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Europe 2018

April - June 2018
Planning on 2 + months in Europe. First month with Illene - Berlin, Bilbao, walking the Camino in Spain and Lake Como Italy. After that, on my own. Milan, Budapest, Munich, Black Forest and London. Read more
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  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 31

    Milano

    May 11, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Up very early to see Illene off to the airport. She had a 6AM taxi scheduled and all went off well. Kay in for a day of R & R so back to bed until 9ish. Then a lazy AM, working on "stuff" - catching up with life. Trying to get my credit card issue resolve. (Did not happen). More "work" on getting my UK phone card to have enough data and ability to call. That is now fixed. This is my first trip on using a SIM card and it has been a learning experience. However it is significantly cheaper than any of the US International plans when you are traveling for a long period of time and are using your phone a lot - not calls and text which are cheap but the amount of data needed for directions, driving and walking. Will definitely do it again.

    Love this apartment. In a residential neighborhood. Very tastefully decorated and all the amenities one could need. Alessandro has not missed a detail.

    Finally out around noon to find the nail place recommended by the owner here. My nails were in great need of attention. My last manicure in Pamplona was terrible and did not last so have needed a manicure for about 2 weeks. The gal did a great job - a Chinese/Italian gal. I got to practice my minimal Italian and her English was about as good as my Italian. I used my on-line dictionary a lot. :-) Then to the grocery store X2 to get staples needed for the weekend. Joel arrives tomorrow AM and we leave for Budapest on Monday night. Then lunch and a nap.

    A quiet evening. Found a "locals" place for dinner nearby that was just OK. Fun people watching however I was in the middle of the room and think more people were watching me. Home for 1 episode of The Crown on Nexflix and to bed.

    Miles: 4.7    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 32

    Milano

    May 12, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Awake early so took advantage of the time before Joel came and got my Verizon/Three and Capital One issues resolved - not to my satisfaction as my Capital One card does not work in the hand held machines used everywhere here. :-( Something happened to the chip - maybe. They are sending me a new one to home. Have a back up and there is always cash.

    Joel arrived around 10AM. He showered and we were off for the day. First to the canal area of Milan - Naviglio Grande. Who knew Venice had a canal? At one time the canal was up to 93 miles long. Started in the 1100s (everything here is old), it was added to in the 1500s with the help of Leanardo da Vinci but finally ceased operation in 1979. At one time if was the 13th largest port in Italy!! Today it is a pleasant combination of bars, cafes, restaurants and park area. You can walk for a long ways along the banks. We had a pleasant lunch and a beer by the wayside.

    Then off for Joel to see the Duomo - walkable from where we were. Impressive as ever and since it is a Saturday very busy. Passed many Milan landmarks on the way - the old entrance to the city, famous churches and a lively shopping area. Also walked the Vittorio Emmanuele II Galleria with its magnificent architecture and upscale shops. Took in La Scala from the outside. Then walked to the large park in the middle of Milan central - Parco Sempione. Again a Saturday event that had finished, a market and lots of gelato and food stands. A very lively crowd and we had a pleasant walk through the park to our Metro station and home for Joel to take a nap and Kay to clean up.

    A leisurely evening, catching up on family and San Francisco politics and activities. Our around 8 for pizza nearby and home for an early evening.

    Miles: 7.5    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 33

    Milano

    May 13, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Up early to start the planning for the day and relax on our little terrace that lets us look out on the city life below. After breakfast and several cups of coffee/tea we are off around 10AM. First stop, the Milan suburb of Brera. Lots of public transport today - metro and tram. The rest walking. Brera is the home of the Bohemian in Milan. (According to the tour books) Tram arrives near the obligatory church - San Marco.- the stone doorway is the only part that remains of the original church built in 1254. However my favorite was the sign on the cafe awning in front of the church. :-) Pic attached. We wandered the streets and of note was another very large building, the Palazzo Cusani, which houses a library and the well-known (in Milan) Pinacoteca Art Museum which boasts paintings by Raphael and Caravaggio. On the grounds of that building was a small botannical garden that was a nice secluded spot away from the street, lots of large trees (linden and ginko bilbao) and a pleasant walk around. Approaching lunch hour the place is alive with restaurants, cafes and shops opening after church.

