After a great sleep in a very comfy bed, I spent some time looking for accommodation for our next stop, Salzburg, Austria.
We went down to the train station and booked a bus to Villach and a connecting train to Salzburg for the next day.
Then we took the bus to Venice, where we explored for a while, before taking a water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for glass-blowing. We watched a glass blowing demonstration. We saw a vase being made and then a small horse. That was very impressive....it took only a few minutes for the whole horse to be created.
We bumped into a Chinese girl that we had met at the bus stop the day before. I was quite surprised to bump into her again, considering the amount of people around. We had a quick chat and then Miss S and I took another water taxi to the next island along, Burano.
Burano is a fishing village, famous for it's lace-making and rows of brightly coloured houses....every house a different colour. Another photo opportunity!
We had lunch here, and looked around the shops, bought a traditional Venetian cookie, and took lots of photos. There were thunder clouds rumbling in, so we decided to get a boat back before the storm came.
Meandering through the back streets and narrow cobbled lanes, we found a place selling fresh fruit and smoothies. I had a large cup of natural yoghurt, with muesli, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, grapes and pomegranate. It was so delicious, and felt like, and actually was, the healthiest thing I had eaten in ages. Miss S was rather more tempted by the gelato on offer along the lane, so she had one of those.
Eventually, we came to Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) and stopped under the arch of the bridge at the top of the stairs, to take some photos and shelter from the light rain that was falling.
I was amazed to bump into the Chinese girl again - we had now seen her three times in two days. It seemed incredible that we would have bumped into her a second time, but this third time we decided it must mean that we were meant to get to know each other a bit, so we swapped contact details. Her name was Joyce. She was on holiday from Glasgow University where she was an international student.
Joyce introduced us to Giuseppe, an Italian man she had met at lunchtime. Giuseppe was involved with a group of dancers who were dancing the tango that night, on the steps of La Salut - a fifteenth century church. Joyce was going to watch and they invited us to go along too.
It was a surreal and thoroughly enjoyable evening, having tango dancing lessons and dancing the tango amongst a group of local Venetians, in the moonlight, on the steps of a six-century old church in Venice, Italy.
It was such a lovely end to our short visit to Venice, and we added Venice to our list of places that we would love to return to one day.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Venice
After packing up our bags, we had a nice buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We saw the couple that we had met at the swimming pool yesterday. The children had gone up to their hotel room to get changed for a swim. Miss S wanted to go and say goodbye to them before we left the hotel. We went to their room and exchanged addresses, so we could send them a postcard. They live in Birmingham, one of the places we will be stopping to visit family, so we could possibly meet up with them while we are there.
Suddenly, I looked at the time, and was alarmed to see it was later than i had realised. We were now going to have to really rush if we had any chance of getting to the train station before our train departed. We got a taxi to the station, but despite the crazy speed at which the driver took us there, we missed our train by literally a minute. It was horrible seeing it chugging out of the station a little way up the line, while we stood on the platform as it left without us.
The ticket for that train was non-refundable and non-exchangeable, so that was a waste of money. However, my philosophy in life, is to try not to worry about things I can't change and it had already been and gone, so there seemed little point dwelling on that. I also value friendship over money, and while we had lost the price of a train ticket, we had made new friends, so that could only be a good thing. We booked a new ticket, which, as it happened was leaving in fifteen minutes and was a much faster train, so we ended up arriving in Venice two hours earlier than we would have on the first train.
We had booked an apartment in Venice Mestre, which is the mainland part of Venice, where the majority of the population live, due to ease of travel, more employment opportunities and lack of flooding risk.
Once we had checked in we took a bus from Venice Mestre, across the Bridge of Freedom to Piazzale Roma, which is as far as you can take a vehicle, and all the buses stop there. From that point, you can only travel by foot or by boat.
We wandered around Venice, crossing many bridges over the water, looking at all the little shops and restaurants and beautiful old buildings on the edge of the canals.
We had dinner in one of those restaurants, overlooking the canal. I had the most delicious spaghetti with mixed seafood - with mussels, clams, fish, calamari, shrimps and languistines. We were seated next to a couple from Tasmania and got chatting during our meal. They even played I spy with us when Miss S got a bit bored, waiting for the food to come!
We finished our meal with a gelato from a gelateria on the way back to the bus stop.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Rome
While we fell in love with Florence, we did not like Rome very much at all.
We found it a noisy, chaotic, sprawling city and difficult to navigate. The friendly vibe of Florence was definitely not evident in the capital city of Italy.
When we arrived at Roma Termini Station the chaos immediately struck us.
We needed to get the metro about ten stops and then take a bus a few stops which would deliver us to outside our hotel.
