Iceland

When I finally got to Iceland after a very delayed flight, I got my rental car and headed towards the hotel that was an hour away. Driving in Iceland was easy. Same side of the road as in the U.S. and I made sure I had an automatic. And at midnight there were few people on the roads. My room was at Hotel Eldhestar which is also a horse ranch.

I was booked to go horseback riding the next morning for a few hours on wonderful Iceland horses. I used to own horses and I love riding and the Icelandic horses have a special run called the Tölt that is kind of like a smooth speed walk that is special to these types of horses. Icelandic horses are super hearty little horses that came over with the Vikings and, as the story goes, they would put a mare out with two stallions and the stallions would fight to death to see who would get to mate with the female - which meant that the strongest baby horses were produced. 

 

It was really fun and very cold (35 degrees) but I was nice and warm with my stupid $200+ jacket I had to buy in Rome.

Early settlers cut many of the trees down in Iceland for sheep herding so only about .5% of Iceland has trees. We rode through a small forest of birch and wild aspens and another tree I couldn’t place. We also rode through a river and geothermal steam.

 

 

I had a couple challenges in Iceland: first, I could not figure out how their gas pumping stations worked - my phone would not convert Icelandic króna to Dollars for some reason so I had no idea how much gas I was paying for. I found out after it stopped pumping gas that it wasn't very much and then it wouldn't let me use my card again. I had to go into the rental return office and the guy (although I think he rolled his eyes at me) was very nice and just told me I needed to pay $24 for the unfilled gas. I also realized at some point that I paid over $25 for a burrito...

Although it is VERY expensive, Iceland is a stunning landscape with so many natural wonders. I will definitely go back some day and can't wait to explore more!

Rome: The Eternal City

Dear Rome, I apologize. I’m not sure what I expected. You are known as "The Eternal City" and I knew you housed some architecture, but I was not prepared to be as moved as I was by you...

When I finally arrived in Rome I headed straight to my Airbnb to drop off my stuff. My Rome home was a room in Matteo's apartment in a safe, beautiful building with a cool elevator that I had no idea how to use. 

Rome Metro is super easy to navigate and I bought a 48 hour pass for unlimited Metro rides. The streets are wider in Rome so I didn’t feel as compressed with the people walking around. The city is filled with spectacular historical sites and beautiful architecture. I walked around for four hours that afternoon and was blown away by the views. I've always loved bridges and Italy has so many beautiful bridges and they are mostly designed just for strolling. 

I saw some well known sites that afternoon like the Colosseum, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo, and the Pantheon. I also saw a lot of the Forum (from the outside). If I could’ve done one thing differently I probably would’ve paid for a ticket to walk around inside the Forum. I had no idea it was that big and even with all my research didn't realize I needed a ticket. For next time...

Later that night I went to a restaurant called Sui e Gui that a good friend had recommended...and it did not disappoint. Delicious pasta, red wine and Tiramisu.

The next day I had a reservation to tour the Vatican Gardens (the only way into that area is with a paid guide). First of all, Vatican City is insane. My Airbnb was about a 10 minute walk from the Vatican and when I rounded a corner it was a sea of people. They were standing in two lines (neither labeled) so I got in the line that looked shorter assuming that was the line for people who purchased tickets ahead of time. The people in front of me guessed the same thing and we finally realized we were in the correct line when we saw the line about 5 minutes later. 

  

The Gardens were really beautiful and had some unique pieces in the garden like a piece of the Berlin Wall. We walked through the English rose garden, the Italian garden and saw amazing views of St. Peter’s Basilica. It started POURING down rain unexpectedly and once again, I got drenched. I wasn’t alone though (other Americans with no coats).

