Thread by @PaliparanDotCom

Goodmorning from Torino Porta Nuova station! Today I will take two exciting train rides, so get ready for some cool train content and a lot of gorgeous Italian scenery from the window.

This terminus is Turin's main station. Interestingly, it's on a direct axis to the old Savoy Royal Palace just 15 minutes walking to the north. Turin's second main station is the more modern Porta Susa just a short distance away.

Just like all other main stations, Turin has a Freccia Club, basically a Trenitalia business lounge which can be accessed with certain Freccia loyalty cards or with an executive class ticket. Inside, you find free coffee, soft drinks, cookies and a quiet space to wait.

Today I'm on the Frecciarossa (Red Arrow), Trenitalia's most premium high speed train. This train goes to the deep south (Reggio Calabria) but I will only take it as far as Milan.

So let's have a look at the four classes on board this train. There is 'standard' (normal 2nd class), 'premium' (premium 2nd class w leather seats instead of cloth) and business (1st class). Of course, there is a @_DiningCar too.

I'm however booked in 'executive class', basically premium first class with just 8 seats at one end of the train. There is also a meeting room you can reserve.

Departing Torino Porta Nuova..

Small snack, water and espresso on board. Unlike @paul_winginit's recent adventure in executive class, no free-flowing prosecco on this morning run to Milan. I'm a little bit disappointed!

Speeding through northern Italy at speeds well over 200kph..

It's however a comfortable seat and pleasant journey. Too bad it's only an hour to Milan..

Arriving at Milano Centrale..

Milano Centrale is one of the grandest of stations... in the world!

The proportions of it are just epic.

And that counts for the exterior as well. I have been to this station many times before but I can't help still being impressed by this magnificent building!

I'm not a fan at all of Milan as a city, to put it mildly. But as I have some time until the departure of my connecting train it's not a bad idea to have a short walk around. Sforza's Castle is my starting point as it's a few stops away on a direct metro line from Centrale.

Another cold, rainy day up north here by the way. The city does however have cool trams!

Piazza Duomo, tourist ground zero. It is however fun to climb up on the cathedral's roof and admire the fine architecture of the dozens of small spires and the view. Did it once before many years back!

The famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is located on the northern side of the square. Shops and restaurants are a bit above my budget, and not exactly my style either ;)

From the famous Scala Theatre I'm walking to a more down-to-earth place nearby. Pasta (+wine and coperto included) as dish of the day is an agreeable 10 euro. Couldn't resist a Cotoletta alla Milanese (Milan style veal cutlet) as secondo piatto. After all it's a local delicacy!

Away from the overtouristy areas around the Duomo, Milan gets more interesting. The Basilica San Lorenzo Maggiore was originally built in the early 4th Century in Roman times, although much was added later to the structure. In front some authentic Roman marble columns.

Through the Ticino gate to the canals of Milan, which is one of the nicest areas of the city in my opinion..

It's a good place for a Negroni before heading back to the train station..

Back at Milano Centrale. Quick (free!) coffee overlooking the platforms (the barkeep made one too many for the guy before so he gave it to me free of charge, very nice!), some grocery shopping at the supermarket, and I'm ready for my next night train adventure.

A fun little thing I just read on @seatsixtyone: along platform 21 is a mural depicting a young Mussolini (standing, greeting the king on horseback). His eyes are defaced, either shot at by a partisan in 1943 or defaced post-war to remove fascist symbols.

seat61.com/stations/milan…

I love the constant stream of announcements at Milano Centrale of train departures to places all over Italy. A proper public announcement voice as well!

Some more impressions of Milano Centrale at night. Outside the train shed it's raining and thundering quite heavily now, lovely autumm vibe! Can't capture it with my phone cam, but it's amazing how the lightning lits up the dark, vast train shed from afar.

And my @sleeping_train is there! The Intercity Notte to Sicily - one portion to Siracusa, another to Palermo. Count me excited for this one!

My home for tonight, a sleeper compartment for private use ('posto singolo'), here seen in daytime mode with the bed folded away. Just 60 euro using a 20% Trenitalia discount code. Not bad for a 20 hour train ride! I'm already glued to the window on departure..

No @_DiningCar on Italian night trains (such a long journey could do with one!) but Milano Centrale's supermarket has a small sushi counter and prosecco in the fridge. This will certainly do as well as dinner as we roll into the station of Pavia, heading first towards Genoa..

PS. You are not seeing double, that's the reflection of the huge mirror in the compartment. I'd wish there was a 2nd bottle as well!

Genova, the home of pesto. 15 minutes late. The previous part crossing the Ligurian Alps looked nice (many tunnels, hilltop villages what I could see despite the darkness). Should do it once in daylight, esp because I never been to Genoa and nearby Cinque Terre.

