Madrid 10 - 14 September 2015

* when I happened to browse around in the Internet one day in June 2015 and see which concerts we could find, I ran into that of Suede's: a festival, really, in Madrid on the 12th of September. Voila! And so we started to think of all good reasons to travel to Madrid in September and came up with those:
- Suede's concert,
- our third wedding anniversary,
- never been to Madrid,
- nice whether and not too hot in September,
- plenty of time to plan,
- Monica whom I met at my Swedish course in Stockholm back in August 2014, lives in Madrid.
Decided. We were going to travel to Madrid in September.*

Trip started around noon on the 10th of September. And how lucky we were - Lufthansa, the airline that we were going to fly with, had strikes on 8 and 9 September but not on the 10th!
First we flew to Frankfurt, spent around 1.5 hours at the airport, and flew to Madrid then. It was around 8.30 pm in the evening when we landed in Madrid and were greeted by beautiful mountains and sunset. Walked to Metro and found our way to a Metro station called Principe Pio. Hotel, a rather old and simple one but still with a renovated and fine room, was just 5 minutes from the metro station. As we were really tired of the trip, unpacked and had a shower, and had a quick sushi dinner just a few steps from our hotel. What a nice surprise it was to discover that almost everything is cheaper than back home and restaurants opened late at night. The weather was rather warm, around 24-25 degrees in the evening and the entire being a lot more humid than in Estonia. Andres did not like to smell of humidity in the hotel room which I did not find unpleasant whatsoever. Have obviously been used to Australian humidity and this felt just quite nice and kind of homey. :)

On 11.09 woke up, were greeted by a nice sunny weather and had a quick coffee + croissant breakfast   next to our hotel. Started with this piece of writing here :) and soon we headed off to the city center.

Lovely boat trip on a lake in Retiro Park (Parque de el Retiro)

This was such a fun city: beautiful, warm, friendly, cheap... what else could one wish for? Spend couple of hours shopping and walked to the pretty Retiro Park. It was getting rather hot when we got there, around 28-29 degrees, and the lake with a romantic boat ride was just that we needed. Rented a boat for 45 minutes and absolutely loved it!

A great shopper (having just returned from a United Colors of Benetton store, as you can see at the back-round, freshening up with the help of Starbucks

At about 6 pm we traveled back to hotel, had some quick nap and soon were back in the city where we had agreed to meet Monica, a nice Spanish girl from my Swedish course in Stockholm back in August 2014. We met her at 8.30 pm at the Sol Square (Puerta del Sol) and had a lovely walk in the nicest parts of the city.

Monica and Andres on our walk

A pretty piece of art on one corner

A famous bullfighters' hotel in Madrid

Having walked for a while, we sat down in a winery that Monica often visits, and had a nice long talk and equally nice glasses of a Spanish wine. It was about 9.30 pm when we sat down and at about 10 or a bit later we walked on to a restaurant. Rather late for us, but perfectly normal for locals. 

We found a nice place where we could try lots of Spanish specialties and when wines and food were all consumed, we said bye to her and agreed to host her in Tallinn when she travels there.

On 12.09 we did a lot of shopping again (for Spain indeed is a shopping paradise!), later had a short sleep and then it was time to go to the festival. The name of the festival was Dcode and it was held on a university campus, not far from us. The event was nice but unfortunately all artists, except from Suede, where Spanish and therefore not quite to our taste.

Andres on the festival

Suede started at about 11.50 pm, the show was super as always, and as soon as they had finished, we hurried home. 

On 13.09 we slept a bit longer than normally. Done with sleeping, we went to the city and drove all the way to the stadium of the famous football club Real Madrid. Andres is not a fan of them but since they really are a great team, we had to see their arena.
The next plan was to travel to Segovia , a lovely town North of Madrid with a rather hilly surrounding but all trains were full and we could not get the ticket. Well, something for a next time, I think. So on the last day in Madrid, we had to forget about Segovia that Monica had recommended to visit if one would like to see outside of Madrid, and went back to the city. There we did some shopping and booked a table for dinner in a nice back-street restaurant.

