Tag: misc

San Juan: off to a rough start

So after deplaning I go to the washroom and change into shorts (it’s 27C and humid) and futz with my valuables.. .
And emerge to find the outside of the airport virtually deserted. Weird. This is a big city after all.

I decide to take the local bus for the local flavour,  plus I’m tired and not hung go on going out tonight so I’m not in a rush.
It’s 75 cents per bus (it takes 2 as the first one is a sub-5 min ride to a multi bus stop near Isla Verde area.

I was told exact change needed which I foolishly thought that one could pay with a buck and not get change, like any bus system in, oh,  pretty much anywhere.

The driver let me on,  refusing to take the dollar. A woman changed it for me a minute later and I paid.

At the bus stop I went into the pharmacy to buy mints and get change, do of course my next bus roared by.

Waiting for almost 30min as I write this.. .
Update: as I feared make that one hour between buses.

Oh and there are 2 stops here 30m apart, neither of which are signed. I asked someone and he pointed me to the other stop.

A taxi would only have been $20 but that’s beside the point.. .

Paris: another rainy day

Actually the rain wasn’t bad yesterday, as the showers hit mostly during the night. But it’s cool, with a high of 21C/70F and people are dressed like it’s autumn (and it feels like it too).

We walked around a bit and enjoyed a late lunch out and about. Dinner was wine and cheese (inc. a tasty brie that makes the brie back home taste like Wonderbread in comparison) in the room.

The rain is supposed to stop late the afternoon, and the sun should come out again on Sunday in time to send us off.

In Paris for the weekend

The service and food were significantly better on the Air France flight (biz class) yesterday.

Staying in the Marais in the 4th arrondissement. Walked to dinner at a patio table on a cute little square, followed by a long walk through the 4th and back along the Seine.

Through Place des Vosges, and past, or views of, Pompidou, Les Balled, Eiffel Tower (lit up) and Notre Dame.

Also got to see the outside of the building where Susan used to live.

And some of the tour boats on the river have floodlights (to illuminate buildings) that would put stadiums to shame.

IT: Capri quick update

This morning we grabbed a taxi to the port (€12 booked through our hotel) and then a 35 minute jet boat ferry to Capri (€16 each, + €2 for large luggage).

Our hotel on Marina Grande, right by the port, is a very nice 4* hotel, probably the nicest of the 4 hotels. With a great view of the harbour, the Bay of Naples and even Mt Vesuvius in the distance.

Right outside our door we have the ferries, a bus stand, a taxi stand, the funicular station and a scooter rental place. So many options!

We did the Blue Grotto tour by boat (photo below; more details later) which was brief (in the grotto) but memorable.

Capri Town is up on the hill – a pedestrian centre with mostly expensive shops and restaurants.