Horrors and charms of the bus tour "The best moments in Italy" from the Accord tour
One fool went on tour.
We all want to have a good rest in the summer and gather strength for future accomplishments, we want to visit the seas or places we have not seen before. Kirillovka-Turkey-Egypt - it's like quite banal, but a trip to Europe - it's yeah, it's kind of cool.
So the devil pulled me to go on a bus tour of Europe. The trip was called very attractively - "The best moments in Italy", the route - Lviv-Eger-Budapest - Padua - Rome - Venice, without night transfers, the description of the tour offered many excursions.
We started from Lviv at about 10 am, crossed the EU border without any problems. Our guide - charming blonde Tanechka - gave us programs and route maps with the specified mileage. At first I did not pay any attention to this card, but in vain. It would be better to show it to tourists before buying a tour…
But we are already leaving.
To the first stop - the Hungarian city of Eger - from Lviv 500 km.
On the way, they were twice released to the toilet with the words: "Sanitary stop 15 minutes, do not be late. " 29 people ran their mourning affairs in the "happiness rooms" and also ran to buy food and drink in completely meaningless shops at gas stations. We arrived in Eger - the Valley of Beauties - at about 17-30 pm, exhausted and tired. The whole tour took about 5 minutes, the guide quickly shared with us scanty information about the area and led a tasting of Hungarian wines and goulash.
Goulash was brought in a large iron bowl, it is a tomato soup with meat and beans. Then there was wine tasting and competitions - who will drink more wine, which the boy pours a thin stream into the contestants' mouths from a special vessel.
The wine was normal, basically relaxed, goulash - well, I would add sugar, and the event itself for 13 euros, well, did not pull. They milked, ran to the toilets - and again on the bus, for the night in Budapest.
From Eger to Budapest, according to the figures in the itinerary -140 km, and we drove to our hotel at 4 o'clock. forces. I really wanted to eat or at least drink hot tea or coffee, but the restaurant was already closed. My roommate took with her boiling water and a jar, and it saved us from starvation)) Hotel "Budapest" is very decent, we slept well. Breakfast also pleased with its abundance and taste, even managed to pull a couple of eggs, a bun and a couple of tea bags on the track.
Sightseeing tour of Budapest pleased.
St. Stephen's Cathedral, the most beautiful Parliament building, the statue of Ronald Reagan… But what to say - just look at the photos)))
After the tour, there were a few more excursions, but I ignored them.
It was hot, I really wanted to take a bath, especially since Budapest has a place to do it - in the world-famous baths of Secheny. The program of the tour did not include a visit to the baths, so I decided to get there on my own. Our guide tried very hard to dissuade me, but in the end handed me a map of the subway, and I went for a walk in the Hungarian capital myself. Of course, I walked through the boutiques, bought a new item and a couple of souvenirs, and went to look for the subway.
In the subway I tried for a long time to buy a ticket in the machine (oh, my ignorance and ignorance of English !!! ).
I wandered around them, enviously watching all sorts of colorful people do it easily and simply, until the rescue came - a Russian-speaking woman showed me how to choose Russian on the machine. I felt even duller, but I bought a ticket. Then began my wanderings on the subway. I foolishly sat on the red branch instead of the yellow one - where was she looking?
I got to the right station (names, by the way, are similar and both are penultimate), got out - and there is just a square, people, trolleybuses, buses and no hint of a bath. I tried to ask someone - no one understands me. Under the tree stood three aunts with banners that read "Overcoming the language barrier, " but they did not understand a damn thing. After half an hour of futile attempts to find out where the baths had disappeared, I decided with shame to return to the gathering place of the group, and already in the subway I realized that I drove in a completely different direction.
My stupidity and ignorance stole an hour and a half of my precious time, but I still found a bath!
"The whole world bathes in the baths of Sechena" - so say the locals and do not go there at all. It is understandable - the tourists there are dark. People of all nationalities and skin colors are splashing in the round warm pools with a scream of delight, and fat men, standing to the waist in the water, are playing chess.
