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Star Hotel Santorini $86.87 Star Hotel Santorini is located near the beach in Thira’s Megalochori neighborhood and close to Athinios Port, Red Beach, and Museum of Prehistoric Thira. Nearby points of interest also include Wine Museum Santorini Island and Panagia Episkopi. Hotel Features. Star Hotel Santorini features a restaurant, a poolside bar, and a bar/lounge. Recreational amenities include 2 outdoor swimming pools. Also located on site is a spa tub. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include laundry facilities. Guestrooms. All guestrooms at Star Hotel Santorini feature minibars and safes. Balconies offer sea views. Televisions have satellite channels. Guestrooms are all non smoking. |
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Mystique Santorini $1299.23 Located in Oia, Mystique Santorini is on an island and close to Naval Museum, Oia Castle, and Baxedes Beach. Additional area points of interest include Archaeological Museum and Museum of Prehistoric Thira. Hotel Features. This Oia hotel has a private beach. Mystique Santorini’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A poolside bar and a bar/lounge are open for drinks. Room service is available 24 hours a day. The hotel serves a complimentary cooked to order breakfast each morning in the restaurant. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool and a fitness facility. The property’s full service health spa has body treatments, massage/treatment rooms, facials, and beauty services. This 5 star property offers secretarial services, limo/town car service, and business services. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas. The property has a roundtrip airport shuttle, which is complimentary. Wedding services, tour/ticket assistance, translation services, and tour assistance are available. Guest parking is limited, and available on a limited first come, first served basis (surcharge). Additional property amenities include a concierge desk, multilingual staff, and laundry facilities. This is a smoke free property. Guestrooms. 22 air conditioned guestrooms at Mystique Santorini feature minibars and CD players. All accommodations have balconies. Bathrooms feature separate bathtubs and showers, makeup/shaving mirrors, bathrobes, and slippers. Wireless Internet access is available. In addition to complimentary newspapers and safes, guestrooms offer direct dial phones with voice mail. Televisions have satellite channels and DVD players. Also included are complimentary bottled water and windows that open. Guests may request in room massages, irons/ironing boards, and extra towels/bedding. A nightly turndown service is offered and housekeeping is available daily. Notifications:Advanced reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. Children 14 years old and younger are not permitted at this adults only property. Notifications:Advanced reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. Children 14 years old and younger are not permitted at this adults only property. |
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Santorini Villas $528 Santorini Villas is located on the beach in Santa Marta and local attractions include Rodadero Beach. Regional points of interest also include Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino and Santa Marta Cathedral. Property Features. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool, a health club, and a spa tub. Spa amenities include facials and body treatments. This 4 star property has a 24 hour business center. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas. This Santa Marta property has event space consisting of banquet facilities and a ballroom. Room service is available during limited hours. The property has a complimentary airport shuttle (available on request). Complimentary guest parking is limited, and available on a first come, first served basis. Wedding services, translation services, and tour assistance are available. Additional property amenities include a concierge desk and laundry facilities. This is a smoke free property. Guestrooms. 12 air conditioned guestrooms at Santorini Villas feature minibars and espresso makers. Balconies offer pool views. Beds come with down blankets. All rooms include separate sitting areas along with desks and sofa beds. Kitchens include full sized refrigerators/freezers, stovetops, microwaves, and coffee/tea makers. Bathrooms feature showers with rainfall showerheads. They also offer complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Wireless Internet access is complimentary. In addition to safes, guestrooms offer direct dial phones as well as free local calls (restrictions may apply). Cable television is provided. Also included are windows that open and welcome amenities. A turndown service is available nightly, housekeeping is offered weekly, and guests may request wake up calls. Guestrooms are all non smoking. Notifications and Fees:There are no room charges for children 4 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. No pets, including service animals, are allowed at this property. Some properties have extra fees for amenities or services that may apply even if you do not use them. Government fees or taxes also may be charged to you when you check in or check out. This property told us they will charge you for the following: All citizens of Colombia will be charged the national value added tax Resort fee: COP 6000 per person, per night (effective 28 April 2011)Hotel resort fee inclusions:Access to spa (full access)Internet access property wideNewspaper (daily)Use of poolUse of spa tubBeach accessUse of fitness centerUse of business center/computerUse of in room safeParkingHousekeeping/cleaning fees/gratuitiesWe have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check in, or check out. Early check in fee: COP 100000Late check out fee: COP 100000 The above list may not be |
