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Trip report YYZ-LCA;LCA;FCO (Spain) FCO YYZ

Let me say at the outset that this report will probably not be fully complete until mid July when I return from my trip to Spain. So here’s my side of the 33 smackers and change story.. Oh, and FYI, I am a woman traveling alone, so for anyone else doing it, I am the guinea pig….

Although I live close to YYZ (Roc) I chose rather than driving, to take the greydog (greyhound) over to YYZ the day before my flight departed, June 19th. Ok, The bus ride took almost as long as the flight to YYZ. Uneventful, except that you have to get off the bus, gather your belongings, and go into customs and immigration at the border. They ask a few questions, you get on the bus and you are on your way (unless, of course, you look “suspect” or don’t have the proper documentation with you.) I arrived at the bus station in Toronto , (not too terribly bad) walked behind the bus bay to get the Airport express bus. Big note.. don’t try this as a same day trip. I got on the bus for the airport at 2:25 pm, and we got to the airport after hotel stops and traffic at about 4:00 pm. That is cutting it very close for the 5:05 flight.

Since I had pricelined a hotel near the airport (doubletree inn and suites, 43 bid accepted with taxes around $57 USD) , I went in to have my tickets stickered. Don’t go to the check in counter, rather, look directly across (behind you if you are facing the ticketing desk) to the ticketing sales counter for AZ. That’s where you change the sticker. If you wait till departure day, you may have a glitch or two like I did.

Next day, arrived at the airport at about 2:25 (June 20th) and went to check in. Of course, since I was going to be away for a month (and hey, I hate wearing the same duds) I had a bag to check. Heres where things got interesting. The GA found my record, but could not believe the ticket price. Of course a couple of other folks came over, who had already had a few FT’s show up. Got my boarding pass fine, but the GA tried to issue my Cyprus Air seat, No dice. My ticket also showed Y, even though the record said C (business class). After a few moments and a phone call, she sent me on my way and instructed me how to find the lounge. Security was light, and made it through and decided to board the bus for the outlying terminal. Unless you have a hankering to shop, get on the bus. Takes about 10 minutes to reach the remote terminal. When you exit the bus, get off and turn to your right after walking into the doors and you’ll see the Maple Leaf lounge. Desk staff was nice and pointed out the amenities of the room. Two very nice flat screens, basic espresso machine, snacks such as fresh fruit, salad, and soup, chips. The back of that was a self service bar with mid range liquors (Glenmorangie, but no Jack D. ! How dare they !) Wireless access is available for free, and I saw plugs in the wall for hardwire access. Wireless was good.

Arrived at the gate about 4:30 and there was a crush of people. (Screaming kids, the usual gate lice behavior) This time, the GA’s asked for Business Class to board , so I made my way through the throng. My original seat was 5 c, and I settled in, only to be moved a few minutes later by a ga to accommodate a couple who wanted to sit together. That got me moved up to 3 C (fine, what do I care for 33 bucks and tax:?) unfortunately, the footrest was partially broken, so it was lopsided but usable. Once again, who cares? The boarding process was fairly smooth, with water, oj and champers served. Pass on the champers, its god awful. Take off was fine, and about 20 minutes in , the service for dinner began. Nuts (cold) your choice of wine or aperitif (campari and soda for me) . The menu for dinner was a first of the gnocchi pasta with a tomato basil sauce.. adequate. Then the second, choice between a bland looking whitefish with a tomato base and a mixed grill of steak , chicken eggplant and zucchini. I ate the veggies and a bit of the meat. Again, nothing to go WOW about. Cheese and fruit served next, along with digestives (try the Amaro if you haven’t had it , or the limoncello) . Service was courteous and quick. You are offered a bottle of water after all the dinner service is done, and then you are left to do as you wish, which could be look at the bad pink panther movie (Steve, I thought so much more of you on SNL!) or drift off to sleep. I am usually a good sleeper on flights, but the cabin was a bit warmer than normal, so I did not sleep as much as I would have liked.

