The Big Trip Summary - Getting Around

We made our roundabout way from Sydney to New York on a combinations of planes, trains, boats and cars. Frequent flier miles covered a fair bit of it. Multiple treks between New York & Sydney had its perks!

Queensland, Australia
We flew from Sydney to Cairns on Jetstar. Since it was a domestic flight on a budget airline, the baggage limit was 20kg (44lbs) per person. We had packed our luggage based on international travel, since we were, after all, flying back to New York. We packed those bags to the max, full of clothes to last us for 50 days of traveling in a wide variety of climates, plus the stuff we forgot to ship back to the States. According to Jetstar policy, we were fined for each kilogram extra, which amounted to roughly the cost of two Qantas flights to Singapore. Slight exaggeration, but whatever we saved was canceled out. Oh well. We were still in a daze from our fun-filled farewells, so we hardly noticed the absence of entertainment, food and leg space. When Dana and I were confronted with the huge fine from Jetstar at 6AM the day we were leaving Sydney, still reeling from saying farewell to dozens of great friends, we reminded ourselves that there would likely be many more instances of unexpected charges, and we would have to roll with it. Thankfully, it started and ended with Jetstar.

The car we used in Cairns was obtained on miles from Velocity, accumulated by Dana's numerous Virgin Blue flights to Melbourne. There were not many hidden fees for the Europcar we picked up at the airport in Cairns, and it was a piece of cake. That little white car fared better than I did in the Queensland rain forest.

Sydney
There was a scheduled layover in Sydney during our flight from Cairns to Singapore: 7 hours. But that was OK, because we booked the flight on Qantas with miles. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed 3 hours, and we were not allowed to leave the airport for security reasons. Sydney Airport has shockingly little to do and very few places to eat. Dana and I passed the time watching movies on the iBook and reading. I also squeezed a meal voucher from Qantas, which we used to purchase a salad and a bottle of wine. For about ten hours, we sat in that airport cafe and watched the sun and clouds play above the beautiful city that we were leaving. Blades of Glory was showing on the flight, so that was funny.

Singapore
Qantas was decent, as usual, but we were really looking forward to the flight from Singapore to Rome: Emirates. I had booked the flight through Expedia, and we actually had to pay for it, so we couldn't wait to experience this airline that everyone said was so good. It Sucked. That wasn't a typo, it sucked with a capital S. The seats were tiny, the food was absurdly small, and the mediocre films being shown were worse than they would have been on a Qantas flight. And the flight attendants were rude. Worse than the in-flight experience was the pre-flight experience. Due to our delay on arriving in Singapore, we did not get to our hotel until 2AM. Our Emirates flight was set to depart the following morning at 3AM. The visit was an enjoyable whirlwind, like riding on Space Mountain for 24 hours, but getting back to the airport was like getting back in line for another ride when you really have to vomit. Security screening led us into a tiny waiting room about half the size of the plane. As we sat, drained from the hectic stopover, we were forced to watch Ellen Degeneres dance in a raincoat to a Justin Timberlake song as a bunch of uncoordinated audience members danced along, wearing much cheaper raincoats. Plastic garbage bags, really. The flight was delayed, but they didn't announce that until 4AM, after I had confronted the service desk. We were freed to urinate before being cattle-prodded back into the holding pen.

Dubai
The layover in Dubai was a feast for the senses. We landed at about 6AM local time. A shuttle bus picked us up at the plane and drove us past the airport expansion to our arrival gate. It took about 25 minutes. Someday soon, this will be the biggest and busiest airport in the world... or is it already? It seemed to be, with the massive shopping centers built into this timeless alcove. At 6:45AM Dubai time I was being offered samples of liquor. Instead I bought the most expensive face lotion I have ever purchased. I still have plenty left. I'm savoring it.

