Author: youkyong

Italy: Tuscany(7N/8D in May 2016)

~ youkyong ~ 1 Comment

 

 

This was a post-cruise trip in May 2016.  The cruise was a 15 day transatlantic on Royal Carribbean from Ft. Lauderdale to Civitaveccia (Rome) with stops in the Canary Islands and Alicante, Spain.   We rented a 5-seat manual car from the Budget Rental Car office in Civitavecchia. One week’s rental was $225, including a  drop-off charge for returning the car to the Rome Airport(FCO) from Rentalcars.com.

The total housing cost for the two of us was about $300(sharing 2 or 3 bedrooms with 3 other friends.) Rental car + gas + trains = $300. It is hard to eat badly in Italy. We spent about 15-25 Euros per meal per person. Lots of cheap & great wine.

Day 1: After renting the car we picked up two friends in Rome.  We then drove to Anzio where we had lunch & toured the city   We then picked up a third friend at the Rome airport and drove 4 hours north to Farnocchia, a mountain hamlet up the hill from Pietrasanta. Our Airbnb 2-bedroom house($125/night) had a parking lot.

Day 2: Cinque Terre. Drove 40 min. north to La Spezia to get on the train, but we could not find parking. Drove on to Monterosso & parked the car. Got on the Cinque Terre train(10 Euro for hop-on /off all day) and explored the five towns.

Day 3: Drove 1 hour to Portovenere, south of Cinque Terre area and explored that town.

Day 4: Drove 1.5 hours SE to Volterra & explored the city. Drove on for another 2 hours SE to Piazze. Our 3-bedroom Airbnb house($75/night) was right in downtown. Well, it is a small town. Easy parking.

Day 5: Tuscany Towns. Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienze.

Day 6: Drove around Umbria. Visited Perugia, Todi & Orvieto.

Day 7: Drove SW for 2 hours to the Tarot Garden, a sculpture garden based on the esoteric tarot created by the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle.  Spent the night in Ostia, a town just south of FCO Airport. Walked around the old town area.

Day 8: Flew out to London on Iberia Air($52pp).

 

Taipei, Jiufen, Tamsui & Taroko(7N/8D in Dec. 2014)

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We decided to go to Taiwan after getting off  the Celebrity Millennium in Hong Kong in December 2014. We love hot springs, and there were plenty of choices in Taiwan. The total housing cost was just under $500 & the trains/buses/cabs were reasonably priced. Lots of great restaurants to choose from & each meal was about $5-15pp.

Day 1: Flew 1.5 hours on China Air to Taipei(about $200pp/RT). Checked into our Airbnb studio($70/night) in Ximending area. Walked around town.

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Day 2: Palace Museum and the night markets

Day 3: Bus to Yeliu Geopark. Bus to Jiufen Old Street.

Day 4: Wulai hot springs area. Maokong Gondola. Public transportation including buses.

Day 5: Taroko National Park. Train SE for 2.5 hours to Hualien. Picked up by tour guide at the train station. All day tour($85 for two people).

This was on Christmas day.  I was surprised to see that it was a regular work day in Taiwan.  Normal rush crowds on the subway.

Day 6: Yangmingshan National park & Beitou Hot Spring. Public transportation.

Day 7: Metro to Tamsui.

Day 8: flew back to Hong Kong

Iceland: Golden Circle + Paris

~ youkyong ~ 2 Comments

 

 

In February 2014, three of us flew on Icelandair from Boston to Reykjavik, continuing to Paris 4 days later (R/T ticket was $600pp). This was to be a Northern Lights Chaser, but, no, we did not get to see the Aurora. Housing was $500 for the three of us, and the car+gas was about $200. Restaurants were expensive. Breakfast was $20-25. Other meals would cost easily $50pp if a drink was added.

Day 1: We arrived in Reykjavik very early in the morning and rented a standard transmission car from Sixt ($125 for 4 days). We drove into town, parked the car and had our first expensive breakfast.  We then walked around the old town area until ten AM when we could check into our Airbnb two bedroom house($125/night) in downtown. Spent the rest of the day walking around Reykjavik.

Day 2: We took the “Golden Circle(Gullfoss waterfalls, Geysir, Thingvellir)” tour on our own.

Day 3: Hot Springs of Reyjkadalur Valley (2-hour r/t hike)

Day 4: The Blue Lagoon. Yes, it is touristy. But it is still totally worthwhile. We made a reservation online and paid 33 Euro per person back then. Now it is twice as much.

Day 5: Flew to Paris.