View from the other side of the river (Rio Manzanares) that ran behind our hotel, and here on the top of the hill, behind the trees, is the Royal Palace 

I just had (!) to take a photo of this. Why? Because when we decided to try something Spanish, Andres ordered a dish like this and it was - to put it mildly - quite disgusting. Tomato sauce with big fatty bacon pieces 

Andres next to the Read Madrid's stadium

Garden behind the Royal Palace 

Palaca Mayor

Evening in Madrid. People were walking on the street since it had been a bike competition on those streets and no usual traffic was restored yet

Andres on our 3-years anniversary dinner

... and me on the dinner

And here were are having the very last bites of our dinner :)

The dinner was great. Had really tasty main courses and deserts, and a lot of wine that came by a jug, by our meaning. So now we have been married for 3 years and there have been a great time together.

Early morning on 14.09 we took a taxi to the airport and flew back via Frankfurt again. Was lovely to be on the same country with my cousin Ülle. My warmest greetings to you, my dear!

End-of-the summer trip in Sweden and Finland on 09.-16.08

Started the trip in Tallinn at 6 pm on the 9th of August. It was a lovely, peaceful weather and we said good bye to Tallinn with lots of noisy seagulls flying around the ferry. Trying to recall whether I have ever been traveling on such a calm sea, and it might be that I have not.
On the 10th of August we arrived Stockholm at about 10 am, drove to our Stockholm home of that 4 days called Motel L, a hotel where we would stay anytime again. Such a great value of money, nice location and clear and modern place.

Andres in our room in Motel L

Having settled in the hotel, we traveled with metro to the city, had some work-related things to do and walked in the city. Later had a dinner in the city and walked to the old city (Gamla stan) metro station to travel back to our place in Hammerby sjöstad. Weather was lovely - not too hot, not cool. Had a nice relaxing evening in our room.

On 10.08 I did a morning ran in Hammerby Stöstad and then we had a breakfast. As we both can work where ever we as, as long as the internet is around, that is, we worked a bit too. Duties done, took a tram and metro to the center of the city. While I visited the Estonian House where I had a few hours business meeting, Andres did some work in Folkuniversitetet in Kungstensgatan. At 5 pm we met in a place in the center, had a dinner in Kulturhuset's restaurant and walked in the city. Back in our area, we walked there also, had some more bites and well a sleep soon.

Hammerby Sjöstad

On 12.08 we worked in the morning, as usually. Finished with that, we walked to the parking place we kept our car and drove around 40 km to east, Värmdö. Walked around and enjoyed beautiful views over the sea. Then we drove back to Hämmerby Sjöstad, had a nice run in the forest where I had been running a lot some years ago.  Later, in the evening, we drove to north, Täby and Brottby. Loved that gigantic super modern Täby shopping center!

On 13.08 the plan was as this: to drive to south, to Kungengs Kurva center and to Järna, Kallfors Golf Club. And so we did. While I played 9 holes in the golf club, Andres worked in the clubhouse. Not exactly how I ideally would do, but since Andres does not play golf and had much work to do, this was it.
The golf club was lovely: beautiful fairways and greens, lovely whether and the whole field rather similar to hilly Otepää.
Done with sports, we drove to Kungengs Kurva shopping center. Ate in IKEA and spent some time in Media Market where Andres bought some really nice and fancy headphones. Around 8 pm we were back home.

Kallford Golf Club

And then in the evening, we went to the city center too. Visited an open air cinema on the top of Kulturhuset and walked on the streets where close to the Opera House was a stage. Unfortunately, the music was nothing of our taste and so we just walked in the Old City (Gamla Stan), sat down in a caffee to drink a cup of tea and soon it was time for bed.

The long-waited forth book of Millenium was just about to come out at the of August*

On 14.08 it was time to pack things and move on, or better to say, time to move eastwards as our trip was going to continue to Helsinki. The ferry was going to leave at about 5 pm and since we had loved Täby center, and of course had something in mind that we absolutely could not live without (!), we drove to Täby and spent the last hours in the center.
At 5 pm we were on the ship called Silja Serenade. The ship was big, as I remembered from a trip with it around 1995, but rather tired and warn out. No TV in the cabin either. But the good thing was that the sea was calm and smooth as a mirror again and we had a nice long sleep.

