We had a funny moment at the restaurant when the Waiter came with a trolley to serve the two young fellows at the next table with Steak Tartare. He made a masterly and rather theatrical show of mixing all the herbs, oil, egg and raw minced steak and we looked on in fascination making a mental note of the method and ingredients. K could not resist doing a Mr Bean impersonation of reacting to the raw meat and finding two dozen places to hide it away so that he did not offend anybody. The Waiter thought we were a bit odd anyway so we had to get our hilarity under control and eat two plates of food which neither of us had ordered but our Italian was so non-existent, we did not like to say anything.
The car was packed up ready for an early start in the morning for the journey down to Ancona. We checked maps, spoke to people, did lots of revision and prepared ourselves to leave lots of 'getting lost time' so that we could be sure of catching the ferry but luckily in the end the journey was quite straightforward. I jumped out of bed at 6.00 am and reminded myself that I had now retired!
When we first planned the trip, a drive down the Italian coast via Venice, Padua, Rimini looked wonderful and we prepared ourselves for lots of spectacular countryside and scenery. We set off in sunshine, progressed into mists and then found ourselves in thick fog. After that we had fog plus recent very heavy snowfall and the sky only turned a little less grey as we entered Ancona itself. The brief glances I did have of seaside compared disfavourably with Bognor in December!! I think there were lovely views with rustic farmhouses and wide roofs made of red ceramic pottery tiles but under several inches of snow, their photogenic charm was a bit difficult to find.
The Agents promised an upgrade from an inside cabin to an outside one, so we stood our ground at the ticket desk once we got to Ancona feeling that our time cut short in Venice, our long drive, petrol and frequent tolls counted for something. Even we were impressed with the result with a wonderful cabin, free complimentary evening meal and 11 Euros from the ticket clerk! After this we took the car and got into the queue watching all the cargo driving off the ship and waited for our turn to drive on.
At last … I got my cruise! K had promised me a cruise about 15 years ago when he was in a position to do something about it – but being a bit of a busman's honeymoon was not terribly keen on the idea. Granted it was only for 24 hours or so but beggars can't be choosers. We unpacked our crumpled clothes into the wardrobes of a rather lovely cabin and stretched out on the beds to get all the tension of 1,200 miles heavy driving out of our system. An American guy we met yesterday said that after experiencing driving in European cities twenty years ago, he still travelled a lot in Europe but never went anywhere unless by train. Wise words indeed !
Anyway, we are now “full steaming ahead” to Patras and determined to enjoy this rest period making the most of the facilities which after several days on the road are pure luxury!
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