As it turns out, the ferry from Barcelona to Rome was very sketchy indeed. I guess I should have known, with a name like Grimaldi Ferries...it sounds like a Romanian maffia company...or at least the bad guy on Days of Our Lives. Don't get me wrong, it was a modern ship and it was safe, the cabin doors had working locks and all that, plus it's associated with my Eurail pass. But on board with me were an "over 80" canasta club, 1 American couple, and about 200 creepy mediterranian men. I think I was the only single female on the ship, not to mention the only person with blonde hair. As I walked through each common area, I could feel the weight of 10 or 20 unsavory guys eyeing me. Cat calls followed me everywhere I went, and let me tell you, I didn't have to speak the language to know what they were saying. And to top it off, the fake wedding band that I'd packed was nowhere to be found!
Luckily, noone else was in my 4-female cabin, so I had a room all to myself. I'd gone grocery shopping for lunch and dinner so I had lot's to snack on, a good Maeve Binchy book to read, and a box of wine*. After the ship set sail I stayed in my cabin almost the entire 19 hour trip. I had room to stretch and reflect, and I was completely by myself for the first time in about a month...it felt soooo goooood.
So, it turned out to be a good time after all, sort of a vacation from my vacation. When the boat pulled into the harbor, I walked past the leers and the cat calls with my chin up...I was on my way to Rome.
*The wine was meant to be shared with my cabinmates (as suggested in my Lonely Planet guidebook), I didn't buy a whole box all for myself ;)
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