The bathhouse was built in the style of the modern Renaissance in the period from 1909-1913. There are 3 swimming pools on the street, and 14 more in the room with different healing water temperatures. The cost of the visit - 18 euros, food can be bought in a cafe, quite well prepared, but be careful, check the delivery - calculate and do not blink.
After swimming in warm and cold pools, I went for a walk on the river Danube.
I bought a bun in the subway, got lost in the square again, bought a purely Hungarian souvenir on the fly, embroidered a napkin on a pillow or table. Why - it is not clear, but the aunt-seller ran after me two blocks, probably a reward for her perseverance.
River trip on the Danube - just great, good music, an interesting story of the guide, and - unlimited champagne!
Day three. Padua. Sorting tragedies and rats running.
After a river walk, our group was taken to spend the night in a town with a famous name Nagykanizsa, 210 km from Budapest. On the way they told about the healing waters, mud and Lake Baloton, showed terribly decent movies. We spent the night normally, ate well (pulled a bun, oil and jam) and went to Italy, to the city of Padua. 530 km from Nagykanizsa.
We went to Italy through the territory of Slovenia, 2 times we went to the toilet and ate.
I had a delay with the toilet - I had to throw 50 cents into the machine, buy a ticket "to the toilet", "buy", so to speak, and present the ticket at the box office to take the toilet amount at a later purchase. I didn't have any change, and while I got it and with God's help I managed both sorting and exchange matters, it turned out that I was 10 minutes late for the bus. I was already wanted by a geese, and already on the bus I felt "late".
Like - every delay steals from us an hour on excursions.
Clock in 2 days we finally got to Padua. Our bus was parked for 10 minutes, in unison with all the delays late guide Tulia. The heat was unbelievable, listening to the introductory part of the tour was unbearable, even standing in the shade under a tree. Then we galloped through a beautiful square with statues, fountains and a canal. Those who had time were photographed.
The guide ran a saiga into an alley, and selfie enthusiasts ran after her like rats after Niels (Niels is a boy with a pipe who drowned rats). The streets in Padua are certainly beautiful, but there is no time to stop or look back. Not to mention going to a store and taking care of something there.
We ran to the church of St. Anthony, stood for 5 minutes. Outside the cathedral is so-so, inside - rich decoration, elegant sculptures, gold and gold, and so on.
Photography is prohibited, you can not speak loudly. Our Tulia Saigakovna whispered something, but my ear hurt and I didn't hear anything. The cool cathedral is beautiful and cool.
Then we ran through the alleys, some universities, boards, muzzles and monograms on the walls.
Out of desperation, I took a picture with a very colorful bum and a pig in a shop window. Our tour ended in a beautiful square, so everyone was happy. At the farewell, Tulia showed us the way to the supermarket, where we had to "buy food and souvenirs for relatives. " All in all, we were given 25-30 minutes, including the way back to the bus. "It's very close to the bus, 10 minutes on foot, " our charming lady Tanechka assured us, and the whole group rushed to the store to shop.
Dear hostess, how much time do you spend visiting the supermarket? Are you really investing in "15 minutes"? And if this is a new store for you, and even in another country? Mad tourists, pushing each other with baskets, hurriedly packed rolls, sauces, water, fruit and wine, trying to understand how much it costs and how profitable it is in terms of hryvnia.
People were growing dissatisfied with the time lapse and the senseless organization of the excursion program. “What did we pay for? Let them stand and wait for us, ”remarks were heard.
I was stingy and went to the bus with part of the group. We walked very fast, our Tanechka ran past us like a mad goat - probably to meet us near the bus with bears and balalaikas. People were pulling up slowly, showing signs of heat, fatigue, and heavy packages of "souvenirs and food" did not add speed.
Tanechka rang the balalaika - We're late, we're late! ", And began to call the members of the group who were detained. The drivers roared at the bears: “The bus needs to rest for 9 hours according to the laws of the European Union, we will pay a fine!
The latecomers were 40 minutes late and caused a scandal upon arrival, reminding the guide of all the "charms" of the trip, those who arrived on time, a consolation prize also got - not allowed to run to the toilet: "Wait for you! "In the end, everyone settled down and the bus moved - you need to drive another 500 km to the hotel near Rome.
