Last Lap Part 3- Florence, Venice and Milan !!!

I left my friend Patrina in Rome on my way to Venice!!!! However, before I get to that, I decided to make a quick stop en route in Florence. In this instance it was mostly so that I could stop by the famed Uffizi Gallery which I have always wanted to visit. As such I ended up only spending around 5 hours or so in Florence. After leaving the train station in Florence,I took a wrong turn at first, but that actually turned out well as I got to see a little more of Florence than I probably would have otherwise.

View of the Arno- Florence

 Eventually I found my way to the Uffizi where a loooong line for entrance greeted me. Unfortunately I left it a little too late and when I tried to book online, all the appointments for that day had been filled already.  As a side note, while I waited in line, this old gypsy beggar woman called me ‘dracula’ as an epithiet because I didn’t put anything in her cup. Oh please lady, move right along. I really dislike when those asking for help, begin to act like they’re entitled to what you have. Now a British traveller came to my rescue of sorts. She claimed that some members of her tour party were ill and they were trying to get rid of the extra tickets. She was indeed with a group of elderly touristy looking persons. So I took a risk and did something I NEVER do. I trusted that this elderly lady was not trying to scam me and ran with it. The amount I would have saved on the ticket by waiting in line for the discount would not have been worth the extra hour or so more I would have had to spend in line. It turns out the lady was a good egg and so there I was in the gallery.

I enjoyed touring the Uffizi, which houses such works as Boticelli's "Primavera" and " Birth of Venus". I am glad I made the effort to stop off in Florence for just those few hours to see it. There were no pictures allowed though, so I don’t have any to share with you unfortunately.I had lunch at a little café and walked around a little bit. By chance, I ended up by Florence’s duomo. Then it was time to make my way back to the station and on to Venice finally!

Florence's Duomo

Venice

Finally in Venice! Now on Venice’s main island, once you pass the train station, there is basically no way to get around except by walking or waterborne transport. So I took my first vaparetto (waterbus) and headed down the Grand Canal to my hostel. The location of my hostel was really, really good; especially for the price. Furthermore in comparison to other places I had been looking at on Venice island ( which at first had seemed prohibitive) and even on the mainland itself, it was definitely a good deal. I had all but given up hope of finding somewhere to stay on the island until I happened across this place. It was right near the famous Rialto bridge as promised; I could get there on foot in about 2-3 minutes. I checked into the hostel and decided to have a nap before going out to walk a bit. Even better, it seemed like no one else would be in the room with me (in a four-bed room) that night. Score again! I was even able to purvey an extra blanket from one of the unoccupied beds! Feeling refreshed, I decided to try to make it down to the famed St. Mark’s square (San Marco).

It was much easier to get to from where I was than I thought, or that my Google directions had lead me to believe. In fact, following Google directions is pretty hard because of the way the streets and canals are set up. Also, once I got to the Rialto, there were signs all over (some even in spray paint) that guided me to the square. This first time took me a little while (especially since I kept stopping every now and again), but I think I could get there in about 15 minutes from where I was staying.

Staying on the island itself allowed me to soak up some of the atmosphere of Venice at night. All the day-trippers are gone, and the majority of the visitors trek back to hotels on the mainland. It’s much more laid back at night. In addition, Venice is not the kinda town that keeps going in the wee hours. By 10 pm things have definitely slowed down, and by midnight everything comes to a grinding halt almost. Seeing San Marco at night, one would never believe the absolute zoo it can become when all the cruise ships come in (like they did on the Saturday).

Several of the more elite establishments (such as Caffe Florian-frequent haunt of Lord Byron, Charles Dickens etc etc) actually had mini- orchestras giving concerts to their patrons. If you stood just behind where the tables and chairs ended in the square, or anywhere off to the side, then you could enjoy for free.That was very pleasant. At any given time, at least two orchestras were playing. So if the one you were listening took a break, it was simply a matter of wandering over to the next one. 

