ollienbertsmum

I think that I have put on this thread or somewhere near, that we stayed at La Locanda di Osaria when we went in September 2019. The location was perfect, hotel was the most expensive I think I have ever been in, but it was not the poshest. I would stay there again for the location. It was fun having a real key to open the room door. We did not have view of anything - perhaps a wall, I can’t recall. I did not feel that this was important. There was no point that I would have wanted to sit in the hotel. We had lovely views walking around and when we stopped for refreshments. We were just one bridge over from the train station. It was not that much of an effort, but I have a two wheeled case. Four wheels might have been harder. My luggage comes out at about 15 kg. I can just about carry that for short distances. We were right in front of the second Vaporetto stop for the line 1. We stayed for 2 nights prior to a cruise (which at that time left from Venice ). We had a 24 hour pass which we used from the morning of our full day. I will now tell you more about my experiences. Cant recall if I ever did a review. So when we travel, I like to get up early and DH prefers to set off at around 10 am. First morning I went off to work out how to get the vaporetto pass and how we would get on to the people mover the next day. Came back for him. We went out to get on the vaporetto because we wanted to see Murano and Burano. By this time the queue for the vaporetto had got much longer. We had a wait, got to Murano and loved it. I had booked a restaurant on Burano (Trattoria al Gato Nero). So about 90 mins prior we went to get to boat that would get us there. Walked round the corner and found the mother of all queues. We waited for ages until it was clear that we had missed our booking and was wasting our day in Venice in a queue so we went back to the main island. After listening to other reviews, the only way we could have done this would have been DH getting up early. We strolled around, getting to the Arsenale area. I broke the sole of my shoe with the walking. Passed through St Mark’s Square where it was crowded with tourists. Didn’t linger. We wanted to find food and drink, so mindful of reviews we bypassed St Mark’s Square. We really still could not find anything cheaper than 7 euro for a beer (our yardstick for the day). In fact further away seemed more. So we just stopped somewhere and ate and drank. The only high part of the bill was the imposed 20% tip (we are europeans). On the morning of the cruise (a Sunday) I had a couple of hours to explore a bit more while DH slept. He always opts out of the tours, so at about 8.30 I was on vaporetto 1 - it was not crowded so I sat near the front and listened to my downlloaded Rick Steves audio tour of the Grand Canal. We really interesting. I got out at St Mark’s Square. I had 9 am tickets for the Doge’s Palace. In fact that early pre booked tickets were not needed. I did the tour with an audioguide. I was a bit underwhelmed to be honest. I think that I should have gone to the Basilica instead. However the prison part was eerily unpleasant in a way that has stayed with me. I went out to the Square, Noticed that the Bell Tower queue was getting longer. I could not have climbed and still got back to the hotel in time for check out. Our bags were not in storage. I listened to Rick Steves telling me about the square in another audio guide. Interesting again. Back on the Vaporetto and back to hotel. On disembarkation day of the cruise we had time in Venice before an early evening flight. We left our bags in a storage and went off to pass the time. Walking around Venice is just so wonderful. Kodak moments at every turn and you cannot get lost (for long). Google maps was usually helpful, but I think being among so many buildings affected the signal. I get confused navigating anywhere so I recall being confused in Venice. I had booked 15 minutes on the viewing terrace of T Fondaco dei Tedeschi. we did not have to pay, but booking ahead meant we did not have to wait. Views were lovely and the whole department store was lovely. We were not interested in a gondola ride. Looked too corny and there were traffic jams of gondolas. The only tourist gondola photo that looked lovely was when my youngest went in July 2020. She and her friend paid 50 euro. They had no queues but it was not the most sensible time to travel. So getting an early start seems to be the best advice when it comes to St Mark’s Square. I dont think going to the islands is wise for a single day in Venice but there is plenty of time to wander around this glorious city and get a sense of the history of Venice. I will never forget that short trip.

Let a sink and a bar of soap be your best friends.

We stayed near to the two transport hubs, Santa Maria train station and Piazzale Roma. This required us walking over just one bridge to our hotel when arriving on the bus from Venice airport. It was then convenient for travel in and out of Venice. It was also right opposite the Vaporetto stop. The hotel was called La Locanda di Orsaria. It was quite basic but clean and comfortable, good breakfast and i loved the location. We went to St Marks Square a few times (some intentionally and some by accident as we were just wandering around Venice). I just searched it and notice that it is currently much cheaper than we paid in Sept 2019. I suspect there are fewer overnights in Venice. Spending the last night of the cruise in Venice makes complete sense. I am sure that you will not be alone. I am trying to decide if I would spend a night in Florence and then move on to Rome, but think that you would then be moving on to Naples rather than Civitivecchia. It does seem like a lot of travelling. It will only work if you travel light. Here I mean Rick Steves type rolling luggage. You will be an outfit repeater in your photos but it will make a great deal of difference as you are moving about. Where is your second cruise going?? Sounds like a fantastic summer.

