London, Paris, Jordan (as in Michael), and Rome. Part II
Lucerne, Switzerland, and Innsbruck, Austria
Welcome to my 36th Newsletter Friends!
In this newsletter we pick up where we left off in March, (March? Seriously??? I’m telling you Tastebuds Cork is KILLING me!!!) having traveled through London and Paris, we now enter Lucerne, Switzerland, and Innsbruck, Austria on our tour that will eventually take us to Rome.
Part of why this series took so long to publish is because I worry that it sounds inauthentic. If it seems like I am trying to sell you an Insight Vacation package, rest assured, I am not. In fact, I would never try to sell anyone anything if it meant being dishonest or disingenuous.
As broke as I am, I have often talked skeptical people out of buying my store-bought baked goods if the shop next to my food trailer, the Grumpy Baker is open because they sell the freshest and most delicious pastries and bread in Midleton!
I’ll gladly and proudly sell you a cappuccino or latte because I truly believe my coffee is the best in Cork, but I will likely send you to my neighbor if you desire a scone. I specialize in Mediterranean salads, sandwiches, and pasta and was hoping to sell only those but I learned quickly that I needed to sell coffee if I was going to survive. (More on this another time!)
Not just any coffee, I wanted the coffee I sell to reflect who I am and what I am passionate about. After getting to know a handful of local roasters here in Cork, I was torn. While the Irish are loved for so many things, reliably delivering consistent and high-quality roasted coffee is not one of those things!
I drew from my experience traveling through Europe when I decided I would sell Lavazza coffee, a coffee that came to be exceptional when the Italian founder traveled to Brazil. See why traveling is so important? My bold choice is paying off because most Irish are well traveled and many of my customers are Polish, Croatian, Italian, Macedonian, Greek, Spanish, or from the UK. There is a richness and aroma that conjures up nostalgia for so many.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t be everything to everyone if you want to survive in business. Also, I did not want to step on anyone’s toes, especially the Irish-owned artisan businesses that surround me. I want what’s best for everyone and I want my customers and you, my dear readers to be happy, so rest assured I am not trying to sell you anything and I’m not being paid to endorse Insight Vacations.
If I am trying to sell you anything with this series, it is the idea that all travel has pros and cons, but that the experience and knowledge you gain stay with you and help you in unexpected and interesting ways well into the future. Travel is essential for a chef and I regret that I didn’t do more when I had the time, money, and freedom to do so. Nope, back then I spent all my free time drinking in bars trying to forget my past lovers and hoping to find my next one. That must be why they call it wasted!
Lucerne, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria
Journal Entry
July 2nd 2023
This tour is whizzing by and going really really well. We could not have a better group of people, just the right balance of party people and families, and that is not to say that the family people don’t know how to party too! We’ve just crossed the border into Italy from Austria and everyone is energized from our espresso stop where we witnessed the chaos the Italians are famous for. Nothing made any sense regarding how to order, where to pay, and where and when you should drink your espresso.
We had an absolute blast yesterday in Innsbruck, Austria. We entered the city amid a triathlon and were surrounded by tracks, obstacles, and athletes. It was incredible and everyone was smiling, laughing, and having a great time. I imagine it was as close as I will ever come to wandering around an Olympics host city.
Patrick, our awesome Australian tour director held his Akubra hat high in the air for us to follow so we wouldn’t get lost, and a team of handsome Austrian athletes who were sitting at an outdoor table enjoying post-game pints started humming the Indiana Jones theme, which made everyone look and laugh in good fun! What a great town and super fun people!
At night we boarded a bus for “Tiroler Abend Familie Gundolf,” full of fun, food, music, and dress of the traditional Austrian culture. We drank delicious beer out of ridiculously large beer steins that got bigger and bigger until a couple of our travel companions got the biggest beer steins I’ve ever seen. Ari had a great time with the other kids at their own table. Hi on Coca-Cola, Ari joined in the fun and danced along and yodeled his little lungs out!
Patrick managed to get us a lift with another tour group back to our hotel, as our driver needed adequate rest for our trip in the morning. We had a yodeling competition with them and soon discovered that they were not nearly as much fun as our group. Ari and I were asleep as soon as we hit the sheets, but we learned at breakfast that several guests partied till late in the hotel bar!
We spent two days in Lucerne, Switzerland before traveling to Liechtenstein and then to Austria. Despite the bad weather, we really enjoyed Lucerne. God, the fresh mountain air was such a nice change from Paris.
