Planes, Trains and Automobiles (and a Big Bus)

One of the benefits of being anywhere in Europe is that you can go to most other places in Europe pretty cheaply ($78 round trip from Warsaw to Rome).  Going cheaply has its own set of problems to deal with, but if you have a major dose of wanderlust, as I do, it's a huge plus to be able to GO! without breaking the bank.  I can deal with the associated problems, but I am now quite well-versed on how especially difficult it is for little kids to handle the stress.

We arrived at the Parker's new Warsaw home on Tuesday, and left for Rome on Thursday.  In hindsight, the trip may have been better to do the second weekend I'm here, but I leave early Sunday morning so that second weekend isn't even a whole weekend. 

One of the major low-cost airlines in Europe is RyanAir, which operates out of minor airports - Modlin in the case of Warsaw, which is a good 40 minute drive from where the Parkers live.  The good news is that Uber rides are pretty inexpensive to the airport (as is Warsaw in general).  The bad news is that it is about three times as expensive and three times as long as it would be to go to Chopin airport.  The only downfall relative to Uber is that you will have to wait for your return ride, whereas the driver was at our place within about 5 minutes for the ride out to Modlin.  We ended up taking a taxi home when we got back, at about 45 Euros, which was quite a bit more than the trip to the airport. 

RyanAir offers amazingly low fares all around Europe (5 Euros RT to Gdansk!), but their business model is like any other "low cost" airline.  They charge extra for EVERY DAMN THING, and too bad if you didn't know about any given charge.  For example, we were charged because we did not check in online at least two hours prior to departure.  Rather than online check-in being recommended, with RyanAir it is required.  This lack of knowledge essentially doubled our ticket price.  Not printing your boarding pass before arriving at the airport will cost you 15 Euro per ticket. They also charge for every checked bag, while ONE carry-on bag is free.  This seems entirely backward to me, since it seemed like few people checked baggage and everyone had carry-on baggage.  So everyone is fighting tooth and nail for space in the cabin, while the bottom of the plane must have been relatively empty. 

We found the desk agents to be somewhat rude and unhelpful.  Luckily, the flight attendants were the opposite. 

Arriving in the Ciampino airport in Rome (again, a minor airport), we were fortunate to have been told by the gentleman from whom we had rented an apartment in Rome how much we should pay for a taxi to his place.  The drivers in the taxi line started with an amount that was almost double what Marco had said.  Since I knew going in what it should be, I was confident in insisting on the amount he had suggested (30 Euros to Marco's apartment).  The drivers tried very hard to insist that this was an unreasonable fare, but I held firm.  I try not to read sexism into too many situations, but since the taxi drivers accepted Sterling saying the very same amount, without argument, I'm not sure what other conclusion one could have.  At any rate, you should always try to get the amount before you get in.  If they are running the meter, it's helpful if you have at least a general knowledge of the city layout and a Google maps estimate of how long the trip should take. 

Marco's apartment is literally around the corner from the Colosseum and the Forum, so we could see quite a bit by just crossing the street.  Rome is actually not a bad city to walk to where you want to go, but with two kids in tow, it was easier to go by taxi and Uber.  We did discover that Uber apparently only has the right to run their "Black" or high-end service.  For the one Uber ride we did, we paid quite a bit more (18 Euro) for a ride to the Trevi Fountain area than it cost for a taxi ride back (about 8 Euro).  The Uber ride was a Mercedes, but a rather low-end station wagon version.  So it's really not worth the extra amount for Uber rides in Rome.  I'm assuming that this was a concession to taxi drivers.

Taxis are plentiful in Rome, especially near the popular sites, and easy to identify (white - anything else is not a legal taxi).  All the drivers we had knew the city well and had no problem finding any address. 

A great way to see any city is on a double-decker tourist bus.  Most major cities have them now, and usually several competing companies, which helps keep the cost low.  You can get on and off as much as desired for the time period purchased.  They provide you with a running commentary via earphones, and in almost any language you can imagine.  We chose to take the Big Bus at 30 Euro each for 24 hours, and another 5 Euro for another day for Kris and I.  The kids were free, as they were everywhere we went (most venues charge only for kids six and up).  This may seem like a bit much, but you can ride it as much as you want during operating hours and taxi rides to the various locations would end up being well over that.  What I really like about it, if you have the time, is that you can ride one circuit (the Rome circuit takes about two and a half hours) and get an overview of the city.  Then you can go back - either that same day, and/or the next day and get off at the places that interested you the most.  If the weather is good, as we were lucky enough to have, you can ride in the upper open area.  If you're not that lucky, you can sit downstairs in the enclosed area.

Our final taxi ride out of Rome ended up being a bit more than our ride in, because we needed to stop at a pharmacy.  It added about 10 Euro to the fare.  However, none of the few pharmacies in the area of Marco's apartment opened until 4 pm.   

As we figured all these arrangements out, I couldn't help reflecting on how different my travel life is now, as opposed to my days as an Event Manager at Nature's Sunshine.  With Nature's, not only did I stay at 5 star hotels, I was always met at the airport and driven around by a local destination management company.  Now I have to actually figure stuff out.  It makes me laugh a little, but at the same time, travel feels a little more real to me.  Of course, that may also be because now I have to actually pay for it. 

Sigh.  Oh well.