Federica Carr and Amber reach ride the trains and go for walks in Calais, Paris and Zurich, as Continental Canine continues.
We arrived in Milano – once again on time – on a warm, still, early August morning. The thin light of dawn was peering through the glass domed roof of Milano Centrale as Amber very happily walked off the Thello and onward, sniffing and wagging. I felt a conscious happiness sweeping through me, because we were finally in Italy and things felt different, familiar and safe in a way I can’t fully explain.
Milano Centrale, 6am
Milano
I had allocated a 2.5hr stop over in the city, thinking that a nice breakfast and a walk would have been a good way to kill the time and give her a break. As soon as we exited the impressive period building (designed in 1912), Amber spotted the well kept grassy areas in the square outside the main entrance and made a beeline for it – finally, her first loo break since Calais!
Yet, we did not linger. At that time in the morning and at that time of the year (when most Italians are on holiday) it was not really a cheerful place to stop by, full of men loitering, sleeping, smoking, peeing and drinking everywhere. My plans for a walking tour of Milano scrapped, I changed our train for an earlier Frecciarossa, paid the dog fee (summer special offer, 5 euros flat fee during August) and enjoyed breakfast in one of the many pleasant cafes’ and restaurants inside the station.
Frecciarossa Milano – Roma
We soon hopped onto our clean and comfortable carriage – I had decided to spend an extra 30euros and upgrade to business class. Frecciarossa is a great train and in business, you get food, newspaper and – in our case, an almost empty carriage, which was fab.
Wifi is fast and free and the train offers a fantastic ‘entertainment portal’ with tons of movies to watch, mostly Italians so I made the most of it and the 3.5hr journey to Rome went by pretty quickly.
Roma, the Eternal City
When we arrived in Rome, it was mid morning and very hot. We had pretty much arrived at our final destination. Feeling even more elated than stepping off in Milano, we made our way through the busy Roma Termini to reach the Mercato Centrale, a recently opened gorgeous indoor food court which is housed inside the station in which used to be the staff canteen (of sort).
Mercato Centrale
Elegant, well laid out, there are a few well known names from the city’s gourmet scene (including famous baker Bonci). Here we met my sister who lives in the city and who came to pick us up, enjoying a second breakfast with her in the dog friendly Mercato.
We then drove through the sunny streets of Rome heading to hers for some well deserved rest, before a walk in the huge and beautiful Villa Pamphili (one of Rome’s parks) and a dinner at local (and pretty famous) Cesare al Casaletto for some delicious roman cuisine and a chilled glass of white wine.
Dinner in Rome
The next morning we said goodbye as we caught the last train of the way down, a local train which after an hour or so, took us to the seaside resort town of Formia, where we were to spend the next 10 days, finally relaxing in a big garden with lots of lizards and butterflies to chase!
After an eventful (for the humans at least) stay, it was time to head back.
Coming home: pet travel vet checks
The evening before leaving we visited the local vet to ensure Amber’s health was in good shape and to give her the necessary wormer treatment required by UK regulations prior to re-entering the country.
This procedure must be done no less than 24hr and no more than 5 days before physically going through Calais’ pet check. The vet must sign, stamp and date the pet passport with brand and type of wormer administered and must also add the actual time. Without complying to these rules, entry is denied! If you’re only going away for the weekend, this can of course be done by your regular vet, otherwise a foreign vet should be able to fulfill the above, yet our advice is to always check (we learnt this at our expenses the first time we crossed the channel)
We made our way to Rome in the morning, not wishing to risk being delayed and missing our Milan train, and once again made the most of sister’s flat to rest for a few hours, with a spot of lunch and a walk in the local pocket park (which has a conveniently enclosed dog area).
Later in the afternoon we caught another Frecciarossa back to Milano (in standard class, which was just as pleasant as the business) and settled in our seat and floor space for our return trip.
Frecciarossa Roma – Milano
Once in Milano, we spent the night. I had opted to avoid the Thello due to timetable connections and took the longer but perhaps less frantic way back. I had booked one of the many places near the station to allow us to easily catch the early train to Zurich.
Ostello Bello Grande was perfect for us. A hostel, but a fancy one as such, with en suite rooms (including private balconies with hammocks and chairs). As soon as I entered the reception area, I felt immediately two decades younger. Funky music was playing, people were enjoying aperitif hour (included in the price of the room) and the overall vibe was of a young, friendly and welcoming place.
A quick change and shower in our room, and we were out again, into the night. Amber had a loo break and a walk, we then met some friends for a decent Mexican dinner in one of the few open places nearby.
Ostello Bello Grande
The following morning, after breakfast at Ostello (also included) once again we faced the not so attractive early morning crowd outside the station for Amber’s loo stop and headed toward our EuroCity to Zurich.
Milano Centrale, early morning
Leaving Italy behind brought a veiled sadness; not only our adventure was on its final stretch but, just as I had felt elated stepping onto Italian soil, I felt the usual melancholy leaving it behind me, forever the emigrant.
Four countries, thirteen trains, one hostel, one hotel later, our Continental Canine adventure was over. Would we do it again? Find out in our conclusions’ post soon.
