Florence - Hotel: Best Western Premier Hotel Laurus

Best Western Preimer Hotel Laurus: 

1 Double Bed, Non-smoking room

Hotel Review:
Hotel Location: Very convenient, 5 minutes walk to the Duomo, 7-10 minutes walk to the train station, 7 minutes walk to the Galleria Dell Accademia, 1 minute walk to shopping district

Room: Very spacious, bed is very comfortable, very clean overall

Wifi access: wifi access included, yet it asked you to log in with their complicated access code like every 5 minutes, very inconvenient.

Guest service: Quite helpful with directions

Breakfast:  Not included.  But there's a nice cafe that was located right beside the lobby with SUPER GOOD and FRESH pastry.  Great price too.  It was 1 Euro per pastry and 2 Euro for a nice cup of cappuccino

Complimentary: Bottle of red wine (coupon from TripAdvisor) & 1 free drink/person at their roof terrace

View: Magnificent View from the Terrace, you can see how close the hotel was located from the Duomo

Bathroom: Washroom is quite clean and spacious.  Shampoo provided only, no conditioner.  Their shampoo products were not good at all.

My thoughts of the Best Western Premier:
Walkable distance to almost everywhere we wanted to go (except for Piazzale Michaelangelo, Pisa and the Outlet).  We really liked the cafe beside the hotel (opens only in the morning).  Very comfortable bed, the room was very spacious.  There was a lot of storage space.

Price was a little expensive: $686 Cdn for 3 nights.  We didn't regret staying here, we love this hotel. When we got tired, we just walked back to the hotel room to take a break or to take a nap.

Florence - Arrival

Train: Venice to Florence:
We took the first class train to Florence's Santa Maria Novella Station.  We arrived to Florence at 11am.  Once we arrived to the Florence train station, we went to the customers assistance to ask for directions to our hotel.  She said it was very close by, it should be only 5 - 10 minutes walk.

1 Euro per person to use the washroom
Both of us needed to go to washroom, so we went to the W.C., it costed 1 Euro per person to use the washroom.  They had gates to take money, just like how the gate takes money to enter the subway.  Most people had trouble figuring out how to exit (by pressing a button).

Awesome hotel location:
We looked at the big map in front of the train station to check where our hotel was.  After 7-10 minutes of walk, we found our hotel: Best Western Premier, it was probably the easiest hotel to find throughout our trip.  The hotel was super close to the Duomo and everything.  But it was too early to check in, we couldn't check in until 2pm.  So we walked towards the Duomo and we had lunch at the outdoor cafe with a nice view of the Duomo.


First lunch in Florence:

I ordered: Black Truffle Mushroom Ravioli

Lasagne

We ordered a big bottle of water (4 Euro) and some beer.  Alcohol is way cheaper in Europe than water.  I fell in love with black truffle during this trip.  The ravioli was quite good.  Lasagne was pretty good, simple but nothing special.  Pasta is usually not the main entree, that's why the portion is quite small.

Dessert time: Tiramisu & cappuccino

Finally, I got to try tiramisu in Italy....Yummm...along with a cup of cappuccino.  The texture of the tiramisu is very soft and creamy, taste of coffee/expresso was not that strong.  It was quite different from the ones I usually had in Canada.  The presentation didn't look that great either, but it still tasted good!

It was a nice day, weather was good.  Even though we were walking on the ancient cobblestone roads, the streets we were at were quite commercialized.  Brand name stores and shopping stores were everywhere.

Travel around...it's the experience that counts

What's most enjoyable?
I don't usually spend much on brand name products or clothing.  I wear the same style of clothes to work everyday.  I occasionally will get my friends to shop for some nice clothing/dresses as some treat to myself.  Usually, I don't get the pleasure from shopping, I think it's the experience I got from eating and travelling around that are most rewarding to me.  I started to enjoy writing even though I know I am not very good in writing.  I do believe it's a healthy hobby that will keep myself busy and happy (especially keeping myself away from facebook).

How would your experience last?
Although I might spend more money in traveling, it worth it.  Every little thing counts during my vacations.  The experience last even longer when I write blogs even nobody comes to read it.  It makes me remember most of the special moments and different things I encountered during my trip.  I'm still enjoying and remembering many details about my Euro trip last year!

How often would you go back to go through 3000 pictures that were taken in your digital camera?
How often would you take the time to organize them? It is probably better if you post them on your Facebook.

I took a Euro tour 10 years ago to Austria and Germany.  I enjoyed it a lot, but my memories kind of fade out.  It could also be because that was a tour, everything was planned out so I didn't have to do any research at all.  Thus, I hardly remember which attraction belongs to where.

Upcoming Euro tour:

This time I'm travelling with a girlfriend; I think it would be better to join a tour.  Instead of just going with the flow as the tour goes, I decided to do a lot of research on the different places we will visit.  I'm making a little tour book for myself to have some introductions of the different sight seeing tours.  I'm researching on what's something we must go or try during our free time.

Because if I don't do research ahead, I would probably won't remember anything.  I hope this is a fun trip.

