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We had a bit of a rough first night at the resort. For one the hotel was hosting the various teams for the Tunisia pro soccer tournament so that made for a lot of noise. The guys above our room were so loud well into the morning hours, that I ended up complaining to reception twice once at midnight and the second time around 3am. The most annoying part are the constantly moving outdoor chairs that make the worst sound on the tile floors. Not sure how much we slept, but with the noise and our colds it wasn’t a lot. To make matters worse the resort also hosted a massive convention so lunch on the first day was a very noisy affair. But it all came to an end after the weekend was over thankfully and the atmosphere completely changed to a peaceful place that most visitors likely seek in a beach resort. We did change rooms after the first night so we recharged the following night plus scored a better view and bigger room while at it. We did sleep with earplugs for the first time this trip just in case and it likely helped since the soccer teams were still around. The beach is quite nice and we have been hanging out there quite a bit as well as the small water park that’s right here. Kilian loves it and has already tried out all of the water slides, even the fast ones, with our help of course. Kalina is not sold by the massive splash park and is terrified of the fake water spraying dolphins. The sunsets have been amazing every night so far and we have found a quiet area to eat our meals as well. The whole family is slowly getting over the cold and the heat is probably doing us all good. While we had high hopes for more action from the nearby airport, reality is that it’s very quiet, but it doesn’t stop Kilian from pausing in the hallway to check out the aircrafts across the road that have been there since we got here. Here is to more relaxation and lounging.
In the morning we went for a coffee at the nearby coffee shop and then headed down the main drag towards the old city of Nice. The walk was perfect as everyone was still waking up. We stayed by the waterfront for a bit before going back through a park. The kids took early naps since we all seemed to have caught a cold somewhere. This worked out well, since the hotel didn’t let us check out late. We headed to the airport just before noon and when we got to the train station we were shocked to see the massive line up trying to buy train tickets. Of course we should have known better since it was Grand Prix Friday. Luckily we had a plan B option of walking down a few blocks to catch the direct tram to the airport. This ended up saving us time anyways since the train station option would have involved quite the walk to the airport. Kilian was very excited to take the tram after watching it a couple times on our walks. We arrived super early and were not able to drop our bags so we sat around watching Kalina crawl all over the place. When we finally were able to drop our bags, the shoving and pushing began. Even though we were in the priority lane it still took an awful long time to just drop our two bags. The rest of the process went by fast, efficient security and customs. The lounge was overlooking our gate so we stayed as long as possible to have some food and tea. Luckily the flight went by pretty quick since it’s just a short hop away to Northern Africa. As we were descending Kilian announced that he had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately we were basically five minutes away and even though he tried very hard to hold it in, he ended up peeing on the floor as we were ready to disembark. He was a trooper about it though and just brushed it off stating “oh well, it will dry daddy”. And that is how we arrived in Tunisia, carrying a kid with wet pants. The airport was very quiet and finding a taxi for the short ride was civil enough after we changed some money. Dinner was excellent and while we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the grounds today, we are excited to relax again after so many busy days recently. This time we truly need a vacation from traveling. Now we successfully made it to mainland Africa after bouncing around on both the east and west coast of the continent.
Finally we were able to make the Côte d’Azur work! When we first booked our flight to Europe we actually had built in Nice as a stopover to Germany, but later removed it. So now after a few attempts to make it down here we had a chance since we were decently close. The 3.5 hour intercity train from Milan to the border went by quickly enough. We then changed trains to the French one that would take us to Nice. The hour long train ride along the coast is one of the most scenic rides we have been on. As it comes out of the many tunnels, the views open up to the Mediterranean and at times the train is so close to the sea that it’s literally below the tracks. The views of the cliff side towns along the way were also great and after an hour we arrived in Nice. Our hotel is close by and since the journey took most of the day the kids had a short nap and we all woke up hungry. After an early dinner and some grocery shopping we called it an early night, still recovering from our later nights in Milan over the last few days.