Breakfast was as mentioned, with a choice of breads and fruit. Omelets looked unappetizing to me, so I only had fruit and yogurt. We arrived in 35 minutes early, however, that was eaten up by a minor drama.. a Medical emergency. Someone in coach was ill, and we were instructed to sit in our seats until emergency personal came on board. Some really hot guy came on with doctor on his vest (yea, I thought about throwing a sickie, but I really wanted off the plane!) This took about 20 minutes before we were allowed to deplane. Oh, and yes, no jetbridge, stairs, so be sure you can haul your self and things out. When you enter if you are transiting through same day as I am to LCA, you go through transit, another security check, and then you will see signs for the AZ lounge. I must say, this lounge only has three things going for it.. a shower and a espresso machine, and the nice desk staff. Have low expectations, and then take those lower and you will be fine. As previously noted, you can get a shower kit at the desk which had a towel, slim little soap (I had my own) paper slippers, a shaver, a shower cap, and toothbrush and toothpaste. If you get in early take your shower first. Other flights come in soon after the YYZ flight and the lounge gets rather crowded.

LCA
Ok, here’s where it gets interesting, or shall I say, challenging. The flight from MXP-LCA was bumpy, bumpy. The cabin config. for the business class was 2-2 and as others pointed out, it was cattle call all the way. Actually, I take that back, business was asked to board last in MXP. As other posters said, water and oj served before take off. I was asked to move my seat in order to have a mother sit next to a child, so I ended up in 1A. No problem. We took off, and soon, the cabin crew was taking drink orders and serving lunch rather quickly. Dewars seems to be the order of the day in LCA, prominent on board and in the duty free shop. I chose a Carlsberg, and thank God cause the food was like, awful. Cheese was bland and tasteless. The fish dish was fossilized, and the only things that tasted good were the milka chocolate and the nectarine served with some fruit. Blech. The movie was dull (some Jennifer Anniston flick) and so I zoned out for the rest of the flight. The landing in LCA was over the sear, and although the Mediterranean looked beautiful LCA looked burnt to a crisp and rocky. Actually, there is a lake outside the airport, but you wouldn’t know it…its completely dry. Yup. It’s that crispy. Temp when I arrived was 32, which isn’t bad, but its going to climb. Deplane from stairs again and jump on a bus to the terminal. That is generous; actually, I’ve seen better high school gyms. There are exchange, atm’s and duty free, and if you are going to partake, do it right when you get into the building. Takes a few minutes to get the luggage down, and extra long for me as someone broke the luggage belt. Once you leave the customs area (and folks act like it’s a bazaar, so push your way out.) You can go straight out the front doors to your right for a cab. If you go left, you’ll find the bus stops for Lanarca City.

I went to the cab stand, and got a taxi to the Antonis G hotel because it was number one on trip advisor. HA. I’ve camped in better tents that were more comfortable. BIG Tip.. Stay someplace in Downtown Lanarca. It is much easier and you can walk to the beach. If you stay at one of the resorts, that will help as well. Note the Crown Henipa was not at the beach, but across from it a bit not far from an industrial area. For those of you thinking Antonis G. it’s a 10 pound taxi and its takes about 20 minutes. If you are staying in Nicosia , its further down the road, so make sure your returns back are planned well in advance so you can make your flight. My taxi driver had to get directions but made it there safely.

Ok, the Antonis G was an apt building in a residential area. I will say that the proprietor was a nice guy and offered me a free drink, and she alivated at the thought of all of you knocking down his doors this summer. He’ll get a much different pic if he reads this review. The few hostels I have stayed at were better than this. He upgraded me to a suite, and the room charge was 15 pounds, but there is a lock on the air conditioning and they charge an extra 3 pounds for it. Highway robbery, but since I paid so little for the ticket, and I was hot as hell, I decided to pay it. The room was dismal : Smelly sheets, hard towels, and furniture from the stone age lol! . I know you all are going to pick at me, but I have traveled in Asia and Africa and even in Lalibela in Ethiopia, where you only had running water for two hours and electricity for one, the SHEETS WERE CLEAN. Thank God I always pack my dreamsack, silk bedsheet, for such an occasion. There are a few tavernas around down the street, but no fancy restaurants or anything. Oh, there was a pool and Jacuzzi, but given what the sheets looked like, I thought better of it. After browsing the 5 channels, three of which were world cup game reruns, I went to sleep, thinking that I know now what the roach that gets trapped in the roach motel feels like.