Another suggestion is to stay in Villefranche. I have to admit that I have never been, but I have seen enough photos from other people that make me disappointed that I have not yet been. There clearly is lots to do - and assuming that you are going in the summer, there will be the opportunity for the children to swim. It is on my wishlist.

I have just been reading up about how pickpocketing is viewed in the law in different countries. I didn’t realise the difference. I certainly did not realise that in Britain it was once punished by hanging. For sure prevention is certainly the best way. I recall one time in the BCN metro that I was probably being targetted. It might have just been begging. We had arrived by train, clever me thought that we could get to our hotel by the metro. We could but it required taking our luggage via steps and long corridors. Not sure why but DH and I were looking at different ticket machines. Possibly we were each buying our own ticket ???? A middle aged man came up to me to give me information about how to buy a ticket. I may speak to my DH in English but I can read Spanish and did not need help. I recall being confused like ‘why is he telling me this’ because I could see that he was not an employee. We got rid of him, but I felt rude in doing so, after all he may just have been a helpful bystander. To this day I wonder what his motivation was. Having had my purse stolen in the Malaga taxi on the way to catch a cruise, I am wary. I was so lucky that my passport was not in the bag that was stolen because for sure we would have lost the cruise. This makes me think that when people are asking for advice about getting to their hotel, lugging cases should not be only a consideration from a weight point of view. Using taxis while you have luggage and orientation of the city to work out may be a sensible way of reducing vulnerability to thieves.

I love this investment into grandchild relationships. It really makes such a difference. OK they don’t do the same about our music (never could get my kids interested in my first love David Essex, although youngest came with me to see him when he performed a couple of years ago in the Gibraltar Music Festival). I would go to see Taylor Swift in a heartbeat though, I didn’t need my kids to direct me i don’t think.

If you have actually emailed them, I would suspect that is a ‘no’. I don’t go up that side of the Rock to notice.

Been 7 times pre and post-cruise, experience s that I have not been robbed in Barcelona. BCN is one of my favourite cities. I did have my purse stolen by a taxi driver in Malaga. It can happen anywhere.

Those caterpillars are amazing. I am glad that you do not have to kill them. The insect population is so threatened by pesticides and by loss of habitat. Even if my lettuces do not do so well, I feel that the environment is winning. I actually completed my PhD two weeks before I retired. I wrote two reports that I signed as Dr Bear rather than Mrs. I did not need the qualification for my job and I could not use it for promotion. Now the only person that calls me Dr Bear is my nail technician! I am however happy that I did it. It was one of those ‘personal challenge’ things. It would have been easier to do a marathon.

Welcome to the world of no more weekends and Bank Holidays. I have almost completed my first year and love it. Before I left work people were asking ‘but what will you do with yourself??’ There were times that I wondered if they were right and that I would be bored. They were so wrong. To be honest I could spend my days at home and never go out. However I now have so much more time for my family, which is precious to me. I walk eldest’s dog, I meet girls for lunch once a week, I have time to cook a family supper, I have time to babysit my cute nephew occasionally, I now have a balcony (tiny) full of plants, I can go swimming/walks more often and I can visit my elderly parents more than just annually. They really are getting frail and I might have to stay for much longer periods, but I least I can. One of my current obsessions is with caterpillars. I don’t like them eating my lettuces but cannot kill them. I have bought a cage and feed them. I watch them change over time and release them (hopefully to fly away from MY lettuces) once they emerge from their cocoons. At first I was disappointed that I keep getting moths and not butterflies, but actually they are equally interesting. Now would I have had time to do that with a full-time job??? And now my sister has given me a new obsession. An App called Merlin. It is free from Cornell lab. It helps you identify birds around you, the easy way is by bird song. We mostly get gulls, but it is surprising listening out to how many sparrows, swifts and doves we have around. Life is so interesting this side of work. I hope you feel the same.

Been watching the cricket and see how hot it looks at Trent Bridge. I think we are fortunate that we get sea breezes and can bathe when it is this hot - although A/C is becoming more common (not for me, I hate it).

I did not realise how expensive it is getting - and how long the waits are for some people. To be honest, if the wait is over an hour, I think skip the queue and get a taxi. For other times there are the skywalk (Not sure if it is included in the nature reserve cost or if it is only included in the Gibraltar Pass), the Windsor Bridge, Princess Caroline’s Battery. If you are local you can get into these places by showing your ID. We do it regularly - when it is not baking hot the Mediterranean Steps are a great alternative to the gym. If you are fit and your ship is in port for at least 6 hours, that is a great way to visit Gibraltar.