Arrived in Helsinki at about 9.45 am on 14.08 and first drove to our hotel Glo Art. Parked the car on the side-street, settled in in the hotel and since Andres was not feeling too well, he stayed in the hotel and I walked to the center to meet with Dea. Dea wished to find and purchase her first golf clubs set and so we visited a few sports stores. As in one of them we were told that there was a set in one store outside the center and we had enough time, we made the trip over there. Unfortunately, there was no such set left when we arrived and so we traveled back to the city. Luckily, they had the same set in an e-shop and Dea got the set at the end.
Back in the city, we had a lunch and agreed to meet at the Flow Festival arena around 6-7 pm. It was the festival, at the end, that we had traveled to Helsinki.
Having had a short break in the hotel, we took a metro to the festival and spent an evening listening to different sorts of music. The highlights were Róisin Murphy and Pet Shop Boys. The first one I loved for her music of a certain CD but since she did not sing any songs from that, I did not like her that much. Pet Shop Boys was as Pet Shop Boys always, to my husband's happiness mainly. :)

At the festival

And on the 16th of August it was time to turn back home. Home, sweet home!

Weekend in Saaremaa and a short trip to Naissaar

We have started a lovely tradition over the last years - to visit an island in Estonia every summer. In 2013 it was Saaremaa (its southern part), in 2014 it was Hiiumaa (its northern part) and this year Saaremaa again but its northern part.

So Saaremaa it was this time.
Our little trip started from Soo street in Tallinn on the early morning of the 20th of July and to the team belonged me, Andres, Nööp and Nuumi and at 10.15 we were on a ferry that runs between Virtsu and Kuivastu.
First we drove a bit around on Saaremaa island, visited Pöide church and Kuressaare, and then we drove up to the north, to the place were we stayed for one night, Allika Villa. What a lovely place this was! A bit cold and wet though since it had been raining and the weather was not too warm either (around 17-18 degrees). In the evening we walked on the beach and as we proceeded along the coast, we found lots of forest strawberries. And also lots of ticks ("puuk" in Estonia) in the hairs of our dogs. The host later said that Leisi, the area where we stayed, is ranked as red area meaning that there are lots and lots of ticks. We counted at least 6.

Two rabbits in a forest, close to Hanilaid

Panga pank

Andres and Noomi at Panga pank

Ave and our dogs at Panga pank 

On day 2 the weather was a lot better and it was rather bitty to leave the lovely place we stayed at. Drove up to Panga pank, all the way along the coast close to Hanilaid and then headed to the south, to Mustjala and Kõrgessaare, and then to Kuressaare. In Kõrgessaare we found that it was the same place where we reached when we discovered the southern part of Saaremaa in 2013. Thus, a circle in Saaremaa we count as done now.
Back in Kuressaare, we checked in in the beloved GOSPA hotel and had a lovely dinner in Kuressaare Kuursaal. Then, a bit later we drove to Kuressaare Golf Club and I hit some balls in the range. Later we both went for a run, then to the sauna in the hotel and then it was time to relax in our room.

On day 3 Andres did some work in the hotel room in the morning while I enjoyed the sauna and pools again. It was a rainy day and we could not even have a proper walk with the dogs - it rained and rained and rained. Packed things, drove to Kuivastu and soon we were back on the continent again.



Naissaar on July 24

The trip to Naissaar was part of our cultural summer. A stand-up comedy like play was going to be played in Omari barn in Naissaar and that is why we traveled there. It was a half day event: at 5 pm we boarded a ferry at Lennusadam in Tallinn, arrived at Naissaar at 6.30 pm and the play started at 7.30 pm and then at 10.30 pm the ferry took us back to Tallinn.

The fun part of the event was the ferry trip to the island and back. It was rather windy, around 15 meters per second, and our vessel jumped and bumped a lot on the sea. It was fun, though. Once on the island, we were driven to the entertainment building, and the show - stand-up comedy - began.

Arrived home at about midnight and on the next day we felt rather unbalanced all day - had obviously spent too many hours on the ship last night. :)

Porvoo, Pirlax and Helsinki on 05.-06.06.2015

For me, the best holiday is when I can be somewhere else but at home. Even only 100-150 km from home applies to "somewhere else but at home" also, and this rule was proved to work again when we had a short trip to Finland on 05.-06.06.2015.
Took a Vikingline ferry to Helsinki early morning on the 5th of June, drove to Porvoo and explored that lovely town on the afternoon.

Andres in Porvoo old town

Lovely it was indeed, not like any other towns is Finland. Very Swedish, and that is because historically the place has had a lot to do with Sweds in the past. Today, around 30% of the population there speaks Swedish. 

Heartwarming displays on windows in Porvoo old town

Walks done, we drove southwards and found the loveliest B&B Strandhagen I have even been to. We had booked the accommodation, of course. Our lovely host Mina gave us the best room she had in the house, a green room with its own balcony. 

