Como to Bergamo 20 Settembre 2014

Buona sera (for me) good evening, who knows what the time is for you!

Got up early this morning thinking that I would have an earlish breakfast then get a taxi to the station to catch the 11.10 train to Bergamo.
Firstly, last night, I stayed home, got back on the ferry, it was raining, got to my room and stayed there.  TV on and in bed by 8ish- heaven - til the bastard people upstairs started!  In the end I rang down into the restaurant and asked them to do something about the noise from upstairs.  The noise turned down from around volume 15 to volume 9 so at least that was something.  Then I had breakfast this morning and had finished packing by 9.30 so decided to get an earlier taxi and get the 10.10 train.  (Now I have absolutely NO idea where I got those times from or which arse I pulled them out of because a train does not exist at either of those times I discovered when I got to the station.)  There is a taxi rank at the front of the restaurant so I walked up to the driver (two cars, one driver) and he told me (in Italian) that he couldn't take me because he wasn't first, that the first taxi driver has to take me but he was in the cafe having coffee so I had to wait.  No.  I said,  No.  So he took me to the station, the whole time shaking in his boots!
Got to Como station and it turns out that I needed to catch two trains.  One to Monza, then one to Bergamo.  Ok,  So, the first train stops at Monza and NFI about the train to Bergamo.  So I stood in line at the biglietto counter thinking I will just ask the ticket man when the lady in line behind me starts huffing and puffing.  Didn't blame her, there was one ticket man and about a million of us in line.  So we start chatting.  Her in broken English, me in my own version of Italian.  Turns out she was going to Milano tomorrow but there is a strike tomorrow so she was trying to find out if her train would be running, meanwhile she made her husband who was sitting down and thought he could relax come over to us and tell me about my train to Bergamo.  I said no signora, non importanta, and she said, si, he can get up and walk!
Next I get on the train to Bergamo, now I have been on many trains in Italy but this train was the absolute pits, it took all the cakes in the world and was the PITS.  I did manage to take a couple of photos out of the window in between the graffiti when we went over a bridge.
I sat there for an hour til we got to Bergamo where there is apparently a funicular (not pronounced 'fun') from the new(ish) and big town of Bergamo up the mountain to the 'alta citta' (the high city - medieval and has a wall around it) where I am staying, but the taxi driver told me no no no signora you have to get a taxi.  I'm thinking 'what a surprise' noting no meter was on (what another surprise) but it turns out that there really is no direct way up here except taxi and for the time I was in the taxi I think he ripped himself off!
So, dumped my bags after the old bag gave me my key (what is it with Italian Signore????) And have walked since.This is a magnificent old place, medieval with lots of little laneways and very old buildings.  Unfortunately there is not a lot of 'green', parks etc so some of the area smells very cats and dogs pissy!
I've had lunch near the funicular that I will have a go on tomorrow, then walked and walked and had to come back to my room for a toilet break to go straight out again, sit in the piazza where there is something informative going on, no idea what, I wasn't informed, walked past a guy playing the harp and loved it so bought his cd which will probably sound crap when I get it home, have seen heaps of red cross people walking around but it's not got anything to do with the alta citta according to the senorita who served me dinner, there is a festa down in the new citta, then I had dinner at a little place where the signora had shit on her top lip, or that's what she looked like until I told her I like her dress and then she smiled, but told me I couldn't have the mixed platter of bruschetta because that's a lunch thing so I had grilled vegies (eggplant, red capsicum and zucchini) and have come back to my room where the place I'm staying has a restaurant - out the front of my room - and the night here is just starting.
I will just have a shower, jarmies and take one of Geoff's magic little pills and hopefully snore the night away!