Exploring Italy by Train

We stopped at the first hotel we came to right along the parade route, and asked if they had a room available. No, they were full because of the reunion. Fred struck up a conversation with a gentleman in the lobby who appeared to be the hotel manager, telling him that his Grandfather had been a Bersaglieri. The manager asked from what region. Fred told him Sicily. An immediate change in demeanor came over the gentleman, who excitedly told us that it was the Sicilian Bersaglieri that were staying in this hotel. Suddenly, a room was made available to us!

We went on to spend a wonderful day in Asti. The parade, which lasted for hours, consisted of one unit of Bersaglieri after another, each demonstrating their skills at running in battle formation while blowing bugles. When the parade ended, we went to a sidewalk cafe where we enjoyed the local specialty, Asti Spumanti, a delicious sparkling wine. While sitting there, I resolved to get one of the colorful reunion posters as a souvenir. There was one little hitch in my plan- the posters were in shop windows, and it being Sunday, the shops were all closed. We would be leaving early the next morning, before they were open. We finally spotted a poster in a hotel window display, and Fred approached the desk clerk explaining that his late grandfather had been a Bersaglieri, and it would mean a lot to us to be able to have a poster. The very accommodating young man climbed into the window display and removed two posters for us. They are the most precious souvenirs we’ve ever collected from our travels.

Our vacation over, we returned home with many happy memories. Aside from the one incident, our train travel had gone smoothly, and we were certain we would do it again. And it wasn’t long before I was planning our next trip.

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