This pretty place had so many details that all made a wonderful ensemble together. Flowers in our room, another small blossom on a shelf, another bunch of green branches in the vase, a blanket with a cat figure, a door stopper in a form of a dog, soaps and bottles and towels all in a matching color. Wow... what else could be kept in mind when choosing items in the rooms? As in a paradise here on the Earth, as my husband Andres said. 

Our balcony 

Our room

Classy bathroom that we did not use but loved a lot

Walked down to the archipelago, sad on a sun-hot rock and listened how waves played with rocks and stones. It was the first almost warm summer day as it has been really cool this spring. 

Later we drove down to Tirmo, a place on the cost where one could drive on a ferry and drive further to the south, to Pellinge. What a pretty place this was.

Next morning we walked to the archipelago again and had a lovely breakfast. As sad it was to leave, it had to be done. But only on a condition that we will be back one day.

Drove back to Helsinki, visited Vantaa IKEA on the way the city and parked our car in the port. Had some hours in Helsinki and soon it was time to take the car and drive to the ferry that brought us back home again.

Even just 2-days trip to another place, somewhere else but home, is a great trip. Time spent on the trip felt twice as long as 2 days at home. Worth to do again one day, that's for sure. 

Road trip in Sweden on 21.-25.03.2015

On the 21st of March we started our first trip with our dogs to Sweden. Nuumi and Nööp had never been abroad and so we told them: "Dear dogs, we will go to a trip with you now and hope you will behave nicely." Which they did, apart from some exceptions. :)
The ferry arrived in Stockholm at 10 am on 22 April and the first stop we had on our way was in Norrtälje. Walked around a bit, dogs got their "things done" (to them it seemed not a big difference whether to do it at home or in Sweden :)) and continued our trip towards Uppsala. We took road 77 towards west and soon joined E4, and were soon in the beautiful uni town Uppsala.

Anders and our dogs in Uppsala, Uppsala Cathedral behind them

When all walks in Uppsala got done, we headed towards Västerås, our next destination. Spent our first night in Orresta Golf, a lovely hidden place in the middle of nowhere.

Nööp in our Orresta home, making every hotel feel like a home

On the second day we had a breakfast and then drove to Västerås. Walked and looked around in that town too and agreed - Uppsala was a lot lovelier. As we both come from Tartu, a uni town in Estonia, Uppsala made us feel like at home, and Västerås certainly did not. Was nice to see it though and feel how cool it was to stand next to a big lake that felt like a sea.

The second night we stayed at Vidbynäs Golf. The reason why we chose golf clubs to spend nights was because it was easier with dogs - some hotels might not allow pets in the rooms but such country-clubs almost always do. And the choice was a smart choice since dogs good run around freely, and this is what they certainly needed after a long day driving around.
Oh, how they loved arriving at another hotel in the evenings - the car was certainly not the best place to sleep, and they sleep a lot, and every room and bed they arrived, they greeted as their own home.

Nööp in our next overnight place

What a pretty place this was!

On the 24th of March it was time to travel to Stockholm and have some meetings in the city. We parked our car in a car park in the city (a hint from a friend and did not cost as much as most of the car parks in Stockholm) and as it was a nice and sunny day, took a long walk with the dogs. 

Andres with Nööp and Nuumi at Akademi Bokhandeln, our favorite book store in Stockholm

Time went fast, and soon it was time to drive to the port and travel back home.

It was a lovely trip and what made it very special was that Nööp and Nuumi were with us. No need to miss them like crazy. :)

Concert trip to Copenhagen on 17-18 March 2015

Andres, a great fan of Noel Gallagher, found that his idol was going to perform in Copenhagen Vega club on 17.03.2015 and so it was settled - we booked the trip.

Our plane left early morning on the 17th and only a few hours later we already landed in our beautiful 5th floor room in Copenhagen Island Hotel.

Walked in the city, had a lovely breakfast in the old town and just walked and walked in that beautiful city that sits between Europe and Scandinavia, and has a touch of both.

When the walks of the first day were done, we found us walking back to the hotel. After some refreshments and showers, it was time to leave for the concert that took place in Club Vega. It was a rather club,  maximum 1000-1500 music fans in the concert room, and since we arrived early enough, we got "standing seats" in the very first row! At 9 pm the band was on the stage and we got a superb performance that lasted for about 2 hours. Lots of smiles from the band members and therefore I could say that the effortgot well paid indeed.

On the second day, we rented bikes and drove around in the city. As this was the first time on the spring to sit on a saddle, our bottoms hurt a lot but this was not an argument to not drive around.

