“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life” Jack Kerouac
So we began the long process of leaving Italy by waiting for a cab to the train station, then negotiating the station ensuring we got on the right train to head for the coastal city of Ancona, where we would catch an overnight ferry to Split, Croatia. Along the way the train passed multiple Italian beach coastal resorts, a reminder that Australia really does have the best beaches in the world.
Our two hour train trip stretched to three and a half as it came to a halt multiple times and announcements of delay had us slightly concerned whether we would make our ferry. Eventually arriving we quickly made our way to the ferry terminal, and checked in to be told our ferry would begin boarding at 8:00 pm. At 6.30 we negotiated immigration points and hurried down to the dock and sat on the pier, at 8.00 pm still no sign of the ferry – other companies were coming in and departing but of our ‘Snav’ there was no sign. Eventually around 11:00 pm some lights showed on the horizon and there was a general air of excitement, here it was, at last it’s Snav. By this time we had been sitting on a concrete block at the pier for five hours !
Yay it’s here
Boarded the ferry and checked into our “first class” cabin.
Luckily there was a restaurant on board! The next morning announcements to vacate the cabin started at 6.00 am. So another wait began… On deck we finally spotted land and docked in another new country around 9.30
Our day and night of waiting around was rewarded by the most beautiful town of Split. 
Gorgeous cobbled streets, laneways and stone houses. Another storybook world !
And it’s just as pretty at night
Fregan in Europe 