The following day we were up early and to beat the heat we started our half day excursion to nearby Monaco, the second smallest country after the Vatican and also home to plenty of millionaires. Additionally it was Grand Prix weekend so we were curious to see how the place built up for it. We arrived at an impressively built train station with enough levels to confuse our sense of direction immediately. From the exit we could see the Grand Prix track already set up far below near the waterfront. We headed down and walked through the small streets as everyone was waking up. Small shops were selling mostly Formula 1 gear and even some of the involved teams could be seen enjoying their morning espressos at the cafes. There was no way into the track area so we just wandered the streets around the track. We did pass by the famous Monte Carlo casino and the gardens nearby, as well as some other noteworthy buildings. We made a stop at the tourist office to get a Monaco souvenir passport, which entertained the kids for a bit. For lunch we walked down to one end of the closed off track area and checked out a random Japanese garden. We found a shady spot nearby for an early lunch before making the trek up the hill to the station again. We did find some elevators and locals that saw us lugging up the stroller pointed us to others, but they were sometimes so hidden away that we couldn’t always find them easily. It was nice to check out this unique place and experience it as the bustle of the Grand Prix was picking up. There were definitely way too many nice cars driving around the compact streets showing off the wealth and stopping at the many real estate windows confirmed that living in this place is only for the rich and famous. Once back in Nice we took it easy in the afternoon and walked up and down one of the busier streets to people watch and have dinner. The main reason we decided to come to Italy was to meet up with Ashleigh’s friend Allisha who is traveling around Europe with her partner Sean. It worked out perfectly because it gave us a reason to check out some places in Italy that we may not have gone to otherwise. After saying goodbye to Rimini we took the Italian high speed train, the red frecciarossa to Milan. Initially the train was cruising at a comfortable 180 km/h until we got past Bologna. Here, being a bit behind schedule it reached the 300 km/h mark which is not the most pleasant riding speed when trying to look out the window, especially sitting backwards. On the plus side the 330km journey took just two hours and was enough time for Kalina to nap and Kilian to stay occupied. We had lunch on the train and then arrived at the massive and historic Milano Central Station. It’s been a while since we have been in a big bustling city so the amount of people running around was a bit overwhelming. Our apartment is in a good location, ten minutes from the station surrounded by a big park and plenty of restaurants. Kilian took a nap while Ashleigh went down one block to meet Allisha for a long overdue reunion. We joined them in the afternoon and all of us spent the afternoon catching up in the nearby park. Kilian was excited to have some other people around as well and quickly made friends with Allisha and Sean. For dinner we sat down at a pasta place and while Kilian was busy admiring Sean’s emojis on his Apple Watch, we were able, for the most part, have a good chat minus the occasional screaming outbursts from Kalina who is currently popping out at least five teeth at once and gets irritated easily. We ended the night quite late and all of us were out immediately once back at the place.
We had breakfast at a nearby cafe the following day and got to experience the rather interesting way to get an Americano coffee. They served us an espresso in a larger cup plus a small jug of hot water to dilute it and add enough quantity to qualify it as what one may call a regular size coffee back home, but more like a small sized Tim Horton’s coffee. We met up with Allisha and went on a long walk through the big park towards the famous Duomo cathedral. On the way there we walked through the high end mall that houses all of the luxurious designer stores. The cathedral is a sight worth visiting and we spent some time circling it in awe. Kilian was not impressed by the timid pigeons who were not scared of humans at this spot since it is their feeding ground. We declined the touts selling corn as pigeon feed, but ended up surrounded by the birds anyways as we took a muffin break on the steps in front of the Duomo. It was a long walk back and we were all ready for lunch near our place before the kids went down for their naps. Ashleigh spent a couple hours with Allisha while I held down the fort with the sleeping kids. In the afternoon we made our way back to the park for drinks and play time. The kids were occupied in their new environment and we got to chat. A big thunderstorm was luring around all day and it finally hit right as we got back to Allisha’s place. Luckily we grabbed a bottle of red on the way and hid out until it stopped. For dinner we indulged in Italian pizza one last time as we are heading separate ways tomorrow. Kilian and I went for an early walk around the area and since it was Sunday everything was very quiet. The playground was empty except for one loud guy shouting on his phone to our annoyance. Once Kalina was up we all went down to the beach, a good half an hour walk from our place. The pathway was great and the many fishing boats kept Kilian curious. We stopped at one to check out their daily catch that was on display. The beach is super wide and was already pretty packed on this beautiful Sunday. Kilian made friends quickly and together with his new pal they loaded up a play truck full of sand and shells, and to top it up they found a small dead fish that kept them entertained for some time. Ashleigh and I got to enjoy our still somewhat cold beer and had lunch while Kalina pointed at the boys playing. The walk back was hot, and we were all glad to be in our cool place for a few hours. We did venture out again in the afternoon and this time successfully found a very nice beer garden nearby that was open. The garden had a big playground and a kids birthday party was there as well, so once again Kilian was off to play. On our way we planned to stop at a mini market to grab some pasta for a quick dinner. We forgot that everything was closed on a Sunday! Luckily we still had some pasta leftovers from yesterday and we were able to find a jar of pasta sauce at a small mini market that mainly sold booze. It was a great day to end our time here in Rimini as we are heading North tomorrow.
