Signora Italy
Tour “Signora Italy”
16.08 - 31.08. 2009
I finally got around to giving a review, maybe someone will be interested.
This is my fifth trip by bus in Europe, with three (or four) different operators, so there is something to compare, there is experience and I can draw some conclusions.
Well, from the very beginning I would like to say that I was going to go on another tour and with another tour operator - much cheaper and easier according to the documents. But at the last moment everything was canceled for those, and urgently had to think WHERE? Well, the documents were already ready at Artex, there were places and thank you very much for accepting the documents “on the flag”, in fact, two weeks before departure. Although not without some hassle, when I had to complete a bunch of documents for the French embassy in 3 hours. I don’t regret anything at all and I’m glad that everything turned out that way in the end.
After monitoring the Internet and having studied all the offers before the trip, I can conclude that this offer is one of the best bus tours on our market to get to know Italy. Yes, not the cheapest, even probably the most expensive, which actually served as the initial choice of another tour, but, having gone, I understand that this is justified. The tour is excellent. Very balanced, lots of free time, which is very rare for such trips. Moving practically does not strain, well, except for the long forced march through the whole of Hungary on the first and last day.
The first question is how to get to Chop? There is no point in going to Kyiv, but because everything was decided in a fairly short time, there are no more tickets to Simferopol-Uzhgorod, and the end of August, there are no tickets at all from Simferopol : (. we take the train to Chop ourselves, saving 40 UAH per one, in comparison with the offer of the same ticket from Artex.
Meeting at the station with a guide, distribution of various papers. Causes some bewilderment, the request to sign a piece of paper, they say, the visa is only a tourist one and not a work one. Complete nonsense, who can she stop or save if I want to stay homeless in Europe : )? Guide - Sergey Stupnikov. A narcissistic, very stubborn young man, with cutesy manners more inherent in the female sex : ), which more than once caused obscene chuckles from part of the group : ). This is not the first time on the tour, he knows the route perfectly, accommodation, fees, departures - everything is in order. He does an excellent job with this part of the job. With the excursion part, frankly weaker, reading the guide on the bus, confuses cases - cuts the ear, which is strange in itself, if this is not the first time. It turns out well about food, it comes to life and tells a lot and interestingly. There are many crossings, pauses are filled with movie screenings, the selection is ridiculous and does not stand up to criticism : (. A bus tour is not the right place to watch a “heavy” movie, be it at least three times a classic of cinema. In general, a four-star guide...
We reach Chop without incident, transfer to a rather shabby Ikarus, and drive to the border. We seem to pass ours quickly, but we arrive on the Hungarian side for a shift change, we wait for a long time, then selectively check suitcases for cigarettes, unscrew something in the bus, in general, everything about everything is about 3 hours.
In Nideerhase, at Tesco, we change into a brand new Mercedes with Slovak numbers. One of the drivers is a woman named Yvonne. Merc and the truth looks brand new, if not lie the third trip. On this occasion, Yvonne threw tantrums a couple of times - don’t eat, don’t drink it, don’t put thick and voluminous nets behind the seats - the bus is new. Once I tried to keep tourists out of the bus for a long time, I think in San Gimignano, when almost everyone stocked up on fruit in the supermarket. In general, it’s better if the bus is not so new, but with fewer problems. Yes, the wildest thing - she sold boiling water on the bus for 0.3 euros... if in her glass - 0.2 euros. I kind of understand tea and coffee, beer from the bus refrigerator - this is normal, business, but boiling water! I meet this for the first time : ( Just darkness! Bus 4 with a minus
So, transit through the whole of Hungary, we pass through the center of Budapest, a short stop for a photo at the Fisherman's Bastion - the way to Austria. First night in Graz. It is worth noting that after Budapest, for some reason, we didn’t go straight to Graz, but trampled almost to Vienna (we didn’t reach 40 kilometers) and there we already turned some villages to Graz, which cut the smallest detour of kilometers under 100, just like By the way, we were going back. Already in Austria, on the way, we stop to feed the drivers in some chain tavern like Autogrill. In Graz, the Academy Hotel (without stars) is an ordinary dorm-type rooming house. It’s somehow unusual when on the floor (where the doors of the rooms open) there is a completely lived-in kitchen, and where someone’s clothes are dried : (. Breakfast is normal - cheese, sausage, butter, jam, juice, coffee.
Moving through the Alps - we are in Italy! The first sightseeing point is Verona, the city of Romeo and Julta. Ancient amphitheater Arena, streets, Juliet's courtyard. In general, I imagined Verna somewhat different, I was pleasantly surprised. Here we first get acquainted with Italian ice cream, I highly recommend it to lovers of this delicacy, very tasty! The most delicious ice cream in Florence. Here we are closely confronted with the heat, August turned out to be very hot, only the presence of many fountains and fontanelles with drinking cold water saves the ox in all cities. After the tour, free time, slowly wandering through the narrow streets, buying a bottle of cold Italian wine in a specialized wine shop - beauty, they didn’t bring it to the bus : ).
Moving to Milan, we check into the Ibis hotel at about 10 pm, the temperature outside is 31 degrees - very hot. Before going to bed, a walk through the city at night, not far from the hotel there is a wide shopping street, everything is closed, of course, we only looked into the windows : ). The hotel is decent, breakfast too. The only thing that settled in the room from the third call, we will write it off for the evening confusion at the reception and the desire of the guide to settle the group as he wants. Morning excursion with a local guide. I expected more from Milan, but the Duomo Cathedral is beautiful and unusual, many fashion boutiques are mostly closed, but in general the city itself did not impress. No, of course, there was no disappointment, but I expected something wow!
