TravelStream™ news feed for member indianajill on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/indianajill en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:46:32 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246843343/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246843343/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246843343/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:46:32 -0400 Night and Day on the Bay

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San Francisco, California, United States

It will be a Manic Monday - our last full day in SF and still so much to see and do.  I have been in SF for 4 days and not stepped inside Macy's.  First order of the day will be shopping!  We are out and about before the stores even open.  After the very hot day we had yesterday I threw caution to the wind and went out without a jacket or sweater - what was I thinking.  It is ALWAYS windy in SF and I am longing for my sweater after about 5 minutes.  Al has read about an exclusive shopping area called Maiden Lane close to our hotel.  He is sure it opens early.  In the gold rush days it was a stroll, and I am sure that is what the attraction is.  We arrive to find no stores open, the stores themselves look overrated and no nearby restaurants.  Certainly not a good start to our day. We finally find a very mediocre cafe but at least the coffee is good. We head to Nordstroms which is located in a nearby mall and then off to Macy's.  I am pretty controlled: a few new things for Aedyn, as they have such cute clothes for kids, a pair of sandals and a jacket for me and we are done and ready to head down to the Wharf to see all the things that we have not yet taken in.  It has warmed up by now but still breezy. Once again we take the Cable Car as it is the fastest way to Fisherman's Wharf.  Al has a few antique shops he wants to look at, Ghirardelli's for chocolate is on my list. Not only does Ghirardelli Square have chocolate it has shops, restaurants and wonderful views of the bay.  Easy to while away some time here.  Earlier in the week I had spied Joe's Crab Shack and that is were we head for dinner.   I had been introduced to this in Disneyland and could hardly wait to try it again.  It was just as good as in Disneyland, huge portions of two kinds of crab, corn on the cob, sausage ...amazing.  Our last seafood feast of the trip.  The street cars are just around the corner, we have the system figured out now, we are back to the hotel with time to pack.  Tomorrow we go home, it will be a long day in the airport but we will have lots of memories to take home with us.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246828112/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246828112/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246828112/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:01:07 -0400 Night and Day on the Bay

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San Francisco, California, United States

Yesterday was a pretty slow paced day for us, we are going to do a lot more today.  Al had decided to forgo seeing the Gay Parade and instead come to the SF Museum of Modern Art with Susan and I.  Perhaps he was worried about my poor sense of direction and realized he may never see me again if I go off on my own.While reading the hotel magazine I was excited to discover that the FSMOMA was featuring a special exhibit: the works of Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams.  As a photographer Adams has long been my idol, and to see his works in person was not to be missed.  While I was familiar with some of the works of Georgia O'Keeffe I had much to learn.  We were intent on being at the museum when it opened as we would have to cross the parade route and did not want to be stuck behind barricades. Another beautiful day in SF, which was good as we were also hoping to fit in a trip over to Sausalito in the afternoon.  We met up with Susan at the SFMOMA and she convinced us to rent the audio tour (by purchasing it for us).  It truly added to the tour as explanations were given of most of the paintings.  O'Keeffe and Adams were friends and they shared the same love of nature and a unique way of looking at it.  Many of the scenes that Adams photographed O'Keeffe painted, similar yet different.  It was magnificent!  It was a very large exhibit, beautifully set up and spectacular in scope.  It was hard to pick a favourite photograph or painting.  I know if I lived in SF I would come back to this exhibit again and again.  They had some wonderful books of the exhibit for sale in the museum shop, but as I would be walking all day I knew I could not do that.. but perhaps online.After SFMOMA we headed across the street to enjoy the Yerba Buena Gardens before walking back down Market Street to the ferry terminal where we needed to buy tickets to go to Sausalito. This was one of the best days weather wise so we stopped off for lunch at the Market Bar and sat outside before exploring the shops inside the Ferry Terminal Building. Susan decided not to join us for the ferry ride so we bid her a fond farewell and  prepared for our short, 20 minute ferry ride across the bay.  It was wonderful to be on the water and of course the views were great (no camera malfunctions today, I was carrying both cameras).Sausalito is a delightful spot, full of waterfront restaurants, art galleries, and unique shops.  We spent a delightful few hours exploring before heading back to SF.  Arriving back in SF we headed for Pier 39, which we had seen briefly but we wanted more time there to explore.  Again lots of fun shops, restaurants, and wonderful views.  The best thing about Pier 39 is the sea lions, lots of fun to watch. Once again we opted for seafood, this time at the Pier Market Seafood Restaurant - the crab cakes were wonderful.  Too tired to go any further we stuffed ourselves into one of the electric trains (only $2.00 for both of us, with a 90 minute transfer)  and headed back uphill to our hotel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246819805/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246819805/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246819805/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:06:42 -0400 Night and Day on the Bay

