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Hotel Villa Marcello Giustinian: Rest Days

During the day long drive back to Italy and to Venice we discussed the big question — should we relax and wind down for a couple of days or should we tackle Venice?

We were still not sure quite what we would do when we approached Venice and its well known fragrance assailed our senses — that was not a pleasant smell.  We had been warned about this olfactory assault  in advance — but to experience it full on was quite nauseating.

This did not lessen as we approached our destination for the next two nights — the rather grandly named Hotel Villa Marcello Giustinian.  After checking in and talking to some other guests it was clear that at this time the hotel was downwind of Venice itself and Venice was the place to be.

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Danke und Auf wiedersehen Vienna

Vienna was for us a huge delightful surprise.  A well-preserved, clean city with ample, clean, reliable public transport that was reasonably affordable.

Vienna was more expensive than we anticipated but not as expensive as other capital cities such as London or Paris — however I feel that we got what we paid for.

If you are a museum buff there are ticket schemes that allow you to pay in advance and get some discounts on most entry tickets. These would be well worth paying for as almost all of the major attractions charge for entry = allow 15/20 euros a head for adults — more if you want a guided tour.

Eating out is also expensive in comparison with Lisbon and the rest of Portugal and we found it hard to find authentic Austrian Cuisine — allow at least 50 Euros a head per meal — not including wine or dessert.

There is no such thing as a quick coffee — however their coffee confections and alternatives like herbal iced tea are to die for.  These two at The Medusa left no change from 12 euros.

Mr P has iced cappuccino, I have iced lychee and lavender tea — both were amazing and were the height of our culinary experiences here.

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Vienna by Fiaker and the Baron

Mr P loves horses.  He is with horses the way I am with cats — luckily, he has enough common sense to know that, at present, owning even one would be untenable.  We had hoped to go to the famous riding school while we were here but knew in advance that they close for six weeks in the summer and the stallions are moved to a summer camp where they rest from their daily rigors and get some “R & R.” They also get to service suitable mares to provide the next generation of stars.

So instead of watching the horses being put through their paces I decided to offer Mr P his horse fix in the form of a horse and carriage ride around Vienna. I have to say that in the balmy sunshine the whole experience was most delightful.

We chose our carriage with care. Most of them are veteran, if not antique, and offer seats of varying comfort. As most of the inner city is cobbled, and we are both prone to the odd back ache now and then, we looked for a carriage that had well padded seats. Mr P was also keen on choosing one that was drawn by healthy looking horses who were well-groomed. we also wanted someone who looked as though they had made an effort — no jeans and T-shirt for us!

There are standard fares/charges in operation — these were 40 euros for 20 minutes, 80 euros for 45 minutes and 120 euros for 90 minutes.  You also have the option to hire for the day or half day.  Note this charge is for the carriage itself — not per person.  Most carriages will sit four people — sometimes a 5th can sit up front with the driver.  Some only sit two.

Let me introduce you to Wolfgang Fasching or Georg Fasching — otherwise known as the “Fiaker Baron” — our driver for the next 45 minutes.

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Oh, Robbie! Reviewing the Robbie Williams “Take the Crown Tour” in Krieau Stadium Vienna

Time to go what we had come to Vienna for — one of music’s “superstars” and a once in a lifetime chance to see Robbie Williams perform live on his Take the Crown Tour. It was time to be entertained by the best in the business.

Time to go and see one of the stars my romantic heart had grown up with and with whom I had developed a connection.  Robbie had owned a little piece of my heart from the Take That days and at times he sung the words I needed to hear with the voice of an Angel.

Our tickets cost 118 Euros  for seats in the stadium –rather than the pit — cheap in comparison to the UK concerts which were our other main option.

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Organizing Your Money While Traveling Abroad

However you travel, be it by land, sea or air, you need money. More money than you would probably need for the same amount of time at home following your daily life. There is always the unexpected to deal with — The Emergency Fund — and money to pay to get around, pay for hotels, and such.

Here are some of my observations after my latest foray into foreign territory where the European-wide cash card/debit card I carry was fed into the wrong slot of a ticket vending machine and promptly swallowed up along with all my Euros.