We also visited the Little Mermaid. Photographed it to the honor of uncle Ants who loved the sculpture and visited it whenever he had the opportunity.

At Kubija, Estonia on 11-12 April 2015

I gave my husband Andres a visit to Kubija SPA Hotel as a birthday present on 11-12 April 2015. It was the first really warm day of spring 2015 and we enjoyed the trip a lot.
To start the break, we ran some 5-6 km-s in Kubija Spordikeskus, in a beautiful pine-tree forest and relaxed in the spa. As this all made us really hungry, we headed off to Võru and had a dinner in Ränduri pub. Then we drove around and discovered lovely places that I remember from my childhood.

"This used to be my playground..."

From Vilja street, we drove to Lake Tamula and walked along it. 

Some more visits to spa in the evening and the next morning... and I hope to be back here soon again.

Honeymoon in North-Italy on ... 2012

Back in September 2012 we traveled to Italy and it was not just one of our trips - it was our honeymoon-trip.
We had got married on the 15th of September - a beautiful autumn day - in Tallinn St John's Church, stayed home for couple of days, and headed for Italy on the 25th of September.

Our first stop was Milan. The weather was nicely warm, around 23-24 C, and settled in in our lovely B&B Taraverde. Loved our Indian style green room! Having settled in, we headed out for the City and visited the must-visit-place Cathedral Duomo, dined and wined and did some shopping too.

On 26.09 we boarded a train to Como and from Como we took a ferry to Bellagio. What a journey this was! About an hour on the ferry, we admired lots of pretty buildings on the coastline, and felt really pleased with the decision to have our honeymoon in this gorgeous part of the world.
Having arrived at Bellagio, we got the keys to our rental apartment. The apartment was fine, nothing too special or too bad, and off we went for a walk in Bellagio. On this photo we are exactly on the same day, just arrived, next to a beautiful hotel. How nice it would be here in mid-summer!

The first evening, as well as the other 2 days, the weather was not too good - rained now and then, and so we walked a lot and also red a lot in our Bellagio home.

On 27.09 it was time to see some other places and so we boarded a bus to Como central. The journey was quite an entertainment - the road run along the coast but not next to the water but some 200-300 meters higher, on the rocks. Happily at Como, we took a cable car up to the mountain top, 750 above sea level, and absolutely loved it up there. The air was crisp and sunny, we walked around on the top and found a caffee that seemed totally out-of-this-world place. Had some glasses one wine and snacks up there and again and again said to each other: "How lovely it is to be away and to have some time off!".
In the evening, when we were back at Bellagio, we met a lovely dog next to our courtyard and named him Pronto. Unfortunately, I never took any photos of him but did of another dog on a balcony next to our house. Here he is.

On 28.09 we woke very early and left our Bellagio home and the lovely summer resort itself very early in the morning, took a bus to near-located Lecco and from there a train to Verona. Eearly birds as we were, arrived at Verona at about 11 a.m. The weather was lovely, even hot compared to what we had had up in Como and Bellagio. Settled in in our Artesia Verona B&B on Via Marsala and left for the centre.

We fell in love with Verona from the very first sight. How could one not do that? Right here was the balcony and the courtyard where Juliet and Romeo had their lovely moments.
See this.

Walked a lot in the old town, sat down now and then when legs were getting tired, had a cup of coffee and a tiramisu or

... a glass (bottle!) of wine. And so wondered around up until late at night.

On 29.09 - early morning again. Had a nice, homey breakfast and left our cosy Verona nest. By 9.30 am we were in Verona train station, at 10 am sat in a train and in an hour found ourselves in Venice. Our hopes were up since Venice was told to be something completely different. And it certainly was.
Water everywhere, and how naturally-feeling not-at-all-usual-way of living seemed there. Fancy a taxi drive? No problem, here is a water taxi. Fancy a longer drive to see the sights? No worries, hop on our water bus and we drive you around on our watery streets.

Our hotel was located on an island called Lido, about 10-15 minutes water bus drive from the center. The hotel - cannot remember its name - was not a great deal but would do. Settled in, headed back to the main island, and we walked, admired, ate, drank for hours and hours. As all tourists, spent some time on St Marco's Square. Later we sailed back home and on that very day I had wrote this into my diary: "We have so many emotions as if we have been for a month on the trip!"

On 30.09 slept as well as exhausted tourists do. After the breakfast, we toured around in Lido a bit. Spent some time on the beach were big festivals are being held.