The first problem was getting a metro ticket because the ticket machine wouldn't accept my 50€ note, nor did it take credit cards. I found another machine, but that one was only to purchase train tickets, not metro tickets. Finally someone told me I could buy them at the newspaper kiosk.
Making our way down to the underground to our platform was very congested, hundreds of people squashed together like sardines. We took one look at the first train that arrived and it was so chock-a-block full we chose to wait for the next one. When it arrived it was only slightly better and I was so grateful to a kind girl who offered me a seat. She could probably tell I was about to collapse with exhaustion. It was very hot and we had been wandering around for half an hour in our ticket search. I was starting to wilt, with twenty kilos on my back and about eight kilos on my front.
Coming out of the tube station to catch a bus was confusing as there were three different exits and we had no idea which one we should be using, as the directions we had been given from the hotel just said to go out of the exit and catch number 889 bus. After searching unsuccessfully for twenty
minutes for the correct bus, I gave up and we caught a taxi, gratefully, to the hotel door.
One of the best things about our visit to Rome was staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was situated a fifteen minute bus ride away from the city centre and it's accompanying noise and chaos. At the end of a busy day's sightseeing it was wonderful to go back to relax in a peaceful and comfortable hotel.
We did two guided tour sight-seeing trips. One day we went to the Colloseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was a three hour walking tour. Our guide, Alessandra, was friendly and knowledgeable with lots of interesting and entertaining stories. It was amazing to see the Colloseum
and we took a lot of photos.
The next day we did a tour to the Vatican City, with the same tour guide, another three hour walking
tour. This tour included the Vatican City, Vatican Museum, Saint Pierre's Cathedral and the Sistine
Chapel.
We had a free bus pick-up from our hotel for that tour, which wasn't until 1pm, so I took Miss S for a swim in the hotel pool in the morning. She had a great time splashing around with some children she had met the day before, and when they left another two arrived. She really hit it off with them and was disappointed to have to go and leave them behind when it was time to get ready to catch the bus.
We enjoyed the Vatican City tour. I was unaware that Vatican City is actually a country - the smallest
in the world, with an area of 44 hectares and a population of 840, predominantly nuns and monks.
As always, we took a a lot of photos, but once inside the Sistine Chapel, photography is forbidden, although I did see a few people sneakily snapping away.
After the tour we bought a few postcards, and a Vatican City stamp....they have their own postal service, independent of Rome.
As it was our last night in Rome, we also wanted to see the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.
We were exhausted from the tour, heat and general atmosphere of Rome, so we took a taxi from Vatican City to the Spanish Steps.
I was underwhelmed by them. They were large, concrete steps, covered with tourists - at the top the building was under renovation and obscured by scaffolding, which admittedly spoilt the overall look
of the monument. We stayed there about ten minutes, then took a rickshaw cycle taxi to the Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain was nicer, but still, of course, crowded with people. We took some photos and each of us threw a coin over our shoulder into the fountain. Apparently the coins are collected each evening and donated to local charities, which is nice to know.
Legend has, it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain you are bound to return to Rome one day. But I won't be going back in any hurry.
We found it a noisy, chaotic, sprawling city and difficult to navigate. The friendly vibe of Florence was definitely not evident in the capital city of Italy.
When we arrived at Roma Termini Station the chaos immediately struck us.
We needed to get the metro about ten stops and then take a bus a few stops which would deliver us to outside our hotel.
The first problem was getting a metro ticket because the ticket machine wouldn't accept my 50€ note, nor did it take credit cards. I found another machine, but that one was only to purchase train tickets, not metro tickets. Finally someone told me I could buy them at the newspaper kiosk.
Making our way down to the underground to our platform was very congested, hundreds of people squashed together like sardines. We took one look at the first train that arrived and it was so chock-a-block full we chose to wait for the next one. When it arrived it was only slightly better and I was so grateful to a kind girl who offered me a seat. She could probably tell I was about to collapse with exhaustion. It was very hot and we had been wandering around for half an hour in our ticket search. I was starting to wilt, with twenty kilos on my back and about eight kilos on my front.
Coming out of the tube station to catch a bus was confusing as there were three different exits and we had no idea which one we should be using, as the directions we had been given from the hotel just said to go out of the exit and catch number 889 bus. After searching unsuccessfully for twenty
minutes for the correct bus, I gave up and we caught a taxi, gratefully, to the hotel door.
One of the best things about our visit to Rome was staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was situated a fifteen minute bus ride away from the city centre and it's accompanying noise and chaos. At the end of a busy day's sightseeing it was wonderful to go back to relax in a peaceful and comfortable hotel.