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San Francisco, California, United States

Our pace is going to be slower today, or so we say.  We are taking the San Francisco Park Loop bus tour today and it leaves from down the street outside of Macy's.  We have a leisurely breakfast at an outdoor cafe in Union Square and stroll to Macy's, we want to be early to get a good seat on the bus.  The tour does not start until 10:30, will only take a little over an hour and will drop us back off, practically at our hotel door.  It is much warmer is SF today but we still carry jackets and hats in our back pack.  We do not have too much planned for today as we are meeting our friend Susan at 6:00 for dinner on the waterfront.  We have not seen Susan since hiking the Inca Trail together two years ago, we are excited about the reunion. The Park Loop tour proves to be popular and there is a huge lineup by the time it starts.  We are glad we arrived early as not everyone is getting on this bus. The next loop of the park is not until 2:30.  This is pretty much a stay on the bus tour, no photo stops like yesterday's tours.  The only people getting off are those that want to be dropped at a destination, to be picked up by another bus later in the day.  The weather is lovely, the commentary good, we just sit back and enjoy the sights. Golden Gate Park is spectacular and is home to the De Young Museum (now featuring the treasures of King Tut), the Japanese Tea House and Gardens, and the California Academy of Sciences.  Driving around the park I am amazed at it's size.  It is the largest man-made park in the world, complete with lakes, waterfalls, walking trails and beautiful gardens.  Once again, not enough time to explore.  Certainly a must come back to spot, you could spend days just exploring the attractions of this park. After leaving the Park we drive to Alamo Square to see the beautiful old Victorian homes and then off to Haight Ashbury.  The Haight is not what is was in the 60's but still a pretty fascinating area, with colorful storefronts and even more colorful people.  Last on our tour is a quick swing over to the Civic Centre whose design is based on St. Peter's in Rome.  Arriving back at Macy's we decide we have time to visit the new Contemporary Jewish Museum which is within walking distance (I think I have heard this phrase before). We are both interested in seeing the building which has been designed by the internationally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. It is a striking modern building which is an adaptive reuse of the Jessie Street Power Substation with a very bold, contemporary building.  Al is interested in seeing Susan Hiller's J. Street Project exhibit, I am wanting to see Chagall and the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theatre.  I have a quick look at the J Street project which has an interesting concept but the movie explaining the concept is over an hour long, which in my opinion is too long to hold any ones attention.  I was disappointed in how her pictures were displayed.  Lined up along one wall of the room, many are too high for me to view properly and I quickly loose interest and move on to Chagall.  This is a huge exhibit, covering many rooms.  One of its features is original old black and white movies that really capture a moment in time, old Russian Theatre.  A lot of Chagall's work on display here, covering many years and many phases of his development as an artist.  While interesting, I am afraid that I have trouble understanding the symbolism of much modern art. Having walked to the Ferry Terminal Building before we know our way to our meeting spot with Susan, and after all the walking we have done, this seems like a pretty easy walk.  What a great reunion we had.  So much fun getting caught up on the last couple of years.  Susan had chosen a wonderful outdoor restaurant called the Waterbar, with a spectacular view of the Bay Bridge.  As it was still very hot we were able to eat outside, enjoying the company and the ambiance.  This was an amazing seafood restaurant - Arctic Char coming right up! We did not want the evening to end and were very happy when Susan decided to meet us early tomorrow morning as we planned an early visit to the SF Museum of Modern Art.  This is Gay Pride Week in SF, so we had to plan to get there early to avoid the parade crowds.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246764716/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246764716/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246764716/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:12:48 -0400 Night and Day on the Bay