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Santorini Twin Waters $237.06 Santorini Twin Waters is located on the beach in Mudjimba, close to Mudjimba Beach. Other points of interest are Mooloolaba Beach and Underwater World. Hotel Features. Santorini Twin Waters features a restaurant. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool. Additional property amenities include barbecue grills and limo/town car service. Guestrooms. Air conditioned guestrooms at Santorini Twin Waters feature washers/dryers. All rooms include separate sitting areas. At this 4 star hotel, accommodations include kitchens. Televisions have satellite channels and DVD players. Official Australia STAR Rating provided by AAA Tourism Pty LtdAAA Tourism Pty Ltd assigns an official STAR Rating for accommodations in Australia. This Self Catering property is rated 4 stars. Official Australia STAR Rating provided by AAA Tourism Pty LtdAAA Tourism Pty Ltd assigns an official STAR Rating for accommodations in Australia. This Self Catering property is rated 4 stars. |
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PELICAN HOTEL SANTORINI $155.27 PELICAN HOTEL IS AN ALL TIME CLASSIC HOTEL INSANTORINI LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL SQUARE OF FIRA THE CAPITALOF SANTORINI ISLAND AND IT IS OPEN ALL YEAR AROUND. THEHOTEL WAS BUILT IN 1984 WITH THE STRONG DESIRE AND EFFORT TOCOMBINE THE ISLANDS TRADITION AND HOSPITALITY WITH THEMODERN COMFORTS IT IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND AND OFFERSSERVICES OF HIGH QUALITY TO BUSINESSMEN VISITING SANTORINION A REGULAR BASIS AND TO VISITORS COMING TO ENJOY THEFAMOUS ATTRACTIONS OF OUR ISLAND.THIS PROPERTY BOASTSELEGANTLY APPOINTED AND MODERN GUESTROOMS THAT ARE EQUIPPEDWITH ALL THE ESSENTIAL AMENITIES TO ENSURE YOU UTMOSTCOMFORT. STANDARD ROOM BB C1DSTANDARD ROOM BB AC TV MINIFRIDGE DIRECT DIAL PHONE WIFIMAX OCC INCL CHILDREN 4 |
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Santorini Kastelli Resort $240.45 Santorini Kastelli Resort is located in Thira’s Kamari neighborhood, close to Kamari Beach, Wine Museum, and Ancient Thira. Nearby points of interest also include Prophet Elias Monastery and Panagia Episkopi. Hotel Features. Santorini Kastelli Resort’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A poolside bar and a bar/lounge are open for drinks. Room service is available 24 hours a day. The hotel serves a complimentary buffet breakfast each morning in the restaurant. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, a health club, a spa tub, and a sauna. The property’s full service health spa has body treatments, massage/treatment rooms, facials, and beauty services. This 5 star property has a business center and offers a meeting/conference room and business services. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas. This Thira property has event space consisting of a conference center, banquet facilities, and conference/meeting rooms. For a surcharge, shuttle services include a roundtrip airport shuttle at scheduled times, an area shuttle, and a ferry terminal shuttle. Wedding services, concierge services, tour/ticket assistance, and tour assistance are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include a rooftop terrace, a library, and a concierge desk. Guestrooms. 60 air conditioned guestrooms at Santorini Kastelli Resort feature minibars and safes. Balconies offer sea or garden views. Bathrooms feature makeup/shaving mirrors, bathrobes, slippers, and complimentary toiletries. Flat panel televisions have satellite channels. Also included are windows that open and blackout drapes/curtains. Housekeeping is offered daily and guests may request in room massages. Notifications:There are no room charges for children 12 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. Notifications:There are no room charges for children 12 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. |
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9 Muses Santorini Resort $310.29 9 Muses Santorini Resort is located near the beach in Thira’s Perivolos neighborhood and close to Perivolos Beach, Vlychada Beach, and Museum of Minerals and Fossils. Nearby points of interest also include Perissa Beach and Ancient Thira. Hotel Features. 9 Muses Santorini Resort features a restaurant, a poolside bar, and a bar/lounge. Room service is available. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool, a children’s pool, a spa tub, a sauna, and a fitness facility. This 5 star property offers secretarial services and audio visual equipment. Wireless Internet access (surcharge) is available in public areas. This Thira property has event space consisting of a conference center and a ballroom. The property offers an area shuttle (surcharge). Concierge services and tour assistance are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include multilingual staff and laundry facilities. Guestrooms. 90 air conditioned guestrooms at 9 Muses Santorini Resort feature safes and slippers. Televisions have satellite channels. Notifications and Fees:The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check in, or check out. Airport shuttle fee: EUR 15 per person (one way) The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change. Notifications and Fees:The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check in, or check out. Airport shuttle fee: EUR 15 per person (one way) The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change. |
