Buongiorno Italia!
The Jadrolinja ferry from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Bari, Italy, is full of Italians. Even the announcements over the PA system is done in Italian and English only. It’s an eight hour journey and Carter and I have only purchased deck seats, meaning we have to hang out at the common area for the entire journey. Where’s a deck of cards when you need one?
The last time I was in Italy was about 6 1/2 years ago when I was living in Milan as an exchange student. Time really does fly, though it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. I’m so happy to be back in this amazing country full of beautiful people, to be able to hear the lovely language and eat authentic Italian food right from the source again.
Bari is dirty but adorable, and exceeds my expectations (which were pretty low). The thing about Italy is, everywhere you go, from Rome to Florence, to little seaside ports, you will find grand buildings full of history and character. In other countries, this may only be true of one or two big cities. The buildings along the waterfront remind me a bit of the ones in Budapest.
We’ve booked one night at a hostel but when we arrive they have us stay in the home of an Indian lady and her son who is half Italiano. There’s also a Dutch girl and another man staying there as well. The lady operates an English school from the apartment, located in a grand old building. The room she uses as her classroom even has a beautiful but faded frescoe painting on the ceiling. There is a big open living area, a small kitchen, bathroom, and large bedroom with a bunk bed and a double bed. The night we are there, all the beds are taken; I suspect the mother and son pair are sleeping on the fold-out bed and air mattress in the kitchen when the bedroom is full with guests.
Nobody in Bari seems to speak English. Carter is surprised, I guess coming from perfect English speaking Sweden, it would be a bit of a shock. It’s frustrating as a traveller, but I love it at the same time. Ahh Italy, you hold strong to your identity.
By the time we settle in and shower, it’s past 9pm on a Sunday night. I know we are going to have difficulty finding a quick meal. Our landlady suggests a couple of fast food places and a pizzeria, but both the Burger King and the pizzeria are closed. Next, we try a creperia which sells baguettes, but sadly, they have no bread (really?!?). So, it ends up that our first meal in Italy is reheated pizza and calzone, which look like they were made way too many hours ago and for a beverage, solo coca cola (although they have an entire range of beverages as part of their soda fountain, our server tells me “solo Coca Cola”). Carter tops this off with some McDonald’s fries and me with frozen yogurt. First meal in the land of food is a complete failure. Haha.