Back on the main island, walked, ate, drank...

Visited shops and got lost of those narrow streets. Andres gave me as a wedding present a pretty scarf, with stripes and squares. Absolutely loved it!
Back in the hotel, opened a bottle of Prosecco, hoping to get some relief to those enormous pieces of  pizza that had traveled to our bellies on that day in Venice.

On 01.10 - October already! - woke up and Andres did not feel himself too well. Packed our bags, traveled back to the main island and this was not at all an easy task for Andres. To be sick and travel on a jumping boat is definitely not the best combination. Boarded a train to Bologna and as soon as we were there, we loved the city from the first moment. A university town as our home town Tartu. Had some trouble finding the hotel - Amelia Hotel - but having once found it, the hotel turned out to be a real treat. Plus, we had an extra big room with an extra sofa.
Since Andres was not feeling well, he stayed in bed and I went out exploring the surroundings. Walked for about 2-3 hours between the buildings of the university as our hotel was located in the university quarter. Having returned the hotel, read one of the Millenium books for Andres and ordered some good food from room service. My trip book was Jane Eyre and I was about to reach the marvelous end of the story.

On 02.01 felt Andres a lot better and we had a walk to the city center. When walks were done, we packed our things and headed towards the central station. This was quite an action since there were some kilometers to go, we had a big suitcase and other bags, and right on that day the local bus drivers were striking. At the station finally, we caught a fast train. As they say - all roads lead to Rome - so did the very road of ours. We arrived Rome by train, a fast (too fast!) train that ran up till 250 km/h. Too fast was it indeed - not a chance to watch the picturesque landscapes - and so a promise was given: we have to come back here one day. Perhaps when we will be married for 5 or 10 or 15 years? Would be nice to visit the same places again and to take a really slow train. When would it be then... on 2017 or 2022.

However, the train arrived Rome and right on that day there was a strike going on. We were said that it should stop around 5 p.m. and since our hotel was rather far from the center, this was what we had to live with. We told ourselves: "We are on a holiday, no reason to rush and stress about missing transport" and off we went to the city center. Leaved our luggage in the train station luggage room and began to explore the ancient city.
There is no words enough to describe Rome. History on every step... Had a look at Colosseum, ate, sat and just watched the people. Rome, and in particular the way the people drive here, squeezing their tiny cars lots of other tiny cars, was just adorable. To us it looks like a total chaos but there are certain rules in the chaos, and at the end of the day, I believe they manage better than us at home. To me it seems that the key is communication - people look at one another's eyes and decide together who goes first. Respect!
Our hotel was about 10 minutes drive from the center but it was a clean and nice one. And what made it even nicer - we were given a bottle of wine and some fruits as a wedding gift with this lovely note

On 03.01 woke up, had a breakfast and took a metro to Vatican. As it was Wednesday and on Wednesdays the Pope gives a speech, we saw the Pope and listened to the speech.

The weather was just wonderful, around 23-24 degrees. Then we walked to the Piazza di Popolo, sat on the Spanish steps, visited the Trevi fountain and took a train to a shopping center outside of Rome, called Porta Di Roma.

04.10 - the last day of our trip. Spent the most of the day visiting an revisiting lots of sights and had a long-long walk in the Roman Forum - wow, what a great experience this was! It was really hot on that day but we managed and rested in shadows as much as possible.
Had a very last meal on the Piazza di Popolo and agreed that this had been a wonderful trip and the destination - the North and the Central Italy - was just the best for a honeymoon.

Usually it is sad to return home but not this time - it was time to start our everyday life as a couple and this seemed more than exciting.

* * *

In order to keep record of our costs in Italy, and perhaps compare it with prices in years to come, ...

Bus from Bergamo airport to Milan: 2.50 eur one ticket
Taraverde accommodation in Milan: 120 eur per room
Train from Milan to Como: 5 eur one ticket
Ferry from Como to Bellagio: 14.50 eur one ticket
2 nights accommodation in Bellagio: 260 eur in total
Train Lecco-Verona: 25 eur one ticket
B&B in Verona: 80 eur per room
Water bus in Venice: 25 eur one ticket for 36 hours
Hotel in Venice: 230 eur per room, 2 nights
Hotel in Bologna: 99 eur per room
Train from Bologna to Rome: 112 eur 2 tickets
Roman Forum tickets: 24 eur 2 tickets
Hotel in Rome: 394 eur per room, 3 nights