FUN-travel: Palermo, Sicily to Heathrow Airport Hilton
December 28, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Palermo, Sicily to Heathrow Airport Hilton
Day 44 – Tuesday, October 29 – Terrasini, Sicily to Heathrow, London – full sun – high 75 – low 59
What I LIKE
- 6:28 – depart (ahead of time)
- 6:37 – cross tracks
- 6:47 – arrive Avis
- nice man gets there early and checks us out
- no garage & next to terminals – easy getting shuttle
Monreale
- 7:10 – shuttle takes us
- **7:15 – arrive
- go for a cappuccino – have to have it reheated
- 8:10 – checked in & bags are 44 lb (carry ons loaded)
- 8:20 – breeze through security – computers, shoes, liquids no problema!
- ***8:35 – boarding starts
- 9:05 – push back! only 15 mins late
- 10:50 – arrives Munich on time
- +walk to B gates – don’t have to go through security only customs
- 11:30 – hang out in airport – lunch – Caesar salad & tomato mozzarella Panini, 2 diet cokes – $18 Euro
- ++1:20 – flight on time – only 2 hrs
- 2:25 – arrive Heathrow
- 2:35 – @ passport control
Monreale
- +++3:00 – baggage claim – WATCH! Bathroom door is stuck again and won’t open!
- Nice lady hears me banging and opens it
- 3:15 – my bag shows up – Chris’s 5 mins later
- Costa Coffee cappuccino break
- #4:00 – take shuttle to Hilton Terminal 5
- 4:15 – arrive Hilton – Sunita checks us in & upgrades us to Concierge Level – WATCH! (Chris used to have platinum status when he was working)
- 6:00 – 8:00 happy hour! Appetizers, cheese, veggies, sandwiches – dinner is served!
- 11:00 – really midnight for us
Agrigento
What I DON’T LIKE
- 4:30 am wake up
- 5:20 am get up
- 6:20 – lukewarm cappuccino
- 6:33 – train coming & miss crossing tracks by nanosecond
- *they don’t open until 7 am
- have to pay Italian road tax $35.50 US
- **huge long line @ Air Berlin only 2 agents
- ***more hurry up & wait on jetway
- plane is packed full
- +have to wait 30 mins for agent to come to stamp our passports
- ++more plane packed full
- +++bags delayed because bar code scanner issue
- #this is not anywhere near terminal 5 – Terminal 4 has the Hilton
- Costs $22 for 2 rt tickets! Bus comes every 30 mins – WATT
WATCH – What Are The CHances!
WATT – What Are They Thinking!
Segesta
FUN-fact – Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites with a total of 49.
FUN-travel: Terrasini, Sicily – Last Full Day
November 15, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Terrasini, Sicily – Last Full Day
Day 43 – Monday, October 28 – Terrasini, Sicily – Full Day – full sun – high 75 – low 59
Downtown Terrasini
What I LIKE
- *7:30 – get up
- **10:30 – walk to piazza & town center
- scope out dinner ops
- notice clock tower & time is one hour earlier
- buy stamp for Cinzia’s bday card (Nov 2nd)
- 2nd clock in town reads same thing – hmmm what is going on?
- Chris says “they just never changed it for DST”
- 11:50 – drive to airport (have early flight & don’t want any surprises)
- 12:20 – drive south to Castellamare del Golfo for lunch @ Soho lounge
- got rave reviews on TA
- ***Pierpaolo highly recommended going to San Vito lo Capo
- 12:55 arrive – GPS worked perfectly!
- Lunch – spaghetti w/olive oil, garlic & fresh clams VG! – caponata salad
- OMG – clock across from Soho Lounge reads 1 hour earlier too!
- it pays to be observant! we assume we went across a time zone
- +1:20 – arrive Segesta – magnificent sitting high on the hill – $6 Euro pp
- 1:50 – head back
Terrasini
- ++2:30 – need gas
- 2:40 – GPS finds one that is open
- 2:50 – back to hotel
- room happy hour w/carafe wine – $12Euro
Segesta
- discussion ensues on what to do for the 24 hrs we’re in London tomorrow – I suggest dinner & a play – Chris says the big storm that hit affected the train service – but not a problem “we’ll just get a limo!” NOT! dinner & a play would be his worst nightmare – good for a lot of laughs!
- 7:45 – walk to dinner
“The Locals”
- 8:00 – arrive Arabesque – on 1st floor under Caza Manzella B&B – pizza w/olives, bell pepper, onion pepperoni – mixed salad – Planeta Burdese 2006 $30 Euro not on wine menu VG – & 2nd best pizza on trip!
- 11:30 – time for night night
What I DON’T LIKE
- *5:30 – wake up
- **pretty small & not much to see
- ***too far on small, narrow windy roads through mountains – had enough of that!
- +totally missed the amphitheatre – another example of poor signage & why you should have your guide book with you and not in the hotel room!
- ++1st station not open
FUN-fact – Segesta is one of the most well preserved Doric Temples in the world.
FUN-photos: Prague to Palermo – September, 2013 – Movie Trailer
November 11, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Prague to Palermo – September, 2013 – Movie Trailer
The editing of the video that we shot has begun! Here’s a little snippet. Enjoy!