bertus

I have a few questions about transport between some cities. Has anyone taken the bus from Bucharest to Istanbul? I've heard some different stories about it but overall it sounds better then the train and faster as well but is that true? Also between Istanbul and Athens is the bus or train better? I've heard some horror stories about the train but other times I've heard it is a great service and I haven't heard anything about the bus other then it's a long ride. My last question is about using my railpass to get from Greece to Italy. On rail Europe it says I can only get free ferries from Patras and Igoumenitsa but on the ferry website it sounds like I can go for free from Corfu as well which would be a better departure point I would think. Also is Ancona or Bari a better place to land when the next place I want to go is Rome?