After touring the Gardens I walked through more of the Vatican Museums and into the Sistine Chapel. It's very beautiful but again, it was packed and if you wanted to stop and gawk at the ceiling (me) the employees would start yelling at you to go to the middle of the room (where there was no room). Once you left the center of the room you were somewhat aggressively moved towards the exit. And don't EVEN try to take a photo. First of all, there are signs everywhere that no photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel but, as you can imagine, people weren't reading or acting dumb. The guards would start yelling at people if they saw anything being pointed at the ceiling besides a finger. Flash photography can potentially ruin art (which is why no flash photography at all is allowed in Vatican City).

 

After the Vatican I walked over to Saint Peter's Square which was so much bigger than I expected and got the full view of Saint Peters Basilica. There were huge lines all over the Square of people trying to get into the Basilica. I wandered down a quiet street away from the tourists and enjoyed an Aperol Spritz and some cheeses. The other thing I love about Italy are all the water fountains. Supposedly completely clean, drinkable water you see many people filling up water bottles with. 

 

So, back to my jacket from many blogs ago…I stupidly left my jacket at my friend’s house in Germany. My Rome Airbnb host said I could send the jacket to his house so my friend Ana went to DHL and mailed it to me. I thought over a week would be enough time to get it…it wasn’t. So I found a North Face store in Rome and had to shell out a couple hundred dollars to replace my jacket. If I wasn’t riding horses in cold Icelandic weather I would not have done this but I knew I’d freeze if I didn’t have a coat.

The next morning I took the train to the FCO Rome airport which has the QPass security - a free service where you basically reserve a spot in a special security entrance to go through faster. As advertised, it was very fast. Right as I got to the airport I started receiving notices that my flight was delayed. One hour, two, three, four hours delayed. I think I had 12 different times I’ve used scheduled transportation during this trip and only 2 times has it been on time (or arrived on time, I should say). When we finally got out of Rome the flight was over 4.5 hours late. The interesting thing about flights in the EU is they have to pay you $650 if your flight is delayed more than 4.5 hours. And Iceland Air was good on that promise! 

And update from my previous Croatia travel fiasco...World Nomads insurance came through for me and I was refunded back all the money I lost and had to spend extra when my boat was canceled! Highly recommend them for travel insurance but you have to keep ALL your receipts and proof of travel well organized. To be refunded for the bus cost I had to provide a copy of the stub from my ticket! Luckily I'm a total freak and save stuff like that! 

Next stop...ICELAND!

Florence: Birthplace of the Renaissance

Florence has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. It's a beautiful area of Italy, known as the birthplace of the Renaissance and associated with social change in art, science, politics, literature and architecture.

My Airbnb is in the middle of the historical center of Florence - an ancient neighborhood listed as a UNESCO Heritage site. Apparently this means there are no elevators and I’m glad I only have my one backpack with me because I’m not sure some luggage would even fit in the hallway. The stairs are steep like a ladder to a loft would be. My place was on the 4th floor…

It’s a simple place with old wood beams and the bathroom reminds me of a travel trailer…the toilet, shower and sink are all just together - but it was completely adequate and comfortable.

There’s tons of restaurants right outside my door so I just picked one that had this Pappardelle al Cinghiale (Ribbon Pasta with Wild Board) that I was told I should try. It was delicious paired with a glass of Chianti. The restaurants are right on this main historical street so the people watching is AMAZING. The pied piper was my favorite.

I almost laugh every time someone asks if I want still or carbonated water because they call it “with or without gas.” Sometimes, even though I want the bubbly water, I can’t bring myself to say I want the gas so I just go with the still.

The Mercato Centrale was steps away from where I was staying and this place was awesome. On the first level people were selling meats, fish, cheese, wine, veggies, etc. and on the second level there were various restaurants where you could get steaks, pizza, wine and beer, desserts, pasta, burgers, Asian food, and more. My favorite was this place that did pizza and sandwiches on focaccia bread that were soooooo delicious. They’d heat them up and the focaccia stayed perfectly crispy, even when tons of fresh mozzarella is piled on top.

Once again, I am in the middle of tourists. It’s very crowded in some areas but I walked around for a while, got lost in the streets, and took in the beauty of Florence. One of the days it rained SO hard all day long so I didn’t get out much (because I had no jacket and refused to pay 25 Euros for an umbrella). 