It's nice to read back your own blogs that were written years ago (like Xanga).  I still find the old blogs interesting. 

I hope most of you will remember every moment of your vacation trips.  To do that? Write them out and share them :)

Travelling in Italy by Train: Tips

Venice -> Florence, Venezia -> Firenze

Trains within Italy:

Travelling in Italy by train is so simple and efficient.  It took me a while to figure out how to buy train tickets online via www.trenitlia.com.  I didn't know how to use their code and to pick the main train station.  But after I figured out how to use it, it's the most hassle free transportation within Europe.  

I booked my tickets about two months ahead via the trenitalia website.  It was only 58 Euro for two people (one way) first class tickets.  First class tickets was only 10 Euro more than the second class.  It so worth the experience and the comfort level was awesome.  You got to book early tho, if you buy the tickets at the train station on that day, the ticket price is almost double.  

Tips for traveling by train within Italy:

Rail pass vs Individual train tickets?

- if you have a well planned schedule, it's better off to buy the tickets online individually instead of buying the rail pass

- a lot of websites will sell you the rail pass/Euro pass, I personally think it might be flexible, but it is more expensive and it is not as flexible as you think.  If the train's first class is full, you might not able to get the seats you want.  I like to book my seats ahead of time

- if you like to do day trips (round trips within Italy), I guess you might prefer a 3-days pass more.  For example, you booked a week of hotel in Rome, and you just want to go to Florence for a day?  Then a rail pass might be better for you

Trenitalia:
I bought my tickets via www.treniatlia.com.  I searched all the cheapest time slot available.  Service between major cities is frequent, and the trains usually arrive on time.  It is super convenient to search and book the tickets online.  You can book the tickets 3 months ahead.

Super Econ Tickets:
I had a fixed schedule, so I just got the super econ tickets as it's the cheapest.  There is no flexibility to refund or exchange the super econ tickets.  Again, First class tickets are only 10 Euro more than the others, why not?  I think it was a decent experience.

For example: (First class train tickets):
Super Econ: 58 Euro (for two).....Econ: 90 Euro (for two)....Base: 125 Euro (for two)

First class: Florence to Rome (Firenze to Roma)

I love taking the trains, very scenic :)

Main Train stations you need to know:

Venice - Venezia (Santa Lucia)

Florence - Firenze (Santa Maria Novella)

Rome - Roma (Stazione Termini)

***seat61 - a very useful website to explore and learn about the train systems around the world

Venice -> Florence

Goodbye Venice:

I booked our train tickets online, and the train was scheduled to leave at 8:40am.  I purposely booked that time because I wanted to have a nice full "included" breakfast at hotel before we leave.  That way we can save money for food later on.  The hotel's breakfast doesn't open until 7:30am.  So we pretty much waited to have breakfast right at 7:30am.  After a nice breakfast buffet, we walked to the boat station to take the #1 Vaporetto Boat to the train station.

Venice's main transportation -  Vaporetto ACTV

It took me a while to figure out how to use the ticket machine, I even went to ask a local how to buy tickets.  The local said it seems like the machine didn't work.  When the boat came, I still couldn't buy the tickets, so I asked the local lady to help translating our situation to the staff.  We got on to the boat anyway, and the staff said he couldn't take the money and he just closed the gate.  The boat started moving, so we got a free ride to the train station: Venezia Santa Lucia

Venice's main train station: Venice Santa Lucia

The train station was only 3 minutes walk from the Line 1 boat station.

Best search engine for airfares:

 Kayak.com is my favourite online search engine for airfares.  I like to use their "Make my date flexible" option.  There are three options:

1) +/- 3 days: If I have a specific time that I want to book my tickets, this would be the perfect option.  It gives you a chart of the cheapest deal like:

Fares shown are the best available matching your filter selections.  

Return → ↓ Depart	Fri 10/1	Sat 11/1	Sun 12/1	Mon 13/1	Tue 14/1	Wed 15/1	Thu 16/1
Wed 4/12	$1387	$1387	$1467	$1387	$1217	$1217	$1102
Thu 5/12	$1404	$1404	$1484	$1404	$1234	$1234	$1119
Fri 6/12	$1404	$1404	$1484	$1404	$1234	$1234	$1119
Sat 7/12	$1404	$1404	$1484	$1404	$1234	$1234	$1119
Sun 8/12	$1387	$1387	$1467	$1387	$1217	$1217	$1102
Mon 9/12	$1387	$1387	$1467	$1387	$1217	$1217	$1102
Tue 10/12	$1387	$1387	$1467	$1387	$1217	$1217	$1102

2). Weekends: flexibility of cheap fares around the weekends

3). Flex month:  My favourite option that I can view when would be the lowest season throughout the month. 

*Kayak is also good about setting up the Price Alert.  When I want to book a flight ticket on a specific time, it will send me email (daily or weekly) on the prices.  So once it dropped, I can book the tickets right away.  

