09/03/10- We arrived at LAX airport around 3:30pm (about 2 hours before our international flight). We thought we needed to go to the Thomas Bradley International terminal but apparently Virgin Atlantic was in Terminal 2. So luggage and all we booked it across the airport. We had plenty of time though so no worries. Flew out on time around 5:35pm and arrived at our layover spot in London around 12 noon local time. I stayed up the entire 10 ½ hours watching several movies while Sharece got some sleep. Oh and LAX uses X-Ray technology now with everyone coming through. During the flight we were able to see the big dipper as well as the sunrise. It’s moments like that which make life amazing.
09/04/10- After 5 hours of a layover we made our second flight to Edinburgh with no problem. Our driver met us at the luggage area and made it to our hotel around 7:30pm. The sun was still out and we got to get a preview of what was to come. Everything is just so green- it looks like one huge golf course. After checking into our hotel (which we had to carry our bags up 4 flights of steps) we got a nice dinner of fish and chips just down the road. It was right next to a place called Pound Savers. I was thinking, in America everyone is trying to lose pounds while here in Scotland people are saving them up.
09/05/10- Woke up early to catch the free hot breakfast from the hotel. It was very, very good. Fully catered and fresh food impressed us both. We then took the streets and went first to Edinburgh Castle. It was still early enough where there were not many people out and the weather was not too bad. We bought our tickets, plus paid a bit more for other castles we plan on visiting in the days to come (got a nice discount doing it this way). Also they accepted my old student ID card for a few more pounds off.
The castle was nice. It started to get really crowded after awhile, and I mean tour groups of 100 or more walking through. We even saw a proposal. Afterwards we got a bite to eat and shopped for some souvenirs before going back to the hotel for a spell.
After a little while of resting our legs we ventured back out to get some more photos as well as look around the Scottish Museum- which was free by the way. We made it back to the hotel for the night around 5:30pm barely able to move our legs. We asked for an extra blanket as well. The previous night we ended up sleeping on the fluffy comforter because the bed itself was very hard to sleep on. However, we did not have any blankets and ended up pretty cold at night.
09/06/10- Surprisingly we both woke up pain free. The night seemed to heal our sore legs pretty good. The extra blanket helped too.
After the free hot breakfast again we went straight to the Palace of Holyroodhouse located on the East side of the Royal Mile. Not cheap by any means due to not being able to take photographs but it turned out to be well worth it. I even sneaked a few pics inside. After the tour of the inside we saw the ruins of the church outside and were thoroughly amazed. The clouds overhead raced across the sky as if from an old Scottish movie and the grounds surrounding were a beautiful green. Sharece ran inside the garden area and sat next to a tree acting as though she was reading her book as I took a photo. It looked like she was in an enchanted forest of some kind- very cool.
Later we saw the old Parliament buildings and a Greek building that was half completed. Apparently they ran out of funds in the 1800s and never finished it for whatever reason. We also went to Waverly train station to check on fares and times for our train tomorrow to Stirling and came back to High Street to eat. This time we simply got some soup and a sandwich which was very good.
We finished by taking an hour tour of the underground Closes’. How crazy is it that they built over the old city slums some hundreds of years ago. Later we went out around our hotel to get a quick dinner but found that most places already closed before 7pm. Even Subway was out of many of their meats. The wind was getting very strong now and the cold was starting to take its effect, but luckily we found a nice little place and grabbed a panini sandwich.
09/07/10- Another good start with the free hot breakfast before heading to the train station. We purchased our tickets for a roundtrip to Stirling but the first stop was Linlithgow Palace. Good thing is we only had to wait 10 minutes for the next train to come by. Traveling in Europe is so efficient.
The rain was starting to come down in Linlithgow so we got some umbrellas from a local market and walked the town. There were no real signs of any kind to guide us, we just went around in the general direction that we thought we should. Eventually we ran into the palace. At first glance it didn’t seem like much, but once inside you can see how it is just in ruins now. It is a bit hard to picture anyone ever able to live in that place because all there was left was stone walls and cutout windows. We spent a few hours there before heading back to the train station and on to Stirling.
