Eurotip: Italy Travel Day (Bari / Naples / Sorrento)

Angie and I started our Eurotrip knowing generally where we wanted to go for the first three weeks, and we were able to map out our travel plans accordingly. Things got a little confusing once we reached the last week. There were so many options, and yet most of them seemed more complicated than they were worth. One idea was to fly to Oslo and tour Norway for a bit. Another was to continue our tour into former Yugoslavia. Ultimately we decided to end our tour in Italy. The decision was made easier because there was an overnight ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari, and a cheap flight from Milan to Barcelona. We also decided that some relaxing time in a more familiar country, with some good wine, food, and gelato, was the way to go.

Unfortunately, what we did not anticipate was our longest travel segment yet. Let me begin.

After our kayaking adventure in Dubrovnik, we "showered" by jumping in the hotel pool and changing to dry clothes. We then caught a bus to the ferry port. This was adventurous because the bus we needed to take drove right past us, leaving us without transportation. Luckily another bus picked us up and helped get us to the right place. We were feeling pretty delirious already, as evidenced by Angie trying to maneuver with her backpack. (Begin series of Angie pictures as I attempt to document our journey.)

We had made friends with a fabulous Canadian couple during our Croatian travels, and we met the before getting on our ferry. We decided once we got our rooms we would meet in the bar for a drink. As you can see, this might have been the most depressing bar I have ever been inside.

We survived our night on the ferry, and were treated to this amazing breakfast! By amazing, I mean pretty disgusting. However, I managed to score some eggs which made this protein-starved girl pretty happy.

The ferry experience was actually pretty easy, and I would probably do it again if I needed to. We arrived in Bari at 8:00am and were out of customs by 9:00. We then walked about 2 miles with our friends to the train station so we could drop off our luggage and wait for the 1:00pm train to Naples. At this point, we separated and Angie and I decided to go explore Bari. It's claim to fame is being the home of St. Nicholas. Yes - that St. Nick! It happened to be some type of festival in his honor, which explained this lovely chalk art rendition.

We found the basilica and paid our respects before stopping for a snack and some free internet.

 

The good thing about having so much time to kill was that we saw a new city, filled out our MBA completion surveys, applied to graduate, and added more miles to the pedometer. The bad thing was that we were stuck in a city we didn't really want to be in for five hours, and still had six more hours of travel ahead.

The travel included three trains to Naples, and then another train called the Circumvesuvia that would take us to Sorrento. By the time we reached our last train, which was more like a jam packed subway car, we were tired of traveling. And we probably didn't smell very good, thanks to our fake pool shower. And we were getting a bit end-of-trip cranky. By the time we checked into our hotel in Sorrento, it was 8:00pm. All we wanted was some food, a shower, and sleep. So that was what we did.

We had considered exploring the city the next morning, but quite frankly we just wanted to get on our way to our next stop. Sorry Sorrento, we didn't give you more of a chance! Maybe next time?

In hindsight, I should have realized that we couldn't get to Naples/Sorrento sooner upon arriving to Bari. But, one bad travel day wasn't really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of our trip. I would cheer myself up thinking, "Guess who feels sorry for you right now? No one!" Haha. I considered not sharing this day on the blog, but it was what it was and looking back, I don't even remember why I was cranky! Besides, it helped get us to the next absolutely incredible adventure...