Adventures of Russians in Italy
Having read in the forum the topic “What is happening with the Arab world? ”, We decided to betray our beloved Egypt and turned our attention to Turkey. The girls from TA for August promised an all-inclusive program in Bambarbia in 5 * for $ 400 from the nose. It's tempting. But in August, the vacation did not work out, and in September there was no free Turkey, but there was no less free Italy - the Magnificent Italy bus tour for 200 euros (old price 265). There was not much time for reflection, we decided - we take it. From the very beginning everything went wrong. The bus arrived in Lvov instead of 19-20 hours at 22. True, the Hungarian border was passed quite quickly. By the way, a very cheap dutik. We bought champagne for 2.50, cognac Napoleon 5 * 0.5 l - 2.50, bourbon - 5 with a penny. So I recommend. Last year we went to Prague through another border - I don’t remember whether it was Polish or Czech, because the prices there were much higher. Although, maybe they have dropped the price of alcohol in a year? Stopped several times along the way. What pleasantly surprised me in Hungary is that every few kilometers of the road there is a very decent toilet (absolutely free) and tables with benches made of sawn logs on the side of the road, where you can have a bite to eat with your products. Instead of the promised 6-7 in the morning, we arrived in Budapest at about 10. We were immediately taken to the Szechenyi baths. Liked. Under the open sky, the courtyard of the baths is divided into 2 parts - just a pool and a pool with all sorts of jacuzzis and other bells and whistles - hydromassages. There, people of different ages and different languages frolicked until they dropped. Noticing ownerless sunbeds, we throw our towels on them and join the frolics. Having sloshed enough, I go to sunbathe on a sunbed. I lay down for about 5 minutes - I got tired, and then a guy in a uniform comes up to me and wants something, I understand that money is for a sunbed. Silently I collect my belongings and, without saying goodbye, I leave. It seemed strange to me that some people, despite the availability of free sunbeds, sunbathed right on the concrete, spreading towels. Now we will know. I throw things on a free bench (in my heart I hope that this service is free). We go with a friend to see what is in the covered part. And there - a class - a lot of pools with thermal water of different temperatures and compositions, as well as saunas, also with different temperatures. We cut a few circles. We go outside and go for a swim in the pool. The guard whistles at us and shows that we are like without hats, but oh well, we didn’t really want to. I still don’t understand why in one part you can be without hats, and in the other you can’t? We splashed a little more and our 3 hours were over. Then a sightseeing tour of the city and finally we are taken to the hotel. The hotel is somewhere on the outskirts, but no high-rise buildings, very green and quiet. The territory, although small, is very green, there is a pond with thick red fish, a tennis court, cypresses grow, the air is awesome. The hotel is called Sas Club 3 * or something like that. We get the keys, go to the room. The room is small, but there is a mini-bar, which is not out of place for us, and a huge terrace, although 3 rooms overlook it. The bed is white and so are the towels. As it turned out later, the water drained very badly in the bathroom, and the TV did not work. Well, God bless him. Other people did not have any balconies, but there were two-room suites, but with a shower instead of a bath. The tour program included an optional excursion on a boat on the Danube for 20 euros. From the words of acquaintances and information gleaned from the Web, they were supposed to drink champagne in unlimited quantities, which inspired me very much, but there was not a word about champagne in the program of OUR tour. We decided to clarify this issue with the guide, to which she stated that they would pour us a glass. And this is for 20 from the nose. No thanks. For experienced alcoholics, this is simply ridiculous. And last year I saw Budapest at night on my way from Vienna. Fig with him. Italy is ahead of us. And after a night move and a sleepless night, you don’t want to go anywhere. But we found the strength in ourselves and went to the nearest store to inspect for something tasty (in the sense of drinking). We bought a shampoo (brut) for 1000 forints, which, in my opinion, is very inexpensive (compared to ours). We return to the hotel, sit on the terrace overlooking the cypresses and drink Dyutik's champagne. The beauty. Well, not New World, of course, but at least not worse than Artyomovsk. (It's for 2.50). A watermelon grows on the terrace, it has already ripened. They wanted to eat it, but were afraid that they would include it in the room price. Let it keep growing. Everyone, sleep, finally! Morning. Breakfast. I was not particularly impressed, although we did not leave hungry. In Prague, the food was better. Today we are moving to Venice. More than 700 km. While reading the tour program, I suspected that we would get to Venice very late and would not have time to see much, so I decided to go to Venice again on my own instead of one of the electives. I assumed that they would put us somewhere in Mestre and even asked experienced people how to get there. But everything turned out to be much worse. But more on that later. We are driving through