I trekked all day by train to the Grand Navi Veloci ferry dock in Genoa. Sounds fancy, huh? I think it may have been at one time. Now the "Lounge Magnifico" has stained seats that smell like stinky boy and dirt or water in every crevice. Still, it's the EXPERIENCE of travel that counts, right? It's not like I've been complaining the whole time I've been here. I've left most of that up to my two roommates.
There are 20 passengers total on this giant ferry. Probably twice that number of staff. And yet still they've crammed 3 of those 20 into one tiny smaller-than-dorm-sized room. For the first three hours we fought with reception over the persistent stream of heat coming into our room. With three bodies in a 20 square foot space, the last thing we needed was more heat. They kept insisting they had fixed the problem but I think the ladies at the front desk were just sick of dealing with us. They kept telling us to wait a half-hour, wait an hour, wait 15 minutes, wait to see if it gets better. Harumph.
My roomies are Rose (like, "Rosie") from Northern Italy. She's 23, in-between boyfriends, working south of Barcelona and taking this ferry because she's bringing her car from home. The other roomie is Danielle from Montreal, 52 (but you'd NEVER know it) and is on year two of a cycling trip around the world. Talk about inspiration. She broke her neck a few years ago and after some back-and-forth with her employer, got some sort of settlement allowing her to travel for years on end. Just her and her bike. She has more luggage than I do (60 kilo! I have 28!) and she says wherever she goes people are amazed that she's (a) solo and (b) carrying all of that herself. Well, biking it. She showed me some amazing pictures of New Zealand, which made me very excited about my trip there. I hope I get to see some of these off-the-map places too. Makes me want to take up cycling. Or just latch a side car onto her ride.
Considering the tight quarters and the heat and the crappy service, these ladies have made the trip (dare I say) enjoyable. This is one of those opportunities people keep saying I'll have but because I'm traveling off season I rarely do: to meet people. Danielle is biking all around Spain and took my email address so maybe we can meet up if she comes to Granada. How fun!
The trip itself is fine. The slow rocking of the boat and the constant heat make me sleepy. The view is amazing. This water is SO BLUE! And I can see coastline in the distance. Is that France? Must be. We are supposed to arrive in Barcelona around 4:30 pm, or 1:30 pm... since I don't speak Italian I'm not quite sure what the announcements are saying. For some reason I thought we were supposed to land at 8 am. Whoops.
Since I've spent most of this trip chatting I haven't read any of my Spain book. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in Barcelona yet. I am looking forward to Spain and hearing a language I can (barely) understand and (barely-er) speak. Regardless, it'll be more than "please" and point!
I hope I do get to see more of Italy at some point in my life. On my last morning I found this book about walking tours of Siena and it detailed 6-hour itineraries taking you out of the main toursity areas to the countryside (like Chianti) to see ancient farmhouses and long-abandoned churches. Yes, please! As long as I don't have to drag my bags along. There is so much to see and I saw such a small part of it. Everywhere. Looking at Danielle's pictures just encourages more exploration... and inspires me to find less buildings and more nature.
Here's her site: http://web.mac.com/danielleavelo/Acc%C3%A8s/Bienvenue.html
There are 20 passengers total on this giant ferry. Probably twice that number of staff. And yet still they've crammed 3 of those 20 into one tiny smaller-than-dorm-sized room. For the first three hours we fought with reception over the persistent stream of heat coming into our room. With three bodies in a 20 square foot space, the last thing we needed was more heat. They kept insisting they had fixed the problem but I think the ladies at the front desk were just sick of dealing with us. They kept telling us to wait a half-hour, wait an hour, wait 15 minutes, wait to see if it gets better. Harumph.
My roomies are Rose (like, "Rosie") from Northern Italy. She's 23, in-between boyfriends, working south of Barcelona and taking this ferry because she's bringing her car from home. The other roomie is Danielle from Montreal, 52 (but you'd NEVER know it) and is on year two of a cycling trip around the world. Talk about inspiration. She broke her neck a few years ago and after some back-and-forth with her employer, got some sort of settlement allowing her to travel for years on end. Just her and her bike. She has more luggage than I do (60 kilo! I have 28!) and she says wherever she goes people are amazed that she's (a) solo and (b) carrying all of that herself. Well, biking it. She showed me some amazing pictures of New Zealand, which made me very excited about my trip there. I hope I get to see some of these off-the-map places too. Makes me want to take up cycling. Or just latch a side car onto her ride.
Considering the tight quarters and the heat and the crappy service, these ladies have made the trip (dare I say) enjoyable. This is one of those opportunities people keep saying I'll have but because I'm traveling off season I rarely do: to meet people. Danielle is biking all around Spain and took my email address so maybe we can meet up if she comes to Granada. How fun!
The trip itself is fine. The slow rocking of the boat and the constant heat make me sleepy. The view is amazing. This water is SO BLUE! And I can see coastline in the distance. Is that France? Must be. We are supposed to arrive in Barcelona around 4:30 pm, or 1:30 pm... since I don't speak Italian I'm not quite sure what the announcements are saying. For some reason I thought we were supposed to land at 8 am. Whoops.
Since I've spent most of this trip chatting I haven't read any of my Spain book. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in Barcelona yet. I am looking forward to Spain and hearing a language I can (barely) understand and (barely-er) speak. Regardless, it'll be more than "please" and point!
I hope I do get to see more of Italy at some point in my life. On my last morning I found this book about walking tours of Siena and it detailed 6-hour itineraries taking you out of the main toursity areas to the countryside (like Chianti) to see ancient farmhouses and long-abandoned churches. Yes, please! As long as I don't have to drag my bags along. There is so much to see and I saw such a small part of it. Everywhere. Looking at Danielle's pictures just encourages more exploration... and inspires me to find less buildings and more nature.
Here's her site: http://web.mac.com/danielleavelo/Acc%C3%A8s/Bienvenue.html
Check it, yo!
So I have arrived at my hostel- SO much better than the one in Marseille. 6 beds in this room and only one other girl. She's so nice, too. From Columbia but lives in Toronto. (I can't remember her name. Something with a rolling "r"...) I am off to the market to get some food and then do some evening exploring. I'll have a full day ahead of me, too. Everybody says: Only TWO days in Barcelona? Well, it's really more like one and a half. I'll walk fast.
(The little cabin, Danielle and Rose.)
Cheers!
So I have arrived at my hostel- SO much better than the one in Marseille. 6 beds in this room and only one other girl. She's so nice, too. From Columbia but lives in Toronto. (I can't remember her name. Something with a rolling "r"...) I am off to the market to get some food and then do some evening exploring. I'll have a full day ahead of me, too. Everybody says: Only TWO days in Barcelona? Well, it's really more like one and a half. I'll walk fast.
(The little cabin, Danielle and Rose.)
Cheers!
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