Vacation – Eric Berry's Blog

Sorrento Italy 2022

March 6, 2022 by allberry2001, posted in Main

A few years ago we went to Sorrent via the local train when in Torra de Greco visiting the area. It looked like a small town that we wanted to get back to someday, 6 years later we got the chance to go back and stay for a while. It was a 9 day trip from Reno to Denver to Naples where we rented a car and drove down to town. First off the ride was only an hour-long but the last 30 mins were on local roads and depending on the day of the week and time of the year this could take 2 hours easily.

The B&B that we rented was next to the beach and it was in a good location. But they forgot to tell us there was no lift in the building. We were on the 3rd floor and the steps in Italy are not what we called ” up to code”. The room was small but it wasn’t like we were going to be using it for more than sleep. After getting into town we found out some of the bars and cafes we closed for the season. They close during the non-tourist season. Like I said the room was near the water the town is uphill, we found a set of long steps to get up into town.

The steps were worth it, it burned off all the food we ate during the day. This trip was more than an adventure we were planned on looking for a home here but we made min effort on that front.

Next was the Amamife Coast drive that we planned, one of the reasoned’s we rented a car. The drive was very short in miles but what I didn’t know was we would be turning the wheel of the car so much. The view was so beautiful from what I saw being the diver. It was so with the drive, I would hate to do the drive in the busy season. The small roads and little towns would take you forever in a car, forget about parking.

The next day we had planned to see the rim of Mt. Vesuvius ( think the wife planned on pushing me in ) so we drive up to Pompeii. Now we had been to the ruins before but never explored the city. So we looked around a bit and decided to visit the city a bit. By the time we got done eating and drinking we never did get to the rim…next time..wink.

After all the traveling soon it was time to come home, we didn’t want to it was a 32 hour trip via Munich Germany someplace I had never been but we opted for a hotel near the airport to make our flight home, so I didn’t get to see much.

The flights to Munich and from Munich were far from packed so it was nice to move seats and even have enough room for a nap( laying flat ).

SFO and, Scotland here we come

November 24, 2021 by allberry2001, posted in Main

So we made it to San Francisco and as it turned out we had a show in Sacramento on Sunday so there was no reason to return to Reno for 2 days. The show ended at 10pm on Sunday and then we drive, getting to the hotel down by Fisherman’s Warf. The hotel was no frill’s place but it had free parking, others were charging about $60 a day just to park your car.

The grandson and his mom were there and did a lot of walking around while we got things set up for the flights, he had not seen so many hills before. We found a nice place to sit and have dinner and drinks and once Dawn was done with work she joined us. We also found an old-time arcade and spent way too much playing old games.

So the next day our real trip started, we were going from SFO to London on one flight. If you get the chance to make it all in-flight do it. From there we only had about a 3 hr layover to Glasgow, Scotland. Now this is someplace we have not been yet and I’m glad I didn’t have to drive after the flight.

The city was not as small as I thought it would be, some of the restaurants are a little pricy and we weren’t there long enough to find a place to eat that wasn’t expensive. We did find a pub around the corner for breakfast and good drink prices. The place Dawn rented for the 3 days was on the top floor and in the center of town, what a good view.

The train ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh was quiet and relaxing not anything like air flight travel these days. You could look out the window at the sites and you mostly had cell service. Getting into town Damein was so excited, he and I had been there before and he wanted to show Mom and Joyce everything. The house we had rented was a little out of the center of town but the walk was not that bad.

This was going to be the bulk of the trip and this city is big enough you need about 4 days or more to see it. The rain seems to be avoiding us for most of the trip. So much walking and even a night Ghoust Bust Tour made it a great time for all.

The next city was Aberdeen,Scotland and the “hotel” we booked was just across the street from the train station but soon as we left the station the rain found us. It’s called The Station Hotel and I would not recommend it. Mold on the walls and slanted floors and so hot inside the building. As for the town it self it was small not much to see and we were not there that long. Don’t think I would go back to it.

So we get back on the train and head to Inverness, Scotland. Also somewhere we had never been, the size of the town was small and getting around was not going to be a problem.

