Parts of Italy, Kosovo, Nth Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Poland and Germany.

[RB]

We have just returned from another great trip.

Bit of Background-
We have been fortunate to be regular leisure travellers to Europe & enjoy making our own arrangements and have always managed to travel independently. We don’t drive while holidaying there and have typically caught trains & buses to get around. Apartments are our preferred style of accommodation as we enjoy the space, like to prepare our own breakfasts (& sometimes lunch when we get over eating out) & like the convenience of access to washing facilities. Booking.com is our main choice with flexibility of free cancellation, a genius status bonus on prices, cash back via Cash Rewards, and we feel that we usually get good value for money and lots of information after reading reviews, checking google street view etc. This trip will see us use more private car transport as we have a few “must see” locations where public transport links are not going to work for us. Also, we are not as young as we used to be!
Using the search function of the forum seems to indicate that some of the places we visited are not common “stop-offs” so I hope some readers get some insights of them.

 

[RooFlyer]

Nice - how do you do the map, by the way?

 

[RB]

Nice - how do you do the map, by the way?

It is from Travelerspoint.com & then a screen shot. I was not having much luck with Google maps because it seemed to restrict the number of stops that I could plot. Seems useful for having an amalgamation of places you have covered & can do multiple separate trips

 

[kpc]

Been to all those countries but not to all the places

We, like you, normally travel independently...when we researched going to the Balkans, we decided all the border crossings were going to be too confusing and stressful...so we did a small group (17 pax) tour and covered 7 countries (8 if you count Kosovo) in 9 days...it was a bit hectic but we ticked off all the highlights. The border crossings were confusing...the only stressful part was making sure we were on the bus on time each morning!

As we get older and make more travel mistakes, I'm leaning more towards small group / private tours moving forwards especially if English is not spoken.

We just did 6 days independent travel in La Reunion by hiring a car...the whole trip was somewhat stressful and challenging as the locals only spoke French and Creole!

 

[RB]

PQQ-BNE
Our plan was a mid-week flight with QF but flooding was starting at Port Macquarie and it looked like it was going to be big, so we decided to drive out before we were isolated. We drove to where we could safely leave the car with relatives at Casino. The decision was justified when QF to Brisbane cancelled the next day and the PQQ airport was closed down for a few days-our plans would have been in total disarray! An Amex credit covering the yearly fee was used for the booking and it was all refunded so we actually profited. The airport bus from Casino to Brisbane with Byron Bus was a great service & arrived 15min early at Roma St- also makes a quick stop at Gold Coast airport.

Visibility wasn't good for driving


Already plenty of water lying around near Kempsey


Very impressed with the service by Byron Bus

 

[RB]

Meriton Brisbane Herschel Street - room 2107.

We really enjoy this location. A couple of minutes walk to Roma Street station, easy access to the airport, walk into the City and plenty of choices for food & booze.
Our King room with requested corner room was ready. Bit odd shaped (bed against the bedroom door) but good views & comfortable, excellent value, plenty of space & facilities and quiet.

 

[RB]

Around Brisbane
An over priced dinner for the quality at the nearby Transcontinental Hotel filled us up-Roamer Bar that we had used previously was hosting a trivia night.
We had a good morning coffee at Skydeck while enjoying great views of Brisbane. Unfortunately the flood news from home was getting worse worse.
Didi was very prompt and cheaper than the airport train for our ride from the Meriton to the airport.

Views from Skydeck

 

[RB]

Brisbane Airport - priority check in was very efficient. SQ Lounge here is small & nothing special - no spare seats at times & very small meals but plentiful. Boarding was called in the lounge & it was only a 1 minute walk to priority boarding that worked well.

2 days prior we doubted we would make it here


BNE-SIN and SIN-MXP Aeroplan 12A & 14A

No seat side storage on first 350. Crew was OK but no standout. Food was good and I managed a 2hr snooze. The seatbelt sign came on twice for couple of minutes but there was no service interruption and we landed on time. Bit of a holdup when our taxi in was blocked by a breakdown, so it was a 30 min sit on the tarmac. It was a long walk & train from T1 to T3 to a crowded lounge where we sat at a work bench.

Leaving Brisbane




Barra as Book the Cook


Pre-arrival snack

 

[RB]

Much better storage & crew on the 2nd flight. Seat tipped over for the flat bed and a long sleep. We were a little early into a foggy & cool Malpensa. There was a bus ride to the terminal (separate bus for business class), so very quick through immigration & got our stamp - we were in! Our bags were out in the first dozen and we were on the train platform in 30 minutes from when we left the plane.

Think this was Grilled chicken salad with roasted apples


Lobster-BTC


Rice fields as we approached Malpensa


Bit of fog & the Alps

 

[VPS]

You learn something new every day on AFF. I did not know that Italy grew rice.

Btw Are you still in Milan because I have a day Metro pass?

 

[RB]

You learn something new every day on AFF. I did not know that Italy grew rice.

Btw Are you still in Milan because I have a day Metro pass?

No home in Aust but thank you

 

[drron]

You learn something new every day on AFF. I did not know that Italy grew rice.

Btw Are you still in Milan because I have a day Metro pass?

Rice is an essential part of Italian cuisine. most have tried a risotto at some time if they like italian food.

 

[VPS]

Rice is an essential part of Italian cuisine. most have tried a risotto at some time if they like italian food.

I understand that but just wasn’t aware they grew their own