Once in Stirling we took a picture of the map on the wall with my camera so we could have it for later if needed. However it was not much help. The town was definitely bigger than Linlithgow with a nice shopping area that we walked through. We had to ask directions a few times to make sure we were heading in the right direction. I figured, when in doubt… head up the hill. That seemed to fair well as the castle was located all the way at the top.
It took some time but we finally made it up there, through a few grave sites and such. Unfortunately there was not much to it. We walked the grounds for a spell but was not very impressed at all. So after a short time we went back to the train station to make our way home. Again we only had a 10 minutes wait before the train got there. We got back around 4:35pm and got some fish and chips to eat. At this time the weather was clearer and the blue skies were finally coming back out.
After resting at the hotel for a few hours we decided to go out and get some night shots. A bit cold but not too bad.
09/08/10- It has been a crazy morning already. Woke up around 7:30am to my wife in pain. A bladder infection has reared its ugly head and attacked her with all its might. I left down the road to the nearest pharmacy and got some cranberry stuff for her. The pain was so intense that she had to skip the free breakfast. Also, there was no way she could make it down the road to the airlink for the airport so I called a cab to pick us up from the hotel. A bit more money but worth it.
The fun didn’t stop there. Our first flight to London was delayed by 20 minutes. During the flight I asked the flight attendant if we could get off the plane first since we now only have 25 minutes of a layover due to the delay. She looked at my ticket and stated Venice is where this plane is going as well and that our bags will stay on the flight during the layover. I started to feel a little better… but this did not last long.
Once we landed I was surprised to find that we had to still leave the plane and go through customs. This was a domestic flight within the UK, why is customs a part of this? Anyhow, we went through with no problem and since the second flight was indeed the same plane we had no problem getting back on board.
So now we are tired with the days events and ready to just hit our hotel. The first hour of the 2 hour flight seemed to last forever. We landed with no problems and went straight to pick up our bags. After it was all unloaded I started to notice that both my bags were not among any of them. I went to lost baggage and found that they were still in London. “How can this be since we took the same plane… the bags were supposed to be left on”. Apparently some idiot(s) thought differently and took the bags off the plane in London and didn’t have time to put them back on. Dumbasses.
We were told that our bags will not arrive until the next morning and they will have them delivered in the afternoon. So another full day without a change of clothes it looks like. Hey, at least we didn’t have to worry about dragging our luggage around Venice trying to find the hotel. I did ask the lady if they will compensate us in some way and she just provided me a phone # to call. Right now I am making a list of things we will tell them we needed and wait for a reimbursement. “Yes, since we had all of our food in our luggage we were force, FORCED, to have a $100 Euro seafood dinner. We expect reimbursement”!
Anyhow, we took the bus to the main train station and then bought a one way boat trip to our hotel. The one way ticket was 6.50 Euros. Man, how expensive this city is already. And the boat worked just like the subway or underground but on water. After the boat dropped us off we had to use the map and navigate through the small alleys and corridors. Somehow I managed to go right to our hotel without any problems. We checked in, put our smaller bags up and hit the road for some night views and dinner.
09/09/10- Slept in until around 11am. We both needed it after the last few days. First stop in Venice was to San Marco area. As we made our way out we were astounded with all the narrow alleyways and winding streets. It truly is like a maze, but as long as you know your cardinal directions it seems to be fine.
The sun started to actually beat down for once. Quite a change from the cold rainy weather in Edinburgh the other day. As we went into the San Marco area we saw that half of it was flooded from the rain that came in yesterday. Without hesitation we took our shoes and socks off, rolled up our 2 day worn pants and walked through the flooded water to the other side. There we entered the Basilica. The main part was free while they charged several Euros to go into other parts of the church. We took a few photos even though it said no photos. I mean half of the people there were doing it as well so I wasn’t the only one. I even caught a sign that said “No Photo” in one of my pictures.
On our way back to the hotel we found a bathroom. They charged 1.50 Euro each for it. Knowing that there were none around and it was at least another 15 minutes walk to the hotel we decided what the hell. As we finally made it back to our hotel we noticed our bags were still not delivered yet. The customer service number provided wasn’t much help as it only stated the bags were found. We already knew where they were dumbasses.