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San Francisco, California, United States

The last time I was in San Francisco there were no tours of Alcatraz. When I told my office co- workers that I was going to San Francisco for the second time they wanted to know if I had been to Alcatraz.  When I told them it was probably still a prison the last time I was there jaws dropped; yes indeed "older then dirt". Maybe no prisoners, I think the Native American occupation was over, but no tours.   The first thing on my "to do" list was to see Alcatraz.  It did not occur to me that this might be difficult to do.  No one had warned me to book well in advance.  Trying to find a tour to Alcatraz that fit in with my other activities proved challenging.  I ended up booking the tour as part of our Double Decker "All loops" bus tour.  This meant I would book the double decker bus, specify the date that I wanted to go to Alcatraz (had to be in conjunction with my time booked for the bus) and then I would be notified of the time allotment for my tour of Alcatraz.  Yes you guessed it, the worst time of the day.  We were scheduled for the 3:20 ferry to Alcatraz which did not mean unlimited time on the "Rock" as the last ferry back was at 6:15.  More about Alcatraz later.Getting out of bed Friday morning was a challenge, After walking up and down every hill in SF the night before I could hardly move.  (Yes Jude I know about stretching, I just keep forgetting to take time to do it). As I had not enjoyed last night's dinner, food was the first order of the day once I was able to get my body off the bed.  Sears World Famous Swedish Pancakes the sign across the street said (and people were already lining up).  Must be good I thought, fondly remembering my Uncle Jake's Swedish pancakes.  The restaurant is on two floors, and we were seated downstairs (ouch it hurts to walk downstairs).  Downstairs was lovely, and basically empty.  Lots of old movie posters on the walls, a very 50's feel to it.  The charm lasted for about 5 minutes, before a bus load of people arrived and pandemonium ensued.  The pancakes were definitely NOT like my Uncle Jake's.  At least it was fuel for the body.  I had pre booked a 48 hour package ofr Double Decker Hop On/Hop Off tours for every conceivable area of SF, but first we had to pick up the tickets.  As the office was at Fisherman's Wharf and I was NOT walking there again we opted for a cable car ride.  Two cars went by completely packed before we decided to walk to a different stop in hopes of better luck.  That did the trick (that and the $10.00 for the 2 of us to ride one way).  It was fun though, and everyone wants to try it.  One gets really good views going down as some streets have a very steep gradient. The clanging of the bells, the shrieks of running board hangers on, together with the lurching starts and stops is an experience that will not soon be forgotten.I was thrilled to be riding a Double Decker bus for most of the day (my body was happy about it too) and it was a beautiful day for a bus ride.  We did the Downtown loop first, which takes about 90 minutes to cover the highlights of downtown.  We stayed on the bus (no hopping off for us).  Our tour guide was knowledgeable and we picked up lots of interesting facts.  After the downtown loop we decided on the Golden Gate Tour. This would be my first time to really see the Bridge up close (not counting seeing it virtually from a ride in Disneyland).  We stopped at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts first and had time to hop off for a few photos.  The setting was spectacular enough to get me moving. Originally built in 1915 for the Pan Pacific Exposition it is truly a stunning sight.  It hosts cultural events and houses the Exploratorium, a wonderful Science Centre that we unfortunately did not have time to see.  Soon we were heading over the Golden Gate bridge (which is VERY windy from the top of a Double Decker bus).  The views of the Bay can only be called spectacular.  An amazing amount of people were walking or riding bikes over the bridge.  A lookout on the Sausalito side of the bridge provided a quick stop for more pictures. Back on the bus, through the Presidio (a former military base turned National Park), through the mansions of Pacific Heights and back to Fisherman's Wharf.  Time for a FAST lunch at the Eagle Cafe at Pier 39.  Fast because we did not have a lot of time before our Alcatraz tour.  I had a great crab sandwich and side salad but I bolted it down and ran to the pier to pick up our tickets from the "will call" window.  Ah, the best laid plans... the computers were down and while I waited in line feeling frantic Al held a place in the lineup for the ferry.  With not a moment to spare I get the tickets, run to find Al in the line and onto the ferry.  All is well that ends well.  Settling into the ferry and looking forward to all the great pictures I am going to take .. if only I did not have a dead battery.  No double A's for me, I have a fancy battery that holds a charge forever (unless you take a million pictures on your walk across SF the night before).  I packed two cameras, did I have two cameras with me today, no I did not.  Major anguish, I am on my way to Alcatraz without a working camera.  Despite the lack of photos the time on Alcatraz was amazing.  It was above and beyond my expectations. We watched a film of the Native American occupation of Alcatraz and then took the audio tour of the jail cells. Al particularly enjoyed cell 113: Al Capone (our house number, his name). As for me the solitary confinement cells filled me with terror.  As I stood inside the solitary confinement cell I could not imagine how anyone could survive that terrible torture, being locked up without light. I was shivering just being there.  As expected we did not have enough time on Alcatraz as there was so much still to see: wonderful trails, gardens and bird life.  Moral of the story if you are going to Alcatraz book well in advance, give yourselves lots of time  (and have lots of camera batteries with you).  After the ferry ride back we had just enough time to walk back to the Wharf and catch the Night Tour bus.  We did not stay on the night tour long, but it did get us back to our hotel (and we had already paid for this transportation).As once again I could not go another step we decided to eat at our hotel.  This turned out to be a wonderful decision.  The Scala Restaurant transported me back to Italy and some of the best Italian food I have ever had outside of Italy.. heaven.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246751261/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246751261/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/4/1246751261/tpod.html Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:46:19 -0400 Night and Day on the Bay

