A day of walking, sitting and waiting.

We checked out of Alex House at 10 am and headed to the train station (across town) to leave our bags until our 4:39 pm train. After that hike we headed back over the bridge to the Ponte Vecchio for some more breathtaking pictures. My cousin Kristin planned on meeting up with us, but encountered some transportation problems. She and her friend hadn't yet validated their bus stubs when an official requested to see them. Since they didn't validate their tickets immediately after entering the bus, the official fined them each 45€. Kristin didn't have enough money to pay it all so she has to go to the police station and pay the rest. Because of this confusion and delay, I wasn't able to see her, although I did learn the importance of finding the little yellow box and sticking my bus ticket in it!

After aimlessly trying to find things to do on Sunday (which is impossible when 88 percent of the stores are closed) we headed back to the train station (some backtracking, walking in circles and general lostness helped us pass the time). Most of the students who had gone to Florence from our school were on the same train from Florence to Padova. Halfway through the train ride the conductor notified us there would be a 20 minute delay. After that was over, he then said there was a medical emergency. (well, i roughly translated what the conductor was saying. he didn't repeat it in english so i just guessed.) All during this delay, we felt as though our train car was slanted sideways and we would soon be falling off track. I pulled out my phrasebook and spoke a few broken sentences to the nice Italian woman sitting next to me. After 45 minutes of stillness we were moving again. This delay caused all of us to miss our train in Padova to Bassano and the next train wasn't for 2 more hours. A train to Bassano left in 30 minutes and we all trekked over to the bus station.

By this point we had accumulated some more students and there were probably 50 students, clad with enormous backpacks. Although the bus was one of the biggest I've seen, there were already people on it and we were worried we wouldn't all fit. We did all make it on, but half of us had to stand for 30 minutes until seats opened up. Upon our arrival in Bassano, we got on the bus that our school chartered to take us home. Halfway to Paderno, the bus pulled to the side of the road and couldn't restart the engine. He got it started again and we all joked how horrible it would be if the bus really broke down.

We spoke too soon.

A few minutes later our bus was officially stopped in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. Our Italian bus driver didn't speak English so no one knew what was going on. For some reason we were moved to get off the bus and all the guys had to push it. Yes. A big greyhound like bus filled with 50 students' luggage up a little hill. They actually moved it, but not enough to get us anywhere. It was absolutely hilarious and we all took lots of pictures. After that attempt proved unhelpful we sat and the bus, unsure what was going on. Some people proposed just getting our bags and walking the rest of the way home. Another group retrieved a bottle of wine from their luggage and drank on the side of the road. We were notified another bus had been sent to save us, but it took forever. Once it arrived we transferred all our stuff and were excited to get back to campus.

Of course this wasn't the end of our obstacles. The bus had come from the other direction and just pulled right in front of our first bus. In order to go to Paderno, it had to back up and turn the other way. While such a feat is impossible for American bus drivers, Italian bus drivers are incredibly flexible and it is no big deal to perform 3 point turns in such large automobiles. What proved to be a challenge was the gate and house millimeters away from the back of the bus. A 3 point turn turned into an 8 point turn and the homeowner's stood in their front door, staring at this huge bus about to back into their house. The man, god bless him, was able to open the gate so the bus could back out a few more inches.We couldn't go forward anymore because of a brick wall. We were all on the bus laughing at the state of our transportation and how long it was taking us to get home. We had actually caused a traffic jam in rural Italy...and when i tell you this, you must realize that there is no one out here and we had cars lined up on both sides. It has hilarious. We all bonded during while stranded on the side of the road. And while I was extremely exhausted by the time we got home Sunday at 11:15 pm (2 hours later than planned) it was quite a memorable experience.