Europe
ATW-2 Day 9: Genoa, Italy, to Chambery, France
I will explain the story behind the picture at the top in a minute. But I will start at the Best Western CHC Genova Airport Hotel – the expensive one-nighter. We felt considerably more positively toward it after breakfast which was simply one of the finest breakfasts I have had anywhere. Perhaps the finest free … Continue reading
Around-the-world (ATW) preview
It looks almost certain now that, come September 15, Marlene and I will be embarking on an epic around-the-world trip. We will be away nearly 10 weeks. It will consist of two cruises – a transpacific and a transatlantic – two flights – from Fort Myers to Seattle and from Sydney Australia to Rome Italy … Continue reading
TC2 Day 20: Madrid, Spain, to Ft Myers FL
The last day of the TC2. All that remained was getting back to Florida. Easier said than done, We checked out of the hotel and used Marlene’s credit card to pay the incidental expenses. I discovered after the fact that I could have used my stolen Visa card because I had not, as I thought, … Continue reading
TC2 Day 19: Madrid, Spain
This was our last full day in Spain. We had no specific goals but wanted to get back into downtown Madrid. We had plenty of Metro tickets but decided to walk to the Metro rather than take the bus as Marlene wanted to stop at the nearby supermarket to get coffee and pastries. That is … Continue reading
TC2 Day 18: Madrid, Spain
This was a sightseeing day in Madrid with the Museo del Prado being our primary goal. It began with us deciding to forego the 18-euro (over $20) breakfast buffet and dine outside the hotel. In this case the “dining” occurred at a supermarket that we found while walking to the Metro. We got some very … Continue reading
TC2 Day 17: Barcelona to Madrid, Spain
This was a travel day and a very hectic one at that. It started with checking out of the hotel and, in doing so, letting the desk clerk know how unhappy we were with the new Travelodge policy to charge 1 euro for a glass of ice. I will make my unhappiness known to Expedia, … Continue reading
TC2 Day 16: Barcelona, Spain
This was a (mostly) leisurely day of exploration in Barcelona. But it wasn’t the day that we planned. Our main objective on this day was visiting the Sagrada Familia basilica which we had failed to get to on Day 15. So after a continental breakfast in our room, we walked to the Metro and traveled … Continue reading
TC2 Day 15: Barcelona, Spain
This was a “get to know Barcelona” day. The original goal was to visit a couple of sites of interest, ending at the Sagrada Familia, the famous not-yet-finished cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi. However, that plan had to be modified and we never got to the church. We started the morning with some much-needed nourishment … Continue reading
TC2 Day 14: Disembarkation in Barcelona, Spain
It was a wonderful cruise, but all good things must come to an end. We got off the ship around 8:30am, stood in line for a taxi for 30 minutes then rode straight to our hotel, the Travelodge in the Poblenou section of Barcelona. We then stored our baggage and went out to get our … Continue reading
ATW-2 wrapup
This was the longest and most complex of the 3 ATW segments, taking 28 days of travel by auto through Italy, France, Germany and Austria. We rented a car after two days in Rome and returned it before our final 3 days in Rome (a total of 23 days of auto rental). By the numbers: … Continue reading »