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San Francisco, California, United States

No matter what time of the day you leave, it is always a rush getting to the airport and getting checked in.  This time through security I must have looked like a threat to national security.  Not only did I have to take my shoes off, every inch of my carry on bag was searched, and I do mean every inch.  Every page of my photo books were examined (and I don't think it was because of my amazing photography and writing), all of my camera attachments were taken out of their bags, and the person causing all of this aggravation wanted to know why I had a fold up bag in my carry on: (hello, I am a women and I am going to San Francisco).  Really it was too much.Other then that it was a quick trip (2 plus hours) and we were there - beautiful California.  But first we had to get out of the airport.  I had prearranged a shuttle, but finding our way to Ground Transportation proved tricky.  Do not confuse signs that say Hotel shuttles with those "other" shuttles going to hotels.  After a few tries,a few questions and locating to another level in the airport we finally found our way to the correct pick up point. We were probably lucky to arrive late, we were last onto the shuttle and it headed right downtown.  One passenger had been in the shuttle over an hour waiting for it to fill (with no air conditioning on). Our hotel was the Sir Francis Drake, downtown on Union Square in the heart of the shopping district, with a Cable Car stop right outside the door.  The Sir Francis is an older hotel, renovated, but still old with a very teeny tiny bathroom.  But location is everything and it certainly had that. We threw our bags into the room, got out our map and our jackets and headed out to explore.  I had only been to SF once, Al a few times more. With Al's excellent sense of direction (mine in non existent) we decided to walk to Market Street, then along the Embarcadero.  Although it had felt very warm on the shuttle it was windy and decidedly cool on the waterfront, we were happy that we were wearing jackets.  As we had not eaten on the plane our first stop was the lovely Waterfront Restaurant on the Embarcadero.  We sat in a sheltered patio (that was still pretty windy) and had a wonderful seafood lunch looking out at the bay. Fortified, we decided to walk to Fisherman's Wharf (which proved to be a rather long walk).  The Wharf had changed in the intervening years, not as rustic as I remembered but still lots of seafood restaurants and throngs of people.  From there we headed to Ghirardelli Square (also greatly changed from my last visit).  The cable cars turn around just below Ghirardelli Square and the line up for cars was immense.  We asked for bus directions and headed off up Russian Hill.  I am certain this is one of the biggest hills in SF.  We missed the stop and kept walking, before we know it we are at the lookout at the top of Lombard Street, which calls itself the crookedest street in the world (which it may well be).  Horses used to die trying to get up this hill so they carved it into a series of switchbacks.  The view from the top is amazing.  The harbour is off in the distance, with a view of the Bay Bridge and the Coit Tower.  We decided to walk to the Coit Tower to check out the view.  The walk down Lombard Street was beautiful, lots of flowers, wonderful color and everyone taking pictures. I still had some stamina left.  By the time we got to the Coit Tower I felt as though I had walked to another state.  To make matters even worse I had filled my camera card and did not have an extra in my camera bag (what was I thinking!).  Despite being unable to take pictures the Coit Tower was wonderful with amazing views of SF from the grounds around the tower. We took an ancient elevator to the top, hoping for even better view and I was disappointed.  There was a charge to take the elevator (and I am sure we were risking our life) and you could not see much from inside the tower.  