Hungary. A fairly large body of water appears on the horizon. I guess it's Balaton. People are taking pictures. When we almost passed it, our guide wakes up and announces that we are passing Balaton! Gorgeous. We are driving through Slovenia. Very nice, but the weather is getting worse. It's starting to rain. We stop on the way to the autogrill. I decided to buy wine for the evening. The seller gave change - a bunch of little things for 10 cents. I counted on the bus - it was missing 1.30. Fucked up, you bastard! Same for me, Europe! Fool like in Egypt. (Ah, Egypt! ). The weather was getting better, but in the direction of Venice there are such black clouds! We arrived around 6:00 pm and it was starting to rain heavily. We missed the vaporetto by 5 minutes. The next one is at 19.00. The bus dropped us off and we went to the pier in the rain. The vaporetto has finally arrived. The rain doesn't stop. We love the views through the windows. We disembark. The tour guide is waiting for us. It was a fun excursion. You can’t lean out from under the umbrella, it’s already dark, so they didn’t even uncover the camera - we have it quite simple and nothing good will come of it in the dark, just put the batteries in. Besides, I still hope to get here in the afternoon. By the way, we turn to our guide with the question of how far our hotel will be from Venice. She just stunned us, saying that 120 km. Dejected. It was decided that nothing would come of an independent trip - and far and expensive, probably. But I was smart enough to ask the guide who led the tour - she said that it was 40 kilometers. Well, that's something. And ours is an infection. On purpose, I suppose she said so, so that we would not go anywhere ourselves, but would buy electives from her. Okay. The rainy tour came to an end, my feet were wet, but the rain had finally stopped. The last vaporetto leaves at 22.30. We agreed with our beauty that we would meet at the Rialto Bridge at 22.10. We wandered for half an hour. It's time to get back to the pier. Nastya cheerfully leads us to the pier. We are behind her. And then people notice that we have already passed here. In short, she got lost and went even more vigorously. We made several circles in the same place, people in the cafe are already giggling at us, and we are already just running - there is no time left at all and, thank God, we managed literally in the last seconds before sailing. How we didn't lose anyone remains a mystery. But my feet are dry. But, as it turned out, these were not all adventures to date, although the next one soon began. In short, this time the drivers got lost, and we drove these 40 km to the hotel for more than 2 hours. So really one would think that the hotel is 120 km from Venice. Finally we arrived. They went to bed already at 2 am. In the morning, according to the plan, we have electives in Florence. But, since the bus had to wait 9 hours, the departure was delayed until 10.30. The hotel, however, is 4 *. It's called Holiday La Marca. The room is large, the furniture is new, the bed is snow-white, the plumbing is excellent, plasma, a full mini-bar - beer-shmivo, even a small bottle of champagne, but there were also prices for drinks - such that no thanks. But on the other hand, breakfast is hugging and crying - a croissant, a box of jam, toast and coffee-tea from a machine. And that's all. Someone got oil - we don't. After such a powerful breakfast, we went to our room to drink our tea with our cookies. Good thing we brought a small electric kettle with us. We left for Florence. Wonderful weather. The scenery is impressive in places. Lots of tunnels. We've arrived. We went to the store to have a bite to go to the toilet. I bought local wine for 3 euros. Excellent wine. No worse than the Slovenian one, which cost me 8.70 as a result. We get to the meeting point with the guide by public transport. I liked the tour, the cathedral impressed me, the boar was made mercantile wishes. Free time. I sent a friend to the tower to take pictures of the city from above. She walked through the rows of merchants. Very reminiscent of Egypt. The same dark little salesmen, they also shout Ryusky-Ryusky. I've always been amazed at how they figure us out. I have my nationality written on my forehead. I didn't even open my mouth. And she was not dressed at all in a sundress and a kokoshnik, but in ordinary jeans and a T-shirt. And I myself am a dark brown-haired woman. Mystery of nature. In one of the windows I see shoes at a very reasonable price - 39 euros. Excellent shoes - we take. We went to a pizzeria. We took a piece of pizza (2 euros each) and a glass of new wine (1.5 euros each). I liked the Neapolitan pizza. They drank the wine, caught up with the one bought in the store. All right, time for the bus. Nastya leads us to a stop. We are waiting for our 23 bus, as we arrived. And he does not go and does not go. They come either 23a or 23c. After 15 minutes of waiting, Nastya made an attempt to ask the driver if we could take these buses, but since she does not know a word of Italian (which is rather strange), and the drivers do not know English, this does not lead to anything. After waiting another 10 minutes, we decide to sit down at 23a. Oddly enough, he brought us to the right place, only the store was already closed, and we no longer bought that delicious wine. . Looking ahead, I will say that it was the most delicious wine we bought in Italy (in this price category). We got back to