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Fanari Villas Santorini $632.96 Fanari Villas Santorini is located near the beach in Oia and close to Naval Museum, Oia Castle, and Baxedes Beach. Additional area points of interest include Archaeological Museum and Museum of Prehistoric Thira. Hotel Features. Fanari Villas Santorini’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A bar/lounge is open for drinks. Room service is available during limited hours. The hotel serves a complimentary Buffet breakfast. Recreational amenities include an outdoor pool, a health club, and a sauna. This 4 star property offers a meeting/conference room and secretarial services. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas. For a surcharge, shuttle services include a roundtrip airport shuttle and an area shuttle. Wedding services, tour/ticket assistance, and tour assistance are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include a rooftop terrace, a concierge desk, and multilingual staff. This is a smoke free property. A total renovation of this property was completed in March 2010. Guestrooms. 17 air conditioned guestrooms at Fanari Villas Santorini feature CD players and coffee/tea makers. Patios offer sea views. Beds come with premium bedding. Bathrooms feature jetted bathtubs, makeup/shaving mirrors, bathrobes, and slippers. Wireless Internet access is complimentary. In addition to safes, guestrooms offer direct dial phones. Flat panel televisions have satellite channels and DVD players. Rooms also include complimentary bottled water and windows that open. Housekeeping is offered daily and guests may request in room massages. Notifications: The property is closed between 1 December and 31 March. Notifications: The property is closed between 1 December and 31 March. |
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Santorini Hotel and Resort $198.67 Santorini Hotel and Resort is located on the beach in Santa Marta and local attractions include Rodadero Beach. Other regional attractions include Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino and Santa Marta Cathedral. Hotel Features. Dining options at Santorini Hotel and Resort include 2 restaurants. A beach bar, a poolside bar, and a bar/lounge are open for drinks. Room service is available during limited hours. The hotel serves a complimentary buffet breakfast each morning in the restaurant. Recreational amenities include 3 outdoor swimming pools. Also located on site are a children’s pool, a health club, a spa tub, a sauna, and a steam room. The property’s full service health spa has body treatments, massage/treatment rooms, facials, and beauty services. This 3.5 star property has a 24 hour business center and offers small meeting rooms, secretarial services, and a technology helpdesk. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas and the hotel has an Internet point. This Santa Marta property has event space consisting of a conference center, banquet facilities, conference/meeting rooms, and a ballroom. The property has a complimentary airport shuttle (available on request). Business services, wedding services, limo/town car service, and translation services are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Additional property amenities include a coffee shop/caf?, a concierge desk, and multilingual staff. Guests have access to a partner property’s outdoor pool and business facilities. This is a smoke free property. A total renovation of this property was completed in December 2010. Guestrooms. 73 air conditioned guestrooms at Santorini Hotel and Resort feature minibars and safes. Beds come with signature bedding. Furnishings include desks and sofa beds. Bathrooms feature showers with rainfall showerheads. They also offer complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Wireless Internet access is complimentary. In addition to complimentary newspapers, guestrooms offer direct dial phones as well as free local calls (restrictions may apply). 32 inch LCD televisions have cable channels. Also included are welcome amenities and clock radios. Guests may request extra towels/bedding and wake up calls. A nightly turndown service is offered and housekeeping is available weekly. Guestrooms are all non smoking. Notifications and Fees:Advanced reservations are required for massage services and spa treatments. Reservations can be made by contacting the hotel prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation. There are no room charges for children 4 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. Children may not be eligible for complimentary breakfast, if one is offered. All guests staying in hotel guestrooms must be registered with the hotel. No pets, including service animals, are allowed at this property. Some properties have extra fees for amenities or services that |
