Saturday, April 12, 2014

Milan and Lake Como (part 1)

Milan and Lake Como (part 1)

After flying out of Dammam, we had a short stopover in Amsterdam, and then flew to Milan.

Arrival in Milan

After arriving at the Milan airport, the first thing we needed to do was get to the Milan Centrale station to pickup the keys to the apartment we rented (the rental company was right next to the station). We had a bit of adventure getting there... we got on a city bus, but got off too soon and had to take the subway the rest of the way. In hindsight, the better choice would have been to wait for the "express" city bus or take one of the third party buses that goes strait to Centrale.

Once at Centrale, we stopped by the TIM shop inside the station and bought SIM cards for our iPhones. We got 2 SIM cards for €30 each, which included 1GB of data and 250 minutes. I highly recommend this, because it let us use the maps/GPS on our phones to get around. After eating lunch, we picked up the keys and jumped on the subway to out apartment.

The subway ride was about 20 minutes, then a 10 minute walk after that. We grabbed some food at the corner store and took it to the apartment for dinner. After 18+ hours or traveling, we ate sandwiches and went to bed early.

 

Here is a map the Milan subway. I marked where we stayed. You can see Centrale FS in the center of the map.

Apartment Details

We rented an apartment on the south side of town for the 3 nights we stayed in Milan. It was only few minute walk from a subway station and was €75 per night. Here is the company we rented it from: LINK. This appartment was called "Marochetti"

Here is a panorama of the neighborhood we stayed in, along with a few pics of the apartment.

 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Day 1 - Traveling from Dammam to Milan

Dammam Airport

To get to Milan, we had a 1AM flight from Dammam to Amsterdam to Milam.

We succeeded in "packing light"... 2 suitcase and 2 small carry on's... Pretty good for a family of 5


We left the compound around 9:30 PM and getting through security was no problem at all. There were only a few people in the security line and we flew right through with time to kill waiting to board the plane.

The overnight flight to Amsterdam went well. Jaycie and Alexa both got some sleep. Hannah did not, but this was not surprising. Her behavior was good, so we'll call it a win. The 7 hour flight didn't seem too bad compared to the 14 hour marathon we took going from Houston to Doha in January. We took KLM and I was pleased with service and comfort in coach.
Amsterdam
We had a short layover in Amsterdam, and most of that time was chewed up clearing the customs security and finding the connecting gate. What time was left, we spent snacking and riding the moving sidewalks.
The flight from Amsterdam to Milan was short (<2 hours) and the view of the Swiss Alps was fantastic.
 
Milan
Once we got to Milan, we needed to get to the Centrale Station to pick up our keys and get cell phone SIM cards. We took a city bus we thought would get us there, but we only got 2/3 of the way there. In hindsight, should have spent a little more for one of the direct shuttles that clearly advertised they were going to Centrale. Luckily we were able to find a subway stop a block away. It got a little stressful since we were lugging around luggage ( along with the kids), were very hungry, and were operating on minimal sleep. Getting local SIM cards for our phones was a huge help because we could pull up the maps to navigate around this new place and as well call each other as needed.
And we got a concert on the subway too!
After a late lunch at a restraunt next to the centrale station, we took the subway to the apartment we rented. It was only a few minutes walk from the nearest subway stop (love when a plan comes together). Finally, After sandwiches for dinner, we all went to bed early. Hannah, who had been up for 36 hours, crashed immediately.

 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Italy map

 

 

Italy Itenerary

Here is the Itinerary for our Italy Trip 2014


Friday 7-Mar travel to Milan
Saturday 8-Mar Milan/lake como
Sunday 9-Mar Milan
Monday 10-Mar Milan to Verona to Venice
Tuesday 11-Mar Tour Venice
Wednesday 12-Mar Travel Venice to Tuscany Region
Thursday 13-Mar Pisa
Friday 14-Mar Florance
Saturday 15-Mar Florance to Rome
Sunday 16-Mar Rome
Monday 17-Mar Rome
Tuesday 18-Mar Rome
Wednesday 19-Mar Rome to PompeiI
Thursday 20-Mar Pompei-Vesuvius
Friday 21-Mar Pompeii to rome
Saturday 22-Mar fly out