Catania Centrale – Lamezia Terme Centrale – Bari Centrale

I was up early, bags packed, breakfast taken and out of the hotel by 8am. My 24 hour Catania pass was still valid as I’d bought it late yesterday morning so I took the single stop metro to the station. Inevitably it was a lovely morning, and standing on Catania Centrale in a t-shirt before 9am I was definitely sad to be heading away, though looking forward to seeing somewhere new.

As yesterday’s travel problems suggested, there clearly is something going on with the trains in this area, almost all of the local services towards Messina were cancelled. Fortunately I was booked onto a long-distance service, which was actually going to Rome, though I wasn’t heading that far.

My train arrived about 10 minutes late from Siracusa. How I would love to have had time to go back there, I loved my visit a couple of years ago. The views of Etna today were lovely.

In what seemed like no time at all we were in Messina and being shunted onto the ship.

The novelty of this isn’t wearing off yet. This was my fourth crossing. The water was a little bit livelier than on previous crossings (though still nothing significant) but I could distinctly see the train rocking slightly on its axles with the movement of the boat, which surprised me.

I stayed on this service as far as Lamezia. I’ve not stopped here before, but the change of trains was timely as I had a work call to do. I settled down in the deserted waiting room.

Across the road from the station there was a hotel that was offering food. I had a perfectly adequate lasagne in there before returning to the station.

The first section of the train to Bari runs along the coast, which looked lovely as day turned to night.

I’d booked an apartment in Bari. This gave me the opportunity to do some washing, as well as giving me more space than in a hotel. I dropped my bags off, threw some washing into the machine and headed out to explore a city I’ve not seen before.

The first impression of the main street was a bit of a surprise. It could be pretty much anywhere. However, I soon reached the old town, which was much nicer, and I quickly established was a bit of a rabbit warren.

I found my way through to the far side, and came out near to a castle. I was surprised by the number of cars in the town, as I’d seen relatively few people out walking. Maybe they are residents rather than tourists, but the car parks were jam packed, even at 9pm.

I walked back into the centre of the city, thinking now that I needed something to eat. In the background I’d not been feeling quite right for a couple of hours and had hoped I’d walk it off after 12 hour of travelling, but it was becoming more than that, a thick head and a runny nose.

I decided that an Indian meal was what I needed, and found a restaurant that would do me a takeaway. While that was being prepared I went to a local shop, bought some tissues, fruit and something to drink. I ate back at the apartment, then sorted my washing out and went to bed. Hopefully I’ll feel better in the morning.