We took a short nap at the hotel and went back out for the evening. Venice looks absolutely beautiful as the sun is coming down. We asked one of the gondoliers their prices for their gondola and was shocked at the answer of 100 Euros. Apparently that is the evening rate for 40 minutes. We told him thanks and started to walk off when another guy said 80 Euros. We still declined. After getting a tiramisu cake from a local restaurant for cheap I told Sharece “Why not, let’s do it”. But when we got back to the water we couldn’t find the same guy. We asked another person and stated we only have 70 Euros on us. He agreed and we were on our way. I mean 70 Euros ($100) is a lot for 30+ minutes but how often are you in Venice… I mean really.
The ride was extremely romantic going down canals at sundown. I just wished I would have put my camera on video mode to capture some of it. After the ride we headed back towards the hotel and got turned around once. But we did manage to take some beautiful night shots and get some pizza to eat. When we arrived at the hotel we were happy to find our bags waiting for us in our room. Finally some clean clothes.
09/10/10- Woke up early and got some pasta for breakfast with eggs and bacon bits cooked in it. Then we set off across the Rialto Bridge to the markets. Since we hit all of the San Marco area yesterday we decided to just walk aimlessly around other parts of Venice and just enjoy the day. The weather started a bit chilly but soon warmed up perfectly.
We took a break around the main train station to see how it will all work tomorrow. It all seems pretty easy. We then continued on to the Accademia Gallery. The paintings and artwork inside were simply amazing to view. I took several photos before being asked politely not to do so. That puzzled me because there were absolutely no signs stating “no photos”. I took some more anyhow.
Afterwards we made our way back to San Marco Plaza and ate a nice lunch outdoors. We spent around an hour there just resting our legs and enjoying our pasta. On our way back to the hotel we noticed quite a bit of elder ladies and their hunchback walks. I wonder if it has to do with nobody here offering vegetables with their meals?
We jumped on the internet for an hour or so at the hotel and then went back out to get some pastries and sit by the water during sundown. What a perfect way to end our last evening in Venice.
By the way, I took a closer look at our hotel and it turns out it was some sort of Palace from the 1300s. Apparently Casanova himself helped restore it years later. Interesting….
09/11/10- Our last day in Venice. We checked out of our hotel around 11am and had the hotel hold our bags for us. We went to pay for the internet by credit card but the hotel manager stated if that was the only way we could pay then don’t worry about it. It costs them too much money to run a credit card for only 8 Euros. So we ended up getting the internet for free.
We started our day with a nice lunch at a café near our hotel. Pasta and more pizza to fill us up. We were the only ones in there around 11am and the staff looked like they were just opening. I guess they don’t usually get customers that early. Once 12pm hit all of the tourists were in full force and it started getting crowded. What’s funny is every table was set with a basket of bread. But when we were about to eat some the waiter quickly took it away telling us “sorry”. Why was the bread out to begin with I have no clue. I knew I should have had Sharece sneak some in her purse.
Next we went back to San Marco and entered the Palace Ducale. I was quite turned off by the 13 Euro price per ticket but after entering I soon realized why. This place was huge. It took us 2 hours to go through it all. Of course we had plenty of time before our train tonight so we took it slow. No photos were supposed to be taken but again… you know me. I did get caught one time but nothing but a soft “no photo please” was made. No problem. I’ll just wait until you leave the room again.
After the Palace we took a short stroll around the shops and then headed back to the hotel to watch a few episodes of Friends on our laptop. Around 6pm we got onto the boat bus for the train station. We actually had to wait for the second boat to come by because the first one was so crowded with people that they were almost hanging off the side. It looked crazy! That’s Saturday night in Venice for you I guess. It’s a good thing this was our last day too because the cruise ship people were just coming in and they were EVERYWHERE!
We got on our train and an hour later we were in Verona, Italy. Even though our hotel was a half mile away we decided to pay a taxi 7 Euros to take us there. Save our legs and arms a bit from our luggage, plus it was already late and dark. As we entered our room we were pleasantly surprised. The room was very nice and decked out in green. Free internet and breakfast to boot. Too bad it is only for one night as we continue our journey to Florence tomorrow evening.
