martedì 20 aprile 2010

A bad trip, Milan central station, Italy.


From the site BBC News


Trip of a lifetime... for all the wrong reasons

The scene at Milan central station, Italy
The trip of a life-time? Yes... but for all the wrong reasons.


When Peter Martin arrives back home in Bangor, he plans to drop to the ground, kiss the ould sod and order Ulster fries all around.
Fries so big enough that you don't know whether to tuck in or leap over them. Being stuck in Europe is hungry work.
The lecturer and his wife, Melanie, had been in Tel Aviv for a holiday with their friends, David and Caroline McCracken from Belfast.
Finding their way back home as flights were cancelled across Europe, had the ring of an Indiana Jones adventure.
"We managed to fly from Tel Aviv to Rome... it was the only airport we could get a flight to," he said.
The scene that met their eyes at the train station in Rome was straight out of an old black and white film.
"It was an evacuation scene from World War II. It was just chaos. Taxi drivers were charging the earth... 3,000 euro to go from Paris to Rome. That's where we met Alex from Southampton. He had spent five hours in a queue at the station just to get information."
He joined them for their train journey to Milan and on over the mountains to Paris. They braved the Italian conductor from hell armed with a whistle and not afraid to use it.
"There were a few problems going over the Alps," said Peter. "On the train, you could smell something burning. The train had gone on fire... it happened twice. We all had to get off. Then, we boarded a French train and it hit a deer."
If it wasn't quite a Bambi moment, there were still thousands of travellers close to tears.
"Well, you have to laugh," he said. "Some people were really annoyed, but what's the point?"
The travellers are getting used to a surreal world: "Thousands of people are just wandering around Europe with massive suitcases," said David.
"But you get a sense of the Dunkirk spirit as everybody tries to get home."
The Martins and their friends are hoping to arrive in Calais shortly. They are hoping to get a bus to take them home to the joys of hot water, clean sheets and a decent fry.



Evidenziati in grassetto, nel testo, ci sono tutte le espressioni che descrivono questo viaggio... infernale!

Deer: cervo
Sod: suolo, zolla erbosa
To tuck in: ingozzarsi
To brave: affrontare
To wander: girovagare
Fry: frittura



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