October 22, 2011: Me and Doreen woke up late on this lazy Saturday morning because my dear friend was very tired from doing household chores yesterday at Shelley's. We are supposed to be leaving early morning today but it seems that Doreen was still in pain from that biopsy done on her last Monday.
She says that the pain was intermittently numbing and aching but when she takes the Ibuprofen it seems that it was been wiped out. She took some pills this morning and told me that if she feels better we will be leaving in the afternoon.
I started packing my clothes and tried to pack enough clothes for the whole week. I wanted to carry light so I only filled my backpack with shirts and pants as well as one jacket just in case the weather will change.
At 1100H, Doreen told me that we will be leaving at 1500H so we have to catch the bus from her place at 1230H. We then took the bus at the Centervikke going to the SNCF TGV train station. We bought two tickets going to Ventimiglia, France and will exchange with TrenItalia from there going to Genova, Italy.
At least Doreen felt better from the Ibuprofen pills she took this morning and now she was feeling better. The limping was quite lessened and the grimacing was all gone. Now she is ready for the whole week's trip and adventure with me in Italy.
The SNCF TGV train ride was very smooth and uneventful. We left Aix-en-Provence at almost 1500H passing a lot of towns and cities going to north-west of France. We passed by Marseille, Touton, Antibes, Cannes, Monaco, Nice, etc. The train followed the coastal way going up to the mountains of Monaco and ends up in Ventimiglia. The beautiful French countryside coloured and painted our trip with beautiful sceneries. It was very lovely to see from the train.
Doreen and I had fun reminiscing our college days and experiences and laugh at them in a silly manner. We remembered a lot of unfortabble and fun experiences from college. We had alot of fun. Our seriius neighbors near our seats were probably wondering what we were laughing at. I myself did the loudest and embarrassing laugh. We had so much fun at the train talking and observing some passengers and poking fun at them. We were being silly at that time and it was fun.
When we arrived at Ventimiglia it was already 1900H and we exchanged platform to take the TrenItalia going the the Italian border. We crossed the border safely without even asked or searched for passports or other paperworks. The train appears old and looks unclean but it was good enogh to transport us to iur destination. The passengers dressed in a freestyle way compared to the stylish outfits of the French people. Italians are more talkative compared to the French and are more charming and polite compared to their French counterparts.
I couldn't appreciate the Italian countryside at that time because the dusk had already set in and it was already dark during that time. The train ride was about two hours and we arrived in Genova, Italy at 2120H. Doreen's cousin was waiting for us at the train station with her little daughter. Such a warm welcome made for us at the train station.
We went out from the station and took bus #20 going to Doreen's cousin apartment. The weather in Genova is kinda windy and cold and good thing I had my jacket on. It's quite a big city at the base of the miuntain and there is a big port with a shipyards near the sea ports. It was quite captivating to see it at night.
The lighthouse from the distant appeared as a beacon for tge seafarer and guide them towards the shore of Genova. The people in the bus appears very careless about life compared to the serious people in France. I guess Italians are more fun loving compared to the French.
We were so tired when we arrived at Doreen's cousin's apartment and we call it a nught after the dinner and the short talk. I had my few shots of wine to calm qand warm me down then I retired early hoping for a good day for the next day.
Crossing the border of France and Italy had given me a chance to experience the mingling of the two cultures and the two nationalities. They have their own distinct way to attribute and differentiate themselves from each other and it had made me quite observant about it.
Although I witnessed kthe intermingling of the two cultures yet I used myself to bridge the gap and fully understand how to interact with them so that I cannot offend one from the other. This travel had made me a connoisseur of cuktures and people's behavior. It was a struggle but it was fun, and I liked it.
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