09/12/10- Had a really good night sleep. Woke up early and had a decent hot breakfast at the hotel. I say decent because the bacon was a bit different and the eggs were like sun yellow. Weird! The cappuccino was very good although I think it went right through me…. I’ll leave it at that. We checked out of the hotel and the receptionist asked if we took anything from the mini-bar. I told her we had the wine. She only charged us 3.50 Euros even though it was listed as 17 Euros for the bottle. We didn’t correct her.
Shortly after we walked to the city center which wasn’t far at all and saw a pack of people around. It looked like some sort of advertising job fair or something. We couldn’t make the Italiano out. We just bypassed it and went right for the Arena. We paid to get in and when they looked at my student ID they asked for my age. I told them 23… just a number that seemed right. Then they said where is my birth date? I guess they meant where was it on my id but I just blurted out 1988. After doing the math I realized I am a dumbshit, but they bought it and gave me the discount.
We entered the arena and it was NOT what we expected. They were setting it up for a concert later that evening. There were hardly any ruins at all… it was just a clear view of an old venue that is still being used. Okay… now I felt like they got the upper hand on me now. We soon left and went to see Juliette’s House. It isn’t the actual house or even what inspired the novel but a replica of what it might look like. At least they had a balcony where you could go onto and have your picture taken. I got a good one of Sharece. They also had a wall where it seemed like everyone put their “I Love so and so” mark on it. I borrowed a pen from a person nearby and put our mark on there “Jeff –n- Sharece” surrounded by a heart. We are now immortalized in Verona, Italy.
With still much of the day left to kill we walked around seeing a few more sights and a fortress bridge. On the bridge I was about to jump inside one of the window seals so Sharece can take a picture of me… but it was a small window and a long way down to the creek below. After Sharece said she had a dream of me dying in Italy the other night, I quickly decided that may not be the best move I’ve ever made. So I stayed more grounded this time.
We finished our time eating a very nice meal- hamburger, pasta, fries and Moscato D’Asti wine. Is there a better combination out there?
So now the real fun begins. We watched a few episodes of Friends as we waited for our 6:27pm train. It came and left on time, however there were no seat assignments so we had to fight for good seats that can hold both of our suitcases. I went ahead and Sharece had to fend off for herself for a moment as I secured the seat. It was a madhouse. Unfortunately there was no air conditioning but the window was open and gave some relief. An hour and a half later we finally get off the train 20 minutes late. This leaves us only 5 minutes to get to our next train in Bologna. I looked at the main board and saw that it was to be at platform 3. Well we just arrived on platform 3. Does this mean our train will be there in a second after this one leaves? You would think so but it’s not that easy. You see apparently there are TWO different platform 3’s. One for regional and one for Eurostar. By the time we made it to the right platform it was already 5 minutes late and it left.
I quickly looked at the board again and saw the next train going to Rome (with a stopover in Florence). So I ran up the stairs again with my luggage only to just see that train leaving. Luckily the next train was only 20 minutes away so we snuck aboard that one and waiting in the snack bar area for 45 minutes until our stop. Problem was that it let us off at the other train station in Florence. So we waited another 20 minutes to board the third train that took us there. Finally grabbed a cab and made it to our hotel around 10pm. Oh, I did get called Elvis today by a local. I wonder how he knew.
09/13/10- First full day in Florence. Let’s start off by talking about the hotel shall we. The room actually looks decent and is a pretty good size, however the bed itself is hard and seems dirty. At least the bathroom looked remodeled. As we ventured out to the streets I noticed how dirty this place really is. The graffiti didn’t even bother me, I just wished it would have been more elaborate. I mean come on… this is Florence. I guess the renaissance is lost on today’s youth.
We tried to go to the Archaeological museum to see the Statue of David (which is 17 feet high by the way), but it is closed on Mondays. We’ll catch that tomorrow. So we went down the road some more to the Duomo. We waited in line for about 40 minutes before finally getting the chance to go in. Immediately we went upstairs. When we got to the first room I was already tired from the climb. I went around the corner and realized there were more steps. This time in a circular formation like going up a tower. So we continued on…. and on….. and on some more …. and we thought it was done… but no. It kept on going…. and going…. oh did I say it went on some more. By the time we FINALLY got to the top it was around 500 steps. I know this was a church but do we really have to WALK to heaven. But oh man, once you get to the top it seemed all worth it. The view was just gorgeous. Can I say gorgeous as a straight man? Anyhow, we saw the whole city of Florence as we were smack dab in the middle of it. The weather was perfect and the city looked amazing.