    Then off to the Milan main train station - Centrale. We had seen a picture in the Eye Witness guide that was intriguing and Joel is a transportation buff. He loves figuring out public transportation in all the cities we visit, great for me as I am happy to leave it to him for a couple days. I would certainly recommend a quick stop there, the building is massive, the 2nd largest building MIlan next to the Duomo. The highlight is the cover/roof over the area where the trains leave. Will attach picture but could not get it in its entirety.

    Then the most fun find of the day while trying to find the Isola street art *which" we never found. I saw and elevated walk way with a lot of people walking and it reminded me of the NYC Highline. So we went to take a look and, indeed, it was huge expanse of walking, high end shops and unique architecture office buildings, fountains, pools, cafes and all elevated from the street. It was so fun. We had tea there and just enjoyed the ambiance and people watching. Off to take the metro home and a rest before dinner. Got on the metro, went about 4 stops and got off only to find a major thunderstorm in progress. It was pouring and actually had some hail in it. We took cover under the eaves of a building and waited it out. About 30 minutes later we made it home, quite wet.

    Rain passed and out for dinner to a great Asian Fusion restaurant near by. Joel surprised me by picking the place and then told me dinner was on him for Mothers Day!! So sweet and entirely unexpected. A great dinner, highly recommend the restaurant. DOU Asian Passion.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 34

    Milan to Budapest

    May 14, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Up and about to pack and clean up apartment. We have loved this place - would highly recommend. Alessandro's Place Milan Lombardy - Home Away. Address Via Vincenza Foppa 44. Joel and cleaned up andpacked. Our flight does not leave until 10PM so have all day to continue to explore Milan.

    First stop: Fondazione Prada (FP), an unheralded, great find in Milan. An interesting incident on our trolley ride to the site. One of the cables that hooks to the electrical line at the top broke, came down on the window of a taxi in back of us and shut down the electrical for the entire system on that line. :-( An of course, then none of the others could get around it so we walked the last mile or so.

    The FP was the brainchild of the Prada family (of Italian fashion fame). It is a unique building with an an art museum and other exhibition space for temporary exhibits. Both the interior and exterior are very modern and interesting. I talked with a fellow from Switzerland there who was an architect. He said it is a must see for architects.

    Fashion area

    Late flight to Budapest, did not leave until 10:20 PM. Note to self: Do not do that again. Flew Wizz air -a low cost Hungarian airline where you pay for everything but the base flight was about $30. Arrived Budapest at midnight along with about 3 other plane loads of people. Must have been 100 people in the taxi line as all other transportation at that time of night is done. Finally got a cab and then the cab driver could not find our place where our host was waiting. Then the police are following our cab with flashing lights - this is now about 1:30 in the morning. He finally left us off, told us it was to the left somewhere amidst construction while he dealt with the police. Joel got us going towards the apartment with GPS while I am texting back and forth with the host. What a fiasco. Had our orientation to the apartment and to bed sometime between 2 and 3AM !!

    Miles:    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 35

    Budapest

    May 15, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    A late start to the day due to last night's early AM escapade on our arrival. Out for the essentials in a new country: ATM, breakfast and grocery store. Rainy in the AM but sunshine showing through the clouds in the afternoon. Out to do a walkaround of the major tourist sights. St Stephens Basilica is about 2 blocks from the apartment and is a massive cathedral with a beautiful interior. I liked it especially as it is more understated (less gold) than those we saw in Italy. Then out the beautiful pedestrian promenade towards the mighty Danube. The river marks the separation of Buda in the west and Pest in the East. The scenery of Castle Hill with the Buda Palace (not a castle as many people think), the Matthias Church (Franz Liszt first performance of his Coronation Mass); and the Fisherman's Bastion is highly impressive.

    We walked across the Danube on the famous Chain Bridge and took the funicular to the top of the hill. Quite a sight from the top, looking back across the river to Pest and we were so fortunate to have such great weather and after the rain, everything sparkled. Walked all around the hill and stopped for late lunch and a beer at one of the numerous cafes.

