Roma to Bari

I've caught quite a few high speed trains in Europe and Asia. I've always thought that the French and the Japanese do them better than anyone else. The Germans are right at the rear of the field, with trains that are neither truly high speed and anything but punctual.
Arriving at the Rome Termini we checked departure boards and noticed a train from Munich Hauptbahnhof was running one hour late; that's almost on time by German standards. I couldn't be too smug as our Trenitalia train to Bari was listed as running 20 minutes late. Things went from not so good to worse when the train ended up being closer to 40 minutes behind schedule by the time it departed.
I'd love to say that the train sped across the countryside, but it was more like an amble. It's top speed was supposedly 300kmh, but I would hazard a guess that mark was achieved in a test run on a gun barrel straight piece of line. The train spluttered into Bari in second gear, just over 50 minutes late.
Bari station to the port
With a mixture of luck, some help from Google maps and a bus driver who seemed to know where we wanted to go, we navigated our way around the station at Bari and jumped on the route 50 bus to the port. Our ferry to (Durres) Albania wasn't due to leave until 10pm, but I had read that the ticketing process was painfully complicated and needlessly time consuming. The predictions proved to be spot on and had it not been for a kindly old Albanian man we met on the bus, we could still be walking around the port.
I won't spell out the details here, but if you do catch the Bari - Durres ferry do some Googling well in advance. There's lots of good information on travel blogs but none of it quite prepares you for the actual process.
Anyway, after 90 minutes or so of shuffling around the port and jumping through bureaucratic hoops we were good to go. Our ferry didn't leave until 10pm so we had time for a walk around the old town. Lots of laneways with a mix of private residences, bars, restaurants that together make for a great vibe. I suspect it's probably tourist hell in the middle of peak season, but on a mild April evening, it felt pretty idyllic. The octopus salad and chips from the hole in the wall takeaway near Basilica di San Nicola were truly sensational. The owner can be a little prickly at first, but work with her (offering to pay in cash is a very popular option) and she'll be your friend for life!
Next we wandered around the waterfront and returned to the wharf. I read that the ferry had a certain 'retro charm' and when we entered our cabin, the tiny bunks, laminex detailing and slightly worn interior took me back to, let's say the 1970s and not necessarily in a good way! The public areas are the domain of truck drivers plying whatever their business might be, between Italy and Albania. Regular announcements over the PA claim there's 'an international menu prepared by our on board chef'. The truck drivers looked more prepared for the delights of the international menu than me, so I'll leave it to them to judge the merits of the culinary delights provided by Adria Ferries.