When we finally got to the bottom we were surprised not to be directly led inside the church but straight outdoors. We soon realized there was ANOTHER LINE to get inside. We just cut in line and went inside.
Now our legs are really tired, but we managed to make it to the Palazzo Vecchio to end the day. It was already starting to rain so we thought this would be a good time to check it out. After about an hour and a half of that we came out to it still raining a bit. Feeling hungry we ducked inside this nice Americanized café and each grabbed a huge hamburger and a cappuccino.
Going back to the hotel it was pouring down rain, and we still had several blocks left. We couldn’t get through the streets fast enough in our shorts and wet shoes.
09/14/10- First stop of today was the Archeological museum. We paid the 8 Euros total hoping to see the statue of David however it turns out it was in the Academia. Woops. We were wondering why the place seemed deserted. So we made our way there only to find a long ass line outside waiting to get in. I was able to ask one of the workers there how much and he said 10 Euros each. Then I asked if photos are allowed (seeing the metal detectors inside like we were going through the airport), and he said “not allowed”. Forget that crap. I’m not paying good money for “no photo”.
So we continued on. I needed to get some Euros so I stepped inside one of the banks. As we entered we noticed we had to go through this tube like entryway. You push a button and it opens, then you get in and it closes you in completely inside the tube. A few moments later the other end opens to let you back out on the other side. It felt so Star-Trekie. I waited in line for like 20 minutes as the bank tellers took their time. Finally, I ask him to change my dollars to Euros and he asks for my passport. WTF! Why do I need a passport? It’s cash. He states that he has to have a passport to change it out. So I go outside (through the tube thingy) and just withdraw the Euros I need from the ATM. But it gives me large bills. So again I go back through the tube (this is getting really fun now) and wait again. There is only 1 person in front of me and this bitch is taking FOREVER. Not to mention right when I step up to the other teller she decided to leave to do other things. I ended up waiting another 10 minutes just standing there before I finally got smaller bills.
When we finally left, we headed straight for the Vecchio Bridge. This was a nice site to see. Apparently it was the only bridge to survive the bombing raids during the big wars. Most likely because it looks like a row of houses or shops. Once we got to the other side we looked around for this wine bar that I saw on the internet and had a tasting. We asked to try out the dessert wines (one of which was called Vin Santo) and she poured us some glasses. It wasn’t bad. A little strong for my taste. She poured us a third glass to try of a Moscato and this was perfect. As she rang us up she charged us 4 Euros each for the 3 glasses as well as for the bottle. I asked why and she stated that she poured us 3 large glasses because she thought we wanted the glass; not just a tasting. She looked over at her boss and motioned that she could get in trouble if she didn’t charge. I said “no problem” and just paid. I mean we did drink the wine and she was very nice to us.
With our wine in hand we ventured back across the bridge and got some gelato (Italian ice cream), and then found a place to eat called Za-Za. A very nice looking restaurant by the way with some decent food and prices. Finally we got back to our hotel around 6pm. After the rain yesterday, it turned out to be a very nice sunny day today. Made us look at the city in a slightly different light… literally. However, we are still disappointed as the city itself seems very dirty still. Tomorrow, day trip to Pisa.
09/15/10- What a very nice day. We got to the train station and purchased our tickets to Pisa with a minute to spare. Since most of the seats were taken up on the train we had to sit separately. Only an hour though so no big deal. During the trip the conductor checked my ticket and said I never validated it. I told him I just bought the ticket and jumped on board right before it left and had no idea it needed to be validated. He didn’t seem to care and asked for 5 Euros. What? I said I don’t have it and he then asked for my passport. Again I said it wasn’t on me, but I do have my student ID. He took that and left. I figured, I don’t live here, what good will jotting down my name do. He did come back, handed me my ticket and ID back and went on his way. Soon after Sharece came up to me and stated she needed me to come to her seat to show him the ticket as well. When I came back there he took one look at me and instead of dealing with me again he just shrugged me on. “That’s what I thought” is what went through my mind.