The Famous Caffe Florian - Established 1720

The next day I decided to re-trace some of my steps of the night before, for the daylight experience. I must say, I've never enjoyed wandering aimlessly about a city so much before. You guys know that I like to have (even a vague)a plan. But I had no plan; no itinerary, not even a map (which is very unusual for me)..annnnnd it was great, just great. That ended up with me getting “lost”, making several “wrong” turns, but eventually getting to where I needed to get to. I ended up in St. Mark’s about one, and while there were lots of people, it wasn't unbearable. I even got lucky and was able to slip into the basilica during a lull in the line. 

I think Venice is definitely up there on favourite places I’ve visited in the world thus far. It really does have a charm to it that you can’t help but feel.

View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto

Gondoliers on a canal

The Campanile in St. Mark's

I decided that I was going to have a nice lunch that day. I ignored the protests of my inner budget watcher and decided to live a little. I was in Venice after all right?! I had lunch at a  little café along a canal, which is exactly what I was looking for. Somewhere that I could have a Venetian experience and not just a random restaurant. It wasn’t fancy, but very charming in its own little way.So I had a mushroom risotto and a overpriced glass of wine, but the ambiance was lovely.

cin cin!

View from my lunch spot.

Luckily, right near my lunch spot was a gelataria recommended Trip Advisor. So I popped in and had my gelato to cap off lunch as you are wont to do when in Italy J

That night I realized I once again had the room to myself. I once again took a trek to St. Mark’s, taking another route this time. I wandered around once again and too in some more of the free concerts before heading back. The next morning, the plan was to roam a little and get my souvenirs (which I had been scouting the best prices for on the days before.) I managed to get some pretty good deals on the famous Murano glass jewellery ( think Pandora bracelet charms) and a few other knick-knacks. The roaming was made a little more difficult by the heavy influx of people from cruise ships and it being Saturday. The streets were crawling with tourists. This made navigating the narrow streets more time-consuming. 

Venice Lagoon

The Bridge of sighs

Gondolas!!!

Then I had to hurry back to check out and catch my train to Milan!

Milan

 I had been in contact with my friend Agostino (Ago for short) who lives just outside Milan. I had met him while I was studying in Bordeaux at the beginning of my MSc. He got in contact with another Erasmus friend of ours, Eleonora, who actually lives in Milan. It was decided that it would be best that we all stayed at Ele’s during my visit. So after Ago met me at the train station, there we went. Here beginneth the trials I had with my luggage. Since a particular instance during my stay in Rome, my suitcase had been behaving a little funny; now in Milan it all but gave out. Well re-visit this later.

That evening we met up with a friend of Ago’s and decided to do “Happy hour” Milanese style. Now Milan’s happy hour is one of the best things you've never heard of. None of that two for one stuff. Pay 8-10 euros, get any drink on the menu (including all the expensive cocktails) AND then there’s an all you can eat buffet.We then headed to where all the young, hip (and possibly broke) people gather- a spot called Coloné. After a while the cold started to set in a sitting on the ground drinking wasn’t as much fun.

The next day was time for the grand Milan tour. The Duomo is really something. I know I said the same about St. Peter’s etc, but the Milan Duomo is really up there. When you walk in, the height of the ceilings may make you gasp a bit. It really is quite incredible considering that construction began in the 15^th century!

Ago, Ele and I outside the Duomo

We did all the main sights including Milan Castle, the city centre and of course the Duomo. In terms of sights, there actually isn’t that much to see in Milan to be honest. You could definitely get it done in a day. Ele had gotten up really early that morning for volleyball training so she headed back and Ago and I continued on. We had lunch in a cozy little pizzeria and then walked around to see a few more things.That evening, we tried an initial repair of my luggage, but that was in vain. Later that night, we stayed in and had a Spaghetti Carbonara dinner and played Monopoly Bordeaux into the night.

Dinner!

