Our final full day in Italy, before we fly home tomorrow. We visited the Italian town of Gallipoli, A walled island city at the end of a peninsular that sticks out into the Ionian Sea. We were back on the train today, and this time in air-conditioned comfort. Nardò Centrale station is a busy hub on the local regional network and we caught it at rush-hour when there were two trains at the platform simultaneously. The rush of adrenaline was overpowering, certainly for one of the station staff who appeared to be sleeping the excitement off.
We had a morning of free time in Gallipoli, and everybody found somewhere special to have a last Italian lunch.
Great Rail Journeys pay me vast amounts of money for doing these Tours, so much so that I could probably retire to somewhere like Zambia as a millionaire in the local currency. Just occasionally, I’m required to actually earn my pay, and today was one of those days. Unfortunately one of our clients became unwell and required medical assistance. Resolving all that meant that I didn’t have as much time to take photos as usual, so apologies for that. The good news is that the lady has made a sufficient recovery such that she can fly back with us tomorrow.
This will probably be my last tour this year, and what a year it’s been! I thought that the nicest way to remember the tour would be to put our group photo up at the top, masks and all. Despite the complications of COVID, I genuinely believe that our clients have enjoyed themselves and have both felt, and been safe. For me, it’s been a genuine pleasure to be back at work. Tomorrow we brace ourselves for another 2 1/2 hours in the care of British Airways and their bag of crisps.
TimOnTheTrain 