A lot of people advise credit cards for travel. This is usually because the conversion rates can be more favorable. There are, however, transaction fees on many cards as well as the exchange conversion rate. Some cards do not charge for transactions in the same currency which makes traveling around Europe a lot cheaper if you are European. Credit cards are also favored because, even with the charges incurred, they cost less to use than old fashioned travelers cheques.

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Vienna: The Continuing Saga of the Lost Card

We made our way back to the hotel intending to have dinner at a little restaurant we had spotted at the bottom of the road before turning in for the night. Our trip on the underground took us to THAT STATION — the one where my card got eaten and we thought we could go to the security offices and check for an update.

In the end, we did not need to make that detour — as we met our friendly helpful security guard who gleefully informed us that our card had been found  — and would be posted to our home address in Portugal.   SIGH ( Sigh here means much muttered swearing under breath and sheer desperation).   We double checked it had gone to our Portuguese address and not to the hotel — but, no, he said it had definitely gone to our Portuguese address.  We said thank you as gracefully as we could under the circumstances and rapidly changed our dinner plans for the evening.

We decided to dine in. I always travel with crackers of some kind in case I need something to eat quickly.  We had a bottle of duty-free champagne saved for our night in Venice as well.  We stopped off at the supermarket in the station and bought some pate, cheese and some fruit and bottled water and headed back to the hotel for the night.

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Vienna: The Albertina Museum and the Rathaus

It seemed a little sacrilegious to actually walk up the steps painted with Monet’s water lilies.  There is a lift which provides wheelchair/disabled access as well should this be needed and an excellent cafe at street level.

When you get to the top of the steps you are greeted by this statue and a view over the streets around you.

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Vienna on Foot: Stephansplatz to the Albertina

The center of Vienna is a grand place. It has large pedestrian areas, it is clean and tidy, plenty of provision for litter and reasonable public seating.  They have some problems with pigeons but not as much as I expected.  They did have one problem for us and that was lack of directions.  You would get one direction and then nothing!

This is a visual journey of our walkabout — to get the best from Vienna as a sightseer — you have to look up!

Looking back at St Stephen’s Cathedral:

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Vienna: Day One, Part One

We slept like kings!  We slept so well that the hassles of the previous night were temporarily forgotten, and we showered and took ourselves down to breakfast.

We went to reception to inquire about breakfast and the internet — not really having been in a fit state to do so the night before. Breakfast starts at a whopping 19 Euros for a continental breakfast and goes up to 28 Euros for the full Monty.  Internet usage is 35 Euros a day.  They could, however, offer us a daily package of 35 Euros per room to cover both. PHEW!  We thought we had better check on car parking while we were talking EXPENSE — 25 Euros a day !

We could take our breakfast outside, which we chose to do.  PANIC — where is my camera?  I want to photograph this. Mr P goes to the car and I check the room — then we do it in reverse to make sure the other has not missed it .  Still no camera!  Mr P suggests it might have been left at reception after the debacle the previous night.

We asked, they checked, and bingo — there was my camera!   I was able to give make and model, identify and name other objects in the camera case and, phew, I had it back.

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First Night: Imperial Hotel Vienna

The sales pitch on booking.com who we use for all our hotel bookings:

This historic Vienna hotel features a health club with gym, indoor pool with sunbathing lawn, sauna and steam room. Guests reside in a 19th century Imperial Riding School in Vienna’s diplomatic district, while enjoying the lush 2,000 m² private garden.

The boutique style Imperial Club offers uniquely designed rooms and suites with elegant furnishings. Standard features include flat — screen TVs, high — speed Internet access, safes and air conditioning.

Organic Austrian cuisine can be enjoyed at the hotel’s Borromäus Restaurant with a winter garden or on the beautiful summer terrace. The Arsenal Beer and Wine Pub proposes typical Austrian dishes and seasonal specialties of highest quality.

Guests may discover hidden gems only a local would know with Renaissance’s In-The-Know recommendations, personally curated weekly by the hotel’s Navigator.

The Ringstrasse and the city center, the opera, concert halls, theaters and museums are within easy walking distance. The Rennweg Train Station is right behind the hotel and provides a fast and direct connection to the airport (22 minutes). Various tram stops are only a few steps away.

We paid in advance last year and got an exceptionally good room rate — around 75 euros a night.

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