I We left Imola behind and made our way south to Rimini, a popular summer destination for many. It was a bit of a walk from the train station to our beautiful place overlooking the 15th century medieval castle, and our host showed us our spacious place before leaving us to it. The kids napped and I went in search of a mini market which was not easy. Everything shut down for the afternoon break and it took me a couple tries before I found something that was open. I returned successfully with some wine and chocolate and both kids took long naps so Ashleigh and I got a nice break. At night we went for a long walk to a park.
The next day we started our little side trip to the Micro-state of San Marino which can actually be seen from here. We took the 8am bus to beat the heat and the journey upwards didn’t take long at all. The windy roads climbed until we reached the top of the old city, at this time still empty. Shops were just opening up and to beat the crowds we started our hike right away. We walked up to the basilica and then followed the ridge, or rather edge of the cliffs from one watchtower to the next. It was a beautiful walk through the forest with plenty of viewpoints, so we grabbed some coffee and parked it in the shade with the best view towards the Adriatic Sea. We lucked out with blue skies and excellent views today. Once we got to the last tower we started heading back and the incoming crowds started to appear. By the time we got back to the popular shops and restaurants it was bumping. We had a quick lunch and tried a simple flatbread sandwich, called a piadina which was ok at best, before making our way down to the bus stop. We did stop to get a shot glass of course and also inquired about the infamous passport stamp at the tourist office. We didn’t end up getting the stamp since it was literally a post stamp and not just a passport stamp, but at least we got the shot glass as a memory. Once back in Rimini we took a break before heading back out in search of some cold drinks. We were disappointed once more as places were shutting down for the not so convenient afternoon break. Our timing hasn’t been great so we grabbed our drinks at a supermarket and headed back to our place. Ashleigh cooked up some fresh pasta at night, which we all needed and throughly enjoyed. It felt like a long day considering we spent it in two countries! The breakfast at the hotel was excellent, and we fuelled up for our long walking day. In the morning we spent a few hours just walking the streets of the city. We visited the morning market and city centre before looking for a park so Kalina could nap in peace and Kilian play. Around noon we continued our walk to the edge of town, the Imola racetrack to be exact. We tried touring a Grand Prix racetrack in Abu Dhabi, but it was always fully booked and then again in Doha without any luck, but we finally were able to find a spot here. Initially it was booked up too, but I emailed the tour company and they added on a second tour just for us plus another couple. The tour started with a lap around the track, which was actually a lot longer than it always appears to be on TV. It’s impossible to imagine that F1 drivers can cover the nearly 5km long lap in just over a minute. There was also a surprising amount of elevation change so one could see why the drivers may like this track. On our second lap we made a few stops, one by the starting line and another by the Ayrton Senna Memorial that commemorates the tragic passing of the legendary driver. At the end of the tour we got to see the brand new race control room with the big screens that keeps an eye on everything that is happening on the track. To finish off a fun experience we got to stand on the podium above the pit lanes and tried getting Kilian to celebrate a fictitious F1 win which was quite amusing to watch. Kilian enjoyed the tour and had a million questions and we also learned a few things about the race tracks history. From the track it was a long and hot walk back to our place. Both kids were tired from the big day and took their naps late in the day. At night we went for another big walk, this time to pick up some burgers and beers. We found a nice forested park and had a picnic there, a great way to end our fun day.