Salve, Milano

As we began the descent into the Bergamo airport, I started second guessing my remaining time in Italy. Bergamo is absolutely STUNNING! Added to the bucket list but just from the airplane I could see beautiful buildings, lakes and mountains, and then they had a huge video ad in the airport I was dying over. Next time...

And now that I was not flying directly into central Milan I had to get back on a flippin’ bus for an hour to get from Bergamo to Milan. Nothing to note on that trip except that I wanted off the bus.

Central Milan is nuts. Not in a bad way. The motorcycles freak me out though. I’m not sure if I mentioned it but almost every place I’ve been to I’ve seen a very prominent motorcycle training course - and for good reason. So many people ride them in Croatia and Italy but they weave in and out of traffic and between busses…it’s insane.

Once I got to the bus station I realized I would not be walking all the way to my Airbnb. So, time to figure out the Subway and Tram system in Milano!

After fiddling around with the ticket machine I successfully purchased a 90-minute ticket and found the correct Metro to board. I should mention that at this point in time I didn’t know there were both Subways and Trams. The Trams include cute little wooden trolleys that run on the above ground tracks.

I successfully got on the first Subway and then asked an Italian guy if I was transferring to the correct subway…he said yes. He didn’t speak English well though. He was wrong. I was supposed to be above ground at this point. I realized quickly that what I was doing wasn’t correct and got off. I went up to the street level and saw the trolley I needed.

When I finally found my Airbnb the nice woman who checked me in saw how sweaty I was and ran to her apartment and got me the biggest bottle of water. I REALLY appreciated that water.

I took some work calls and then ventured out to find food. I love how late Europeans eat. Strangely I ended up in a bar, eating a burrito, drinking a beer…in Milan. I know, I’m a bit ashamed but both the beer and the burrito were good. After dinner I walked to the Arco Della Pace which was right next door to my Airbnb.

 

The next morning I had to be out of my Airbnb by 11am but I had a ticket to the Duomo at 10am and I knew I’d be there for more than an hour so I decided to find a place to hold my bag. Bounce Luggage Storage is kind of like Uber for your bags, in my opinion. It’s little smoke shops, restaurants, etc. all around the city (they are a lot of places other than Milan) that you can pay about $3-$5 to hold your bag in a secure “back closet” for the day (or more). My luggage place was a little restaurant and they tagged it like at the airport and gave me a retrieval ticket. There were good reviews on that particular spot and my experience was a 10/10.

The Duomo was…stunning. I purchased a fast pass ticket to bypass the 230 stairs to the Terrace and Rooftops and I’m not sorry about that at all. Going down those stairs was slow enough with all the people. I cannot imagine how slow the up was.

The Duomo di Milano, with its Gothic architecture, is the cathedral church of Milan which means it serves as the central church of the Archbishop of Milan (I’m not Catholic-I had to look that up). Construction on the cathedral began in 1386 and was finally completed in 1965 - although it looks like there's constant work being done on it.

You can Google the history of it - I don’t need to revisit it. I enjoyed the visit and took way too many photos that I now have to go through. I would recommend seeing it if you’re in Milan but I would 1. Buy your ticket early; 2. Get there early. Even though I had a fast pass the line to get into security was absurd; and 3. Get a fast pass with the elevator to the roof. It’s not that I mind climbing stairs but you will have people of all ages and physical shape trying to climb with you - unless you have something to prove or really want the exercise, I’d bypass the stairs up.

                

After the Duomo I wandered over to the Castello Sforzesco - a medieval fortification built in the 15th century by the Duke of Milan - it is home to museums and art collections.

 

I picked my bag up from the restaurant and headed to the train station to catch my ride to Florence. When you arrive at the train station the big reader boards don’t always list every train departing because there’s so many. They do it by departure time and mine was not listed yet. 