After lunch, transfer to the Cote d'Azur of France. Stunning views from the bus window to the sea and the coast. Nice, hotel "Nicaea" 2 * here we spend the night 4 nights. To be honest, knowing firsthand about French hotels, I expected that everything would be much worse. It turned out not so scary: clean, air conditioning in the room, electronic lock on the door, elevator. French breakfasts are meager - 1 bun, 1 croissant, a piece of butter, jam, a cup of coffee, no one expected more. It is located not far from the railway station, to the embankment at a quick pace of 25 minutes. In the room, I repaired the patch cord of the TV antenna and the air conditioner (there was drainage into the room), on the second day the electronic door lock broke (batteries ran out, made friends with the porter while changing and opened the door : ) Upon arrival in the evening, sightseeing and a short tour of the city center from our guide. We go swimming late in the evening. The beach is large pebbles, it is not convenient to enter and exit the sea, but the water is clear, azure. In Nice itself, there is a stable feeling of a resort, holiday and relaxation.
The next day, in the second half, an excursion to Monaco was offered - 25 euros, which we safely refused and went there on our own in the morning. There train 3.3 EUR, back bus 1 EUR. from a person. The Louis-2 stadium, the embankment, the palace, the park, the casino - in half a day they walked all over the principality up and down. The casino is allowed only upon presentation of a passport. The number of Ferraris, Jaguars, Bentleys and other auto-research per square meter of road is impressive. I would like to live in this place… In the evening we have dinner in Nice in a fish restaurant.
The next day we go to Cannes, on the way we stop by the towns of St. Paul de Vence and Antibes. The Palais des Festivals is not impressive, as well as Cannes themselves. The croisette is nothing special. The beach looks dirtier because of the fine sand, the water is murkier, but in the sun it shimmers with golden sparkles. On paid beaches only Russian "oilmen" : ). Fashion boutiques of famous brands.
The third day we relax on the beach, go shopping - relax. In general, the desire to compare Nice with Yalta and the entire Cote d'Azur with the South Coast does not leave : ), of course it's stupid, but there is something subtle in common: either the slopes of the mountains, or palm trees in tubs. Summing up, going there only by the sea is, in my opinion, stupid - there are cheaper and less glamorous places.
We leave Nice, the last view of the coast from the height of the autobahn. For some reason, he stops by on the road, spending more than an hour in the city of Eze, at a perfume factory. After lunch we arrive in Pisa, excursion and photo against the background of the falling tower, souvenirs. Overnight in the resort town of Montecatini Terme. The hotel is honest 4 *, decent, the only view from the window is the cemetery. We sleep two nights. According to the well-established tradition of this tour, the light will turn on in the room - the card reader of the electronic key from the doors is broken, you can’t fix it yourself you have to look for someone at the reception, though they did it very quickly. A tour of the evening city and a close acquaintance with Italian cuisine goes off with a bang. Next morning departure to Florence. The city is impressive. Works of art and an open-air museum. Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. It's only Monday that upsets - the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace, museums are closed : ( an attempt to replace the excursion there with the Medici Palace is not inspiring. Perhaps the compilers of the program should carefully consider coming to the center of world culture on a weekday.
Overnight, departure to Siena, with a short stop in San Gimignano. Siena turned out to be a surprisingly old city with a stunning Piazza del Campo and curious original traditions. At the end of the tour, the weather starts to deteriorate and we get to the bus stop in the rain. Tuscany cries, saying goodbye to us.
We're going to Rome. Before reaching the capital, about 80 km, we stop to feed the drivers in the AutoGrill. We spend the night in Rome for three nights, a 4 * hotel, the main minus is very far from the city, by bus to the metro for 25-30 minutes. The breakfasts are decent. Nothing broke in the room : ), except for the ants on the floor of the bathroom, everything is OK. For some reason, they didn’t take the euros left for the maid in the room with a change... At about 10 we go out into the street - one road, wastelands, we still can’t reach “life” : (
Rome is great. There are no words. It amazes with antiquity, streets, fountains, cathedrals - you just have to see and feel it. The first day is a sightseeing tour, the second half of the day we walk on our own. On the second day, an excursion to Naples-Pompeii is offered - 70 euros. fortunately we safely refuse in favor of Rome. The correctness of the choice is confirmed by the tourists who have been there, the guide is inadequate, the many-hour walking tour of the ruins of Pompeii is very tiring, there was practically no free time in Naples. We dedicate this day to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, a walk and a leisurely acquaintance with the city. This is the city where you should come back again. On the third day in the morning we go to the Vatican. Actually the Vatican Museums, guided tour, very interesting, everything is impressive. Huge St. Peter's Basilica. The tour ends on the square of the same name two hours before leaving the city, which are spent aimlessly wandering around and killing time : (, it would be better to leave this time in the museum.
Moving near Venice, accommodation in a 2 * hotel, very decent, breakfast is served in portions at the table, but enough. We arrived successfully - we have time to watch the match for the UEFA Super Cup Barca - Shakhtar. The next morning, a short drive, and we are in Venice. Boat to Piazza San Marco along the Dudeka Canal, sightseeing tour. There is very little free time, if we went to the Doge's Palace, we wouldn't have it at all. It's a pity, Venice is unusual, it wants to see everything and wander the streets a little longer than the allotted two hours. On the way back it started to rain and the journey along the Grand Canal takes place in a closed and steamy boat - it's a pity : (
Seemingly a long journey to Austria, we arrive at a familiar rooming house in Graz quite late - only to sleep. In the morning the way home through the whole of Hungary. Quite successfully, less than an hour, we cross the center of Budapest, we arrive at the already familiar Tesco and transfer to the red Ikarus. We pass the border very successfully, before the change of the border guards, we arrive at the station a few hours before the train. The journey is over.
Despite some shortcomings and overlays, I liked everything very much, the tour is cool, I recommend it to everyone.