We did two guided tour sight-seeing trips. One day we went to the Colloseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was a three hour walking tour. Our guide, Alessandra, was friendly and knowledgeable with lots of interesting and entertaining stories. It was amazing to see the Colloseum
and we took a lot of photos.
The next day we did a tour to the Vatican City, with the same tour guide, another three hour walking
tour. This tour included the Vatican City, Vatican Museum, Saint Pierre's Cathedral and the Sistine
Chapel.
We had a free bus pick-up from our hotel for that tour, which wasn't until 1pm, so I took Miss S for a swim in the hotel pool in the morning. She had a great time splashing around with some children she had met the day before, and when they left another two arrived. She really hit it off with them and was disappointed to have to go and leave them behind when it was time to get ready to catch the bus.
We enjoyed the Vatican City tour. I was unaware that Vatican City is actually a country - the smallest
in the world, with an area of 44 hectares and a population of 840, predominantly nuns and monks.
As always, we took a a lot of photos, but once inside the Sistine Chapel, photography is forbidden, although I did see a few people sneakily snapping away.
After the tour we bought a few postcards, and a Vatican City stamp....they have their own postal service, independent of Rome.
As it was our last night in Rome, we also wanted to see the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.
We were exhausted from the tour, heat and general atmosphere of Rome, so we took a taxi from Vatican City to the Spanish Steps.
I was underwhelmed by them. They were large, concrete steps, covered with tourists - at the top the building was under renovation and obscured by scaffolding, which admittedly spoilt the overall look
of the monument. We stayed there about ten minutes, then took a rickshaw cycle taxi to the Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain was nicer, but still, of course, crowded with people. We took some photos and each of us threw a coin over our shoulder into the fountain. Apparently the coins are collected each evening and donated to local charities, which is nice to know.
Legend has, it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain you are bound to return to Rome one day. But I won't be going back in any hurry.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Florence
We left the apartment in Geneva for the last time and took a tram to the station where we needed to get our tickets printed. We bought a roll and a muffin from Subway to take on the train with us. We had already learned that the food available to purchase on trains was unappetising. On our way to find the correct train platform, we passed a chocolate shop and it occurred to us that we hadn't eaten nearly enough Swiss chocolate while we had been in Geneva, so we went into the shop and each selected five chocolates.
The journey from Geneva, Switzerland to Florence, Italy was one of our longest so far. It was four hours from Geneva to Milan, where we had a forty five minute wait for our connecting train to Florence, which was a further two hours.
The apartment we had booked was beautiful. It was built in the 1600s, but was modernised inside and had been recently renovated. The location was wonderful, right next to a small square, with shops and restaurants, the station, and sightseeing destinations all within walking distance.
In the square there was a market held a few times a week. I bought a pair of shoes and a top there and Sophie chose a small cast iron horse that the man had made himself.
As we were browsing the market one day, a lady came up to us and said that she wanted to give Miss S a present. I must have looked wary, because she was quick to assure me that she didn't want anything in return. She explained that her daughter, who lived in Brazil, had given her hundreds of bead bracelets and every now and then she liked to give some away to people as a gift. So she gave Miss S four pretty bead bracelets and I took a photo of them together.
Miss S seems to attract people everywhere we go, she confidently chats to everyone and people are delighted with her confidence and friendliness. Another woman on one of our train journeys gave her a notebook.
Each morning we would walk two minutes to the local bakery and get a ham and cheese ciabatta sandwich for breakfast for a total cost of just 3€. We would often sit in the square by the fountain and watch the people shopping in the market and the pigeons pecking for crumbs....it was a relaxing start to the day, and the ciabatta was delicious.
From there we would walk to our favourite gelateria for our first gelato of the day, which was also a
total cost of 3€. It was the best ice-cream we had ever tasted.
Breakfast gelato! Miss S was most impressed.
Mind you, it was actually more like lunchtime by the time we got out, because we had slipped into the habit of staying out late in the evenings, enjoying all the entertainment in the Piazza and going to sleep close to midnight, and subsequently sleeping in till 9 am.
The shutters on all the windows made it easy - the bedroom was pitch black until you opened them and let in the sunlight, when it suited you. Fabulous invention.
The first day we were in Florence we decided to take a trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. We
took a train there and spent a lovely couple of hours admiring the town of Pisa, and of course the
tower itself. We took lots of photos, including the famed staged 'pushing against the tower shots' with
Miss S doing the pushing.
I didn't know until I got there, that the leaning tower is the free-standing bell tower of the Cathedral. The Cathedral and the Baptistery were also beautiful buildings, but not as popularly known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
We had dinner in Pisa, in a little side street restaurant. I had the most delicious lasagne there, washed down nicely with a glass of Prosecco.
