Frecciarossa to Roma

Yes, we are on the move again.

But why on earth would we head to Rome now?!? In August of all times!

It’s the height of tourist season. It’s crowded. It’s hot. And it is going to get swelteringly hot in the days ahead.

Well, try as we might, the opera company refused to schedule the performance that is the reason for this 3-night trip to a different time of the year. I’m kidding of course. We have no pull with the opera company, so we just had to accept the performance date as scheduled.

Anyway, we specifically chose a mid-morning train departure from Bologna to coincide with the check-in time for the apartment we reserved through Booking. A relaxing start to our travel day.

After making sure all the rolling shutters were down, the boiler was turned off, and the electric appliances were all unplugged, we left the apartment around 8:45a. A short walk on a comfortably cool summer morning put us at the Via Farini bus stop … from where we hopped on bus #30 to Bologna Centrale. None of the pay-terminals on the bus were operational, so we got a free ride today … confirmed with the driver just to be sure.

It was still too early for our train to show on the departures board. We expected that this would be the case, and had planned our morning to give us time to grab a cappuccino & cornetto … this time at Dispensa Emilia. Tummies sated, we stopped in at the OD Store to stock up on Lindt chocolate bars … they have the best prices in Bologna.

By the time all that was done, our train was listed on the board … with binario 19 showing as the departure platform. We were more or less expecting that we’d be leaving from the underground section of Bologna Centrale. It takes a bit of time to get there … going down elevators and escalators … crossing under the rail tracks. So, we had given ourselves plenty of time to do so.

The high-speed Frecciarossa train #89123 arrived 15 minutes before the 10:27a scheduled departure. Waiting within the carrozza 5 zone, we had an easy embarkation from the door closest to our seats in row 19.

An on-time departure from Bologna. And here we are now. Zipping in and out of tunnels, the scenery a blur where we get a chance to see it … on our way to Roma Termini … with a stop in Firenze.

The train is packed. Some are likely just going to Firenze … others probably staying on until Napoli, where this train terminates. When we booked our tickets, we managed to get two seats that are not part of a booth set-up, so we expect a comfortable trip.

Now to sit back and enjoy the ride.Læs mere