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Rocabella Santorini Resort & Spa $769.49 Rocabella Santorini Resort & Spa is located near the beach in Thira’s Imerovigli neighborhood and close to Petros M. Nomikos Conference Centre, Archaeological Museum, and Museum of Prehistoric Thira. Nearby points of interest also include Wall Paintings of Thira Exhibition and Catholic Cathedral. Hotel Features. Dining options at Rocabella Santorini Resort & Spa include a restaurant, a coffee shop/caf?, and a snack bar/deli. A poolside bar and a bar/lounge are open for drinks. Room service is available 24 hours a day. The hotel serves a complimentary buffet breakfast in the breakfast area. Recreational amenities include a health club, a spa tub, a sauna, a fitness facility, and a steam room. The property’s full service health spa has body treatments, massage/treatment rooms, facials, and beauty services. This 4 star property has a business center and offers small meeting rooms, secretarial services, and a technology helpdesk. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas. This Thira property has event space consisting of banquet facilities and conference/meeting rooms. For a surcharge, shuttle services include a roundtrip airport shuttle (available 24 hours) and an area shuttle. Wedding services, concierge services, limo/town car service, and tour/ticket assistance are available. Guest parking is complimentary. Other property amenities at this Art Deco property include a rooftop terrace, barbecue grills, and an arcade/game room. A total renovation of this property was completed in November 2009. Guestrooms. 42 air conditioned guestrooms at Rocabella Santorini Resort & Spa feature minibars and CD players. Accommodations offer ocean, sea, or water views. These individually furnished and decorated rooms include desks and sofa beds. Bathrooms feature handheld showerheads. They also offer designer toiletries, bathrobes, and slippers. Wired high speed and wireless Internet access is complimentary. In addition to safes, guestrooms offer cordless phones. LCD televisions have premium satellite channels, free movie channels, and DVD players. Rooms also include windows that open and blackout drapes/curtains. Guests may request in room massages, irons/ironing boards, and hair dryers. A nightly turndown service is offered and housekeeping is available daily. Notifications and Fees:There are no room charges for children 5 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check in, or check out. Airport shuttle fee: EUR 20 per person (one way) The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change. Notifications and Fees:There are no room charges for children 5 years old and younger who occupy the same room as their parents or guardians, using existing bedding. The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check in, |
We All Have Baggage Don’t We?
There are two ways to travel by train in Europe, the right way and our family’s way. It doesn’t seem to matter how much we plan, we never seem to avoid repeating our mistakes. You would think that by now we would have learned the value of packing light after endless embarrassing moments not to mention the hassle and fatigue of lugging a dozen or more bags from city to city, on and off trains, up tiny elevators or worse narrow stairways. Apparently, we are slow learners. We start every trip with good intentions by agreeing to bring only what we need. The following is an account of our one month trip to Europe during which we were touring several countries by train, ship, bus and private car. At the end of this glorious vacation we were dropping our son off in Italy to take his final year of high school (I was dreading the end of the trip).
We started in London with 8 bags – 4 large suitcases and 4 backpacks. Not bad for the four of us. We decided to try the Big Bus tours for the first time in the European cities so on we hopped the first day and it was great except for the fact that everyone but me slept throughout most of the route. No hopping off that day. The buses were great, we were able to select our language and get a complete historical guided tour. My husband Jack insisted it was Jeremy Irons doing the narrating in London. I guess he was having an off year (Jeremy, not my husband).
The second day we repeated what the sleepers had missed and we were finally able to use the hop off feature. First stop, Jubilee Gardens where my family convinced me to go on the London Eye, the world’s largest Ferris Wheel. I don’t even like the world’s smallest Ferris Wheel. I was undecided on whether to join them but since I hate to disappoint my children I got into line at the last minute and was rewarded by two big smiles from my kids. Let me explain, we are in a cage that could take 20 of us to our deaths that revolves slowly, very slowly to give you an opportunity to see the breathtaking view of London! After several minutes of clinging to the center bench, I relaxed enough to venture to the side to admire the spectacular views. Feeling a little more confidant I asked the burley tattooed, biker type to take a picture of us. He had been sitting next to me on the bench (also clinging). He declined as he was at that moment paralyzed with fear. In fact he never moved the entire 30 minute trip.