The next day I had to set off in search of a solution to my very serious luggage problem. Due to this, I had to shelve my plans to visit Lake Como that day. It was a pity since Lake Como was one of the things that had made me decide to add Milan in the first place. Such is life eh?

So the repair shops I found online were not actually official Samsonite stores, but just repair men that Samsonite approved to repair their products in Milan. Of course this would mean a problem when it comes to stocking parts. I think you can see where this is going already. The first repair shop I visited (that took me about half-hour on foot) said he could do nothing for me and I would have to wait about 20 days for him to order the part. Of course this was not a viable option. Let’s just cut this story short and say that Ago and I were able to finally find one guy across town who actually made an effort to help me. It was a temporary fix, but all I needed was to get that bag rolling again. That was a relief, considering that I still had roughly half of my trip to go still. That night we went out for a final pizza. I really enjoyed being able to meet up with friends who I had no idea if or when I would ever see again when we first parted. Even more evidence for never say never!!

 …and the next day I would begin my journey to Prague!  I took a train from Milan to Zurich thereby crossing Switzerland in effect and getting a peek at the Alps. I didn't have much time in Zurich to spin around in the station before it was time for my overnight train to Prague. I had decided to reserve a couchette space (basically a bunk in a six-bed cabin)  and though I wasn't as lucky as on the Mediterranean ferry, I was alone for a good while before the other two passengers got on. Anyhoo Prague itself will have to wait till the next post.

Stay Tuned!!

Last Lap- Part 2- Rome, The Vatican, Naples and Pompeii

Rome

My trip to Rome didn’t start off on the best note that it could have, but let's fast forward ahead to where my friend Patrina and I were hosted by a colleague of hers. Fortuitously, the apartment was located in Trastevere, which is actually an excellent part of Rome to be based in. Most of the major sites are within walking/easy public transport distance.

It was my second full day in Rome, and I finally managed to go out and do some sight-seeing that evening.

 After walking around for a while, we met an American who was sharing a park bench with us. He actually picked up our accents as we spoke to each other and then made a random little comment about Jamaica that got our attention. He really seemed like he just wanted to talk to somebody; anybody. He seemed really shocked to find out that P was actually living there and that I was just visiting. He asked us what we were doing all the way in Rome . Really? Aren’t you coming from the same side of the world that we are? What are YOU doing here? Can’t we be doing the same? Or is it that only people from developed countries are allowed to travel?( Ok, rant over J ). We entertained the chit chat for a bit because it was a little amusing. He eventually asked us to come to dinner with his sister and himself, at a very nice hotel that they were staying at. We didn’t take up the offer of course. I had no intention of serving as inspiration for some Hollywood kidnapping thriller script down the road.

The next morning I walked up to the Colosseum. I managed to take advantage of a discount for the ticket that allows access to the Colosseum, The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Colusseum was originally named the Flavian amphitheatre, but gained the Colosseum moniker after a huge statue (colossus) was erected outside. I really enjoyed my visit. You may know that I’m interested in history and archaeology and the Roman empire is of particular interest. I really enjoyed hearing bits and pieces that helped (with a little imagination) for  the Colosseum to come alive for me. Did you know that it was constructed in large part using travertine and was therefore white at one point? Try to picture that.A great white arena shining in the sun. One of the most amazing things about the Colosseum is that it is said to have been built in 7-10 years!!

 One thing about travelling solo is that you have to master the art of taking the selfie (self-shot) or else you risk being MIA in most of your pics. Occasionally, someone will feel sorry for you and offer to take a pic. It can be annoying to be asking people all the time, so I try to manage myself unless I reallllly want a particular shot. During one of these, a random American hijacked my pic.

I was laughing so hard! lol

Near the end of my visit, it actually started to rain. I was tempted to wait it out, but those rain clouds didn't seem like they were going anywhere. At the risk of being stuck where I was, I decided to just shell out for  an umbrella from one of the many Bangladeshi peddlers with umbrellas and ponchos. They knew what was coming and had come prepared.

