Quick stop in Barcelona... And a ferry to Italy.

We left Valencia and didn't really know what to do next. We knew we wanted to go to Italy but how to get there was the next step. Our options were 48 hours of trains or 24 hours of a ferry. So the next place to go where both of those had either a big station or port was Barcelona. Beautiful city and I wish we had more time to explore but the 4-5 hours we had were lovely. Expect for the fact we had our packs on walking around a hot city!
We walked around a very touristy area.. Which then led off to tons of small streets which were awesome. Loads of beautiful street art, churches, hidden spots, shops, food, and more. We were happy to explore though my back ached! It was well worth it. We then made our way back to the port and departed on a ferry headed for civitivecchia Italy.
The ferry was pretty awful, we didn't have a bed, let alone a seat. We knew we'd be kind of in this situation when we bought the cheapest tickets but alas, not the best situation when you're exhausted. So we made the best of it, bought a bottle of wine, played cards for hours, and I ended up passing out in the cafe booth.
The next morning (far too early) I was awoken by one of the workers yelling at me to wake up and "good morning!!" in about 6 different languages. We barely got any sleep but that evening we arrived in Italy.
With no plans, we got off the boat and set our sights to the bus station, hoping maybe to catch a bus. On our way, John spotted a couple struggling to carry some large pieces of furniture. John tried to ask if they needed hell but they only spoke Italian and very little English, so he picked up a side of the furniture and I grabbed one of their suitcases. We helped them to their car and they offered us a ride to Rome!
Really amazing how you can communicate with others without knowing their language. We ended up getting a sweet deal on a hotel, because our new Italian friends hooked us up. And they even gave us suggestions on where to eat! They were wonderful and we got their number and they told us anything we may need we can just call. It was nice to be in a hotel and relax and get some sleep at last.