During our time in Florence, we also went to see Michaelangelo's David sculpture. We waited in the ticket queue for nearly an hour. It was nice to see it, but I felt a little like it was just so I could tick a box. I didn't have an overwhelming desire to see it.
We enjoyed the wealth of excellent busking entertainment in Florence, the friendly, relaxed social
vibe, the food, the ability to walk everywhere; many things. I can't actually think of anything that we
didn't like about Florence, and I would love to return one day.
The journey from Geneva, Switzerland to Florence, Italy was one of our longest so far. It was four hours from Geneva to Milan, where we had a forty five minute wait for our connecting train to Florence, which was a further two hours.
The apartment we had booked was beautiful. It was built in the 1600s, but was modernised inside and had been recently renovated. The location was wonderful, right next to a small square, with shops and restaurants, the station, and sightseeing destinations all within walking distance.
In the square there was a market held a few times a week. I bought a pair of shoes and a top there and Sophie chose a small cast iron horse that the man had made himself.
As we were browsing the market one day, a lady came up to us and said that she wanted to give Miss S a present. I must have looked wary, because she was quick to assure me that she didn't want anything in return. She explained that her daughter, who lived in Brazil, had given her hundreds of bead bracelets and every now and then she liked to give some away to people as a gift. So she gave Miss S four pretty bead bracelets and I took a photo of them together.
Miss S seems to attract people everywhere we go, she confidently chats to everyone and people are delighted with her confidence and friendliness. Another woman on one of our train journeys gave her a notebook.
Each morning we would walk two minutes to the local bakery and get a ham and cheese ciabatta sandwich for breakfast for a total cost of just 3€. We would often sit in the square by the fountain and watch the people shopping in the market and the pigeons pecking for crumbs....it was a relaxing start to the day, and the ciabatta was delicious.
From there we would walk to our favourite gelateria for our first gelato of the day, which was also a
total cost of 3€. It was the best ice-cream we had ever tasted.
Breakfast gelato! Miss S was most impressed.
Mind you, it was actually more like lunchtime by the time we got out, because we had slipped into the habit of staying out late in the evenings, enjoying all the entertainment in the Piazza and going to sleep close to midnight, and subsequently sleeping in till 9 am.
The shutters on all the windows made it easy - the bedroom was pitch black until you opened them and let in the sunlight, when it suited you. Fabulous invention.
The first day we were in Florence we decided to take a trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. We
took a train there and spent a lovely couple of hours admiring the town of Pisa, and of course the
tower itself. We took lots of photos, including the famed staged 'pushing against the tower shots' with
Miss S doing the pushing.
I didn't know until I got there, that the leaning tower is the free-standing bell tower of the Cathedral. The Cathedral and the Baptistery were also beautiful buildings, but not as popularly known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
We had dinner in Pisa, in a little side street restaurant. I had the most delicious lasagne there, washed down nicely with a glass of Prosecco.
During our time in Florence, we also went to see Michaelangelo's David sculpture. We waited in the ticket queue for nearly an hour. It was nice to see it, but I felt a little like it was just so I could tick a box. I didn't have an overwhelming desire to see it.
We enjoyed the wealth of excellent busking entertainment in Florence, the friendly, relaxed social
vibe, the food, the ability to walk everywhere; many things. I can't actually think of anything that we
didn't like about Florence, and I would love to return one day.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Switzerland....France....Switzerland....France!
The next morning we went off to explore Geneva. We caught the tram into the city. We stopped at a city park and played giant chess. Miss S beat me! She told me her daddy had taught her well, then she added, "well enough to beat you anyway, Mama, but not well enough to beat Daddy,"
It was a pleasure to see so many locals out enjoying the park. There were many giant chess games and giant draughts boards painted on the ground. There were also picnic tables that were printed with chess boards, so could be used to play in the normal way. For those seeking more active a game, there were quite a few table tennis tables provided as well. I loved that the park was equipped with these games, and that people were actually getting together in the park and utilising them. We saw families, teenagers and elderly people all playing games in the park. What a wonderful community-spirited idea.
We continued through the park and headed towards the lake, stopping for lunch in a pub on a quiet corner halfway there. We shared a huge burger, salad and chips, then continued on towards the lake. We took a boat ride across to the other side of the lake. The sun shining on the water, blue sky and beautiful mountain views surrounding the lake made for stunningly beautiful scenery.
Once on the other side, we strolled along the lake edge path for a while, then stopped on a park bench to admire the view, and watch Geneva life go by, and read our books. After a while, we walked back in the other direction until we came to Jardins Anglais, a beautiful garden on the edge of the lake. We watched someone with a giant bubble blower, and Miss S joined in with all the other children, chasing after the bubbles. Then we marvelled at the stillness of a man dressed as an admiral statue.