We got to Pisa, ate a slice of pizza at the train station and walked towards the tower which was on the other side of the town. The walk didn’t bother us as it didn’t take long but what surprised me was how modern the city looked. The roads looked like US streets as cars and buses whizzed by.
When we finally get to the tower the heat was starting to bare down. And as we took our first photos the bugs were out in full force. And I mean swarms buzzing around in clumps. We quickly went to the other side of the tower to get the photos to escape the mosquitoes. Of course we had to act as though we were pushing the tower back upright in the photos. It took us about an hour to wait for the crowd to thin to get a good shot but overall I am happy with how they turned out.
We looked at going up the tower but the 15 Euro per person price was a bit too steep for us. Especially since we already did the 500 step Duomo two days earlier. The Pisa tower would pale in comparison. We did purchase the other tickets for the museums and church areas though which was well worth it. Took us several hours to get through it all.
We returned back to Florence without a problem and found a nice place to eat. Pasta, cappuccino, tiramisu and wine. It was very filling. We finished the night back at the hotel drinking our now chilled bottle of wine we got the day before.
09/16/10- Decided to take a day trip to Arezzo, Italy. After two days in Florence we really enjoyed going out to see other parts of Tuscany. We arrived in Arezzo around 1:15pm and immediately took to the streets. Our first spot was the San Francesco. We paid 10 Euros each to not only see this church but to view 3 other spots around the city as well. You can actually walk into the church on your own but the ticket is to go behind the alter area and see the painting cycle called “The Legend of the True Cross” painted between 1452-66. It was interesting to follow the story line, and even though photos were not allowed I managed to get 3 of them. It was funny because after spending about 10 minutes just admiring the cycles along with several other people I took out my camera to view them through my zoom lens. Suddenly all of the other people started snapping off photos. I guess they wanted someone else to break the ice. One idiot used his flash though and suddenly Mrs. Loud steps comes crashing in telling everyone “No photos!” I got what I came for though.
The rest of the day was simply spent relaxing through the perfect weather seeing other museums and the Casa del Vasari. We also ate a very cheap but nice lunch at a little Italian boutique restaurant where they barely spoke English. I actually had to break out my guide book to tell them I wanted salt with my pasta.
We finished the tour of the city with a nice romantic stroll around the shops and by the time we got closer to the train station we realized we had only 15 minutes left for the next train. Otherwise we would have to wait another hour. We simply relaxed at one of the park benches for a few moments thinking we didn’t want to rush anything. But after 5 minutes we looked at each other and thought “I think we can make that train”.
We got to the station with about 7 minutes to spare and luckily there was only 1 person in front of us getting tickets at the fast machine. However, he was talking with his buddy trying to decide which times they wanted. After a minute of waiting and realizing their slow, dumb asses weren’t going to be done anytime soon I found another cash only machine and got our tickets. We had it validated, jumped on board and made it back to Florence with ease.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped to get a pizza to take away with us. We were able to see the cook make the pizza by hand and use the brick oven to bake it. I got a nice photo of the guy taking the pizza out of the oven. Pizza and wine was a nice finish to the day. Tomorrow we have an early train to Milan. It is supposed to rain a bit in the evening though.
09/17/10- Where to begin. Well we get on the train to Milan and arrived at 10:45am. We immediately found a taxi service (which charged 25 Euros by the way). The meter said 20 Euros but he said the extra 5 was for the train station fee and luggage. I just paid him but no tip. We check into our hotel and are pleasantly surprised. It’s a Best Western so very modern. We also get free internet and breakfast.
We take to the streets since the metro station is a bit of a walk and grab a quick pizza to eat. This was a very good size slice… and when I say good size I mean American size pizza. It filled us up nicely and we were on our way. It did rain for a brief moment but overall the weather was very nice today.
First stop was the castle near the city center. There wasn’t much to see since it is no longer functioning but it was a nice start. The garden surrounding it was beautiful. Next stop was to see the original painting of Leonardo’s “The Last Supper”. After a crazy walk of getting around traffic we finally reach the place only to find out that we needed a reservation to go see it. The lady told me to come back next week. “Uggggh, excuse me. I am on vacation and leave in two days. What do you mean come back, bitch!” Seriously, that’s what I said to her. Why, because she had a very smug attitude about it and I already knew there was no way of seeing the thing. I am not even religious so seeing it didn’t have any special meaning for me. I just wanted a photo. It did say NO PHOTO on the sign and it seemed pretty tight on that rule so maybe I wouldn’t have been able to take one anyhow.