Italy
Our first European train experience was in Italy. I understand why they fired Mussolini, but do they keep the trains running poorly just to spite his ghost? I mean, they hung him upside-down and skinned him, isn't that enough? Do they need to make innocent American tourists suffer? Perhaps. Perhaps. Anyway, we were at Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino), waiting for the Leonardo Express, for over 20 minutes before it arrived. It arrived empty, so I'm not sure where the delay could have been. Next, only half of the doors opened, and they quickly began closing on the humans boarding. Here's a train that is meant to carry passengers from an airport that only has narrow doorways and steep steps up into the carriage. I lost a thong, or flip-flop, climbing in. Those behind me watched the piece of rubber footwear do a Slinky act down the steps and onto the tracks before continuing their rush on board. That thong meant a lot to me, and I mourn its early separation. It was replaced by a pair of Italian leather sandals in Florence, but I still have the lost shoe's twin. I shall keep it forever.

For us, Italy was all about the train. We had been warned about driving in Italy, and I thought being a pedestrian was enough of a risk. We caught the train from Rome to Cortona, but, of course, we got off at the wrong Cortona stop. Cortona-Camucia, not Cortona-Perugia! Dummy! We hitched rides around Tuscany, noting the frustration in our American family members that each intersection merely tells you which direction to turn for the next intersection. Driving in Italy seemed to be like finding your way through a cornfield maze, at best, like playing QBert at worst.

France
We took a sleeper car from Florenze to Nice, as has been blog-noted. That was a great experience. More details here.

In Nice, we picked up our Peugeot, the car that would take us north to Belgium. A fella on VirtualTourist clued me into their Open Europe plan. It was essentially a leased car, which provided huge savings over car rental. If you are an American citizen and need a car for an extended period of time, check it out. The car didn't give us any problems, but 24 hour roadside assistance was included. The only problem was that they could not grasp the fact that I was not flying to Nice. In countless emails and phone conversations, I stressed that I would be arriving by try and will be traveling for weeks before I get there. For weeks before I got there, their office made frantic attempts to get in touch with me to find out what airline and flight I would be arriving on. Still, everyone I dealt with was helpful and friendly, even if a little deaf.

Now we got to drive! Our first European road trip was to Monaco & Monte Carlo. I still don't get which which one is which, but it was a bit of a let-down. The drive was nice! Speaking of nice, it was tough to find a place to park in Nice. Things got a lot easier once we left the Mediterranean Coast. French people are anal drivers, though. On a three lane highway, with no other vehicles in sight, I was in the middle lane when a car came up behind me in the right lane. He crossed to the middle lane, tailgated for a moment, then flashed me. I moved to the right, he passed me, and moved back into the right lane. I gave a puzzled look that he could not see.

Our biggest road trip was in France, when we drove from Avignon to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Our decision to take small roads caused us to spend a good ten hours in the car, but the views were amazing. Most of the time we were behind a truck, but left and right were gorgeous.

Elsewhere
Those sticklers for independence in Switzerland charged 30 Swiss francs to drive in their country, but besides that, driving was free. Gas wasn't cheap, but not a lot of tolls. Somehow we made our way around without a map in countries where we could not speak the language. I developed a special skill that enabled me to magically find every hotel without getting lost. When that failed, I would run into the closest hotel and ask for directions to the hotel we were staying at. Those guys love to use the little maps they keep behind the counter.

Driving gave us some freedom to see some of the smaller towns and less-traveled roads. Avoiding the highways in Switzerland enabled us to see far more of the countryside, but probably doubled the travel time. As we made our way north, it was interesting to see the change in crops, such as large expanses of vineyards giving way to hop fields. Sunflowers stood like waiting armies in every country we visited in Europe, seeming only to grow shorter as we climbed up to the Low Countries.

Belgium
Once we dropped off the car in Brussels, and Jan made his way out of the one-way dead-end at the airport, we were back on the trains. A much more relaxing and Earth-friendly way to travel, I would try to take more trains when we get back to Europe.

Back to New York
I've already double blogged this leg of the journey, so I don't have much to add. This British Airways flight was booked through Qantas on miles, so we had a very long layover. The flight itself was pleasant, and would have to take first place in comparison to other airlines of the trip. It was a pleasant and comfortable way to spend a few hours thinking about the incredible trip we had just finished.