So let's have a better look at the compartment. Lots of storage space overhead, if you fold open the table you find a small washbasin.. Plus a Trenitalia amenity kit (razor, tootbrush/paste, soap, cloths, *very* flimsy slippers, both sparkling and still water etc).

Viareggio station, 20 minutes behind schedule. A little nightcap (the rice crackers were handed out complimentary), some Paolo Conte music, and it's time to go to sleep. Comfy bed, fortunately. Goodnight! When I wake up, we'll be well beyond Naples.

Salerno station. At 8.50am instead of the planned 6.10am. Yeap, a 2 hour 40 minutes delay so far due to adverse weather conditions (as communicated by Trenitalia in an email). It's raining here too..

Stormy Italy.. the delay has one major advantage: I managed to sleep quite a bit longer and be awake fully rested right in time for this scenic stretch south of Salerno which we are approaching!

As I catch the first glimpse of the sea, breakfast is brought to my compartment by the friendly carriage attendant. A decent spread!

After the station of Agropoli-Castellabate station we head further inland. Beautiful scenery here with lots of tunnels. FWIW, the town of Castellabate is well known across the country as the location for the Italian comedy film 'Benvenuti al Sud' - well worth watching!

The skies are all Wagnerian today in their dark, stormy colours. Just look at this, a thunderstorm above the sea just after Pisciotta station. Simply amazing - and evidence that you don't always need perfect blue skies for some truly unforgettable views.

If you look closely enough you can see the lightning bolts above the sea!

Old bridges, castles, mountains, the sea.. this journey has it all. And one of the most scenic bits is yet to come!

Around Sapri and Acquafredda the views are the best IMO as here the mountains almost directly meet the sea.

Some more views from the train.. also the inland views towards the east are good!

Life is good on the railway tracks. Three hours delay already, but I don't care much at all.

We leave the coast behind for now as we head more inland towards Lamezia Terme Centrale, an insignificant town which is a major transport hub. Time to but the sleeper back in daytime mode!

Fortunately, I brought plenty of supplies on board - and a bottle of red, of course. We're now approaching Rosarno. This area is famous for its red onions & citruses, but also for it's beautiful coast (you can change trains here for lovely Tropea, a nice coastal town!).

We are slowly approaching Villa San Giovanni. A part of Sicily can already be seen across the sea.

At Villa San Giovanni, our train will go on a ferry so we can cross the Messina Strait to the island of Sicily!

We're slowly being shunted onto the Trenitalia ferry.. this certainly is a cool experience! As this train is too long to fit in its full length, we are being split in a few separate parts which will be parked side by side on multiple tracks on the deck of the ferry.

Boarding the train ferry..

If you want, you can get out of your carriage when it's loades on board. It's highly advisable to do so, as the views from the open air deck are great.

The ferry has a basic café as well, selling soft drinks, beer and coffee, as well as poor quality 'arancini al ragu' (cone-shaped deep fried rice balls filled with meat, the traditional Sicilian snack).

Crossing the Strait of Messina..

Some more pictures of the ferry crossing between Villa San Giovanni and Messina.

Arriving in the Port of Messina.

A huge cruise ship is obscuring the view of Messina, being bigger than any of the buildings in the city. Can't we just ban them or force them out of cities & vulnerable islands to the harbour equivalents of Luton & "Frankfurt" Hahn so we don't have to look at these monstrosities?

At Messina Centrale, the train is decoupled and shunted to opposite platforms. The carriages on the other side of the platform will travel to Taormina, Catania and their final stop of Siracusa, while my part of the train will make its way to Palermo.

Approaching Barcellona - the Sicilian Barcellona with double L that is, not the more famous Catalan one! The weather is really bad today on the Sicilian north coast, now fog as well mixed with rain and thunder.

Palm trees abound.. just no sunshine to complete the proper holiday island picture!

Sunset views from the train. In he distance (pic 2) you can see the silhouets of the volcanic Aeolian Islands - high on my list of places I would love to visit in Italy.. another delay means we are now almost 4 hours behind schedule..

Cefalù - I'm getting off here. It has been almost 24 hours in the train, but what an epic ride it was from start to finish. And all in good comfort too! Can thoroughly recommend it.

Small surprise: Some of the clouds have finally cleared away, with this as the result. The sunset as seen from the rooftop terrace of my hotel really is absolutely epic.

Excellent dinner at Passafiume Cantina Bistrot, which despite itw location on the square in front pf the Norman Cathedral is far from a tourist trap. Homemade pasta with Trapani pesto, swordfish involtini and tiramisu.

My room is super simple but cute, and the view from the window is unbeatable. Goodnight all! Tomorrow I'll start a separate thread about Cefalù and Palermo, the two destinations I will explore this time on the island of Sicily.