From there we just left. Our last thing we wanted to see was the Duomo. This time we took the metro and got the day pass. This Duomo is the third largest in the world. With over 900+ steps to the top I wonder what the first two are. As soon as we get out of the metro underground we are impressed with the sheer size of this building. It is amazing. We did pay to go to the top but they had an elevator so of course we took that option.
Once we came back down we searched everywhere for a souvenir shop and had a very hard time finding one. We were smack in the middle of the city at the biggest attraction there and no souvenir shops? We finally found a small vender and got something for our trip wall and took the metro back towards our hotel. This is where our feet are starting to hurt from the days adventures. But we press on with the 20 minute walk from the metro to our hotel. On the way we did stop at a supermarket and got ourselves a nice bottle of Moscato D’Asti wine for later. We also looked for food to end the day but we couldn’t find one anywhere. Come to think of it we couldn’t even remember seeing a restaurant (besides McDonalds and Burger King) near the main sights today. Weird! We did find a Kebob place and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Now we are deciding what to do tomorrow. We want to go to Bellinzona because I’ve never been to Switzerland yet, but the cost of the train ticket seems too high. I think we will do it anyhow. It is also supposed to rain tomorrow in Milan so hopefully it stays dry.
09/18/10- The hotel walls are like paper. You can literally hear everyone around you. Tv, moving chairs, closing doors. I was still able to get some good sleep due to the bed being comfortable.
After the free breakfast (which really wasn’t much by the way) we took the bus to the train station. However, we ended up getting off about 3 stops too late. Why? Because there were absolutely no notifications of the stops and the bus didn’t even go directly to the station- only beside it. I only knew we overshot it because it was supposed to be a 20 minute ride there and it was past that. Anyhow, we took to the streets and found the station with no problem. We got the ticket to Bellinzona, Switzerland, boarded the train and off we went.
We arrived around 2:35pm and was amazed at the mountain views on our way in. Unfortunately it was raining a little bit so good thing we brought our umbrellas. I didn’t think about the weather being colder though and we left our jackets at the hotel. HELLO, this is Switzerland. We did find some nice sweater jackets across the street from the station and quickly snagged them up.
Walking around the place was quite a trip. The tourist map we got wasn’t really to scale so it was hard to know exactly where to go. We walked around and got lost a bit trying to find the castles, but when we did we were happy. One entrance was full of teenagers (About 25 or so of them) chatting away right in front of the elevator to get to the top. I couldn’t believe no one polices these areas at all. We were also quite taken back by the lack of English in this town. Apparently Swiss and Italian were the two main languages spoken and not much else. It felt like we were in an alternate universe or something. And finding a souvenir shop was next to impossible.
In the end we were able to enjoy the day. The rain didn’t last long and the views were very nice. I also was able to get some Swiss Franks currency to add to my collection at home. Oh but wait… this isn’t the end of this day. On the way back we were astounded by the increase in the train ticket price. It was going to cost us an equivalent of $80 to train back to Milan. Ugggghhh, no. We looked at each other and passed. Since we were never asked for our ticket on the way up, we decided to take the chance and go back without purchasing a return ticket. That’s right… we snuck aboard the train. It turned out to be fairly empty anyhow so we thought it would be fine. Well about an hour into the ride we were surprised to see the lady ask for our ticket. We showed her our first ticket to get to Bellinzona hoping she wouldn’t really look at it. Wrong! When she asked to see our ticket for this train we stated we accidently bought two tickets from Milan and not the return. She said she can charge us now for the tickets and we told her we already paid for the return we just made a mistake on the station. She then asked to see the second ticket and I said a guy at the station took it from us when we mentioned the mistake and he said to just board this train. The lady looked at us and went on her way. Wow, we couldn’t believe that actually worked that well. We didn’t feel bad since the train station screwed us on our trip from Verona to Florence a week earlier. Also, there was this weird guy in our cabin that kept switching seats and starring. I already had my map down of how I would put this guys face to the floor if he tried anything. Yeah, my hero-complex was in full force.