We thoroughly enjoyed London but after 3 days we boarded the train to go through the Chunnel to Paris. This is a great train with first class service and very civilized baggage service.
After arriving in Paris and ransacking our now 10 bags (I forgot to mention the two bags we picked up in London after our shopping spree), we discovered that we had left all of our electronic cords for the cell phones and computers in London. We arranged for them to be sent on to us in Geneva as we were only staying a few nights in Paris. Again we saw Paris on the buses complete with Jeremy Irons narrating (at this point we started to humor Jack).
Our package arrived at our hotel in Geneva at the same time we did. Unfortunately, when we got to Geneva we realized we had left our son Russ’s diabetic supply kit in the hotel room in Paris. Having FedEx on speed dial made it easier for us to arrange for this to arrive before we left. We also discovered we had left Russ’s Glucose Monitor on the train. It never was recovered so we had to have another Fed Ex’ed from Toronto to his school in Italy which hopefully would arrive before we did along with the other huge box we had couriered prior to leaving Vancouver.
It rained for the two days we were in Geneva so our impression of the city was not a good one. I did the laundry and I don’t think the kids left the room one day using the excuse that they didn’t want to miss the FedEx delivery. Finally we left for Venice. The beauty of riding through the Alps almost made up for these wasted days in Geneva.
Breathtaking, is the only way to describe our first glimpse of Venice as we left the train station. The excitement of being there was somewhat diminished by our practical problem of moving an impractical amount of luggage through the waterways, narrow streets, stairs and bridges of Venice. We were a freak show trying to get on a water taxi that only got us part way to our hotel. The rest of the way we had to drag our now 12 cases up and down bridges and stairs. However, we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful and quaint hotels I have ever stayed at in Europe.
Unfortunately we were only there one night before we had to reverse the process to board the cruise ship where we would be free from baggage handling for 12 glorious days. Just before we were about to set sail for Croatia we discovered Russ did not have his computer. It turned out it was stolen by the cruise ship baggage handlers (not that unusual we found out). FedEx could not solve this problem. Fortunately we had a smaller laptop with us as well so that we were able to leave that with him for school (this is our idea of packing light).
Next stop was Athens. It was a nasty 40C there and at peak tourist season for viewing the Acropolis. Our tour guide was not easy to listen to so we ditched her and tried it on our own. I do not recommend this. For awhile we just stood looking at a bunch of rocks in the heat. We found a much more civilized way to enjoy the view by sitting in the café enjoying lovely Greek coffee. Then it was on to shoe shopping in the Plaka. Shopping is a bonding experience for mothers and daughters. Not so much for mothers and sons. My son does not share the shopping gene and in fact has an extreme reaction to anything involving consumerism. Given that he is somewhat of a minimalist, he was started to get annoyed at the increase in luggage since he and my husband had to do most of the carting of it. Even under the pressure of him screaming at us that there was more to this trip than shopping, my daughter Kali and I were able to grab several pairs of shoes. One shopkeeper thanked me profusely and told me that she could now shut the shop down for the day, I’m not kidding about this. A family argument broke out when Russ threatened to go back to the ship. We agreed to no more shopping. That day. Not one of our finer moments on the trip.
On to Santorini, which will be forever known to our family as “Donkey Man Town”. There are three ways to get up to the city In Santorini, walk up (It is 40C, the hill is extremely steep and the smell and sights of donkey droppings makes this a last resort), take a tram or take a donkey. Jack and Kali opted for the tram. Russ and I decided to take the donkeys. I took this same trip with my parents exactly 30 years ago and found the whole donkey experience much more civilized and safer back then. However, I was not to know this until I was already in motion. There was no one leading us like they told us there would be. It was just Russ on his big ass and me on my small one going up alone. I was not happy about this but I didn’t want my donkey to know that. To him I whispered loving remarks - to anyone else within earshot I screamed in panic for help. Sadly, I’m not kidding about this either.
