by ‘If Anyone Mysterious Vanishes, I Can Be Poirot, ”Said the Passenger From India, Twirling his Mousthache. It Felt as Though the Spirit of Agatha Christie’s Most Famous Character – Best Known for Solving The Orient express – Was Lingering in the Breeze At Palerme Botanical, which had been transformed into a makehift waiting room for the 40 or so travellers about to board an Italian replica of the fabled train.
Sip espresso and sampling CannolIPresent The classic Sicilian pastries, curiosity and suspicion, for which Poirot is famous, was noticeable when the passengers were subsequently adjacent to. The only secret that could be dissolved in the next few days was whether Rome, bound by Rome, would meet her dreamy expectations on La Dolce Vita Orient Express.
The sleeper was put into service in April to revive the glamor of the original train, as well as to repeat the romantized term Italy Dolce VitaOr “sweet life”, not to mention that the resurrection of the demand for slow luxury trip is requested.
The train, which was on duty in the 1960s in the 1960s in the 1960s, has taken passengers on various trips in the past few months: through the Tuscany wine region, to Venice and along the Ligurian coast – all goods sold out.
Now the Dolce Vita has dared to south, and the guard was invited to experience his debut trip by Palermo, Sicily, to the Italian capital.
The original Orient Express undertook its first trip in 1883 and crossed a large part of Europe on telescopes from Paris to Istanbul, before reaching the end of the line in 2009, the victim of both the high -speed railways and the inexpensive flights.
But various offspring kept his legacy on life, with passengers still hungry for nostalgic escapades, which are far from the chaos of airports and overcrowded tourist hotspots.
“The ultra-high-lying market is growing and the demand for rail experiences is developing in a significant way,” said Dario Minutella, a luxury and fashion sector analyst at the management company Kearney. “But it is not just the preservation of millionaires or billionaires. There are many people with time and resources looking for experience, and Italy with its long coast and beautiful landscapes beyond the big cities offers the perfect package.”
After lunch on board, curated by a Michelin chef with three stars, we stop in Taormina to explore his old Greek theater
At the Palermo station, we were welcomed by Stefano Sgambellone, the train manager of Dolce Vita, and his team of flawlessly dressed employees.
“In 1883, the Orient Express was the first way to travel slowly and luxuriously,” said Sgambellone, who has worked for Venice Simpleon-Orient-Express (VSO) for years, a luxury rail service with a number of European routes. “Slow trips are even more popular today than then.”
While VSOE’s focus is primarily on the onboard experience, the Dolce Vita route also includes off-board excursions and experiences in the 10 Italy routes, such as learning to cook a local dish, to explore medieval cities outside the asked.
“People choose the Dolce Vita not only for the train itself, which is nice, but because it is the best way to discover Italy,” said Sgambellone.
The pipe of the train blew at 10.30 a.m. and we left Palermo. Then it slid in Sicily sparkling north coast and passed the city of Cefalù and the city of Messina and offers a distant view of Salina, one of the Aeolian islands on the way.
The lunch was curated by Heinz Beck, the owner of the three-Michelin-Stern-La Pergola restaurant in Rome. In the afternoon, the train stopped in the Sicilian Hilltop city of Taormina, where the passengers had the opportunity to explore its old Greek theater.
The Dolce Vita initiative with plans for a fleet of six trains is a collaboration between Orient Express, the brand-owning brand of the French Hospitality Group Accor; Arsenale, an Italian luxury hospitality company; And the heir arm of the state railway of Italy, Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane.
People choose the Dolce Vita not only for the train itself, which is beautiful, but because it is the best way to discover Italy
The travel routes are on board between one and three nights, and it is unnecessary to mention that they are not cheap, from € 3,060 per person for a two-day/stubborn journey into the heart of the wine region of Tuscany up to more than twice as high as with the three-day/two-night trips.
The luxury train is not the only service that has benefited from FS Italiane project to revive abandoned railway tracks. A network of historical routes has opened under its timeless track initiative and offers a cheap opportunity to explore the less visited areas of Italy such as the Highlands and hidden hamlets of Abruzzo or the mountains of Friuli-Venzia Giulia while promoting sustainable tourism. Tickets for these shorter trips start at just € 5. There was also a new focus on Sleeper Train Services.
The passengers on this trip came from all over the world. There was the family from India who was looking for a unique experience. Another from Scotland who celebrated a milestone birthday. There was the American author, the Italian ambassador and the Paris couple, who are experienced long-distance travelers from long-distance grants.
It was also the first time that Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, the architects from Milan -based dimorest studio, who inspired Dolces 1960s, had traveled on the train from the 1960s.
“Obviously we had seen it before,” said Moran, “but in relation to the whole experience: Wow, that’s so beautiful!”
After a night on board in Sicily, the carriages were invited to a privately chartered ferry for the 30-minute crossing to the mainland. From there, the train drove up the coast of Calabria and towards Maratea, where he made another afternoon stop before driving to Rome in the evening.
When the Dolce Vita arrived to the Ostiense station the next morning, all passengers seemed to be satisfied. While they climbed the train as a stranger and led the risk of hostility in such a narrow space for two days, they got out as friends.
The trip was provided by La Dolce Vita Orient Express; The three-day/two-night of Sicily The journey in Rome begins at 11,280 € per person (From Rome to Sicily starts at € 9,440)