We finished our outing with a ride along the waterfront, on a solar-powered miniature train.
The next day, we had a bit of a slow start, with a sleep in, a skype session and then a bit of catching up on blog writing. It is hard to keep up to date with my blog entries. With only a few days in each place we are trying to make the most of our time in each one. It's sometimes difficult to find time to have the experience and write about it! I don't know if anyone is actually reading them, apart from my husband, but it will be nice for us to read them and relive our memories at some time in the future anyway. It would be encouraging to spur me on though, if anyone is reading this, if they could leave a comment.
By the time we got out it was pretty close to lunchtime, so we went to an Italian Restaurant and shared a pizza. I am so glad we decided to share one, and not have one each, because it was enormous!
We had a walk around the Old Town and stopped to see Saint Pierre's Cathedral. Beneath the cathedral, there is an archaeological site of previously built churches. It sounded interesting but Miss S saw a picture of a skeleton on a brochure and that put paid to that idea. She thought it looked way too scary to contemplate!
We took a bus to the border of Switzerland and France. We walked over the border, thinking how strange it was that we could just walk down the street and with one step be in a different country. We could walk a few steps backwards and forwards....Switzerland....France....Switzerland....France! But we didn't actually do that. That would have just looked silly! (As if that's ever bothered me before!)
Anyway, I digress, and this blog post is becoming daft! The point of us going across the border into France was to take a cable car up to the summit of Mount Salève. The views across France and Switzerland were beautiful and we enjoyed watching some sky divers launching themselves off the mountain and soaring around in the sky.
We had a bush walk. It started off well, with a decent path, but after about twenty minutes of walking the track started to disappear, and we were having to clamber over tree roots, and pick our way carefully down an increasingly steep incline, trying not to think too much that what goes down, must surely come up! Then it started to rain, and was getting muddier and slippery, so we decided to turn around and head back up to the kiosk for a well deserved cuppa.
Miss S met some French children in the playground and enjoyed playing with them while I had a cup of tea and chatted to their parents. Then we made our way back down the mountain in the return cable car and caught the bus back to Geneva, then the tram back to the apartment.
We went to bed feeling full of excitement and anticipation about travelling to Italy the next day.
It was a pleasure to see so many locals out enjoying the park. There were many giant chess games and giant draughts boards painted on the ground. There were also picnic tables that were printed with chess boards, so could be used to play in the normal way. For those seeking more active a game, there were quite a few table tennis tables provided as well. I loved that the park was equipped with these games, and that people were actually getting together in the park and utilising them. We saw families, teenagers and elderly people all playing games in the park. What a wonderful community-spirited idea.
We continued through the park and headed towards the lake, stopping for lunch in a pub on a quiet corner halfway there. We shared a huge burger, salad and chips, then continued on towards the lake. We took a boat ride across to the other side of the lake. The sun shining on the water, blue sky and beautiful mountain views surrounding the lake made for stunningly beautiful scenery.
Once on the other side, we strolled along the lake edge path for a while, then stopped on a park bench to admire the view, and watch Geneva life go by, and read our books. After a while, we walked back in the other direction until we came to Jardins Anglais, a beautiful garden on the edge of the lake. We watched someone with a giant bubble blower, and Miss S joined in with all the other children, chasing after the bubbles. Then we marvelled at the stillness of a man dressed as an admiral statue.
We finished our outing with a ride along the waterfront, on a solar-powered miniature train.
The next day, we had a bit of a slow start, with a sleep in, a skype session and then a bit of catching up on blog writing. It is hard to keep up to date with my blog entries. With only a few days in each place we are trying to make the most of our time in each one. It's sometimes difficult to find time to have the experience and write about it! I don't know if anyone is actually reading them, apart from my husband, but it will be nice for us to read them and relive our memories at some time in the future anyway. It would be encouraging to spur me on though, if anyone is reading this, if they could leave a comment.
By the time we got out it was pretty close to lunchtime, so we went to an Italian Restaurant and shared a pizza. I am so glad we decided to share one, and not have one each, because it was enormous!
We had a walk around the Old Town and stopped to see Saint Pierre's Cathedral. Beneath the cathedral, there is an archaeological site of previously built churches. It sounded interesting but Miss S saw a picture of a skeleton on a brochure and that put paid to that idea. She thought it looked way too scary to contemplate!
We took a bus to the border of Switzerland and France. We walked over the border, thinking how strange it was that we could just walk down the street and with one step be in a different country. We could walk a few steps backwards and forwards....Switzerland....France....Switzerland....France! But we didn't actually do that. That would have just looked silly! (As if that's ever bothered me before!)
