My Summer Vacation in Europe: Part 5 – Amsterdam to Bologna to Ravenna

 

My Summer Vacation in Europe: Part 5 – Amsterdam to Bologna to Ravenna

 The morning after the concert, I woke up, went over to illy (the nerve, they don’t open until around 8AM) and grabbed a coffee and a croissant.  I’d of course made a cup in my in-room Nespresso machine though.  I asked the hotel to arrange for a taxi for me to the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport around 10 AM so I gathered my stuff and came down to the lobby.

 After about 20 minutes, we pulled up to the hotel and I had a short wait for my room to be ready as I’d asked for an airport view room.  Sheratons can be hit or miss but Marriott is trying to update the brand and renovate the properties.  This hotel is attached to Schiphol airport and it’s beautiful.  Nice, big room with a large bathroom, a Nespresso machine again (and yes, I snagged milk again at Albert Heijn in the airport), an excellent view and a couple of restaurants.   If I have one complaint, it’s that the bartender at the lobby bar/restaurant wasn’t very sure of anything (I wanted a chicken Caesar salad which is available in the restaurant one level up.  I’d have thought they would have similar menus.) 

Nice view!

Comfy bed

I love a nice seating area

The shower was big

Anyway, I had lunch (great chicken tenders) at The Gate and then a salad with chicken (it wasn’t that good to be honest) at Commune which is a restaurant/ bar/ co-working space off the lobby.  I will say that the gin & tonic I had was beautiful and delicious.  Aside from a quick tour of some shops, I just relaxed in the hotel, enjoyed my airport view, and took a nap. 

  

Club lounge

The Gate -  one of the bars/restaurants in the hotel

Gin & Tonic

These were so good!

I briefly checked out the club lounge and had a light breakfast there in the morning before my flight.  I forgot to check out the hors d’oeuvres but the lounge itself is very nice, with plenty of seating and access to beverages and coffee all day.   The nice thing about this hotel is that there always seems to be luggage carts (you know, the kind we pay $6-8 bucks for in the USA?  They’re free in Europe. LOL) in a little hallway near the elevators so I snagged one, loaded up my stuff and headed for my flight to Bologna. 

Interior of hotel 

Club lounge

Coffee shop/lobby

I spy luggage carts

As I’d gotten bad leg cramps walking through AMS when I arrived, I opted to book a wheelchair to the gate for my flight out.  I’m glad I did as it was a long walk and at least this way, I’d save some energy.  Interestingly, wheelchair pushers in the USA expect a gratuity and more than once, I’ve heard them say, not so nicely, that “this is a tipped position” and wait for their money.  I don’t know how much they are paid in the USA and to be honest, I’m getting tired of being asked if I want to add a tip every place I go, even to pick up a carry-out pizza.  I tip, and I tip well, VERY well if it’s a place I go often.

 Anyway, I offered several euro to the nice lady who wheeled me to my gate, and she politely refused, twice. I said are you sure and she said yes, that’s nice of you but we’re paid a good wage here and it’s not expected.  (I even said buy yourself a snack or water, she wouldn’t take it.  I later wound up paying for some random person’s coffee!)

 My flight to Bologna (BLQ) was operated by KLM and while I’d booked business class and had access to their lounge, the one closest to my gate was closed for renovation so I just got coffee and a croissant at, you guessed it, Starbucks. 

 Business class on short hauls in Europe is essentially coach with the middle seat blocked.  It’s nice as you have more room, but the legroom isn’t any better and the seats are the same.  However, the seat was comfy, and we were served a snack box.  I wasn’t hungry but nibbled on the roll and had some fizz.  Plus, they gave us a ginger shot and it was particularly good!  Check out the S & P!

Ginger shot on plane

Breakfast box

The middle seats are left open in "business class"

We parked at a ‘bus gate’ and the FA helped me down the stairs.  The walk down was less steep than it was on the baby plane I took from CPH-AMS.

Bus gates make for good #avgeek photos!

Bologna airport is not super big, which is nice.  I went through passport control, claimed my bags, and went out of the secure area (still inside) to contact my driver.  He arrived about 10 minutes later and we set off on the ~1 hour trip to Ravenna.  If your ship sails from Ravenna, you can fly into Venice or Bologna (or almost any other airport) and get to Ravenna by rail.  If I had to do it again, I’d fly into Bologna, stay in Bologna and either get a cruise line transfer from Bologna rail station or a private car service to the pier.

 My hotel was in the limited traffic zone (ZTL) and most places can provide a pass for car services/shuttles to enter the area.  I secured one but since I had a short wait for someone to come check me in, and the driver had to depart, he couldn’t collect the pass.  I never heard that there was a problem, so I presume that he wasn’t ticketed or fined.

 Le Case Di San Vitale is a charming Bed and Breakfast in Ravenna and it’s close to restaurants, bars, shops, gelato and one of the famous locations for mosaics (Basilica Di San Vitale) is just across the street.  I’ll review the two, yes two, hotels I visited while I spent one night in Ravenna.  In hindsight, I should have stuck with the first hotel I booked, a year before the trip, as it likely would have been more comfortable and more to my liking. 

I rang the bell at the hotel, all 3 of them actually and no one answered so I called the number posted on the sign and a few minutes later, a staff member arrived to check me in and give me the keys that I would need for the hotel:  one for the wooden door that gets closed at night, one for my room and another to re-enter the building from the courtyard.  You can read my full review of Le Case di San Vitale on TripAdvisor. 

Once settled into my room, I'd hoped that the air conditioner would cool it off. I ran out for lunch and to see the mosaics across the street.  After maybe 2 hours, I went back into my room yet it never cooled off.  I enjoyed a cocktail in the bar next door, ate dinner, (I did try and nap for a bit before dinner but still, too hot!)  TL;DR, after a few calls and more time, it became clear that staying in the room wasn't an option.  I found a room at the NH Ravenna, and not speaking enough Italian to call a taxi, find out if they could enter the ZTL and tell them where I needed to go, I went back to the bar and asked the kind server to help me.  She called a cab on her app, and I set off to the NH Ravenna.  Pro Tip: make friends with bartenders and servers, give them a gratuity (even a small one since it's not expected in Italy), be super nice and they'll happily assist travelers!

Exterior. At night a large, wooden door closes in front of the glass door

Room

Room

Mosaic shower fits the area

😧😨😟

3 keys, small metal for front door, "key" to room,

white key card for courtyard door

(I originally planned to stay at Hotel Palazzo Bezzi yet I changed it as I thought I wanted to be closer to some of the sights.  I probably should have stayed with my first choice.)  Le Case di San Vitale is very nice, but the issue with the air conditioner and the fact that it's not staffed on-site 24/7 and that the elevator had a sign suggesting to NOT use it once the staff went home, contributed to my changing hotels.

In Part 6, a bit more about my time in Ravenna, the NH Ravenna hotel and getting to the ship!