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Day 4

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This was always going to be a challenging day to complete on time. I awoke early after another bad night's sleep. The room was small, but the Hotel Dock Milano building had obviously had a grander past. It was very close to the station. The Frecciarossa was a few minutes late arriving. We soon made that time up as we climbed up into the Alps. I had gone for Business class again and had the biscuit option rather than sandwich this time. We followed the Dora Riparia up to Oulx station, then passing Bardonecchia we went through the long tunnel to Modane, down the Arc valley to Saint-Jean-du-Maurienne and on to Chambery. The scenery was delightful, but no snow to be observed on the mountains visible. We then went to Lyon via Aix, whereas we had gone under Mont Grele on the way out. Then it was up the superfast route to Gare de Lyon. We arrived on time at 13:23. I needed to get to Gare du Nord promptly for the 15:02 service. There were delays on RER's D line, so I took the A line to...
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Day 3

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The Hotel Napoleon feels like an old, mediterranian hotel. Unfortunately, not all the windows are double glazed and as my room faced the main east coast railway line, it was noisy. I was awake early and choose to go for a walk. I had hoped to view the Arco di Augusto on the way back from San Marino, but the bus didn't stop. On my return to the hotel, I checked out and had breakfast. Breakfast started at 7:30 and I had a train to catch at 8:03. It was an impressive spread on the breakfast table. There were cereals, cold meats, sliced cheese and lots of cakes. I tried to eat what I could in the time available. The train was on time. I had decided to use regional train services through the Apennines. The first leg was along the Adriatic coast to Falconara. It was unsurprisingly 'touristy' until passing the oil refinery and offshore facilities there.  We arrived six minutes late which left just just three minutes to make the connection. We headed into the hills wh...
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Day 2

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I didn't sleep well and was up in plenty of time to walk to the Gare de Lyon. I selected a filled baguette from one of the many snack bars and made my way to the 7:29 Frecciarossa to Milan. We were soon speeding south at 290+ km/h. 90 minutes or so later we came to a stop. The tannoy told us of a problem with a train ahead of us. We were kept informed of the problem, bottles of water and salty snacks were distributed and when we started moving, we were told that we would be arriving 68 minutes into Milan. We arrived at 15:15, 68 minutes late. We were prompted to apply for compensation, which I did via a couple of clicks on the Trenitalia app. I had planned for quick trip into Milan, but only had 20 minutes until my next train. The Milano Centrale is quite spectacular inside and out, so I dashed outside for a quick photo. I decided to try Business class for the 15:35 to Rimini. The seating was certainly more comfortable and spacious. The inclusive snack comprised of a small bottle o...
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Day 1

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Berrys to London was a little late probably because of extra traffic due to a tube strike. Walked from Hammersmith to St Pancras. Eurostar to Paris. All on schedule. Walked through the busy streets from Gare du Nord to the arch of Porte St Denis.  From here it was on to the Ile de la Cite via a sunset from Pont Notre Dame. And then predictably to the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral. Then it was on to the Hotel Claret Bercy for the night, via Ile Saint-Louis and the Gare de Lyon.
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