the hotel at half past two in the morning. The next morning, according to the plan, Milan, but we still decided to carry out our plans and, having scored, on Milan, visit Venice again. I must say that before the trip I thoroughly prepared - I downloaded the Italian-Russian phrasebook and read all the reviews about Italy on this site. And since at school and at the institute I studied German, and my friend studied French, and even then for a very long time, and our English is suitable only for communicating with the servants of Egyptian hotels, who know as many words as we do. Well, in general, our enterprise was quite risky. Regarding international communication, I recalled a funny incident. On one of the trips to Egypt, we took an excursion to the Colored Canyon, and since we took it from a street agency, the company was slightly international - in addition to Russian-speaking people, there were a German and an Italian in our minibus. Our guide first told us in Russian, and then for them in English. They did not understand some of his words, but for some reason we understood, and we tried to convey them by the whole bus. And we had a friend with a 10-year-old son who taught both English and German at school. Mom says to him: "Vanya, the best language practice is communication with a native speaker. " In short, he hints that Vanya should talk to the German. Well, Vanya naturally froze, but at the end of the trip, when the German was unloading from the bus, he gave out: "Aufwiederzeen. " We crashed. Well, enough about Egypt, let's get back to our sheep, in this case to us - somehow mumbling and bleating in a mixture of all the languages u200bu200bknown to us, with grief in half we found out from the hotel staff where the railway station is located (it turned out to go about 2 km). We arrive at the station - no one is anywhere. Where to buy tickets is unknown. We twirled a little on the platform - little by little people began to catch up. Everyone used the same mixture to find out from people where to buy tickets - it turned out to be across the street in a cafe. We quickly ran there, but it was too late - the train arrived. Okay. We go to a cafe and buy tickets. Trying to figure out when the next train is. The bartender takes out a thick Talmud and, having looked through, shows that at 10.45, and now it is 9.00. Yeah, no luck. Eh, I had to go as a hare. Well, we buy a glass of wine (80 cents each) and spend some time in a cafe. Again we go out to the platform. I read somewhere on the Internet that something still needs to be done with the tickets - like composting. We see some apparatus, but there is no one to ask how to use it. Not a soul. Tickets were sold to us in two ways, but then we wondered what time we would need to leave Venice. Since the station is obviously not very busy, there is a suspicion that few trains stop here. We approach the schedule and stupidly look at it. You can't figure it out without half a liter. Some type appears. You need to ask him. But how would we explain to him what we want? I convulsively remember how evening is in Italian. Good evening, buona sera. Yeah. Waving his arms and issuing a phrase, something like “Skuzi, señ or! Uh, sulfur, Venice-Lancenigo (this is the name of the station, point your finger at the schedule and look at it with hope. The Italian, it seems, understood what we wanted from him, studied the schedule with a smart look and pointed his finger at the right line. Judging by it, the last flight from Venice is at 18.00. Well, okay. Then we give him tickets to help compost. Helped. The people are slowly moving in. Finally our train. Two-story, brand new, with plastic soft seats with high backs. We sit down on the second floor. The car is practically empty. Let's go. The next station is Treviso. There are a lot of people in the village. Many blacks. Opposite us sits a splendid, pretty Italian woman, holding some sheets of paper in her hands and, looking at them every minute, with an enthusiastic expression in an undertone, recites something. I'm watching on the sly. It's funny. We drove slowly and for a long time - an hour. Finally Venice! We approach the cash desks of the vaporetto. I forgot to say that in the program of visiting Venice, I definitely had the Lido and swimming in the sea. Therefore, while it is noon and it is hot, you need to sail there. Again the problem is how to explain to the cashier which ticket I need. In order not to bathe, we decided to buy a travel card for 12 hours for 16 euros. I draw on my hand 12h and put it through the window. The cashier cranes his neck, like - what-what? , but then he laughs - he understood. We need vaporetto number 1. Judging by the schedule, it leaves in 10 minutes, not like the one we took last time - in an hour. We sail on the Lido. Venice, of course, charm. Florence is also nothing, but Venice is something special, a city you want to return to. We photograph everything. We arrive at the Lido. In search of a beach, I pester passers-by - are you from the beach? Everyone shrugged their shoulders and began to mutter something. I think that I was not the only one who faced the problem - to ask something else somehow, but then to understand what they are trying to answer you... And then I see girls with towels around their necks. I think we are after them. On the way we notice a supermarket. We remember. And indeed the girls took us to the public beach. The beach is wide, there are few people (1 person per 10 sq. m. ). Not