My next stop was a walk through The Forum. Originally a marketplace, the ruins of several ancient government buildings are found there. This turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would be. Walking through at ground level, rather than looking down from the street added a new dimension. The rain did put a little bit of a damper on things.

Arch of Titus- entrance to The Forum

There are obnoxious tourists of all nationalities to be sure. However, if you happen to run into an obnoxious tourist, the chances that they will be American is pretty high I think. I’ll give just one example of several experiences I’ve racked up on this trip alone thus far. While walking through the Roman Forum, there was a sudden downpour. A couple with three children, including a toddler dashed to the nearest building in order to shelter from the rain. Just a few minutes later, a couple other tourists (American) started yelling at them to move out of the way so that they could take a picture of a door that they were standing in front of. A door people. And the door wasn't even that ornate or particularly interesting at that. The couple should have shoved their children back into the bad weather, just so that they could have a picture of the door. Really? Ah well. 

It was then definitely time for a lunch break. I had perused that morning in search of cheap eats near the Colosseum. Being a very touristy area, the prices tend to be pretty high. Luckily I was able to find a nice little spot close by that was actually suited to my budget. I think it would have been even better had it not started to rain……

After lunch, I made my way back over to Palatine hill, the most important of the seven hills of Rome. The city is said to have been founded there. The grounds here were much more extensive than I had imagined. The ruins went on and on, I had no idea. There was actually also a museum at Palatine Hill, but I was half-way down the hill when I realized I would need to go back up to enter and I didn’t bother.

 Next I headed to the Trevi fountain. Thanks to me there is Jamaican money in the Trevi. 

Trevi Fountain

                                        

After that I trotted on over to the Pantheon, which was free to visit I was pleased to discover.

The Pantheon

 I made one more stop on my way home at the Piazza Novana. Now that I’ve written about it I realize how much of a full day that was!

Piazza Novana

The Vatican

The next day was reserved for the Holy See. Vatican City, the country within a city. Now I started my visit to the Vatican in quite the foul mood. In pursuit of a particular discount, I didn’t buy tickets ahead like I wanted to. So of course I had to join the long queue that formed even though I was there quite a while before opening. At first it wasn’t so bad, but then the sky darkened and thunder rumbled in the distance. Eventually, The heavens burst forth and a deluge descended upon us. It was so serious that I ended up purchasing a poncho (from the Bangladeshis again) as the umbrella I had bought the day before was certainly not cutting it at all. So I finally got in, but pretty much soaked. I was not happy. However that started to change when I found out that I was indeed eligible for the discount (cut the price by half) and therefore I had not braved the elements in vain. I also realized that the hold up with the line was due in great part to the security screening that everyone had to go through before entering.

There were Lots of Roman antiquities, paintings, tapestries and statuary. 

Ceiling covered in artwork

There was also a collection of vehicles that have conveyed the Pope over the years beginning with….

Sedan chair of Pope Leo XIII

moving on to :

 There was even the jeep that Pope John Paul II was in when the assassination attempt was made on his life:

After exploring most of the collections, it was time to make my way along the route to the Sistine Chapel. The chapel was much smaller than I had anticipated. Then again, it is a chapel after all and I suppose its fame aggrandized it in my head. There were no pictures allowed of Michelangelo’s famous frescoes, so unfortunately I can’t share any with you. At the very beginning I will admit that I was a little underwhelmed, but as I sat (on one of the very few seats available- one of which an American woman nearly knocked over a little boy for) I began to appreciate how great it really was. There were a few more things to view after that and then I headed over to St. Peter’s square. Going through the museums actually took me quite a while longer than I thought it would.

A long line to enter St. Peter’s basilica greeted me in the square and I spent the better part of an hour trying to gain entrance. It was worth it though; St. Peter’s Basilica is really a sight to behold. Never before have I seen such an ornate church interior. It really is quite the masterpiece. I ended up walking around and around and around just so that I could begin to take all the detail in. Honestly, the pictures do no justice. It was truly impressive. After wandering around for quite a while as I mentioned, I left as the evening mass, over which a cardinal presided, was beginning.

St. Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo's "Pieta"

 On my way out, I finally caught a glimpse of the Swiss Guard. 

Swiss Guard- yes they actually have to be Swiss

Naples and Pompeii

So my trip to Pompeii was actually pretty spontaneous. I realized I would have an extra travel day to play around with on my railcard and that Naples was day-trip distance out of Rome. That idea then evolved to hopping over to Pompeii from Naples. The main things I was seeing of interest online in Naples itself involved museums, and having been to the Vatican museums all the day before and planning to go to the Uffizi the day after, I felt that it would probably be a good idea to try something else. It turned out to be a good decision. It was rainy and overcast in Rome, but bright, sunny and balmy down on the Campanian coast (despite what the forecasts said).

On the train ride out to Pompeii, I could see Mt. Vesuvius on one side, and the island of Capri in the distance on the other. I got to the excavation site, got a discount, got a map and started walking with Mt. Vesuvius looming ominously to the west. With my interest in history and Archaeology that I mentioned before, Popmeii has been on the wishlist. I never quite thought that I would actually make it thought to be honest-but there I was! 

Mt Vesuviusssss!!!

This shot really reminded me of the Blue Mts back home

I picked up quite a few interesting tidbits by tagging along (oftentimes inadvertently) with tour groups. Sometimes you can’t but overhear what the guides have to share with their groups (which is great when the budget does not allow for said guide).

I found it all very interesting. With the application of just a little imagination, it was really cool to picture what life in Pompeii could have been like before the disaster. Near the end of my trek around the site, I was on the receiving yet of YET another photo hi-jack.

Yet again....lol

I grabbed a quick snack and decided to head back to Naples. One thing I definitely wanted to do in Naples was have pizza. How could I go to Naples and NOT have pizza? I had just enough time when I got back to Naples to run up to the famous Michele’s and be back at the station in time to catch the train back to Rome that I had earmarked. NOW I know what pizza is supposed to taste like!!!! It was a simple Margherita (Tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil), but it was all kinds of yummy. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the cost. A world famous pizza all for 4 euros!!!!

 

With that, I rounded off my trip to Rome. The next morning I would be headed to Venice!!!- but on the way I planned to make a quick stop in Florence for a couple hours so that I could tour the Uffizi Gallery.

Last Lap Part 1- Bilbao again and much more Barcelona !!!

Well here I am again updating this blog. This is likely to be the last round for some time yet, but stay tuned because there are lots of updates coming. I had to be in Europe again for my MSc presentation. To cut the story short that went well and I am now in possession of what I came here for, bringing to a close yet another chapter of my life. Since I had to be all the way on this side of the world anyway, I decided to take the opportunity to travel a bit and cross a few more items off the bucket list while I could.

So let’s start off with my return to Bilbao. To be honest I’m not that nostalgic about Bilbao, and the only reason I was there again was because I had to be really. I doubt I’d go back randomly; it would definitely have to be for something specific. Before that I should explain the bit of hassle involved in getting to Bilbao. That same week, I had given a presentation at a conference in Houston, Texas on the 24th and needed to be in Bilbao by the 26^th- fun times. I had to fly from Houston to NYC, NYC to Madrid and then finally Madrid to Bilbao . It didn't end there though. I had to drop off my luggage the first hostel I stayed at, and then take a 45 mins or so metro ride out to Plentzia, which is where the presentations were set to take place at the marine station there. Needless to say, by the time I got there mid-morning of the 26^th, I was quite the zombie. In fact, I hate to admit it, but I actually fell asleep during the afternoon session. My presentation was the next day and it went well; I didn’t have to deflect any of the questions! Considering that I had just given a version of that presentation at a conference two days before, I felt I was in good stead. I ended up being pretty painless actually. It went well and now I have my MSc!!