On one of the switchbacks, I finally found a man who was leading the group six donkeys back (a young blonde on the donkey). I tried to get his attention by yelling Donkey Man (either he didn’t hear me, didn’t understand English, or was offended), at any rate he ignored me.. To add to my stress, the three Europeans behind us decided it would be fun to kick their donkeys to make them go faster. This did not please me. I had already been kicked by Russ’s donkey when it was taking a rest and my little ass tried to overtake it, I was not going through that again! I yelled at them to get back and quit kicking their donkeys as it wasn’t a race! Apparently they did not understand English either.
In the meantime Russ was getting upset with me because I was spoiling his experience. He had a point. If I could control the fear of being kicked by a donkey or thrown over the edge and ignore the horrible smell, this is one of the most fantastic views you will ever see. I did not care at that moment.
It took forever to crisscross up that hill. Every two or three turns I would yell for the Donkey Man, who continued to ignore me. I would continue to yell at the Europeans behind me who hadn’t given up on beating me to the top. Russ continued to scowl at me. Just when I thought it would never end I discovered what was in store for us at the top and wished it would never end. At the top there were at least 30 donkeys facing one wall leaving about 12 inches for us to get through, on our own, WITH NO HELP FROM ANY DONKEY MAN. Our donkeys sensibly stopped as there was no room to move. I continued to yell for the Donkey Man. No response. I saw three old donkey tenders sitting watching us making no attempt to help us. Finally the Donkey Man with the blonde yelled something in Greek and the donkeys made a rush for the top. Unfortunately mine must have had a hearing problem because he didn’t move and was passed by the 3 Europeans and their donkeys (they were going to beat me to the top no matter what!). Remember there were no more than 12 inches for a single donkey to get through let alone two abreast! The sound of my stirrup scrapping against the rock wall and the sight of donkey asses everywhere finally put me into hysteria. Thankfully a tourist who had been watching the whole show (yes, there were spectators!) lifted me off the donkey. I don’t know if I thanked him but I told anyone who would listen how irresponsible this whole set up was and warned them not to go on the donkeys. I shook for a half hour. Not one of my finer moments on the trip.
We had a well deserved Sea Day after that.
Then it was on to Naples, Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Much sightseeing, shopping, eating and bus rides. Oh yes, Jeremy Irons was narrating on those as well!
This is the point where we actually realized we had made an error in our trip planning. When we booked the cruise that ended in Barcelona our plans were to stay in the south of France for a week and then on to Paris and home. In June this all changed with the decision to send Russ to school in Lanciano, Italy. This caused us to have to double back to Rome after the cruise. In retrospect, we should have got off the cruise in Villefranche and taken a 20 minute car ride to Nice. But that would have been too easy and by now you are probably realizing we don’t do things the easy way. So on to the next adventure….
We are first off the ship at 7am to catch a train from Barcelona to Montpelier. There was a quick change in Montpelier to Nice. Not a bad trip, if everything went as planned. However, it did not go as planned. When we got to Montpelier there was a 30 minute delay, turning into an hour delay, then a 2 hour delay and then finally an indefinite delay. Four hours later we were told to catch the train to Avignon, change to the train to Marseille and then change again to the one to Nice. This doesn’t sound too complicated except we were traveling with now 14 suitcases (we bought more cases in Barcelona because of the shoes/leather jackets/briefcases/purses etc purchased along the way). To be fair some of them were backpacks and smaller cases. Remember because of the delays, the trains were especially crowded s and of course there was very limited space for luggage.
Things took a turn for the worst when Kali started to get sick on the train from Montpelier (her fever spiked suddenly to around 102). She and I had managed to get seats on the Avignon to Marseille train in a compartment for 6. The guys couldn’t sit as there was no place to put the luggage and besides they had to keep moving the bags from one side of the car to the other depending upon the change of platforms at each stop (and there were many).
About half way through the trip Kali sat up and vomited repeatedly all over herself, her shoes, the table and of course the floor. Everyone in the compartment froze. I of course had nothing to clean it up with and couldn’t leave her so one of my French travelling companions went to get some paper in the toilet. I asked him to alert Jack or Russ (he could figure out who they were by the bags that surrounding them – we were a comedy act really!). I will leave it to your imagination how things went from there. I will only tell you that her shoes were left behind.