Anyway, I digress, and this blog post is becoming daft! The point of us going across the border into France was to take a cable car up to the summit of Mount Salève. The views across France and Switzerland were beautiful and we enjoyed watching some sky divers launching themselves off the mountain and soaring around in the sky.
We had a bush walk. It started off well, with a decent path, but after about twenty minutes of walking the track started to disappear, and we were having to clamber over tree roots, and pick our way carefully down an increasingly steep incline, trying not to think too much that what goes down, must surely come up! Then it started to rain, and was getting muddier and slippery, so we decided to turn around and head back up to the kiosk for a well deserved cuppa.
Miss S met some French children in the playground and enjoyed playing with them while I had a cup of tea and chatted to their parents. Then we made our way back down the mountain in the return cable car and caught the bus back to Geneva, then the tram back to the apartment.
We went to bed feeling full of excitement and anticipation about travelling to Italy the next day.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Geneva - Stationary train and Sushi Train
We had an afternoon flight booked to Geneva, Switzerland the next day. We packed up our things and headed to the main Barcelona train station to catch a train to the airport. Between the apartment and the train station we stopped for a last play on the playground. We lost track of time a little and then it was a mad dash to get to the train. We were cutting it quite fine, but eventually the train we had been waiting for arrived on the platform and I breathed a sigh of relief that we would make it to the airport in time to check in our bag...just!
However, for some unknown reason, once we had boarded the train, it stood stationary on the tracks for at least ten minutes. I was starting to feel more anxious with every minute that ticked by, because we didn't have any minutes to spare. I was getting worried that we would not get there in time.
Unfortunately, my fears were valid. Eventually the train started to move, and we finally arrived at the airport, with only five minutes to spare. Five minutes was not long enough to get to our terminal, which of course, was the furthest away from the train platform. We ran all the way - a long way, with my 20 kg backpack on my back and my 8 kg day pack on my front, and my poor daughter rushing along behind me with her backpack. It was horrible. It was made worse when we got to the desk and they confirmed that bag check-in was closed. We were only a few minutes late. But late is late.
The woman on the desk said to take our luggage with us to the boarding gate and that someone there would take it from us and take it to the hold. That was a relief...apparently I wouldn't have to take it on the plane with me after all. Just as well, as there was no way it would fit in an overhead locker or under a seat!
When we got to the boarding gate, I handed the man there my passport and booking information. He
enquired as to where my boarding pass was....I showed him the wording on my paper which clearly stated all I needed was my booking number and passport, but apparently I did actually still need a boarding pass, so he sent me back down to the company office to get one.
The company office was unattended. Now I was nervous that not only my bag wouldn't be taken, but that we wouldn't be boarding either! I went back to the bag check in desk and eventually the woman there said she could print out boarding passes for us. With boarding passes in hand, we dashed back upstairs, breathing a sigh of relief as we went through security.
I ended up having to take the back pack right up to the plane door and they assured me that it would be put into the hold before we took off. We took our seats in the plane, and crossed our fingers that someone would put it in, and that we wouldn't arrive in Geneva with no luggage.
The flight itself was quick and pleasant. In the arrivals hall, we were relieved to see that our bag had indeed made the trip.
We made our way to the apartment we were renting a room in for three nights. The host were a couple in their mid thirties. He was more welcoming than she was. The apartment was lovely, overlooking a river, and with a mountain view from the balcony. Our bed was comfortable and we had our own bathroom.
We decided to try the little local sushi restaurant in the same block as the apartment. When we got there it was fully booked and they didn't have any room for us. There was a couple behind us who were also hoping to get in to the restaurant, and we got chatting. They said they knew of another nice sushi place and invited us to join them there for dinner. So we caught a tram together into the city and had delicious sushi in a restaurant called Sushi Train. The little plates of sushi are placed onto carriages of a train that circles around the train track above you. As the train goes past you take the plates of sushi that appeal to you. Each plate is colour coded and each colour has a different
monetary value. At the end of the meal, you present your plates to the waiter, and they work out what you owe. We had a really fun night, and the food was delicious. The couple we had met were really lovely, and we swapped contact details. They insisted on paying for our meal, which was so kind of them and then they walked with us back to the tram stop we needed to catch home again.
However, for some unknown reason, once we had boarded the train, it stood stationary on the tracks for at least ten minutes. I was starting to feel more anxious with every minute that ticked by, because we didn't have any minutes to spare. I was getting worried that we would not get there in time.
