TRIP REPORT: Highlights of my 7-Country Trip of April 2024! P1 and P2

Posted by Red G. (Omaha, NE) on 05/07/24 02:08 AM

My 10-Hour Layover in Chicago, Made Better by United Club

My main transatlantic ticket was Chicago-Copenhagen-Dublin round-trip on SAS, for $278 - I know, I scored big time! I booked a one-way feeder flight from Omaha to Chicago on United; was originally going to take Amtrak, but decided to fly instead. I departed Omaha at 07:45 and arrived in Chicago at 09:28 Terminal 1 of course, with my onward flight to Copenhagen on SAS departing not until 19:45 at Terminal 5. For those of you that are doing the math yes, that's a 10-hour layover! United had been offering a day-pass to their lounge at O'Hare for $40 ever since I booked this domestic ticket. I thought about it - all-day, all-you-can-eat breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner for $40? And I can hop from lounge to lounge in both Terminals 1 and 2? Click! So my advice to y'all is stop and think before you ignore these add-ons! And actually, the time went by quickly anyway as I busied myself editing my YouTube content and eating. And really, I wanted to be on my way to Terminal 5 at least 3 hours before departure anyway, so it was more like 7 hours at the lounge, editing and eating. The terminal transfer alone required exiting T1, riding the people-mover to T5, checking in and then going through TSA again. Flight on SAS departed on time. SAS does provide complimentary meals on their transatlantic flights, in this case dinner and breakfast. On arrival in Copenhagen, I find out my Discover debit card is unusable (throughout Europe, turns out), but that was fine as I have other debit cards for backup and could transfer funds to those anyway. My US Bank and Bank of America cards worked just fine at cashiers and even at those funky 7-Eleven self-service kiosks at the terminal!

I Used My Dublin Bus Card from 2022 (in 2024)

I arrived in Dublin for the first of three non-consecutive nights. My 2022 Leap Card worked! I was able to reload and take the buses and the Luas trams, and even the DART commuter train down to Dalkey and back.

OrlyVal vs. OrlyBus in Paris

Having not been in Paris for several years, one gets rusty with the skills! So I arrived at Orly Airport and thought I'd take the cliché OrlyVal shuttle out to the Antony RER train station and then take the train up to Gare du Nord, then Jaures where my hotel was, for a one-way fare of 14,10e - which is pretty steep and apparently does not include a time deadline; if you exit at a station, you've used up your ticket and that's it. This was at 17:00 so you can imagine rush hour, students, etc. the RER was packed! Silly me, I decided to get off intermediately at St Michel-Notre Dame to take a look at the Cathedral (after the fire and all), and then get on back down to continue toward Gare du Nord/Jaures. Nope, needed to buy a new ticket. So I groaned and paid 2,33e to continue my journey. Keep in mind, this 14,10e fare subjected me to a packed shuttle, a packed train, and a lot of walking and waiting. Sigh...if I had only taken the OrlyBus for 11,50e! Also I forgot that I could've just purchased a Navigo Card right at the airport and just loaded fares onto it. But I was rusty with the skills! On a lighter note, I did eventually get a Navigo Card and on my final day in Paris, loaded it with a 5-zone ticket, so I was able to hop on the RER C to Versailles in the morning and then catch the RER C up to Charles de Gaulle to catch my evening flight.

(To be continued...)

Posted by Red G. OP

Omaha, NE

05/07/24 02:47 AM

24 posts

PART 2

My First Time in Africa via Spain, But Not in the Usual Way

No, not by boat from Tarifa to Tangier. I flew from Dublin to Madrid on Iberia Express, and then from Madrid to Tunis on Tunisair. While at Madrid Barajas Airport, I spent 16,00e on a potato omelet and orange juice in a noisy and crowded food court. At Tunis-Carthage Airport, their lounge access cost only 25,00e - for an all you can eat buffet in an elegant living room setting. It was a relaxing way to spend time and enjoy North African cuisine before my flight to Athens on Aegean!

Athens' 24-hr Transport Ticket and 24-hr Airport Express Bus - Wow!

I've visited Athens several times since 2011, and always used to Metro train between the airport and city center. I didn't even know until recently that they had a bus service to/from Syntagma, so for this visit I've decided to try it. And wow! Not only was it cheaper (only 5,50e one-way), but also less crowded and affords a better, street-level view of the city vs. being underground for most of central Athens on the Metro. And dropped me off right in the heart of Syntagma Square, ready to walk to my hotel on Ermou Street. In fact, I liked it so much that I used it on my way back to the airport! Once settled in the city, I went to the nearest Metro station reloaded that bus ticket with a proper 24-hr city ticket for just 4,10e and was able to ride all the way out to Piraeus and the beaches.

Nobody Checked My Train Ticket on Trenitalia

I had a ticket on Trenitalia from Venice to Milan. As strict as they were on the Vaporetti, city buses, etc. there was no ticket inspection from the time I boarded my train at Venice-Santa Lucia, transferred at Venice-Mestre, and then transferred again at Verona and all the way through that final segment out to Milan-Centrale. Well, inspected or not the ticket only cost me 21,50e anyway. Big whoop! Also in Milan, the initials "ATM" usually means the public transit network LOL!

I Finally Tried the Other Airport-to-City Train in Rome

Arriving into Fiumicino Airport, I decided to try the downtown-bound train nobody talks about. Well, it's not one train or one line, I believe it's basically any eastbound train at the station that's not the Leonardo Express. These trains stop at 4 stations in the city center: Trastevere, Ostiense, Tuscalona and Tiburtina. My goal was to get to Ostiense, because from there I could walk over to the Porta San Paolo Station and catch another train to the beach. Fare was about 8,00e one-way, so definitely a cheaper and better option if your hotel happens to be near those stations, anyway. Basically the same type of regional train equipment as the Leonardo Express (i.e. restrooms), so it doesn't really feel different. Once I reached Ostiense, then it was a short walk up to Porta San Paolo/Piramide, where one could access either the beach train or the Metro B. I took the beach train out to my hostel in Lido di Ostia, called Litus Roma Hostel. It was converted from an old government building. I love staying in this area whenever I'm in Rome; all the comforts of a beachfront city, minus the tourists.