dramas at the train station in Foggia!!

I have decided this is not a B & B I am staying in, it feels more like a boarding house! I have not seen anyone working here since I arrived yesterday. They had no map of the town to give me, no information about what there is to do or where to eat etc. Still, I guess that makes the exploring more fun for me, I found a place with a map and surprised myself by being able to follow it quite well! I have walked a fair bit this morning, and was absolutely wrapped to find a market this morning – I LOVE a market – all the fruit and veg and fish and cheese and crap clothes and sunglasses and watches – and the hawkers yelling and the mammas doing the shopping for the day!! Love it!

(Foggia market this morning)

I also found a very cool osteria for lunch where the young guy wanted to speak English and was happy for me to speak Italian. Best of all, wine, bread, salad, pasta and coffee for 10 euro!

But, before all this happened, I have had an eventful morning!! I found the café where I get a cappuccino and cornetto for breakfast, then walked to the next café and had another cappuccino and then walked until I found the train station so I could work out what time the train leaves tomorrow. I bought my ticket yesterday but just wanted to check that I didn’t need a reservation as well. The guy at the information counter said yes I do need a reservation. No drama, I stood in line with the nun behind me doing her rosaries as we were waiting. My turn came so I went to the guy at the counter and told him that I wanted a reservation for the trenno domani (train tomorrow) to Bari. He tells me I don’t need one. I told him the information guy told me I do need one. He started to raise his voice at me and banging on in Italian. I stayed calm and said that the uomini a il informazione parla (man at the information said) I need a reservation, he is yelling louder at me, staying calm I raise my sarcastic eyebrow and said ‘no capisco quando tu yell’ (I don’t understand when you yell). Then I repeated that the man at the information counter told me I need a reservation and I am not leaving until I get one. He stands up and starts yelling at the information counter man who came to the window, smiled at me and asked what I wanted. I said that he had told me I needed a reservation for the train tomorrow and the other guy said I don’t need one, I am confused, do I need one or not. The yelling man is yelling louder at me by now and I had a choice to make. I was about to cry or I was about to go off my tits.

I went off my tits.

I yelled back at him with my biggest Betty Hard Face Bitch look on my face and I said “DON’T … YELL … AT …ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The other guy turns around to the yeller who had stopped in shock and said something about “signora bella” and the yeller shut up.

The nice one told me that the train at 10.10 does not need a reservation.

I smiled at him and said ‘molto grazie’ (many thanks).

The other guy, I glared at and said ‘get fucked’.

I swear if I need a reservation for that train tomorrow I will hunt them both down ...