Unfortunately, my fears were valid. Eventually the train started to move, and we finally arrived at the airport, with only five minutes to spare. Five minutes was not long enough to get to our terminal, which of course, was the furthest away from the train platform. We ran all the way - a long way, with my 20 kg backpack on my back and my 8 kg day pack on my front, and my poor daughter rushing along behind me with her backpack. It was horrible. It was made worse when we got to the desk and they confirmed that bag check-in was closed. We were only a few minutes late. But late is late.
The woman on the desk said to take our luggage with us to the boarding gate and that someone there would take it from us and take it to the hold. That was a relief...apparently I wouldn't have to take it on the plane with me after all. Just as well, as there was no way it would fit in an overhead locker or under a seat!
When we got to the boarding gate, I handed the man there my passport and booking information. He
enquired as to where my boarding pass was....I showed him the wording on my paper which clearly stated all I needed was my booking number and passport, but apparently I did actually still need a boarding pass, so he sent me back down to the company office to get one.
The company office was unattended. Now I was nervous that not only my bag wouldn't be taken, but that we wouldn't be boarding either! I went back to the bag check in desk and eventually the woman there said she could print out boarding passes for us. With boarding passes in hand, we dashed back upstairs, breathing a sigh of relief as we went through security.
I ended up having to take the back pack right up to the plane door and they assured me that it would be put into the hold before we took off. We took our seats in the plane, and crossed our fingers that someone would put it in, and that we wouldn't arrive in Geneva with no luggage.
The flight itself was quick and pleasant. In the arrivals hall, we were relieved to see that our bag had indeed made the trip.
We made our way to the apartment we were renting a room in for three nights. The host were a couple in their mid thirties. He was more welcoming than she was. The apartment was lovely, overlooking a river, and with a mountain view from the balcony. Our bed was comfortable and we had our own bathroom.
We decided to try the little local sushi restaurant in the same block as the apartment. When we got there it was fully booked and they didn't have any room for us. There was a couple behind us who were also hoping to get in to the restaurant, and we got chatting. They said they knew of another nice sushi place and invited us to join them there for dinner. So we caught a tram together into the city and had delicious sushi in a restaurant called Sushi Train. The little plates of sushi are placed onto carriages of a train that circles around the train track above you. As the train goes past you take the plates of sushi that appeal to you. Each plate is colour coded and each colour has a different
monetary value. At the end of the meal, you present your plates to the waiter, and they work out what you owe. We had a really fun night, and the food was delicious. The couple we had met were really lovely, and we swapped contact details. They insisted on paying for our meal, which was so kind of them and then they walked with us back to the tram stop we needed to catch home again.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Barcelona and Calella
After having two nights uncomfortable sleep, and with both of us under the weather, we decided to treat ourselves to a decent place to stay for our first two nights in Barcelona. The apartment we booked was beautiful and beyond our expectations. It was only three weeks old, and it was just the luxurious environment that we needed to rest and recuperate.
After a fantastic nights sleep, we went for a walk to explore the area. We spent a long time at a local playground, where Miss S did a lot of swinging. We had tapas in a local cafe.
The next day we went to Guell Park to see Gaudi's wonderful architecture. The hill we had to walk up to get there was so steep it had escalators alongside the stairs in some parts.
The park itself is free to enter, but the ticket-only part in the centre is where the exhibits are, including the mosaic lizard, and wavy mosaic wall, from where there is a great view of the city and the sea in the distance.
On my cousin's recommendation, the next day, we went to Calella. It was a fifty minute train ride, northeast of Barcelona, a beach town.
We enjoyed wandering the quaint lanes, a whole day on the beach and the cheapest mini golf and bowling prices we have ever paid. The bowling was pretty retro, with only five, short lanes, but fun and the golf course was varied and challenging. We had a great time, and for us both to play both games cost less than twenty New Zealand dollars!We stayed three nights in Calella, then returned to Barcelona.
Unfortunately, not back to the luxury apartment of last time. To make amends to the budget we had booked into a room in someone's apartment, rather than the whole apartment.
Sadly, this was to be the second 'springy' bed on our trip and also another noisy room, as we were in the front room, overlooking a busy road.
Conveniently located for the tube and the local playground and plenty of shops though.
We took the tube to La Ramblas and explored La Boqueria market, with it's amazing array of food
stalls. We took lots of photos, of strange and exotic fruits and enormous capsicums.
Barcelona is huge and we decided a good way to see the sights would be to take a tourist bus that we could hop on and off at different landmarks.
We hopped off at Montjuic and took the cable car up to Montjuic Castell. We didn't go in, but we walked all around it, took some more photos, and watched a couple of men doing some archery. Miss S also spent some time reading her book on a park bench half way round, while i admired the views. Then we rode back down the cable car and rejoined the bus, which we caught into town for some dinner. After we came out of the restaurant we discovered the tourist bus had stopped running, so we caught the metro back home.