 A little mix-up while making my reservations resulted in me having to change hostels for the rest of my time in Bilbao (I spent the first night at a hostel near the San Mamés football stadium). This new hostel was located in Casco Viejo, the old town. Due to an oversight on my part, I actually ended up in a mixed dorm. Of course with my luck, in the 4-bed dorm, there were 3 guys. Ahhhh bwoi. Would you believe that ALL three of them snored??? I didn’t realize it the first night I was there because I was out till the wee hours celebrating with my classmates. However it hit me full force the next night. Combined with jet lag and a disrupted sleep cycle due to the time difference, this made for a pretty sleepless night. Just great eh?

Regarding said celebration with my classmates, we met up in our usual spot in Calle Somera and did what we always do. Hang around in the street, bar crawl a bit and then end up somewhere trying to dance to questionable music. This time around it was some festivities- come street party in community near the old town . To be honest  Bilbao nightlife gets old pretty fast for me. It was fun though, especially knowing that this was the last hurrah for us as a group.

Cheers guys- we made it!!

The next night before I headed out for a bit, I ended up at a nearby KFC. I was really hungry and was in need of a stop-gap. I don’t really trust pintxos (Basque country tapas) that late at night. Many of them contain eggs or fish somewhere in the mix and some of them have been out on bar counters for hours. Other people eat them and are quite fine to be sure, but knowing my luck… So back to the KFC. Ordered my chicken “crujiente’ or Spicy because I already knew not to expect much in terms of flavour. I can definitely say if I lived here full time, I would be cured of any KFC cravings once and for all. You know you’re in Europe when the spicy is not NEARLY as spicy as the original in Jamdown. Bleh.

The hostel emptied out quite a bit on Sunday and quite a few rooms free dup totally. Guess which room however, still retained most of its occupants? Anyway, Sunday was a pretty lazy day for me. I went out to buy my train ticket for the next day, and have one last walk-about in the city. By this time I was pretty much over Bilbao and ready and rearing to move on.


BARCELONA

Now Barcelona is a whole different kettle of fish. I like the general vibe there much more. After the 7-hour train ride and finding my way to my hostel, I decided to keep the evening quiet.  Barcelona was HOT! I was a bit unprepared for that. I had relatively few warm-weather items. In fact, Bilbao had been pretty warm as well.  I had planned to wear a blazer to my presentation but I ditched that idea pretty fast. Not only would have I have been waaaay overdressed in comparison to my fellow students and the faculty present, but it was also waaaaay too hot.

The next morning, I struck off from the hostel in the direction of the Basilica  de la Sagrada Familia which I had missed the last time I was in town. Here one of my little travel shortcuts backfired on me. I had read that the best ways to by-pass the long queue was to either buy tickets before hand, or get them at a particular ATM nearby that not many people seemed to know about. So feeling smug, I trotted across the road only to find that the ATM wasn’t functioning correctly, so I ended up joining the line just like everyone elseL.
 The basilica is an awesome structure by famed Catalan desidner Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in the 1890s and is still ongoing. I know a lot of people aren’t fond of the exterior, but I like it, and I liked the interior even more. The details in the architecture and decorations are amazing. I don’t even know how Gaudi sat down and planned all this out. The stained glass, the staircases, the ceiling! I think I can now safely call myself a Gaudi fan.

Stained glass

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

Stained glass details

Then after a quick lunch, it was on to Nou Camp; the home base of FC Barcelona and the largest stadium in Europe. When taking into consideration my budget, I almost skipped out on doing the tour here. I’m so glad I didn’t. It was a good interactive tour with lots of information to take in-the trophy room, locker rooms, press room, ringside at the pitch inside the stadium itself. I headed back to the hostel after this.

