This is the "and back" bit. We were tight for time, so settled for 24h in Genoa plus overnight sleeps in Civitavecchia and Chambery.
Genoa is a fascinating city, with excellent public transport including a rack line (which we didn't ride as the timetable had been changed and didn't fit), numerous lifts including one that starts horizontal and switches to vertical, and the Righi funicular (both of which we rode for the views of the city and port) - oh, and a bimode trolleybus, a metro and loads of buses. It is also the start of the scenic narrow gauge line to Casella, which I had planned on covering until I discovered it was bustituted
As to the journey:
Catania-Messina-Villa SG on the IC (delayed 45min by a defective coach on the Palermo portion, which at least reduced the wait for the next leg), then Villa-Rome on a Frecciarossa (lovely scenery, but marred by the bistro car which could only offer lasagne on a plastic microwave tray, not even any salad - no wonder we were the only customers!) and finally to Civitavecchia by Frecciabianca, an older Pendolino set.
Next day was another FB (very busy after Pisa) which gave us the opportunity of doing the very scenic Cinque Terre coastal stretch, and as a bonus a diversion north of Cecina to avoid digging around Livorno. In terms of scenery, Civitavecchia to Cecina has its moments. We finished at G-Brignole, walked over to the ticket kiosk, bought 24h public transport tickets and were quickly at our very nice and central hotel.
From Genoa we took an afternoon regional express to Turin, where we waited for our TGV to Chambery via the Mont Cenis (my last major Alpine route, tick!). And waited - it turned up an hour late owning to a technical defect, and was equally in need of TLC inside. Worse still, obscure customs rules mean the bistro doesn't open till Modane where there is a rush for service; however, the food was worth the wait: much better than previous experience suggested, and impressive in avoiding single-use plastic too. The run up to the tunnel is lovely, and no doubt the French side is too, but it was dark and wet by then - we were +40 into Chambery. Incidentally, French customs boar1ded at Modane and were checking baggage - what's the contraband, we wondered?
So to our last day - uneventful, except for a security alert at Lyon which meant clearing some of the platforms (and a 15min delay on our TGV to Lille). The last leg was standard LNER, with "Skyfall" heading the 1703 to Leeds, a 333 to Shipley and Daughter's Taxi to save the schlep uphill home. Service in 1st was up to scratch, though the roast chicken is uninspiring as a chef's special, and it was unusually empty, being school holidays.
An excellent trip all round, though much more intensive than our usual trips - we needed a holiday to recover (but fortunately we are retired
Genoa is a fascinating city, with excellent public transport including a rack line (which we didn't ride as the timetable had been changed and didn't fit), numerous lifts including one that starts horizontal and switches to vertical, and the Righi funicular (both of which we rode for the views of the city and port) - oh, and a bimode trolleybus, a metro and loads of buses. It is also the start of the scenic narrow gauge line to Casella, which I had planned on covering until I discovered it was bustituted
As to the journey:
Catania-Messina-Villa SG on the IC (delayed 45min by a defective coach on the Palermo portion, which at least reduced the wait for the next leg), then Villa-Rome on a Frecciarossa (lovely scenery, but marred by the bistro car which could only offer lasagne on a plastic microwave tray, not even any salad - no wonder we were the only customers!) and finally to Civitavecchia by Frecciabianca, an older Pendolino set.
Next day was another FB (very busy after Pisa) which gave us the opportunity of doing the very scenic Cinque Terre coastal stretch, and as a bonus a diversion north of Cecina to avoid digging around Livorno. In terms of scenery, Civitavecchia to Cecina has its moments. We finished at G-Brignole, walked over to the ticket kiosk, bought 24h public transport tickets and were quickly at our very nice and central hotel.
From Genoa we took an afternoon regional express to Turin, where we waited for our TGV to Chambery via the Mont Cenis (my last major Alpine route, tick!). And waited - it turned up an hour late owning to a technical defect, and was equally in need of TLC inside. Worse still, obscure customs rules mean the bistro doesn't open till Modane where there is a rush for service; however, the food was worth the wait: much better than previous experience suggested, and impressive in avoiding single-use plastic too. The run up to the tunnel is lovely, and no doubt the French side is too, but it was dark and wet by then - we were +40 into Chambery. Incidentally, French customs boar1ded at Modane and were checking baggage - what's the contraband, we wondered?
So to our last day - uneventful, except for a security alert at Lyon which meant clearing some of the platforms (and a 15min delay on our TGV to Lille). The last leg was standard LNER, with "Skyfall" heading the 1703 to Leeds, a 333 to Shipley and Daughter's Taxi to save the schlep uphill home. Service in 1st was up to scratch, though the roast chicken is uninspiring as a chef's special, and it was unusually empty, being school holidays.
An excellent trip all round, though much more intensive than our usual trips - we needed a holiday to recover (but fortunately we are retired
