Monday, June 27, 2011 My day in a nutshell. 6:00 Get up, get ready 7:06 Tram 90 to Milano Centrale Station 8:05 Train to Stresa 9:15 Arrive in Stresa 9:45 Enjoy cuppacino and chocolate croissant dockside 10:30 Ferry to Isola Madre. Explore villa and gardens. 12:45 Ferry to Isola Superiore for lunch 14:45 Ferry to Isola Bella. Explore palace and gardens. 16:30 Ferry back to Stresa 17:30 Train back to Milano Central Station 18:45 Arrive in Milano 19:05 Tram 91 back to Hotel Berlino 19:30 Arrive at Hotel ___________________________________________ I may be a genius. Not for the many mistakes I’ve made so far, but for how I quickly corrected them. Today was wildly successful. I caught the right bus and got off on the right stop, boarded the right train, navigated tourist-happy Stresa, and made it ... read more

Saturday, June 25, 2011 Last night I dreamed in Italian. I think it is a good sign. Rise and Shine For the third say in a row I stuffed myself with cakes and fruit at breakfast. I was careful to avoid the cheese plate this time. My cappuccino was better than yesterday, possible from acquired taste. I left the hotel much earlier than the last few days in an attempt to get some mountain trail walking accomplished before the heat of the afternoon set in. Expectations versus Reality Above Aosta on the mountain slopes is the little ski village of Pila (Pee-la), accessed by a quiet 20 minute gondola ride. From its website and general description, I figured Pila was similar to Whistler. Upon arrival, I found this was not the case. Winter must be its ... read more

Thursday, June 23, 2011 First Night in Italy Last night I finally rolled into town at 7pm. Two train changes and hours and hours of travel before that, I was beat. Still, the walk to the hotel was nice, at least I was moving. And providing entertainment for the locals, tugging my blue suitcase behind me while making several U-turns around the neighborhood. At last, I found my destination. After being checked in, my only concern was getting out of my sweaty clothes and into the shower. It was so refreshing. I hooked up my computer and had a brief chat with my mother online, and then crashed at 10pm local time. Where I Experience Culture Shock In the morning I dressed and went down for breakfast, where I again made a slight fool of myself ... read more

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Today I woke up thinking, “What am I doing?” Last minute changes I had been packing and re-packing all weekend. My carefully planned packing list turned out to be excessive, and my backpack, which I planned to weight 16-20 pounds, was a whomping 30 pounds! I went into mini-panic mode. How was I going to carry this bag on my back around Europe? I removed a couple items from my bag and weighted it again. Twenty-eight pounds. I had no idea what else I could remove at this point. My mother arrived early to take me to the airport, just in case. It was a good choice. Ten minutes before it was time to leave, I made a rash decision. Screw the backpack I had researched and planned for. Out came the ... read more

March 12, 2011 More free Rick Steves classes. I know – my blog entries are riddled with that guy’s name, and sometimes I feel like I am a free publicist. But the reality is that the Rick Steves company offers the best resources for travel in Europe and I am taking full advantage of the freebies whenever I can. I offer no apologies. The most recent freebie was another couple travel classes at the spring travel festival. I attended two classes: European Travel Skills with Rick Steves and Packing Light and Right with Joan Robinson. European Travel Skills was intended to follow the guidebook Europe Through the Back Door. While informative, the lecture did go off topic several times, and it could be argued that the audience came away with more information about legalizing marijuana than ... read more