Fun trip out. Tourists took wine and liqueurs from the packages and began to relieve stress. In about a few hours, the bus broke down and stopped for repairs right on the track. It was raining. Drunk tourists began to leak into the street - to smoke, etc. Tanechka's meow - do not get off the bus, there will be a big fine!
"- no one paid attention, and Tanya herself somehow bored and sat quietly in her chair.
Exhausted people found the "bathroom" for themselves - found a hole in the fence of the road, and the fact that there were electric cables (thank God and European quality, perfectly insulated), everyone did not care and… Well, you get it)) / p>
We got to the hotel closer to 23-00. In fact, we spent 3 hours in Padua, the rest of the time we were on the road. Truly - do not think about the seconds above! It was really the minutes in Italy, although I can't say that those minutes were the best.
Although the city of Padua is very beautiful, I would be happy to walk on it again, not in a hurry)))
Day four. Eternal City - Rome.
The morning of the fourth day came, and all our rat tourists gathered in the cafeteria to refresh themselves before the next sightseeing race.
Breakfast was meager - a little ham and cheese, and for rolls had to stand in line.
Half of the group suffered from a hangover, but juices and mineral water in the range of canteens was not observed.
Rome was reached by public transport - 20 minutes by bus, 15 minutes by subway. Went right next to the Colosseum. Excursionist Yana appeared quickly, handed out walkie-talkies with headphones and we set off to see local attractions. We visited the Colosseum, the Arc de Triomphe, the ruins of the ancient castle, visited the Pantheon, admired the Trevi Fountain, the bridges over the Tiber and other attractions. The pace of "walking" was usually high, because of the desire to take quality photos, tourists were constantly behind the group. Iron Yana was not particularly waiting for anyone, she unequivocally delegated the dubious joy of driving the backward to our Tanya: “Call them, let them hurry! Tanya shouted: Oh, that's 10 euros for a call!
", But began to diligently send text messages.
Only who will see them there in such a gallop and in the heat? Especially when busy posing for a selfie?
Oh, these selfie sticks, the vile invention of obscurantists! They finally and irrevocably defeated normal cameras and separated people. If before it was possible to approach any tourist and ask to take a picture, now the person-selfie-stick at such request at first will look at you as the idiot, in the worst case it will turn out that did not understand or did not hear the request, in the best variant will take a picture of you, but will do so with such a sour face, as if you were trying to put boots on his head or fed him soap. So I ran, clinging to everyone with my unfortunate camera and fireless phone, until people began to openly shudder at me.
By this time, all members of our group have bought these sticks, and I had to go bankrupt for this vile offspring of echidnas, the cost of the issue - 3 euros. The echidna offspring did not want to work normally, I did not get selfies. After half an hour of torment, I put the unfortunate stick in my bag, and so did my camera. My group members were worried about my problem and no longer snorted when I approached them with a request to take a picture of me against the background of another Roman beauty. It is clear that we ran past the shops and cafes again, although the guide allowed us to eat ice cream near the Trevi Fountain. Thank God!
And so the mega-race in Rome ended. Iron Jana brought us to St. Peter's Square, and gave us an hour of free time - to rest, eat, buy souvenirs and more. I didn't want to eat, the souvenirs were beautiful, but the ones I liked - luxurious Murano glass bracelets - were out of pocket (110 euros).
In the basement of the souvenir shop we found a coffee machine and a luxurious toilet. Ah, you have no idea what a thrill it is to splash in the washbasin in the toilet on St. Peter's Square! Most of our group spent most of their "rest" time in this toilet. I was also lucky - I finally established a relationship with a selfie stick, it turned out I connected it incorrectly. And so the hour of magic-sorting rest ended, and we went to the Vatican (it is worth writing a separate post).
In general, I liked the sightseeing tour of Rome. Iron Yana did not make a mistake - she presented all the material clearly, interestingly, with humor, told many interesting facts about the city and its inhabitants. Of course, not to mention everything, especially when you are galloping in the heat, but I really hope that in the future I will be able to visit Italy again and walk the eternal city is not at such a mare's pace.
