Greece, Italy

Well I am finally in Rome. I sailed on a ferry from Patras, Greece and arrived in Bari, Italy. The first train out of bari was not until 1:30 in the afternoon, so I wandered around town for a few hours. I also updated this blog...took a couple of hours to get all the pictures uploaded and everything. Here are some pictures from the ferry ride...

Of course, before the ferry, I was in beautiful Athens Greece. I took a metro train to downtown Athens. I sat in a small square that was right in front of the Greek parliament building. After a few minutes, I heard a band playing, so I went to see what was happening. It turned out to be a changing of the guard ceremony at the parliament building. Here are the pictures...

Check out the high step that they use to march. It is really cool to see all the soldiers in perfect step with each other...

After that was over, I went back tothe square and sat and read for a while. Eventually I went to find an Internet cafe where I could write and post some pictures. That was the place that allowed me to install and run the program, unfortunately, it didn't quite work out. Anyway, I eventually left there and went to my hotel to check inand drop off my bag. After that I went down to the Akropolis. Here are the photos...

The next day, I went to a few more ruins, and then got on a train for Patras. Here are a few photos from the train ride...

After I got to Italy, I got on a train to Naples. I ended up sitting next to a math professor from Florida International Institute. She was from Italy, and actually had taught at U of M for a semester. She had also lived in Naples for a few years, so she told me a few places to visit. Here are some pictures...

The city was very dirty, there were piles of trash in the streets, and people did not seem to use the garbage cans. I stayed there last night, but I didn't do much there this morning. Instead, I decided to go to Popmpei, which is close to Naples. It was pretty amazing to see the paintings and everything that survived the volcano. Here are a few pics...

I got to Rome today, but I was actually kicked off the train for the first time using my Eurail pass. Apperently in Italy, some trains require a reservation, and if you don't have one, and the train is crowded, you can be kicked off. It took ma another hour before I actually got here, but everything workedout alright, now I know to make a reservation before getting on train! Anyway, I will be wandering around Rome tomorro, I will post again soon. Arrivederci!