Exiting the tower we did not linger; dark clouds were rolling in and we still had a walk ahead of us to get back to the hotel.   By the time we got back to the hotel my legs were screaming and I could not walk one step further.  We still had to have dinner (as we had depleted earlier nourishment with too much walking).  We headed across the street to Lori's Dinner, a 50's style dinner where the music in the jukebox was much better then the food.  I had probably the worst French Toast that I have even eaten, but was too tired to care.  Scratch Lori's Dinner of our list of restaurants to revisit.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242529200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242529200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242529200/tpod.html Mon, 25 May 2009 22:36:03 -0400 Two girls with a compass, loose in Italy

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London, England, United Kingdom

My last day in London is much like the day before, overcast and threatening showers so I bundle up as much as I can, today will be another big walking day as I am taking a Walking Tour/Photography course and I  hope to see many of the sites that I saw yesterday, but perhaps with a different perspective.My first challenge is getting to the meeting place.  I had done this route the night before when returning from the London Eye so I was confident that I knew what I was doing.  What I did not count on was this particular underground station being closed.  Luckily I found someone who could tell me how to get the bus to Westminster Station, I had the right coins and was able to purchase my ticket from the ticket box prior to the bus arriving. I had allowed myself lots of time to get to the meeting point, which is now a good thing as waiting for the bus takes longer then hopping on the tube. Once I get to Westminster Station the next challenge is determining which exit is the one I need (these are not marked on the outside of the exits, only inside, and of course this station is also closed).  Eventually I see two other girls with big cameras, I must be in the right place.  It turns out that there are only three of us on the course today, all girls, and all Canadians. One of the girls lives in London, the other used to live here, and myself.  Ian arrives and we have a great morning.  He does not allow us to use the automatic settings on our cameras and is very patient as we explore all the "unknown" dials on our cameras.  As he lives in London he knows all the best vantage points to take pictures.  The morning is worth every penny.  He leaves us at Covent Gardens, a great place to find food and explore.  After sitting on the steps and eating my "jacket potato", with beans and cheese (a local delicacy) and I set off to walk to my next tour: the British Museum. The guide for this portion is with London Walks, a great tour company with knowledgeable guides and affordable rates.  In two hours we are only going to hit some of the highlights of this amazing museum but two of my "must see" are going to be on the tour: the Egyptian antiquities and the Elgin Marbles.  Both exhibits are outstanding and I leave the museum happy but exhausted. I decide I have had enough walking and I hop a bus back to Victoria Station.  I am amazed at how far away it is, I have truly walked miles today.  I arrive back at the hotel with just enough time to change, find something to eat and walk to the Theatre.  Tonight I am seeing "Wicked", the untold story of the Witches of Oz.  Fortunately the theatre is just outside Victoria Station, walking distance for me.  It is a wonderful musical, the lead singer has an amazing voice and I enjoy every moment.  This has been a perfect way to end my time in London.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242439200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242439200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242439200/tpod.html Sat, 23 May 2009 10:45:30 -0400 Two girls with a compass, loose in Italy

