I did get to ride business class on the way there, because the lady at the ticket counter charged me for it without me even really understanding what was going on. Gee sometimes I really dislike the Italians. In business class I did talk to a guy that was a judge. He had a lot of paperwork so at first I thought he was a teacher. After he said he was a judge though, my first reaction was, "They have judges here?!" Crazy; who would have thought?!
When I got to Bari the first thing I saw when I got off the train was a sign for ferry tickets and information. Yay, something helpful! When I got to the counter and asked about tickets to Greece though, the guy told me that I had to go to the port. "How do I get there?" "Take the bus 20 backslash out front." Okay easy enough, right? Apparently not. I first had to get a ticket and then I was sure I heard 20/ but I only saw a bus 20. I looked at where the bus was going according to the top of the bus and it said it was going to "Torre di Mare". Okay... so logically I look up what "Torre" is in my Italian-English dictionary that I bought in Austria, because I know that "Mare" means ocean. Somehow they the dictionary did not have a direct translation and just had "air-control tower". Okay so maybe "control tower of the ocean" means port. Made a little sense... like everything else in Italy. So anyhow I get on the bus to find an old man telling me I'm beautiful in Italian and asking me all sorts of questions I didn't understand. I also asked him if this was the bus to the port and he nodded. "Okay... I'm on my way," I said to myself. It was looking good; the bus was heading into the city and following the signs that I could tell were to the ferries.... and then we started moving away from the city, the old man got of the bus, and I started to get the feeling that he had no idea what I had asked him and just nodded out of politeness. Wonderful! I leaned over to a couple of people and asked, "Do you speak English?" "A little." "Is this the bus to the port?" "No. This is the bus to a little village by the sea." Oh. Go figure. Luckily I wasn't too far out of the city, so I didn't have to wait very long for the bus going back to the train station. When I arrived at the train station, guess what I saw? Bus 20/ to La Porta.... oh geeze... I'm a dork. What an adventure. I'd rather not do that alone again.
This was the sign pointing down the street at the place I got off the bus. What does it mean? When I come back I will find out! Just kind of random. Anyone have any ideas??
This was on the other side of the street from where I got lost. I figure it must be a memorial or something. *shrug* Once again I didn't really have time to figure it out. I came super early to Bari so that I could get a little lost and find my way back, not to explore the places where I got lost. :-) Maybe I will when I bring someone with me next time.
I thought the Port of Bari seal was cool. I was also bored out of my mind, because I knew that if I left the port I probably wouldn't have made it back in time to get on the boat. I probably would have been lost in Bari instead. Go figure. Oh well, I'm a scared-e cat.
The ticket counter that I got my tickets from and then stared at for a few hours until the boat was ready to be boarded.
The not so lovely city of Bari. It was scary traveling alone in that city.
Superfast VI. There was barely anyone on the ship. See if I go to Greece again in the wintertime! Actually I took my cues to get on the ship from a Korean guy named Choi that had been living in England over the past year. His English accent was awesome! :-) He's a great guy, Choi.
I couldn't believe there was a casino on the ship, so I had to take a picture. Choi thought it was hilarious that I was taking a picture! What a crazy American I am! :-)
This is the bed I got to sleep in. I woke up about a million times during the night thinking it was time to get up. The time that I did spend sleeping was wonderful though. I think I got more sleep than I would have ever received on the deck.
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