    Back to our apartment around 5 and a clean up and cocktail hour before up to the corner cafe/pub for hamburgers for dinner. An after dinner walk over to St Stephens and up the promenade to the river where all on Castle Hill is lit up and so beautiful. A truly magical city. Back for an early bedtime for some catch up sleep.

    Miles: 7.9    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 36

    Budapest

    May 16, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Last day with Joel. He is going to a hotel tonight as his flight to Barcelona is at 6:15 tomorrow AM. Off we went to see the Parliament buildings. On the banks of the Danube and a huge complex. All lit up at night and quite a sight. Hungary is a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a president (largely ceremonial) and a prime minister who runs the government. We saw the guards of the buildings do their stately "walkaround" - apparently q15 minutes. Then off to Margaret Island, a large island in the Danube which is totally pedestrian (except for bus service and service deliveries) about 2 miles long and maybe a half mile across. The entire island is a park - a beautiful place to walk and look at the attractions. The best was a "musical fountain" where a large fountain with many spouts "dances" to classical music. It was great. Also a lovely Japanese garden, an athletic field, quite a few cafes, a hotel but most of all lots of green grass and lovely big green trees. Quite a find. We spent several hours there including lunch at one of the cafes. (Kolbasa for Kay - very good.) Then back to apartment for Joel to pick up his gear and go to check into his hotel. Kay found the local TI and got literature for what to do the next 3 days as well as schedules for the nightly music venues.

    Our host had told us about a couple restaurants and after checking out several, we chose the Menza for our last dinner together. It was excellent. Duck liver on mashed potatoes with a cherry sauce for Kay with ratatouille with egg as an appetizer. A real Hungarian dinner and it was terrific. Chocolate cake (think warm lava cake) with pistachio ice cream for desert.

    End of dinner was punctuated by a brief but impressive thundershower - it really poured for about 15 minutes. We huddled up under the blankets provided by the restaurant while we finished our wine. The the sun came out at 7PM !! Said goodby to Joel and did some necessities shopping on the way home and back to apartment for the rest of the evening.

    Miles: 7.7    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 37

    Budapest

    May 17, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    First day "on my own". Decided I wanted to do one of the Walking Tours of Budapest. They are free with a tip for the leader obligatory at the end. Joel and I had seen most of the sights but this time got more information to make the sights more meaningful. Also got a lot of Hungarian history - they have been on the losing side of most all major wars. As our tour guide said - if WW3 comes along, look to see what side Hungary is aligned with and do the opposite. :-) Tour included several of the large and pleasant squares, St Stephens cathedral, the Danube, bridges of Budapest, Castle Hill and the Parliament buildings . Not any real good pictures as the day was mostly cloudy and a bit of rain right at the end of our tour. Back to have lunch at "home" and a rest and some planning for my last 2 days in Budapest. Out late afternoon to check out where I get the express bus for the airport on Sunday. Only about $3.50 US to go the 30 minutes to the airport. Hungary has their own currency, the Forint. It has way to many zeros and is about 264 to US $1.

    Tonight attended the classical music concert at St. Stephens cathedral - organ, flute and opera singer. Interesting combination. A terrific venue for a concert and the organ music filled the cathedral. Afterwards a bowl of goulash and red wine at a local cafe and home.

    Miles: 5.7    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 38

    Budapest

    May 18, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    Have a list of what to do yet in Budapest and time to get started. First the Jewish walking tour of Budapest. The Jewish section which is now quite small after WW11 is close to my apartment. Met the group of about 20-25 at 10AM. The first hour was the history of Jews in Hungary (Summary: protected by Germany {as Hungary was allied with the Axis powers} until almost the end of the war, 1944, when the Hungarian government was thinking about "changing sides" - then Budapest was occupied and estimates of 600,000 Jews transported and/or killed in 6 weeks) and sites of synagogues in Budapest. The 2nd half of the tour included the very recent past 5-6 years in the development of the Jewish sector with restaurants and Ruin Bars. Many of the old alley ways, now lined with cafes and bars. The newest fad in Budapest is the Ruin Bars. They are old dilapidated buildings that have been turned into quirky, fascinating bars and are hugely popular. We visited the original - Szimpla - it is many levels, amazingly decorated with pop art and old furniture. Many have warrens and mazes that open into courtyards. Check on-line for images as this explanation is inadequate. I plan on visiting again Saturday night. And yes, for those of you who look at pictures first, the Rubik's cube was invented by a Hungarian

