Trains, Train Stations and more Trains

Never ever taking the night train...ever. Well I left Brussels after spending the entire day in the station because I couldnt get on an earlier train to Paris. I stayed on the Thalys (high speed) and got to Paris a little before 5:00. I needed to get onto a night train to Florence that night because I didnt have a hostel booked in Paris...heres the kicker, nothing is available. Its all booked. I was able to find a seat/bed on a later train but I had to buy it at full price. 97€ later i bought my ticket and was heading to another Paris train station. I got there and still had another 3 hours to wait until my train left.

I get onto the train, leaving at 8:30 and this is the sketchiest and dirtiest train to date. I dont mind traveling alone but right at that moment I wasnt really sure what to do. Anyway so everything is going swimmingly and I get into my bed which is worse than the dorm beds at UCONN. Its loud, hott, smelly and just all around gross. I was able to fall asleep but not really. The train is old and loud and its hard to sleep on when its going through the French Alps into Switzerland. We get to the Swiss border and have to wait for the police to allow us to travel through, make sure everyones papers are okay. The train just shut off and I honsetly thought we were all going to be abducted or something.

We move on after about 10 minutes and I drifted in and out of sleep for the next 5 hours until we arrived in Milan. From Milan I had to buy a supplement for the high speed train to Firenze which was pretty easy. The train didnt leave until 7:30 so I had some time to kill and what did I do, I took a water bottle shower outside of the station. I felt so gross and somehow managed to wash my face which I think people thought I was homeless. I finally arrived in Firenze and of course I cant check in until 2:00 AND now ive realized that i had made my reservation for starting YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily they said they have rooms avaiable and itll be okay, I hope.

So far this whole traveling on my own has been a little bit of a struggle but im managing. It is a little lonely and would be nice to have someone with me just to keep me company.

Miss you all!