finding booths, we change clothes like that (like Zadornov’s - we showed them what we are not savages). We swim in the sea. An idiot's dream come true. The Adriatic Sea is the fifth in my account. The water is warm - 25 degrees. The color is very similar to our Azov - greenish. Sellers of all sorts of junk walk along the beach, naturally dark ones. Again, Egypt comes to mind. We have a bite to eat with sandwiches, we collect shells. Well, the checkbox is ticked - it's time to go back. On the way we go to the supermarket. We buy wine and cheese. Cheese prices are pleasantly surprising - hryvnia 50 per kg. We sit down on the vaporetto, we go to Piazza San Marco. We wanted to climb the tower - take pictures - there was a very long queue, sorry for the time. We walk, we meet young people from our bus - they also decided to go AWOL. They go to the Doge's Palace. They promised to send pictures. Nastya, Ira - we are still waiting. And we wander the streets, trying to find a copy of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which the guide showed us in the dark. They never found it, but they came across a shoe store with quite reasonable prices. I had to buy boots for 119 euros. I'm not afraid of this word - excellent boots. We walk further. In some alley, we eat pizza at standing tables, drink our wine, stare at people. Interesting! All Italians walk either in boots or sneakers. Foolish fashion. As if in winter they will not have time to walk in boots. And the temperature is under 30! It's nicer in flip flops. We decided to arrive at the station well in advance. And they did it right. The question arose, from which platform does our train depart, and there are more than 20 platforms at the Santa Lucia station, so as not to lie. Yes, a problem! Again stupidly staring at the schedule. Behind the Russian voice - guys, where are you going? Phew, thank God, they helped us figure it out, it turns out the last train to Lanchenigo is at 17.45! Run to the platform. Already near the train, we recall that we did not chirp the aboniki, but, praise be to Allah, near the train, some girl in the form of a pen scribbled something on the tickets for us, and we went home with a clear conscience. As it turned out, the people from Milan returned again around 2 am. Have fun. Reviews were mixed. One aunt said - Kharkov Kharkov. When asked if they bought anything, the answer was that they could buy only a button from a suit or a handle from a suitcase - everything is very expensive. And someone liked the city. But given the late arrival - it's good that we didn't go. At least we got enough sleep, and saved money (the elective cost 55 euros each). The next day we have a departure from the hotel and an elective Verona - Lake Garda. Verona was not particularly impressed, but Sermione, a town on the lake, is something. This is where I would hang out for a week. The lake is huge - 52 km long. Surrounded by mountains. Well, sooo beautiful. The town is old, very cozy and respectable. There was no longer any excursion, well, there was no need - there was little time. We quickly find the beach and swim - another tick. The water is fresh, warm, slightly colder than in the sea. From the pier I saw a huge fish (again I remembered Egypt). We admire the sunset, wander through the streets. Farewell photos. We're going to Hungary. What time will we get to the hotel? In general, the road was long. Our miracle drivers got lost again and stopped in Croatia. As a result, we got to the hotel... at 10.30 am. And for today we have a trip to Eger planned (and not an elective). The guide insisted to leave at 18.00. So what can we do? After much arguing, they agreed on 16.00. I asked for the same number. We go for a late breakfast, smoothly turning into lunch. The starving people swept away everything. Hungarians are shocked. More food is coming soon. Yes, this is not Italy. . We go to the already familiar store, buy local Steffi beer for the remaining 700 forints. How I miss beer! All wine, yes wine. We settle down with beer on our favorite terrace in swimsuits. Baldezh! The watermelon is still growing. Well, it's time to sleep. We leave for Eger. We arrived at dusk. There was no longer any talk of any baths, but it's a pity, I really wanted to get there. Walking in the dark is a mockery. We barely make it to the Valley of Beauties for a tasting. 20 euros per nose. But it was worth it. We tried 6 varieties of wine, and then a glass of the one you liked. In addition, a large pot of goulash for 6 people. That is, we ate 2-3 bowls. Delicious. And there was also a competition for who could drink wine longer without choking. Winners get a bottle of wine. We bought an original 2-liter eggplant with the wine you liked for 5 euros. Fine. Everything. The last test of insomnia and we are in Ukraine. A month has passed, and now I can calmly describe all this, and then the whole bus was very indignant, and even someone dashed off a petition to the company, and everyone signed up. Now, the truth is, I already regret that I also signed. Well, maybe the stars became so that everything was against us - I don’t know if anyone should be blamed. I have already calmed down. But there is something to remember. To write this masterpiece, I was very much inspired by the victory in the quiz "Know Skhidnitsa". That's how much I rolled! Maybe there will be the same loafers, like me, and will be able to read all this. Even if not, I still enjoyed remembering everything again!