 

When it finally popped up (5 minutes before departure which is not abnormal) I had to get all the way down to the other end of the train into the Silent Business Class section - I like this section because people can’t be talking on phones or randomly playing Instagram or YouTube videos without earphones on. It’s quiet. And they give you a little snack and drinks.

We start rolling away from Milano Centrale and then we stop like 5 minutes later and the voice comes over the speaker saying there’s a broken down train so we’ll be delayed 50 minutes. Normally I’d be annoyed but I was working on the train ride so it just meant another extra hour for getting crap done.

The ride from Milano took us through beautiful Bologna and down into Florence. As usual, stepping off the trains into these huge stations is like getting punched in the face with sound. They are bustling with so many people and coming from the silenzio car was even crazier.

And now off to find my Airbnb in Florence…

Zagreb, Croatia to Bergamo, Italy

I was supposed to be making a stop on Zadar. I was excited about it. There’s a beautiful hotel there with views of the sea. A strange and wonderful art and music experience called the sea organ, and great architecture and history…But instead I ended up in the capital of Croatia - Zagreb - because my boat off of Lošinj was canceled and it only runs a couple times a week so I would’ve missed more than half of my Italy route.

So after a bunch of scrambling to get a bus reservation, change my flight, and a new hotel…to Zagreb I went.

How was the bus ride? Brutal. When you purchase a ticket it has a seat number but no one except for a handful of people adhere to that so people are arguing about seats at every stop the entire 6 hour ride.

It is bumpy, as mentioned previously, and I was planning on working but was in the very back on the aisle- the only seat on the whole bus with no table. The bus made one stop for a bathroom break (besides the ferry ride). And there was lots of stop and go and windy roads. I wouldn’t choose that method of travel again. The bag situation states you have a checked bag included but they were collecting cash to put bags under the bus- still not sure what that was about. My backpack was just small enough to fit in the overhead bins so I took it with me in the main cabin of the bus.

The positive of the bus was that I did see some other incredible areas of Croatia that I'd love to go back to and spend more time in. After departing Mali Losinj the bus headed towards Cres but before we got there we had to make it over the Osor Bridge because when it closes, it closes for over an hour to let the boat traffic in and out of the harbor. Once we got over to Cres we dropped down into a little town called Merag where we took a ferry to Valbiska and then headed up towards Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. 

The hotels can be a little tricky with how they word things. The hotel I stayed in advertised an “airport shuttle” on their website. Well, when asked I was informed that meant you go back to the bus station (3min walk) and buy a ticket to the airport…I opted for a $16 Euro Uber ride. Kind of done with buses right now.

[Next day] It’s 3:20pm and my flight from Zagreb was supposed to leave at 10:40am. Technical problems apparently. But the delayed departure time was listed as 2:30pm. I'm flying Ryan Air and although their employees are very nice the whole gate and boarding process is a complete cluster, just like the bus. A girl got onto the flight, couldn’t find overhead space for her TWO huge bags so she put them in an empty overhead bin but then just randomly sat in a seat. Then two guys get on and she’s in one of their seats and instead of having her move to her seat they tell the two guys to sit by me. Then a girl who is supposed to sit by me is told to just find an empty seat because neither of the guys would move…you get the picture….all of the seat jockeying probably made us 20 minutes more late.

I didn't get to see much of Zagreb but I hope I'll make it back some day to explore. In the photo below we are taking off out of Zagreb and flying back over Croatia and you easily make out the Vidikovac Limski Canal. 

I ended up flying into Il Caravaggio International Airport (Milan Bergamo) instead of Milano Malpensa Airport (MXP) and I will say Northern Italy is definitely an area I want to go back to. Stunning mountains and lakes (I believe this is Lake Iseo) and beautiful estates perched on green hills that could be seen as we descended into Bergamo...it's another stunning area of Italy.

 
 

We will see how well the renowned travel insurance I purchased worked for trip interruptions and cancellations. I’ll leave this blog at our descent into Bergamo, Italy… Ciao!