The next morning promptly at 5 pm, the birds carried on so much I felt like Joe Pesci in that movie where they are down south and he gets a rifle to shoot the owl that was making noise all night!! Thankfully, only a couple of hours till deliverance. I made arrangements with the owner to have one of his sons drive me back to the airport (10 pounds) and was accompanied by an aussie who was leaving to go on a boat snorkeling that morning. We dropped him off at the beachfront area. Actually, he was a good fount of info as he had biked about. He didn’t like Nicosia much, but told me that there is a free walking tour in Lanarca that one can sign up for at the tourist center (downtown, a block away from the police station. Here’s where I decided it would have been nicer to stay downtown. The beach area is nice in the city, filled with deck chairs that you can rent for 1 pound a day. The waterfront has lots of eateries and shops, and there is even a Starbucks (yikes!) on the waterfront. If you are staying for a few days, this would be a more interesting area to be in. Lodging on the outskirts tends to be either beachfront resorts or the rat trap I stayed in. People were already out swimming early in the morning, and there seems to be some fishing as well. The waterfront also is a short distance from the airport so that may figure into your plans.

After being dropped at the airport, found the Business class line for Cyprus air on the far left. NOTE: if you are in Y, make sure you get there a little early, the lines were long at 8 am when I arrived. I did have a problem, however, when the agent claimed my record said LCA-FCO-MXP, instead of what the ticket said LCA-FCO.(this was not true, I checked with the AZ desk on arrival at FCO and they said nothing of the sort was in my record.) I pointed her to the correctly filled out sticker and ticked and practically yelled at her to get the baggage tag she had printed off my bag (this is not normally my MO, I just want some close to wear for the next three weeks in Spain!) she reluctantly reprinted the tag and said there was something in my record. I thought, fat chance, you just can’t read, and hustled off to immigration. Lines were longish there as well, but I breezed through, no questions, and just a stamp. Security is right after, and they don’t require you to send our laptop through separately. After you walk through, there is duty free to the left. For lounge access, turn right and either take the stairs or elevator. I showed my ticket at the desk and the agent asked if I had filled out an Az guest card. Said not, and she did it for me. There is a business center with internet and fax, and the food selections were basic breads , the requisite libations, and two coolers of beverages. I didn’t have much time to peruse the lounge since it was already 8:20 am , so I quickly had a glass of juice and left.

You also should proceed to the gate area on time as there is transport on a bus back to the plane. We had two busloads and the folks on the second bus that were in Business class barely had any overhead space. Oh, and for those interested, I carried a 22’ Tumi T3 roll-aboard and no one asked me to check it, plus a laptop bag. The plane was the 2-3 config A320, and the seats were leather and lousy. It felt like the springs were going to stick you in the back. Once again, I was asked to move to accommodate some lovesick couple who just had to sit next to each other, so I moved from 2 c to 1d. Takeoff was fine, the oj and water routine, and then breakfast, which was a choice of a frittata or ham inside a pastry. Choice means nothing when it all sucks. The frittata was well, better than the ham and pastry thing which looked as though it was soaked in grease, and there were the regular bad cheeses again. Stick with the fruit plate and the nice croissants that are offered from the bread basket. They were hot and fresh, and with the marginal cup of coffee, you could almost imagine you were at a coffee shop in Rome. Another dismal movie with Richard Gere, and I chose to sleep instead. Landed in FCO 10 minutes early, and once again, deplaned via stairs. I did not try lounge access here as I needed to get my bags , leave, and recheck myself into IB for the late afternoon flight to BCN. The final leg, FCO-YYZ, I will take on JUL 14, and will write that report as soon as I return.

My thoughts:
I got what I paid for LOL. I can’t imagine paying full price for AZ or CY service, but AZ will probably get a bit of my business for being professional about the mistake fare. For those who like the outdoors, especially water sports, LCA will be great. If you are like me, (fill in what you will!) you’ll be on pins and needles wanting to leave. I need to visit in winter when it feels and looks a little less like a dry hunk of rock. My thanks to Rosj again for finding the fare and saving my pocketbook this summer.. instead of an 800 + ticket to visit Spain, I am doing this for about 335 dollars (the cost of the mistake fare plus FCO-BCN on IB) so I am a happy camper.. even though it certainly wasn’t a direct trip. And don’t book the Antonis G, stay someplace equally skanky in town, and you’ll save on taxi fare and be closer to the nightlife and beach. Make sure you are watching carefully gate agents all the way for those of you with stickers and changes.. there are notes in the record and I think they are confusing to the GA’s who are reading them.
On to BCN!! Yippie. Hope those of you leaving soon find this helpful.