At 5.45 am there was an announcement on board encouraging us to get up and prepare to disembark. We got showered and dressed. Our breakfast was delivered to our room and we had to pay extra for yogurt and and service - not what we asked for. We packed up (no coats to leave behind this time) and went down to the main deck. The boat carried cars and foot passengers and we went ashore down several sets of stairs.
In Ancona we didn't want to pay for another pricey taxi so we got a coffee and then found a bus to the station, quite a walk away from the ferry terminal. Unfortunately the shuttle bus didn't start running until the afternoon. At the station we waited outside for the 9.22 train to Milano. It was 5 minutes late but arrived in Milano on time at 13.25. On the long journey I read an Alexander McCall Smith book on Kindle but it finished 72 percent of the way through! So I started on Richard's book A Short History of England and got as far as Henry II.
In Milan we knew our way around and headed for the downstairs bar, where we had a beer and a hot mortadella pomodoro sandwich (without any tomato) which was surprisingly good. We also used the clean loos for one euro each, and I bought a Homes and Gardens magazine in the newsagent's. Our train to Zurich left at 14.25 and we had good seats.
The train called at Monza, Chiasso, Lugana, Bellinzona and Arth Goldau. We arrived in Zug on time and caught our connection to Thalwil arriving back at 18.24. Richard popped into Migros for essentials and we took the bus home. Everything was fine, apart from a few drooping house plants - the balcony plants had been well watered in the rain.
We enjoyed our trip to Split via Ancona and the Adriatic crossing, but I probably wouldn't do the same long journey again.