It was time to say goodbye to Lisbon once more and this time for good. We spent the morning getting ready and noticed the airport noise was much quieter, meaning planes were now landing from our direction, so we headed to the rooftop one last time to watch a few planes land. This time we went to the airport much earlier knowing we may get the runaround again and therefore miss out on lounge time. Sure enough, even though we were fully checked in and had our boarding passes we still got the run around to tag the car seat and backpacks. One person sent us to the special assistance line, where the TAP staff member pushed us out of line to help someone else, so we went back to the baggage drop. Here we were asked when our flight time was just so they could deprioritize us once more. Eventually someone did help us and we fortunately cruised through security and had enough time to enjoy both a coffee and a beer before boarding. Our flight to Bologna did leave late and we waved goodbye to our viewing spot as we pulled out to the runway. On the plus side we have been lucky with all of our TAP flights by getting the extra legroom seats, probably thanks to Kalina. Both kids had their naps while in the air, so Ashleigh and I got a chance to catch up a bit. We arrived in Bologna to a small but organized airport. We got our stuff right away and then took a short monorail ride to the central station. We didn’t plan on staying in Bologna, and instead hopped on a short twenty minute train ride south to Imola, our first stop in Italy. We just made the train with a minute to spare, as we forgot how inconvenient strollers are in train stations. When I saw two more level changes I knew we would miss the train unless we went against the signage on the escalators that clearly state no strollers allowed. I am glad we took the stroller on the escalators as we would have definitely missed our train by the time we found the elevators. The weather was perfect to end our day with a walk to the hotel, fully loaded of course. For dinner we just walked downstairs to the family run pizzeria. The pizza was perfect, the wine cheap and everyone seemed happy after the travel day.
We had a fun day planned since it was cloudy today and after breakfast we took an Uber to the Oceanarium, apparently the largest indoor one in Europe. Kilian didn’t know our plans and was very excited when he saw our entrance tickets which had a picture of a sea otter, a clownfish and a sea dragon. His mission was to find all three among other species of course. We ran past the school groups and were then able to enjoy the multi level aquarium. The big tank is quite impressive and besides the usual sharks and rays it did have a good size Mola Mola, commonly known as the sunfish which was pretty neat to observe. We got to see the workers go in for a dive to clean the tank and feed the lonely Moray Eel that was hiding in the rocks, all while keeping a watchful eye on the sharks. The oceanarium did have a few side exhibitions as well which made us spent nearly two hours there before we got hungry. For lunch we had McDonald’s, and Kilian was excited for a new toy, while Ashleigh and I were excited to swap our pop for a beer, remembering that it was an option here. In the afternoon we had another surprise planned for the kids and so we walked ten minutes down the road to a viewpoint right beside the one end of the runway. This was the perfect spot to watch plane after plane take off. The interval time was quite short so it was nonstop action and both kids loved it. Kalina even learned how to point at the planes! The following day we checked out our area, found a big stadium nearby and got some coffees and treats for a break at the playground. Kilian made friends with the neighbourhood kids and ran around for a good hour before he was ready to go home, all sweaty and thirsty. Ashleigh and I managed to plan our our next couple weeks somewhere in between and are getting ready to leave tomorrow. In the afternoon we headed upstairs to our rooftop pool and perfect view over most of the runway. This kept us busy for quite some time and even though we watched many planes go overhead, we still wanted to walk back towards our viewpoint from yesterday. We grabbed a couple drinks and snacks and then found a shaded spot to watch more planes.
The last few days went by mostly uneventful. It felt like we were mostly occupied with walking around and finding restaurants. We did have one pool day, but the wind was so strong yesterday that we even had to abort our plan to walk down to the main beach. The surprising thing about Praia have been the quality restaurants. We did not have one bad meal, all were amazing and since self catering wasn’t as convenient, we were thankful that at least eating out was affordable and delicious. We found a nice brunch place with homemade bagels one day, and returned to it for dinner, both times impressed by how good the food was. Our place was spacious enough, but with the host not speaking English we did have a bit of a poor experience when it came to payment. While we booked it online where it stated credit cards were accepted, the reality was that they only took cash. It being a weekend we were left with exchanging money on the street and the rate was far from ideal, resulting in us losing out quite a bit. We all felt ready to return to Europe after staying in Praia for a few days. We won’t miss the dust, but we will miss the great food. After our detour down to Africa, we are now heading back to Lisbon for a few days, but have already made plans to fly elsewhere in Europe. Our flight left a bit delayed and we waved goodbye to the high winds that were howling all night long. The flight seemed to drag on, the screaming kids (not ours), didn’t help. When we finally landed we had just enough time to power shop and eat a late dinner before it was dark out.
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November 2022
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