    Then to the Central Market. A very large building and hundreds of stalls and vendors. It seems to go on forever. Their "food court" was a zoo of many stalls with delicious looking food - so hard to choose. I ended up going to a cafeteria (more places to sit) and had a goulash tasting menu. (3 types of goulash and some sauerkraut and pickles. Apparently there are a lot of ways to make goulash. Wandered the market for awhile, buying the obligatory paprika and back to home to do a wash. Need time for it to dry on a rack before I leave on Sunday.

    Out in the early evening for a classical music concert at the Matthias Church. (Picture posted previously). This was all strings - 4 violins, a cello and a bass. It was terrific. Most all well know classical music. Out to find dinner. Public transport here is great, combination of trams, buses and metro - and inexpensive. Went to an area near my place that I had not yet explored and had a late evening salad with some good Sauvignon Blanc.

    Miles: 8.3    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 39

    Budapest

    May 19, 2018 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    I will be so glad when this wedding is over !!!! Its all I can get on Sky or CNN. (Wedding of Harry and Meghan is today).

    Last day in Budapest. :-( Plan for today is to go to the "baths". This is out of my comfort zone as I have never done this before. However the baths are a big part of Hungarian culture since being occupied by the Turks a long time ago. They have many bath sites. I asked my walking tour guide yesterday which one she would recommend. She gave me 2 choices - one was the largest and one was the most beautiful. I went for the most beautiful - the Gellert Baths. It was amazing. Indoor and outdoor pools, thermal, cool and hot. Also Finnish sauna - outside. They even had a wave pool - what fun. Had a lazy 3 hours looking at everything and working on a sun tan. A perfect day with sun and clouds in the low 70s. And yes, if you are thinking, all do wear bathing suits. Although on some of the young girls, it was hard to tell. (just jealous).

    Wended my way home via tram, a stop at the grocery store, and just made it home before a brief thundershower. Winding down on my Budapest stay, still have a list of things I did not get to so will happily have to come back. Made my final plans for the rest of this trip. Tomorrow to Munich and then some time in the Black Forest in Germany,near Baden Baden and the border with France. Then to London and home on June 12.

    Out for the evening to check out a Ruin Bar. Went to Szimpla - what fun. Drank a beer and checked out all of the rooms and watched the people. By 8:30 the place was packed and still pouring in. Must have 10 different bars in the place. Then to dinner at the other restaurant Sebastiano had recommended. The Ruben Restaurant. Had venison "stew" with dill dumplings. Amazing. Home for some wedding wrap up. :-)    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2018
    Day 40

    Budapest to Munich

    May 20, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 61 °F

    A travel day. Off to airport and sorry to leave Budapest. Could have spent another couple days here to see all on my list. Uneventful flight to Munich, a bit late - tram from airport to within a mile of my new home for the next 6 days. Ulrich met me at the apartment - easy to find . On the 8th floor of an apartment building in East Munich. View is terrific!! Have a 180 view of the Alps in both the living room and the bedroom and from an outside balcony. A real step up from Budapest. The location in Budapest was terrific - the apartment pretty basic.

    Out for a walk before dinner. Checked out the neighborhood. ATM, etc Found out tomorrow is a holiday in Germany so no grocery stores open tonight or all day tomorrow. Did manage to find wine and beer at a German 7/11 :-) !!! Then around the corner for dinner - good pasta and a very generous wine pour from the waiter - my new best friend. Spend the dinner hour with my German dictionary. Back to apartment and another episode of Sneaky Pete on my Ipad.

    Miles: 5.5
    Not a single picture today    Read more

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