My Travels

So I am off to Bali for vacation. It isn't so easy of a destination on Star Alliance for some reason despite the heavy number of Asian partners. I ultimately chose to fly United Airlines to Singapore and then switch to Garuda Indonesia from Singapore to Denpasar. I made pit stops at SFO and HKG en route to Changi Airport . Luckily, my longest layover was at Changi Airport. My SFO layover was 3 hours but I intentionally booked it that way in case there were delays getting into SFO. With the weather conditions in that area, it is always 50/50 if flights can land into the airport. On this trip, no delays getting into SFO meant I was in the United Club lounge for most of the time. Not a bad spot to be if you have to wait in the international terminal. At one point, United Club advertised that there were meal options available for purchase but it must have failed. When I walked in, there were the same typical snack options available. At least the booze was an amenity they kept. ...

The last time I was in Vancouver, I was doing a cross border run to renew a visa stamp for my aunt. This time, I'm here for a work conference. I flew United Airlines up to Vancouver. It has been awhile since I've flown a regional jet plane especially for three hours. I was upgraded to "first" but it really is only slightly better than Economy Plus on a bigger plane. Since I knew that the plane was going to be small, I opted to bring a regular sized suitcase and checked it in. I was taking a mid-day flight and forgot how quickly one can get through the airport when no one is really flying. I'm not sure if I broke a world record by traveling 20 miles from work to airport, parking facility, checking in, getting through security and in the Club Lounge with drink in hand in under an hour. If it isn't, I sure hope that it is a close second. I will say that I had the advantage of going through TSA precheck helped cut the security wait down. One of the new benefit...

For breakfast, the hotel offered a full breakfast buffet in L’Uliveto which overlooks the pool area of the hotel. As swanky as the rest of the hotel, the breakfast was satisfying and filling. I wouldn’t recommend it for normal dining as the breakfast was $50 US per person. So if you can include breakfast in the room rate, I would advise doing so. Since it was our last full day in Rome, the group split to get their own wants accomplished. I spent the day relaxing at the pool (indoor and outdoor). For dinner, I suggested Antico Arco because of the great experience a few days earlier when I had split off from the group. On the way to the restaurant, we opted to go to a roundabout up the hill from the restaurant that overlooks the Orto Botanica. It was a great vista point if you wanted a 360 of the cityscape. The roundabout had a very large statue in the middle of Vittorio Emanuele II d'Italia. Afterwards, walked down the hill to enjoy my last and enjoyable meal in Rome. ...

The next morning, grabbed breakfast at the lounge before heading out to Naples. I had read that Naples would have the best pizza in all of Italy and I wanted to see if it would be true. It was not true and I can’t even remember the name of the restaurant. We went there because a friend of the group recommended the pizza place. I can only say that it was a popular destination as there were many people waiting to get seated. At least the pizzas were cheap. On the bright side, I was able to pick up some lemon drop candies as it became apparent to me that this part of Italy was known for lemons. I also came across a new dessert, rum baba, that was displayed in many of the bakeries on the streets of Naples. Plain, the baba was not particularly good. When it was all decked out with cream and strawberries, it was like having a richer strawberry shortcake. So do not buy a plain one, always get it with the cream and fruit! Sweets from a Naples bakery Clambered back into the van an...

The next morning, I got up at the crack of dawn to pick up a 9 passengar van for an overnight trip to Sorrento. The goal for the day was to see Pompeii and visit the Amalfi coast. Unfortunately, I underestimated Roman traffic and was not able to get out of the city for a good solid two hours during morning traffic. By the time I was able to get to the Pompeii area, the lateness of the day and the cloudy weather did not make it viable. The only days it rained when I was in Italy was on my road trip days. Sigh. I will say that the drive is pretty easy once you get out of the city. The freeways in Italy appear to be toll highways. I guess many Italians do not travel by car. I only realized afterwards that there are speed sensors placed throughout the highway and I’m crossing my fingers that I didn’t get a ticket. View from executive loung at the Hilton Sorrento Family Suite The road to Sorrento off the highway actually reminded me of my Maui trip and the road to Hana. Onc...

Although I enjoy getting breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn, I eventually get tired of the same breakfast buffet items even if it is convenient. It was already included in the room rate so I couldn't really turn it down.  The plan for the day was to check out Villa Borghese Gardens and the Colosseum . In the morning, the walk around the Villa Borghese Garden was cut short due to the extensive walking required. The Garden does not have the best signage so having a map is important to figure out where you are within the Garden.I did like the fact that the garden was heart shaped! Given the number and size of the group, tickets for the Colosseum were booked earlier in the week. It ended up saving us a lot of time as the lines around the Colosseum were long and we didn’t wait long at all. It also helped that we booked the guided tour which always helps you fast track your way through the queues. Before heading to our assigned tour time, we had lunch based on a friend’s re...

On this day, I opted for a walking tour of the city center and see all the public monuments in Rome. The goals for the day were to see the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain. After grabbing morning breakfast, one person of the group decided to opt out and stay in. The rest of the group headed out via bus to the city center. The first stop was the Pantheon. Of course, with these locations located in the CBD, we stopped along the way and perused the many shops and coffee houses while walking to the Pantheon. Once we arrived in Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon was an impressive building structure. I have found that the Italians like really large building structures even though the streets are narrow. Walking inside, you will find a constant recorded message of being quiet inside as a sign of respect as it is used as a church.  The architecture and age of the building is quite impressive. Pantheon Pantheon interior  Afterwards, we wandered in the city cen...

Vatican City is not an easy venue to get in and requires some planning to make it as painless as possible. Remembering my experience trying to get into the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, I made reservations online to get into the Vatican Museums. One of the benefits is that you can a separate entrance for reservations compared to the line I saw in the morning going around the block. It was easily a few hours of waiting from what I can tell. In my case, it was a 20 minute wait with security screening. Due to the nature of the route given within the Vatican, it is easy to lose part of your group if you don’t pay attention and stick with another.  The Church and its city state grounds were very impressive. The craftsmanship and care given to the interior relays the wealth of the Roman Church. I was not able to see everything at the Vatican area, it is easily a two day expedition between St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and underground catacombs. Hallway inside Vatican ...

Landing into Fiumicino Airport is an experience into itself. After landing, the passport control lines were out of control. So what was the Italian’s solution to process all the people? Letting everyone through without checking passports and I was amazed that no one seemed bothered that no passports were checked. I was totally bummed about not getting a visa stamp from Italy. This will also be an issue at the end of the trip. In addition, there were carousel issues and I had to wait almost an hour before seeing luggage. I knew the Italians had a reputation for inefficiency but wow. Once outside, I was approached by shuttle drivers. I opted to go with the shuttle driver once someone with a badge arrived saying that they were authorized to take people from the airport. I also saw that all the taxis in the queue were very small cars and unable to accommodate four people plus luggage. Upon reflection, I’m not convinced that they were really authorized to be at the airport but...