Termoli

We feel like we have conquered our list of things to do, so now we are inventing new things. We pick a town just north of us in the region of Molise, province of Campobasso – Termoli. We buy our train tickets and head out. We could have rented a car for the cost of today’s adventure, but it is relaxing and both of us can see the sights this way. We step out into the street to head to the station and we can tell we have just missed a downpour.

The train ride is hot and though honestly not even remotely necessary, we think the heat is on! At least it is a two-hour train ride. Haha. The train is following behind some dark storm clouds. The scenery changes from arid olive groves to lush green farmland on rolling hills. The new scenery is refreshing. We arrive in Termoli and there are telltale signs that we just missed a doozy of a downpour. We had to put our hoods up, not because of the rain but because of the runoff.

My sister and her husband have arrived in Rome. We are reliving our adventure through their Snapchats. I do have to say that Rome has been our favorite to date. We have a lot more adventure in store yet, so the jury is out.

Termoli was a good choice. It is a popular seaside resort, with a lungomare that wanders along the waterfront, under a towering castle. The wind has quite a bite. We find some shelter and eat our sandwiches while we watch the turbulent sea.

We take a new path back to the train station, down a pedestrian mall. You can tell that this town is hopping when it is hot. We absolutely would not survive here in the heat of that we are certain. We arrive at the station at just the right time.

The Inter City train assigns your seat. You can pay €2 to choose. I wish I had, as there is a girl in our seating area (2 seats forward, 2 seats backward with tables). So, we cannot sit together and she also is spread out and it feels ridiculous to make her move; she is in our window seats. To add insult to injury, she’s not even looking out the window, just watching her iPad. Jim teases me for not paying the small fee.

I am practicing my Italian to tell our barista that we are leaving Bari. It would feel wrong to disappear from her life. I’m going to let her know that it is our last day and we appreciate all the excellent cappuccinos. I guess, Addio is a dramatic way of saying you won’t see anyone again. But I’m going to say it anyways 😛 I, like most foreign language students, can read quite a bit of Italian, but am frozen when it comes to speaking. And it is still quite difficult to understand speech. It sounds like a word salad. Sometimes it is quite busy when we are in there, so I will be prepared with a little note. (which frankly, will be relieving.. but I promise. I’ll be brave if it is not busy!). When we lived in Italy decades ago, Jim spoke a bit of Italian and I spoke a bit of German, so we could pretty much get through most situations. I decided to start learning Italian myself about 5 months ago.

NB. We go for coffee and it is NOT busy. Actually kind of quiet. I decide this is a great opportunity to use the Italian I practiced. I drum up the nerve to tell our barista that we are leaving on Friday. Before we leave, I hand her the note I have prepared. It has our names and our travel blog if she is interested. I belatedly remember that the note says today is our last day, not Friday. Face palm!

I am glad I gave her the note though. She added me on Instagram; it’s frustrating to see someone every day and not have the chance to get to know them a little more, bit by bit. And now, I have that opportunity. I wish I could ask questions though!

We got back to Bari, evidently we just missed a downpour. We walk home in the aftermath. We should buy a lottery ticket. We have narrowly missed being soaked to the bone three times today!

paleremo presto