RameshK
Jun 27, 09, 11:59 pm
Sorry, this report is not per the standard format and is meant to share with you some of our personal experiences.
Milan
Lineate airport is the one closest to the city. Hilton, Starwood and Crowne Plaza were fairly close to each other, near the Milan train station. The taxi ride from Lineate to Crowne Plaza cost about 17 Euros in the early afternoon. Ride back was in mid morning, which cost about 22 Euros. There is a shuttle service available between the airport and the train station, but for two people the cost is comparable to the taxi fare. Did the standard touristy things like the Duomo, Emanuel Vittorio Galleria, Sforza Castle etc.; visited the canal district for drinks and dinner.
Cinque Terre
Go ahead and buy the train ticket from Milan all the way to Cinque Terre. The ticketing machine will alert you about possible short connection time at Sestri Levante. So if you miss the connecting train at Sestri Lavante, the next train (about 45 minutes later) will take you rest of the way. The train ticket is good for 6 hours after validation. So missing the first connecting train at Sestri Levante is not a big deal. The train ticket has the travel date, travel time, from/to station names, departure time, fare paid, train no., coach no. and seat no. printed on it.
Vernazza is small. It is scenic with a natural harbor but gets crowded during the day with tourists from other villages and lots of school children from nearby towns coming for a day trip. About food, it is generally agreed that the Vernazza restaurants sell the view and not the food. Spending the end of the day at the harbor to view the sunset over some cheese and a bottle of wine will do you good. Il Porticciolo in Manarola served us a good meal. There are several decent places to dine in Monterosso with one in the main town square, which serves steamed sea food. Hike from Vernazza to Monterosso provides some spectacular views of the entire village of Vernazza. The higher the B&B room you stay in at Vernazza, the noisier it gets because of the trains whooshing through the village, the bells from two towers in the village which are set apart by a couple of minutes and every hour, seem to go on for ever, one after the other, and the early morning chatter of the bats and birds.
Pisa
From Cinque Terre took the train to La Spezia, another ticket from La Spezia to Pisa. On the first platform inside the station, at the far end of the Pisa station, past the police post, there is a luggage holding place where they charge 3 Euros per checked bag for 24 hours. Left the bags, took a cab for about 6 Euros to the leaning tower. A little walk from across the tower into the street, there were quite a few restaurants and further down sandwich places for lunch. There is a bus available for this trip, but for convenience and in the interest of time 6 Euros is worth the taxi ride.
Florence
From Pisa purchased another ticket from a ticket machine to Florence.
Residenza il Villino – 90 Euros to 120 Euros per night, about 10 units, two have kitchen facilities that can be had for another 30 Euros/night. Good B&B, conveniently located – about 10 minute walk from the Duomo, decent breakfast, family run by friendly folks. 5% discount on cash payments. Taxi ride from the train station comes out to about 8 Euros but there is a min charge of 10 euros set by the powers to be. Some taxi drivers do try to overcharge when you get off (luggage charge, surcharge blah, blah), but stay firm and tell him it is 10 Euros or take a hike.
Took in the Accademia, Bargello and Uffizi museums. Had a day trip for a cooking class outside of San Gimignano and a walk through the towns of San Gimignano and Siena. The cooking class was conducted by a young woman, who did a good job of guiding the four of us in making fresh pasta, pasta sauces, salad and chicken. The end result of all the dicing, chopping, grating, frying and cooking was a nice Italian meal. Wine provided accompaniment throughout the course of cooking and eating.
Back to Milan
From Florence there is a Eurostar train every hour to Milan. There are 2-3 local trains during the course of the day which are cheaper but take longer to reach Milan. Tickets can be purchased at the ticketing machine for about 45 Euroes/person. The platform number on the pre-printed ticket came out to be a tad different from the actual one. Had to overnight at Milan to get the connection out to London from Lineate the next morning around 11 AM.