My wife and son just loved this place, it was small enough to get around and there were shops and pubs all over the place. We took a day trip on the bus up to Loch Ness and it was chilly but so beautiful Dawn said she didn’t want to go home. We did not see Nessy.

The people in Inverness were so wonderful and welcoming we wish we had more time in this town, Dawn was so hoping that the flight would have been delayed or canceled when we had to go, the airport was so small and so easy to get throw we had to start home. We will have to go back.

On the way home, we had an 18-hour layover so we got a room and did some exploring. We had all been there before so we didn’t need to see too much. And yes we did get lost on the tube. I think this is going to be the last trip of the year. Let’s see what next year brings.

Its almost time to…

September 30, 2021 by allberry2001, posted in Main

After a hell of a time with Delta Airlines about them stranding us in Amsterdam for 2 days and not being able to leave the airport, they canceled my tickets with no notice. We rebooked on American and saved $1000 , oh wait I forgot to say.

We are going back to Scotland in about a week, with a short stop in San Francisco. More to come next week.

Hotels.com Fraud and Thieves

August 20, 2021 by allberry2001, posted in Businesses, Main

Last year before Covid was a thing we booked a trip to Scotland with a number of B&B’s for the trip. This was myself my wife and her sister,then all hell broke loose with Covid. My sister in law contacted Hotels.com and got a refund for all the hotels she had booked with Hotels.com.

My wife had requested a refund for what we booked on the same dates, Hotels.com gave my wife the run around about the refund and after about a month Hotels.com gave us a Credit/Voucher for the cost of the hotel.

Move a year forward and we go to book the same hotel and use the voucher that Hotels.com gave us and it didn’t give us the credit at all. Knowing how hard it is to contact hotels.com I have been taking care of this for the last 15 days.

Hotels.com has been nothing but a pain in the ass, I have called multi times I have emailed and asked all you need to do is apply the credit to the booking we have. For whatever reason they can not do it, is what they say. They keep telling me we have sent it off to the main office to find out why it didn’t work. That was 11 days ago.

I get a hold of them on Twitter and this is what they said:

Apologies for the inconveniences this has caused you. As we further checked, our offline team already send you an email with regard your case. After researching, they can confirm that your covid coupon was not applied. As a result, we are not able to issue a refund. We certainly regret for being able to provide a more favorable resolution to this matter. ^JD

In my opinion NEVER USE HOTELS.COM they a shysters and should be arrested for FRAUD!

We made it to Italy and Greece

August 17, 2021 by allberry2001, posted in Main

With all the waiting we made into Italy via Canada and it was surprisingly easy. We brought our tests to the airport in Reno and no one asked for anything else till we got to Italy. The flights we packed as normal and all we did is show the papers that said we have gotten the shots and off we went.

Off to our favorite place in Italy we went, after a year of not being there the waiters remembered us and were so happy to see us. The tension we felt in the upcoming weeks and during the flight took a day or two to go away. We spent a lot time at the restaurant they would hold our table for us,I had asked for green olives one night and they didn’t have any. The waiter when and got some from the store for me. Dawn couldn’t pick off the menu what she wanted for desert so they loaded everything on a tray and brought it out to us to pick.

After the days of walking around and seeing so many tents offering Covid tests or free shots we were feeling like we could come back for a longer stay. Hint…Hint…

Now off to Athens Greece.

From the time we got to Italy to the time we left the rules changed to get into Greece all we needed as Americans was our vac cards so that was a lot off our minds. I did get transportation from the airport to the B&B we were staying at ( I would have never found it ). Once we got our bearing on where in town we were it was easy to find our ways around.

Now after being in Italy for a week I forgot how my cheaper Athens is when it comes to food and drinks. The one thing bad is there are so many Americans in Athens compared to Rome and so many of us just ruin it for everyone. We did find a nice place’s to plant out butts and people watch and since we were only here once before we did so much walking.

Πεζοδρομος Θησειου hanging with Dimitris Mavraganis

The photo above is the waiter that was serving us the last 3 days he was so friendly and so helpful picking wine. I would like to thank him again for making it a wonderful trip.

As for the trip home that will come in another post…