The next day we went to Sagrada Familia. We waited in line to buy tickets for about twenty minutes getting rather hot. We purchased tickets for the Basilica and the towers as well. Once we had our tickets in hand, we crossed the road and bought some ice cream and ate it in an adjacent park. After her ice cream Miss S spent some time swinging in the playground. She was really getting good at keeping the swing going by herself. My swing pushing days with her are almost over.
We walked around to the entrance to the Basilica and spent the next half hour or so snapping photos. It is a beautiful and architecturally stunning building. We went up the tower in a lift that takes you up the first sixty metres, after which you climb up the steps of the last ten metres. The views were
amazing.
To get back down, we walked down a narrow circular staircase, with a hole in the centre. Through the hole you can see right down to the ground seventy metres below. I felt irrationally terrified as my young daughter kept peering down the hole, admiring the seventy metre drop, and I had visions of her falling right down it. I was quite relieved when we were both safely back down on the ground.
To finish the day, we went to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, to see the display of water and lights, set to music. It was pretty. Miss S described it as breathtaking! I was surprised the music wasn't classical, instead it was pop music - the likes of One Direction! Bit of a let-down on that score. Too be fair, we only stayed for the first set, so it could have been classical after we'd left, but we'll never know. It was pretty though and I'm still glad we went to see it.
After a fantastic nights sleep, we went for a walk to explore the area. We spent a long time at a local playground, where Miss S did a lot of swinging. We had tapas in a local cafe.
The next day we went to Guell Park to see Gaudi's wonderful architecture. The hill we had to walk up to get there was so steep it had escalators alongside the stairs in some parts.
The park itself is free to enter, but the ticket-only part in the centre is where the exhibits are, including the mosaic lizard, and wavy mosaic wall, from where there is a great view of the city and the sea in the distance.
On my cousin's recommendation, the next day, we went to Calella. It was a fifty minute train ride, northeast of Barcelona, a beach town.
We enjoyed wandering the quaint lanes, a whole day on the beach and the cheapest mini golf and bowling prices we have ever paid. The bowling was pretty retro, with only five, short lanes, but fun and the golf course was varied and challenging. We had a great time, and for us both to play both games cost less than twenty New Zealand dollars!We stayed three nights in Calella, then returned to Barcelona.
Unfortunately, not back to the luxury apartment of last time. To make amends to the budget we had booked into a room in someone's apartment, rather than the whole apartment.
Sadly, this was to be the second 'springy' bed on our trip and also another noisy room, as we were in the front room, overlooking a busy road.
Conveniently located for the tube and the local playground and plenty of shops though.
We took the tube to La Ramblas and explored La Boqueria market, with it's amazing array of food
stalls. We took lots of photos, of strange and exotic fruits and enormous capsicums.
Barcelona is huge and we decided a good way to see the sights would be to take a tourist bus that we could hop on and off at different landmarks.
We hopped off at Montjuic and took the cable car up to Montjuic Castell. We didn't go in, but we walked all around it, took some more photos, and watched a couple of men doing some archery. Miss S also spent some time reading her book on a park bench half way round, while i admired the views. Then we rode back down the cable car and rejoined the bus, which we caught into town for some dinner. After we came out of the restaurant we discovered the tourist bus had stopped running, so we caught the metro back home.
The next day we went to Sagrada Familia. We waited in line to buy tickets for about twenty minutes getting rather hot. We purchased tickets for the Basilica and the towers as well. Once we had our tickets in hand, we crossed the road and bought some ice cream and ate it in an adjacent park. After her ice cream Miss S spent some time swinging in the playground. She was really getting good at keeping the swing going by herself. My swing pushing days with her are almost over.
We walked around to the entrance to the Basilica and spent the next half hour or so snapping photos. It is a beautiful and architecturally stunning building. We went up the tower in a lift that takes you up the first sixty metres, after which you climb up the steps of the last ten metres. The views were
amazing.
To get back down, we walked down a narrow circular staircase, with a hole in the centre. Through the hole you can see right down to the ground seventy metres below. I felt irrationally terrified as my young daughter kept peering down the hole, admiring the seventy metre drop, and I had visions of her falling right down it. I was quite relieved when we were both safely back down on the ground.
To finish the day, we went to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, to see the display of water and lights, set to music. It was pretty. Miss S described it as breathtaking! I was surprised the music wasn't classical, instead it was pop music - the likes of One Direction! Bit of a let-down on that score. Too be fair, we only stayed for the first set, so it could have been classical after we'd left, but we'll never know. It was pretty though and I'm still glad we went to see it.
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