London
It was basically hanging out for a couple of days in central London before flying back home. Marriott County Hall Hotel by the Westminster Bridge (at Big Ben) is an excellent hotel. Indulge yourself at the Harrods, and souvenir trinkets can be purchased at a reasonable price at the ‘Little London’ store across from Ripley’s at the Piccadilly Square.
Russell Square area, Il Fornello serves good Italian food.
Masala Zone, Covent Garden, Indian food, clientele mostly non-Indian, Indian food is the de facto English national food. Some times there is a wait to get seated; was told they have meal specials before 6:30 PM and it is not so crowded that early.
The Dot to Dot shuttle service in London could take over 1.5 hours for the ride to the airport. Unlike in the LA area where the shuttle service picks up only the people in close proximity to each other or along the route to the airport, the London shuttle seems to go all over the town to fill up the van before proceeding to the airport. It was about $95 for the two of us both ways. Good service, but a long ride because of picking people from all over the city.
BA/FC is good but not exceptional. Johnnie Walker Blue label is available for FC Pax as on our previous trips. They do give you pajamas to ease into, unlike AA, which I think has become sub-standard for FC travel.
CAUTIONS:
1. MAKE SURE YOU VALIDATE THE TRAIN TICKETS BEFORE BOARDING THE ITALIAN TRAINS, ELSE YOU PAY THE FINE, NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. In Italy, pickpockets and thieves are REAL. Their main targets are older foreign tourists at the crowded subways or trains stations. When boarding, a person seems to appear from nowhere, pushes himself between the couple and isolates the Mrs. in front (if she is carrying a bag/purse) from the husband. As you board, a second person causes a distraction while the first person gets busy unzipping and rummaging through the bag for valuables (and you don’t feel a thing). It is all over in no time and both crooks leave the train with your wallet/camera before the train doors close. This is a first person description from experience at the Duomo subway station. It is best not a carry a shoulder bag at any time else BE AWARE at all times. We were fortunate to have retrieved the camera; that being the only valuable thing present in the bag (besides a water bottle and case for glasses) that they were able to get their hands on. The hotel desk clerk told us that even if you know that you are being robbed and try to make noise, generally people will not help you for fear of getting hurt, as some of these guys carry knives etc.
Milan
Lineate airport is the one closest to the city. Hilton, Starwood and Crowne Plaza were fairly close to each other, near the Milan train station. The taxi ride from Lineate to Crowne Plaza cost about 17 Euros in the early afternoon. Ride back was in mid morning, which cost about 22 Euros. There is a shuttle service available between the airport and the train station, but for two people the cost is comparable to the taxi fare. Did the standard touristy things like the Duomo, Emanuel Vittorio Galleria, Sforza Castle etc.; visited the canal district for drinks and dinner.
Cinque Terre
Go ahead and buy the train ticket from Milan all the way to Cinque Terre. The ticketing machine will alert you about possible short connection time at Sestri Levante. So if you miss the connecting train at Sestri Lavante, the next train (about 45 minutes later) will take you rest of the way. The train ticket is good for 6 hours after validation. So missing the first connecting train at Sestri Levante is not a big deal. The train ticket has the travel date, travel time, from/to station names, departure time, fare paid, train no., coach no. and seat no. printed on it.
Vernazza is small. It is scenic with a natural harbor but gets crowded during the day with tourists from other villages and lots of school children from nearby towns coming for a day trip. About food, it is generally agreed that the Vernazza restaurants sell the view and not the food. Spending the end of the day at the harbor to view the sunset over some cheese and a bottle of wine will do you good. Il Porticciolo in Manarola served us a good meal. There are several decent places to dine in Monterosso with one in the main town square, which serves steamed sea food. Hike from Vernazza to Monterosso provides some spectacular views of the entire village of Vernazza. The higher the B&B room you stay in at Vernazza, the noisier it gets because of the trains whooshing through the village, the bells from two towers in the village which are set apart by a couple of minutes and every hour, seem to go on for ever, one after the other, and the early morning chatter of the bats and birds.
