This is the last shot I took before going to the train station and departing for Barcelona.

A few days back, I went to a travel agency there most of the class had been using to search for a train ticket to Barcelona. I think they only did domestic travel because they didn't have a clue as to how to get to Barcelona. It's not like Rome and Barcelona are small cities, they should be major stops. Two or three people searched on their computers for a while and finally printed out several possible itineraries for me. They included at least 5 train hops. Great.

I went to the Roma Termini to get a second opinion. I found an open window, asked how to get to Barcelona and within five seconds he handed me a pre-printed flyer that listed the direct trains and their departure/arrival times.

As luck would have it, I had to do some train hopping anyway. Just before we entered France, the train stopped at Ventimiglia and we were told to get off. Huh?? Apparently the trains weren't running in France or something. That's what the lady at information told me anyway. She also told me she would get me when our bus was loading. Which she didn't. Thankfully I decided to investigate one of the busses just before it left. It was indeed my bus.

We went down the road and there was some spectacular scenery of city lights below as we carved down a mountain highway, but it was in the middle of the night and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Just after we left France, at Portbau, we were herded back onto a train where we completed our journey into Barcelona.