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London, England, United Kingdom

My hotel is wonderfully situated, only a few blocks from Victoria Station which is a major transportation hub.  The weather has been overcast and threatening rain  but I am hoping it will hold off.  It did rain last night but it held off until I got to the theatre.  My first night in London, I flagged down a cab and went to see Thriller, based on the musical hits of Michael Jackson.  The theatre is in the famous Piccadilly Circus area, in my opinion a poor cousin to Times Square in NYC, but lively nevertheless. My first  experience with London theatre was wonderful.  I had a great seat centre aisle, 4 rows from the front.  The performance was wonderful, the dancing amazing. Exiting the theatre my luck holds and I get a cab right in front of the theatre, I do not even have to put my umbrella up!My first full day in London is jam packed.  I had booked an all day bus tour to see the sights of London.  Luckily the tour company is located on my street so just a quick walk and I am there.  I do it all in a day, Big Ben, the Parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Place, St Paul's, The Tower of London, a cruise on the river Thames, lunch at Covent Gardens, and finish off with a ride on the London Eye. It has been an amazing day.  Our bus tour was a large group.  I was lucky to meet a nice family from Edmonton who let me join them for lunch (fish & chips) and included me in their group when going up on the London Eye. Despite being nervous about heights the London Eye is the most amazing attraction in London, you can see for miles. The London Eye is the last attraction on our tour so from here I find my way to the underground and manage to find my way back to Victoria Station without getting lost.  My plans for the evening only include finding food and an internet connection.   
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241827200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241827200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241827200/tpod.html Fri, 22 May 2009 18:41:01 -0400 Two girls with a compass, loose in Italy

