Friday the 13th

For those who say nothing crazy ever happens on Friday the 13th, I have a counter example. After a packed day in Rome, we got on a 9 pm train for a 2.5 hour ride to Florence. Arriving in Florence very late, we opted to, instead of getting a hostel for 5 hours, sleep (or nap rather) in the train station and catch the 4:30 am train to Pisa the following morning. We walked around the station, staking out our preferred sleeping spots and layed down for what we thought would be the evening. Little did we know our night was just beginning.
About 45 minutes into our 'naps', a security guard came to tell us the train station was closing in 5 minutes, and we had to get out before the 'polizia' came and arrested us. At this point it was 12:35 am and we were slightly disoriented from our albeit short naps.

Right before the chaos began...

At this point things began to get crazy. The last train for Pisa left at 12:37 am... two minutes to go. The other girls grabbed all our stuff while I ran to the ticket machine to buy all 4 tickets to Pisa. Time 12:36 am. Having a slight issue with the ticket machine I grabbed the tickets and began sprinting to the train deck, just in time to see the train pulling out from the station. So there I was, stranded in Florence, with only my wallet and my pajamas (I had been napping remember, and they grabbed my stuff). This was a fun predicament, and because the police were coming, I and the rest of the backpacking bums were forced to leave the station. I decided to make the best of my unfortunate situation and began staking out a new piece of concrete real estate. I chose a prime location just outside of the station, across from some girls from Norway and a group of girls from Spain.

I was preparing myself for a long night when the police came out to tell us all to 'not fall asleep' as people would rob us if we did (like I had anything to take seriously, all my stuff was on a train to Pisa). Luckily for me, after the police left, one of the girls from Spain came up to me, inviting me to sit with them, as she had overheard my unfortunate experience of being left by my traveling companions. I was very grateful, and soon settled in between the Spaniards (from Bilboa by the way) and began playing cards when what to my wondering eyes did appear, but my long lost traveling companions.

It turned out that after I had missed the train, they had all been so concerned about my well being (mainly due to the fact that they had my bag, and all I was wearing were shorts and a t-shirt and it was cold) that they got off the train at the next stop and then proceeded to hike back for over an hour to the station in Florence. The hike was made even more exciting as it was in the dark, they did not have a map AND they had to carry my pack as well (which Nicole did like a champ). Needless to say, by the time they made it back to Florence they were quite exhausted and were excited to pull up a comfy piece of concrete and take a nap until the next train left in 2.5 hours... leaning tower here we come.

The fateful camping spot, where we waited once we were kicked out of the train station.