Launching the Pinball

It's time to leave Venice. Today's travel is what inspired the tour's name. Technically, we're headed home. But it will take us four days to get back to San Francisco.

I haven't said enough about the Hotel Mary. We had a nice sized room, especially for Europe. The only weird thing was having to step over the bidet to get to the shower. But the staff at Hotel Mary was very accommodating.

My Lovely Wife had purchased some raw chestnuts in Rome. She asked the chef (who I think is also the owner) if he would boil them. He suggested roasting. But My Lovely Wife is from Asia where they boil chestnuts and asked for them boiled. The chef boiled them and made her very happy.

Breakfast was included with the room. At Hotel Canova in Rome, the menu was rather narrow, the food was brought in. The Mary had a real kitchen running, and a staff looking for something you would like. For frugal travelers, like ourselves, the ham, salami, and cheese plate also turned into sandwiches for lunch.

Once we found Camp Alto, we were out of the Tourist Zone, prices dropped, people were friendly, and the local bus system got us to Venice and back.

But now it was time to leave. We jumped back on the bus and took it to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, and went through some of the less intrusive airport security I've seen in a while. Now it was going to get interesting. We flew over the Alps, over France, and crossed the English Channel. I spied the cliffs at Dover, and had a good look at Brighton a few minutes before we touched down at Gatwick airport.

When planning this trip I had to consider the best way to get from Gatwick to Heathrow in just a few hours. Originally, I had thought I would take The Tube from Gatwick into London and then the Paddington Express to Heathrow. I really like the Underground. It's mass transit that works. (At least for tourists.) But a Londoner friend of mine warned against it.

When we tourist jump on The Tube and zip around London we marvel at it. But if you live in London and ride day in and day out, you see the flaws. I was warned that trains break down, and entire lines go down for various reasons. If I relied on The Tube we might not make it to Paris.

It was suggested we take the bus bridge between the airports. National Express is a private company that handles this. I was able to make reservations in The States. Since I was signing up for a specific bus and didn't know about plane delays, immigration, customs, etc. I allowed for plenty of time. I didn't need it.

The plane took off on time, and didn't hit any weather. When you arrive in England with an American passport you're greeted well. You're simply asked if this is business or pleasure and how long are you're staying. It's kind of funny to tell the man you're just going to be four hours.

We found the bus company at least an hour ahead of schedule. I showed my confirmation papers, and we were invited to relax in the lounge while they arrange to move us to an earlier bus. Ten minutes later, our bus pulled out. National Express was a great idea.

The bus ride was the only part of England My Lovely Wife has seen. The freeway was clean, and the land along it green. I can't say the same for our freeways back in California these days. With our permanent budget crises, keeping the freeways well groomed has fallen from the priority list.

Since we got on the bus early, it meant we got to Heathrow early. Heathrow Terminal 4 is like a shopping mall. My Lovely Wife encouraged me to buy some Galaxy bars. These are my current favorite chocolate, but you can't buy them in The States. (OK, you can, but they are not fresh.) The duty-free shop was selling 390 gram bars. That's fairly big.

"Buy a lot, you don't come here often," My Lovely Wife said. (Have I mentioned I married well?)

I wondered where we would pack them, but not to worry. The six bars made it into the backpack that must never leave our side.

From Heathrow, it was on to Charles De Gaul airport. We could see the lit Eiffel Tower on the way in. From the airport, we jumped onto a train. I had looked at the train map and figured we would get off near Notre Dame and walk the rest of the way. But My Lovely Wife had other ideas. She didn't want to walk through Paris in the dark. We asked for some help from passers-by about the bus, and got over to Bastille. From there it was a short three blocks to our hotel.

From hotel to hotel had taken all day. If we had paid for the flight, we would have flown direct to Paris and it would have taken an hour from Marco Polo. But it wouldn't have been "the scenic route".

We stayed in the Hotel Castex. A friend recommended this hotel who had spent two weeks in Paris a few years before. The night desk man was friendly and bilingual. We dragged ourselves to our room and were asleep before we knew it.