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We arrived in Patras Greece late Friday night with no place to stay. We read about the only hostel in town ahead of time and knew it would be gross, but I wasn't quite expecting stains and hairs and dirt and mold everywhere. We had to rent sheets for our beds, which we gladly did. The shower was absolutely disgusting and freezing cold so it was one of those rinse as fast as you can and go showers. We were so happy to leave the next morning to catch our ferry!
The ferry ride was also interesting. Being that we have rail passes, the trip was free (minus port taxes and fuel surcharges...which turned out to be more than we've paid at some hostels), but we had to sleep on the deck. Sleeping on the deck doesn't sound that bad, but after a night in a gross hostel where we were already tired and dirty, sleeping on the deck was miserable. Nate and I both put on as many clothes as possible because it got remarkably cold. We shifted all night between hard wooden benches and the cold, but softer floor. Needless to say we both woke up at 7am
quite moody and ready to get to Rome. We got off the ferry and into the train station where we found out the only train to Rome was full. Fantastic. Thus, we ended up spending 10 hours of our day on a train going completely out of our way to Ancona and then back down to Rome. We arrived at our hostel in Rome at about 10 last night and the first thing both of us did was shower!
Also, I forgot a fun story...Europe is having what Nate calls a "chuck-a-demic" and he and I have both been jonesing for a pair of chucks. (Chucks are a kind of shoes...) We've stopped in every shoes store in every country since disembarking the boat but we weren't convinced until Greece. We found a store that sold chucks at the same price we'd pay at home and we both walked out with a brand new pair of amazing shoes. I think we both just needed some retail therapy after the week we'd had and it definitely worked. New shoes always make everything better!!
We're off to see Rome...and as I promised, here are pictures from the last couple of
weeks! xo
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Mom
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catching up
I've been catching up on your blogs. I'm certainly glad you have Nate with you if you insist on doing things like hitch-hiking, sleeping in random places, and sitting in unassigned seats! I can't believe you're going to be roaming around Europe for another month still. Have fun. Be careful! Love you, Mom xo