It also has Price trend feature:

Price Trend

Advice: Wait

Confidence: 61%

Prices may fall within 7 days

Prices may fall within 7 days

61% Confidence: Our model has been 61% accurate on forecasting whether fares for flights between these cities will fall $21 or more from the current price over the next 7 days. The forecast is based on analysis of historical price changes and is not a guarantee of future results.

or

Price Trend

Advice: Buy

Confidence: 70%

Prices may rise within 7 days

It has no guarantee on the price will drop, but I found it quite accurate and useful so far.  

BUT: I don't use kayak.com to book my tickets, because I read a lot of negative reviews on this web tool.  It is an awesome search engine when you have the flexibility.  It covers most of the airlines available, yet sometimes I found some of their fares don't exist on other websites.  Sometimes when I compare results from kayak.com and other websites, the flight number is the same but the schedule times are different from the original airline site.  Quite a number of people complained about their poor customer service and that they would charge their credit cards, but sent back an email saying the deals were no longer valid.  

So I usually book my tickets through Expedia.ca:

I had been booking through expedia.ca for years and I have no problem with their booking system.  I booked my hotels and flights through expedia and my credit card actually gives me extra points from booking through there.  That makes expedia my top choice to book my hotels and airfares from.

Hope my tips are useful :)

Honeymoon in Europe - Easter 2014

So I got a request to plan a honeymoon trip for the newlyweds.  It is my pleasure to ... :)

They had the following request:

   - preferably during the two weeks of their Easter holidays

   - both just reached their 30s and they just want to chill during their holidays 

   - cruise is preferable

   - Paris must be included

   - must travel between Apr 12, 2014 - Apr 27, 2014 (2 weeks of Easter holidays)

First of all, I think April is a pretty good month to travel in.  The weather is quite nice and usually it is not as busy and crowded as summer time.  Yet, it could be more busy during the Easter holidays :)

The cruise options during that two weeks are kind of limited.  A lot of the "nicer routes" don't really fit into that two weeks time frame.  Since Paris is usually not included in the cruise's route, I suggested it might be better to take a shorter cruise and then spend 5-7 days in Paris.

so .... 7 - 9 days of Mediterranean cruise + 5-7 days in Paris.

So I searched through expedia.ca for the possible cruises during April 2014:

4 Cruise options that I suggested:

7-Night Mediterranean Europe Cruise - Costa Cruises

#1: from Savona to Savona

Costa Serena

2014 Departures:

Apr: 13, 20, 27

Ports of Call:

Savona, Italy - La Spezia, Italy - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy -Naples, Italy - At Sea - Barcelona, Spain - Marseille, France -Savona, Italy

#2: from Venice to Venice

Costa Fascinosa  

2014 Departures:

Apr: 7, 14, 21, 28

Ports of Call:

Venice, Italy - Bari, Italy - Kerkyra (Corfu), Greece - Mykonos, Greece - Santorini, Greece - At Sea - Dubrovnik, Croatia - Venice, Italy

#3: from Civitavecchia (Rome) to Civitavecchia (Rome)

Costa Favolosa

2014 Departures:

Apr: 20, 27

Ports of Call:

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - Savona, Italy - Barcelona, Spain -Barcelona, Spain - Palma de Mallorca, Spain - At Sea - Malta (Valetta), Malta - Palermo, Italy - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

#4: from Savona to Savona

Costa Pacifica

2014 Departures:

Apr: 5, 12

Ports of Call:

Savona, Italy - Marseille, France - Barcelona, Spain - Palma de Mallorca, Spain - At Sea - Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - Livorno, Italy - Savona, Italy

I personally would prefer Costa Fascinosa as I've never been to Greece and Croatia, and they are beautiful and romantic.  Due to travel advisories and warnings in Greece and Turkey, a lot of people would concern travelling to these two places.  I just think Costa Fascinosa included quite a few beautiful beaches:

Costa Favolosa might be a little too late to come back by Apr 27, 14.  It doesn't fit well into the two weeks time frame.

Costa Pacifica and Costa Serena both included the ports: Barcelona, "Rome" and Marseille.  I would prefer Costa Pacifica as Livomo is close to Florence & Pisa.  I really like Florence, it's somewhere I would love to chill at again.

Savona, Italy:
Savona is one of the popular ports where Costa cruises start and end at.  It's about 30 - 45 minutes drive from Genoa (Airport) to Savona.  Once you arrive to the Genoa's airport, you can train/bus/shuttle to Savona.  You can always ask the information desk, I'm sure the staff should be very familiar with the transfer from airport to Savona.  Make sure you spare extra time to check in.

Suggested Itinerary for the newlyweds:
(2 weeks)

     Home --> Genoa, Italy (GOA)                   (via flight)

     Genoa -> Savona                                       (via Shuttle/train/bus)

     Savona -> Savona (7 days cruise)

     Savona -> Genoa (Airport)                        (via Shuttle/train/bus)

     Genoa (GOA) --> Paris (CDG)                  (via flight - 1.5hour)

     Paris ( 5 - 6 days)

     Paris --> Home                                             (via flight)