                                      

I could tell the other girls in the hostel room were a bit puzzled by the fact that I was back “early” each evening, I was always the first one back, but I know my limits. I had enough time to do the things I needed to, so no need to overextend myself. Besides I still had a month of travelling left and had a pretty hectic travel schedule just before that. So there was no sense in going until I absolutely overdid it with no energy to do anything else.

The next day, Parc Guell was the first order of business- designed by Gaudi (again). You have to go up one heck of a hillside to get there on foot from the metro. Very luckily there were escalators along the way to help out. If I hadn’t known beforehand that it had been designed by Gaudi, I would have probably figured it out in short order. He really had such a signature style. It was very pleasant strolling through here and stopping every now and then to admire the unique features.

Then I went to Parc Montjuic. There are several features including the Olympic Park, Gardens and a castle. If you know me very well, you may guess which one I decided on of the three. That’s right, the castle! I’m a sucker for monuments like that. Plus the view from the castle was supposed to be the best of the city.

 I ended up hiking a bit from the funicular stop to avoid paying for the touristy cable cars. Only to find out afterwards that there was a bus that went up the hill! If only I had known!!!  Montjuic supposedly has the best views of Barcelona to be had. 

Unfortunately, It got pretty overcast really quickly and the view wasn’t much of a view anymore. Eventually I made my way down (on the bus this time) to Placa Espana where I hung for a bit trying to find out which bus to take back to the hostel. I probably should have just taken the metro though. I would have gotten back at least 45 mins earlier than I did.

On my last day I kinda just winged it. I realized two things I hadn’t done was go to the beach or visit the old city centre (Ciutat Vella). I let the day play itself out. I walked down from my hostel to the beach and wandered along the coastline there for quite a while. The weather really wasn’t great, but I didn’t mind that much since I hadn’t planned on swimming or sun-bathing anyway.  I actually took a little nap on the beach that was rather pleasant.

Playa!!!

By this time my little free map was in tatters, but I had a general sense of where I needed to go to get to Ciutat Vella from where I was and I eventually found my way there. I bobbed and weaved through the medieval streets and the Gothic Quarter till I ended up at La Rambla. 

I had planned to walk up La Rambla to Placa Catalunya and take the metro from there, but by the time I got to the base of La Rambla I was beat. I had also stopped at a supermarket to rustle up some supplies for my ‘voyage’ to Rome (details below) and so I had that extra stuff weighing me down as well. So I just headed back to the hostel and collected my things from reception who had been so kind as to keep my luggage for the day even after I checked out. Then I moved on to the bar adjoining the hostel as I had some time yet before needing to make my way down to the docks and needed somewhere to chill. I was also really in need of something realllly cold.

 I then made the journey down to the docks, subway changes and all. Now there was supposed to be a bus near the statue of Columbus that would take passengers down to the terminals. I don’t know what happened but allllll now that bus nuh reach yet!! Of course the pier I needed to get to was alllll the way down the docks. By the time I got there, I was a miserable, sweaty, and unhappy camper. I checked in and then went to board. I had anticipated a relatively largish vessel; I knew it transported freight as well as vehicles etc. However I wasn’t quite prepared for how nice it was. While my inner budgeter had told me to just reserve a Pullman seat (simply a reclining chair) for the >20hr journey,  another little voice urged me to just spring for a bed in a cabin. So I did; It only cost about 12 euros more. Boy did I luck out, it was definitely worth it. I ended up in a 4-berth cabin with nobody else in it!!!! Awesomeness. NO awkward shuffling around or snoring strangers.

My Empty cabin :) :)

 It definitely was the best decision. That bed and having access to a shower was everything!! I could explore without worrying about my things. Benefits of traveling outside the high-season I’m sure. Overall I think the boat trip was a good move. I had some time to kill anyway and it was less hassle than taking a flight would have been. Plus I got to sail across the Mediterranean and a chance for my body to rest a bit. 

Sardinia

The hours passed by quickly enough and soon I was in Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome. I then got on the next train headed into the city where I hoped my friend Patrina would be waiting for me.

More to come soon. Italia at last!!!