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Sorrento, Campania, Italy

We are pretty organized for our train trip to Sorrento via Naples. We have scoped out the terminal, know how to locate the platforms and we are on our way. We have packed a lunch (with little drinking boxes of wine). We have cheese and crackers, fruit, and salad. We really look like we know what we are doing. As the train approaches Naples, we get ready for the hard part of the journey, getting in and out of the terminal in Naples with everything intact. We have locked everything, and double checked the locks. The terminal does look a little more run down then others that we have been in, but signage is good and we quickly locate the correct ticket area and purchase our return ticket back to Naples for our connection to Rome. We set off to find the Circumvesuvania trains. We have now left a very secure first class cabin, and will now we travelling on the local commuter train which will make many stops on its way to our destination - Sorrento. Nothing prepares us for the experience we are about to have. Signage is good, we find our way to the right area, purchase our tickets, turn the corner and are confronted with a huge staircase and we have to get all of our luggage down it. There are no luggage carts or ramps in Italy from what we have seen. Getting our luggage to the platform proves to be a task worthy of Hercules, and we are exhausted when we get our gear to the train platform, which is packed with locals and we are the only ones there with luggage (and lots of it). We hurl our luggage up and into the train when it arrives, and it is packed, standing room only. Everyone is bumping into us and we are worried about pickpockets. We certainly seem to be the only tourists and we are taking up lots of room with all of our luggage. It is an hour train ride to Sorrento and this could be a very long ride. Just before the half way point at Pompeii a few seats free up and we are able to sit down and are able to push our biggest pieces of luggage under the seat. We feel a little more relaxed as we bump along, We finally arrive at the Sorrento terminal, and what awaits us, lots more stairs. Getting luggage down a stairwell was one thing, getting it up is quite another. Susan locates an elevator (certainly well hidden) and with relief we get down to the main floor. We wait until everyone has rushed out of the terminal, find a city map, circle our hotel and negotiate a cab.Our first surprise is finding out that our apartment hotel is not located in Sorrento but one community over in Sant Agnelo. Of course it costs more by cab as it is not considered part of Sorrento. As none of our accommodation has gone smoothly I am starting to feel very anxious. We pull up into a lovely looking resort, lots of lemon and orange trees dot the property, cute little white bungalows are everywhere. Thank heavens, it is going to be ok. But then again perhaps not! We get shown to our bungalow and I almost have a breakdown! It is the worst room I have ever seen. Instead of the one bedroom with sitting area and pull out bed that we are expecting we are shown one very small, dark room. No kitchen, no nothing, just one big bed in a very tiny room and it smells of mildew. I really want to cry or scream. We are not staying in this, and once again we are upgrading, and once again another e-mail off to my travel agent. I am wanting to tear my hair out, this is pretty much the end of our journey and we had really been looking forward to the resort ambience that we had been expecting. My friend Karen had given me a name of a wonderful place that she had stayed in but we had decided to go ahead with our travel agents recommendations and this is what we get, we are not even in Sorrento. We get relocated to a better room, get unpacked and I start for feel calmer (broke but calmer). It has been a stressful day, we decide on a nap before dinner and then set of to explore our new neighbourhood and locate food.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242604800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242604800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1242604800/tpod.html Fri, 22 May 2009 17:42:27 -0400 Two girls with a compass, loose in Italy

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

It is pouring rain this morning, and that is a good way to leave London, as who would want to leave if the sun was shining and with still so much to explore. My flight home is at 1:30 but I am at the airport and ready to head home with lots of time to spare.  I make a quick stop at Harrods at the airport to get a Paddington Bear for Aedyn and wonder how much he has grown in the three weeks that I have been away.  I talked with Al last night on Skype, sounds like he is ready for me to be home too.  All is well in my world, as with Paddington under my arm I head for my gate.  As they say in Oz "there is no place like home".
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241402400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241402400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/indianajill/3/1241402400/tpod.html Fri, 22 May 2009 16:25:30 -0400 Two girls with a compass, loose in Italy

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

When we bought our rail pass in Canada for the Euro Rail train to take us to Florence we had no idea what a hard time we would have to book our required reservation to get to Florence. The first time we thought we had found the ticket wicket the line up was too long as we had to get to a prebooked tour. The next time we stopped back at Termini and stood in line for 20 minutes only to find out that we were at a travel agent wicket and as we already had tickets she could not help us (although the window above her window clearly said Trenitalia tickets.) She pointed vaguely - out there, by the trains (we had already searched high and low out there). Back we go. Finally we find a wicket that says Trenitalia and we stand in line, only to find once again we are in the wrong spot, past the shops she says and we head off yet again. Where past the shops we wonder as we wander about. Finally we turn the corner and eureka - another entire section of the terminal with a sign for Trenitalia. I stand in line to hold our spot as we are still not sure if this is the right line and Susan heads off to see what else might be hidden there. Sure enough we are still in the wrong line. She waves and I head off towards yet another line up. An American couple is in front of us and they too have had great difficulty getting to the right ticket area. They get to the wicket and give us a thumbs up. Looks like we are getting close. We get a great agent and not only is she able to upgrade us to the fast train to Florence (an extra 15 Euro each) , she is also able to help us make our reservation to Naples, our transfer point to Sorrento. For an extra 40 euros we are reserved on the fast train. From Naples we take the local train, we are still not sure how we will make reservations from Naples back to Rome, but we will worry about that later. Departing the train station with tickets in hand we are so happy - what an exercise in frustration that was - we are finding the wine bar!
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