By the time we got to Marseille Kali was stable and there were a few less people in our compartment (I think by this time people were avoiding us). When I looked outside at the station I noticed it was pouring with rain. This is when I started to laugh (later Russ told me he also started laughing). He said there was no point in being upset as this is one of the best family travel stories yet (he still couldn’t see the humor in the Donkey Man episode).
We got on our final train and had an uneventful 2 hour trip to Nice. After 17 hours of travel that day, we arrived in Nice at 1am, crammed our luggage into one taxi with a net holding our bags (the taxi driver said he had never seen so much luggage for one small family). We arrive at our hotel only to be told they have no rooms for us – it is now close to 2am. At this point I was ready to take hostages and after much fuss (threatening to sleep in their lobby with a sick child) we were taken to a better hotel at their expense. In the end we were upgraded to a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the French Riviera. Unfortunately, Kali spent two days in bed and recovered just in time for our overnight train to Rome.
We arrived in Rome at 6:30am. I did not sleep at all that night due to sharing a bunk with Kali so our luggage could be stored on the top bunk in the girl’s cabin. I spent the whole night being kicked by her and worried that the luggage would fall out the window!! (It was too hot to close the window) In Rome we waited an hour for a taxi, and then 3 hours at the dirtiest bus station I have ever seen before finally boarding our bus for our 3 hour picturesque drive to Lanciano. There was a pit stop about halfway but as Kali and I could not work out what to do with the hole in the floor (a small one) even with the two feet markings, we decided we would wait. Towards the end of the trip there is an announcement in Italian. I asked Jack what he thought it was. With conviction he says “We will be in Lanciano in 10 minutes” (he likes to think he has an ear for languages). “Great!” At that point the bus pulled over – “Another pit stop” says Jack. ”No thanks!” But then I noticed that some people were taking their suitcases and leaving the bus. I asked Jack to check it out. Sure enough we had to change buses!! Another sideshow as we hurriedly wake the kids and transfer our now 16 bags on to the next bus for the 15 minute ride to our destination.
Surrounded by piles of luggage at the Lanciano Bus Station, an island in the street really, I asked the driver where the taxi stand was. “”Oh no Senora, there are no taxis in Lanciano.” There are however a lot of hills and stairs in Lanciano. We also had no idea where the Allegria Inn was. Thankfully after calling the school for assistance someone arrived to get us. As you can imagine there was not enough room for us and the luggage so a kindly Canadian/Italian who had befriended us during our wait offered us a ride as well (actually I think he was just curious about this spectacle that had just arrived in this sleepy little Italian town). Our 500 year old Inn had no elevator but it no longer fazed us to carry the luggage up two flights of stairs. We then went out to explore the little Italian town Russ would spend a year in. It is worth mentioning again the number of stairs and hills in this scenic little town. Jack said he would be dead in a week if he lived there. After a month of togetherness I was tempted to call a real estate agent.
Leaving Russ behind was a very emotional experience for Mom. This was offset somewhat by the giddiness I felt about unloading some of luggage in Lanciano. Unwilling to chance the bus system again, we hired a car to go back to Rome.
We ended our trip with a fantastic dinner at a lovely restaurant in the Piazza Navona that we had visited many times. We were met with enthusiasm by our waiter who wanted to help us by offering his recommendations. Of course we had to try the rare mushroom appetizer (only available in August and September in Roma), the pasta with lobster and the sea bass. At some point we realized that we had let this gifted waiter talk us into a meal that was way out of control. Foolishly we didn’t ask the price of anything. In the end they presented us with a bill for almost 500 Euros (only one bottle of wine). My wise 11 year old Kali suggested next time we try ordering from the menu.
Even our return flight from Heathrow was made chaotic because they had just uncovered a terrorist plot while we were cruising in the Mediterranean. It was rumored that we were not allowed carry-on luggage, not even a book (yikes)! I wasn’t looking forward to negotiating with the baggage checkers in London. Fortunately they relaxed the rules the day before we traveled and we were allowed to carry on a bag however you can imagine the increased security we had to contend with.
In light of the restrictions and extra security we have decided we have to make some serious changes in our traveling style. We are still working on defining the term “packing light” but I am confident we have learned our lesson. I dream of carefree romps through Europe with only a knapsack.
Who am I kidding? As I said before, we are slow learners.
About the Author
Roneen C. Shaffer
Santorini August 2010 – Trying to eat a snail
