Funny How Things Work Out When They're Not Part of the Plan

Even when things don't go as planned, it's funny how things still work out for the best.

Take today, for instance.

The plan was to get dropped off in Arezzo and catch the 10:15 train to Bari, which would give us a two-hour layover in Rome (long enough for a commando raid on a gelateria) and give us a couple hours to explore Bari before our 10 p.m. overnight ferry to Dubrovnik.

Only, the train to Bari was sold out. Which meant we had to catch the noon train, with a switch in Bologna, and an uncomfortable, razor-thin cushion to make it to the ferry on time.

To pass the time in Arezzo, we stored our luggage at the TI (travel info) office, strolled along it's bustling main pedestrian street, and were delighted to come upon the parade preceding the afternoon's jousting contest on the Piazza Grande.

Teams representing the city's four neighborhoods dressed in elaborate midevel costumes and marched through the cobblestoned city center to the cadence of drums and the blowing of horns. Onlookers wore neckerchiefs representing one of the neighborhoods. It was an elaborate and festive gathering that created an electric mood to the morning.

In a move that would benefit us greatly later, we took out 30 euros from an ATM to cover food costs for the afternoon, but we wound up only spending only a few of our remaining euros.

In the morning, we were disappointed that we couldn't select our preferred train. But as we left in the afternoon, we were grateful to come to know a new city and experience its charms. (Although, we were bummed we couldn't stick around for the jousting on the square.)

While on the Bari train, Karen read that we'd need to first pick up our ferry tickets at the ticket office on one part of the waterfront, then board at another location. We wondered if we could do it all in just the 40 minutes we had.

An angel appeared in the form of a taxi driver who understood our concern and responded with one of the more white-knuckle taxi rides of our lives. Then he waited while Karen picked up our tickets and caroomed along the waterfront to our boat.

The price of the taxi ride? All 25 our remaining euros, the ones we got in Arezzo thinking we spend them on food. Had we not had that money, we would have spent precious time finding an ATM in Bari. As it turned out, though, we made it aboard with 20 minutes to spare.

Today's lesson: You can plan and plan and plan. But when the unplanned unfolds, good things occur.

This is the Villa Gang for one last group shot before we started heading off in opposite directions. For us, we we got dropped off in Arezzo and then caught a train to Bari, and then a ferry to Dubrovnik.

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We found Arezzo quite charming. Here, Grandpa helps his little one get some refreshment during the parade. (We've seen this in Croatia, too.)

This is the Arezzo parade preceding the jousting contest. We saw the jousting setup in the main square, and it looks like it's right out of the old movie A Knight's Tale.

Next up, hello, Croatia.