidates the purchase.  The conductor can demand immediate payment of the highest fare or kick the passenger off the train at the next station for failure to pay/stamp the ticket.  YIKES!!!

Fortunately, this conductor was very understanding.  She recognized that we were guests in her country who had failed to follow directions, and so she showed us grace.  She wrote out the date/time stamp and initialed it without making us pay again.  She also told us how to find the correct machine to stamp our return tickets.  I didn't say anything about my lack of return tickets to her.  Things were already too complicated!

And the adventure isn't over .... Stay tuned for part 2!!