When we get to the station in Milan we locate the shuttle bus for the airport that we would be taking tomorrow (just to have an idea where it was) and get our metro passes that are good for 24 hours. While waiting for the bus to take us back to the hotel I suggested that we just take the metro to the Duomo again so I can take some night shots. Sharece was not to thrilled about that idea since she was feeling very tired already and it was past 9pm but she went along with it. So we got there, took the night shots which turned out very nice by the way, grabbed a 1 Euro burger from McDonalds (which hit the spot) and took the metro to our next location. We then waited for the bus for 40 minutes outside in the cold. The walk itself to the hotel from there was only 15 minutes. I told Sharece we might as well just walk it because this bus isn’t coming. Hell the bus across the street going the other way came by twice already. So we walked it and made it back to the hotel late. Good news is we found out our checkout time tomorrow is 12 noon. With our late flight that helps out quite a bit.
09/19/10- Relax day… that is what I am calling it. We couldn’t really think of much else to do in Milan so we stayed at the hotel after checkout until it was time to leave to the airport to go to Ireland. They had a tv and free internet so it worked for us to just take it easy.
Uneventfully we get to the airport with 3 hours to spare. We took the bus to get to the train station and just made the shuttle that went to the airport. Our plane left on time without a problem and we were able to watch several episodes of Friends before landing.
Once in Dublin we found the coach bus that took us a few blocks away from the hotel. We then ventured through the Temple Bar area (drunk people galore) and found the hotel. After checking in we went straight to our room only to find it to be a smoking room. Damn, did we NOT get enough of this in Italy already? I asked the front desk and he said it was the only room available. Since it was around midnight we really didn’t have much choice so we just took it. I just can’t believe they still have smoking rooms. They outlaw smoking in bars but hotels are okay. Weird!
After a few minutes of getting settled we both decided to hit the streets (yes at 12:30 in the morning) and go around to the bars to see how the night life was. We had a few drinks at The Temple Bar got some food and then back to the hotel to crash. Tomorrow will be our last full day to enjoy in Europe before our flight back home.
09/20/10- Managed through the old smoke smell in the hotel room and got a decent nights sleep. We started our walk around O’Connell St and picked up a Temple Bar shirt for Sharece and some souvenirs for the kids. Afterwards we found a bar that served fish and chips- something we have been craving since last night. The waiter was so nice. He actually sat down at our table while he took the order.
The rest of the day was spent just enjoying each others company as we walked through the park and the streets of Dublin. At night we went out to eat at this very nice Italian restaurant called Roma Bistro off from Temple Bar and then strolled around the quay. Tomorrow we are heading back home with a 5am wakeup call. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we are ready for this to end.
09/21/10- Flying home day. Woke up at 5am and went to the bus stop for our ride to the airport. As soon as we got out there a taxi pulls up and asks if we want a ride with him for the same amount as the bus. We said sure. Halfway through the ride I started wondering if this was really a taxi or some psycho killer who picks up foreigners and chops them up into little pieces. Needless to say I was already planning our escape route if indeed he went off the beaten path. Without worry though we made it to the airport. I have to say that Dublin is full of very nice people. Even the passport control person was courteous. The weather also held up very nice here.
We made it to our layover in London and it seemed like forever until our next flight. Six hours is a long time to spend at an airport. We walked around a bit and watched some Friends episodes that passed some time. We flew out around 4:45pm. That 11 hour flight home was a hard one to take. Despite watching several movies and getting up to walk around twice, the flight really put a cramp in my back and legs. By the time we landed around 7:45pm California time we were ready to hope into our prearranged limo and get home. Unfortunately it took an hour to get through customs and retrieve our bags. When we finally got out of baggage claim we called the limo company and the guy stated he was not there. “Uggghh, excuse me” He actually told me he was already at home and that it would take him 30 minutes to get to the airport for us. I just hung up on his dumbass and went straight for Prime Time Shuttle to take us home. I wasn’t going to wait for him. I don’t want to name the company that did this but there initials are J.Limo. Right that down!
Any case we made it home around 10pm and almost fell down exhausted. The trip is finally over and home felt so good. After 5 trips to Europe I think we are done going there for some time. Next place will most likely be China.
END OF BLOG