Pisa
From Cinque Terre took the train to La Spezia, another ticket from La Spezia to Pisa. On the first platform inside the station, at the far end of the Pisa station, past the police post, there is a luggage holding place where they charge 3 Euros per checked bag for 24 hours. Left the bags, took a cab for about 6 Euros to the leaning tower. A little walk from across the tower into the street, there were quite a few restaurants and further down sandwich places for lunch. There is a bus available for this trip, but for convenience and in the interest of time 6 Euros is worth the taxi ride.
Florence
From Pisa purchased another ticket from a ticket machine to Florence.
Residenza il Villino – 90 Euros to 120 Euros per night, about 10 units, two have kitchen facilities that can be had for another 30 Euros/night. Good B&B, conveniently located – about 10 minute walk from the Duomo, decent breakfast, family run by friendly folks. 5% discount on cash payments. Taxi ride from the train station comes out to about 8 Euros but there is a min charge of 10 euros set by the powers to be. Some taxi drivers do try to overcharge when you get off (luggage charge, surcharge blah, blah), but stay firm and tell him it is 10 Euros or take a hike.
Took in the Accademia, Bargello and Uffizi museums. Had a day trip for a cooking class outside of San Gimignano and a walk through the towns of San Gimignano and Siena. The cooking class was conducted by a young woman, who did a good job of guiding the four of us in making fresh pasta, pasta sauces, salad and chicken. The end result of all the dicing, chopping, grating, frying and cooking was a nice Italian meal. Wine provided accompaniment throughout the course of cooking and eating.
Back to Milan
From Florence there is a Eurostar train every hour to Milan. There are 2-3 local trains during the course of the day which are cheaper but take longer to reach Milan. Tickets can be purchased at the ticketing machine for about 45 Euroes/person. The platform number on the pre-printed ticket came out to be a tad different from the actual one. Had to overnight at Milan to get the connection out to London from Lineate the next morning around 11 AM.
London
It was basically hanging out for a couple of days in central London before flying back home. Marriott County Hall Hotel by the Westminster Bridge (at Big Ben) is an excellent hotel. Indulge yourself at the Harrods, and souvenir trinkets can be purchased at a reasonable price at the ‘Little London’ store across from Ripley’s at the Piccadilly Square.
Russell Square area, Il Fornello serves good Italian food.
Masala Zone, Covent Garden, Indian food, clientele mostly non-Indian, Indian food is the de facto English national food. Some times there is a wait to get seated; was told they have meal specials before 6:30 PM and it is not so crowded that early.
The Dot to Dot shuttle service in London could take over 1.5 hours for the ride to the airport. Unlike in the LA area where the shuttle service picks up only the people in close proximity to each other or along the route to the airport, the London shuttle seems to go all over the town to fill up the van before proceeding to the airport. It was about $95 for the two of us both ways. Good service, but a long ride because of picking people from all over the city.
BA/FC is good but not exceptional. Johnnie Walker Blue label is available for FC Pax as on our previous trips. They do give you pajamas to ease into, unlike AA, which I think has become sub-standard for FC travel.
CAUTIONS:
1. MAKE SURE YOU VALIDATE THE TRAIN TICKETS BEFORE BOARDING THE ITALIAN TRAINS, ELSE YOU PAY THE FINE, NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. In Italy, pickpockets and thieves are REAL. Their main targets are older foreign tourists at the crowded subways or trains stations. When boarding, a person seems to appear from nowhere, pushes himself between the couple and isolates the Mrs. in front (if she is carrying a bag/purse) from the husband. As you board, a second person causes a distraction while the first person gets busy unzipping and rummaging through the bag for valuables (and you don’t feel a thing). It is all over in no time and both crooks leave the train with your wallet/camera before the train doors close. This is a first person description from experience at the Duomo subway station. It is best not a carry a shoulder bag at any time else BE AWARE at all times. We were fortunate to have retrieved the camera; that being the only valuable thing present in the bag (besides a water bottle and case for glasses) that they were able to get their hands on. The hotel desk clerk told us that even if you know that you are being robbed and try to make noise, generally people will not help you for fear of getting hurt, as some of these guys carry knives etc.