It is still June. It is really hot now in the southern med. OnTV they were showing Royal Ascot saying that it was baking there. However rain stopped play at the women’s Ashes. I think that was a little further north. Just book your holiday and take an umbrella- you will need it for the sun or rain.

and that will be easy. If you like walking you could easily walk from St Peters to Trevi. Don’t miss the Pantheon.

Hank I want you to travel forever. I love your wise advice.

I think that what you need to establish is when your DH says that he wants to visit the Vatican, does he want to visit the museum or St Peters or both. On our first visit to Rome we took a ship tour, this included the Vatican but only St Peter’s basilica and square. We were well happy. I was just excited to be in the Square. We also had Trevi fountain, a taster of the Roman forum and the Colosseum included. We have been to the Vatican museum in a subsequent trip, taking the train to St Peter’s station with early tickets. That worked well with lunch in Piazza Navona which was a lovely way to spend an hour or so. You can walk through St Peters Square and go on to visit a number of other iconic locations. I don't think that nowadays you can avoid security in any of the big Basilicas but they do not all require the same queues as St Peters. I recall being impressed with St John Lateran, I always try to fit in Santa Maria Maggiore before going back from Termini Station. Santa Maria del Popolo is a wonderful church for art (I think it only opens in the morning) but takes out a smaller part of your day. The Pantheon is also fabulous. One of our days included a late lunch at a restaurant right opposite the Pantheon. Sitting eating opposite an inscription that basically said ‘Marcus Agrippa built this’ is a memory I have forever. We had two glasses of wine so went back to the station in a taxi and had ice cream at Civitavecchia. I enjoy Trevi fountain on every trip. What I am trying to say is that you cannot do everything in one port day, but you can do things that are a little off-piste and still enjoy the treasures of Rome.

We live in the Southern Med and we dont have a/c. However on our first cruise, on a tour of Rome my DH got a horrible heat rash that meant he had to forego Pompeii the next day. That was July. Being used to the heat does not even make you immune. We did go on to have more July cruises though. Female members of the party carried umbrellas. Really helped. When DH retired from his career in teaching we went in October/November. I would recommend but know that not everyone can do that. There were still crowds in October though. You cannot avoid them, you are one of them 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the cruise lines have got to be clearer where the cruise goes from. They do not go from Venice, they should not say that they do. As you found out Bologna is closer to Ravenna than Venice. We stayed in Bologna for two days prior to our cruise and it worked well for us. Ljubljana is closer to Trieste than Venice or Treviso airports!

Last time I was in Barcelona was back in 2016. I recall something similar to that in Trieste last month. That is that staff help you hand in your luggage, checking that you have the correct labels. However we walked with our luggage from the taxi to luggage drop. On disembarking allof the luggage was laid out for us to collect ourselves. Those using shuttles to and from the airport may have had more help. On our return at Venice Marco Polo we saw a good number of cruisers being guided through the airport. I cannot recall seeing anyone with mountains of luggage. not sure how helpful that was.

Sorry to hear how much of a mess the last part of your journey was. I think airlines work much tighter schedules when it comes to staff rosters and then when they exceed hours it becomes their undoing. I bought air tags and have as yet have had no reason to use them. My iphone 8 gives fairly basic location so no good for keys around the house etc. I am curious to know if your air tags have actually helped you track your luggage.

Was this a Flix bus? Are you sure there were no restrooms? I thought that when we were half way between Trieste and Venice, then I saw someone getting up and going downstairs. I realized there were toilets. Flooding was not expected. Closed train lines are not going to happen regularly because of flooding.

Ok so I had not thought about the public bus, it would have got you to Piran in-the same way as the so called Hoho. It was not really a hoho because it just took you to Piran and picked you up 2 hours later. I was on my own and appreciated the commentary from the guide. Not sure if I mentioned on this thread or another, had I seen the tours available I would definitely have gone for the Lippizaner visit. Choosing between Ljubljana and Bled would be hard. Can you do both? I think our cruise may have covered them In Rijeka port stop as well. I actually think Ljubljana is winking at me for a long weekend, only problem is that we can’t get direct flights

Have you posted about this cruise. I went to Japan in 2016 and would love to dream about going back 😃

Thanks for the pictures. I think that you did my “cruise that never was” which was a June 2020 on Iona (aft cabin for the first time ever) that never happened. I put the money back from the cruise into Premium Bonds and so far have won £225! I sort of made up for it by going to Tromso in February with youngest for her 30th birthday. We had a brilliant time and saw northern lights on 3 different nights. DH and I went on a cruise to Croatia and Slovenia last month. It actually made me determined to go back to the fjords but on a land tour. What I enjoyed in Tromso was not having to keep an eye on the time for sailaway. Maybe I noticed it more since I have retired. Hope you are not feeling the heat too much. I visited my parents in Nottinghamshire over the weekend and it was hot. Heat and houses with carpets do not go well together.