We had a gorgeous cruise around the lake while indulging in local beers. I like when the sea and the sky are moody and temperamental, but when lightning was spotted we were asked to come off the exposed upper deck of the boat and into the enclosed lower deck. I walked in to find Ari and his new buddy Jack cozying up to the captain! Ari was wearing his hat which made for a great photo, especially when I handed him my empty beer bottle!
The next day we took a funicular up Mount Stanserhorn, one of the Alpine Peaks with incredible views of the lake and city. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos along the way up, thinking the views up top would be way better. Sadly, we were in the clouds when we arrived. Still, it was an incredible experience being 5000 feet above sea level, walking the trails, and admiring the beautiful mountain flowers and lush vegetation. We saw marmots and heard the bells of nearby cows that grazed along the mountainside.
When we returned to the hotel, we were treated to a drink in the hotel’s rooftop bar, because someone in the group had traveled with Insight Vacations before. ME! And this is how they show their appreciation! So cool!
We joined a couple of the families who were also traveling with kids for dinner. Switzerland is crazy expensive! We ate at a Chinese restaurant called Mekong which was 70 Francs ($81) per person. Thankfully Ari only wanted french fries which were 9 Francs ($10.40).
Journal Entry
July 4th, 2023
I have to remind myself of the itinerary and take just a few notes to remember it all. There has been so much! Amazingly, I have Ari, and these are shared experiences. So much of my traveling, dining, and exploring has been solo, it’s incredibly special and wonderful to do all of this with Ari. He is a great traveler and has a great sense of direction. He has taken charge of our hotel room keys, storing our valuables in the room safe, and setting the codes.
He has made so many new friends and today he really surprised me, deciding at breakfast to be our tour comedian’s opening act, without my knowledge! Ten or fifteen minutes into each bus trip, our tour director stands at the front of the coach preparing us for the journey ahead. This is followed by a segment called “The Life of Brian,” in which our travel companion Brian makes his way up front to tell some dad jokes, much to the chagrin of his wife and three kids!
Today Brian said he’s decided to take his comedy routine to the next level and hire an opening act. Then, he called Ari up to the front and everyone cheered. He climbed over me with such confidence, that I was taken aback. He grabbed the microphone from Brian and with a side glance to the audience he said, “Your mom is so stupid, she tried to climb Mountain Dew!”
What a brave and wonderful boy I have! He’s been a trooper. There has been so much walking, so much rushing, early mornings, late nights, and new foods. He has tried veal, sea bass, and calamari and has begun a love affair with creme brulee! I’m excited to see what he’ll discover next!
To Be Continued!
Funny Story…Well, now it is!
We were rejuvenated by the crisp mountain air and loved being out in nature, but no visit to Switzerland is complete until you’ve eaten your fill of chocolate and cheese, drooled over expensive watches, and purchased a Swiss Army Knife or two! Ari bought matching Swiss Army Knives for him and his father which he had engraved. In stowing the precious knives away to keep them safe, Ari thought he had lost them a time or two, but they always managed to turn up, until the last day of the tour.
Our airport transportation arrived at our Rome hotel at 5:15 in the morning and Ari and I were in the lobby early to say goodbye to our fellow travelers. We climbed into the shuttle bus and just as I was about to pat myself on the back for having us completely packed checked out and ready to go on time, Ari suddenly remembered the knives which he believed he may have left in a desk drawer in our hotel room. The driver said he could go and check as long as he was fast. I told him he’d have to go to the front desk and get a room key, and he was gone in a flash.
He returned remarkably fast, but was out of breath, crying, and shaking his head that they weren’t there. “That’s a good sign!” I told him, trying hard to believe it myself. “They’ve got to be in my suitcase if they’re not in the room.” Then we held hands, both trying hard not to think about the knives or how abruptly our tour was ending and how much we were going to miss all of our new friends.
We were the first to be dropped off at Fiumicino Airport and the goodbyes were limited to waves from a crowded mini-bus of overly tired and very hungry travelers. In an instant, I felt lost, stressed, and worried. What a luxury it had been, to simply follow the guide holding the Akubra high in the air while taking in all the sights and sounds of a city.
We entered the chaotic airport and had a great deal of trouble finding our airline, only because I assumed it would be close to where we were dropped off. No one spoke English and I hated myself for not remembering that from my first trip to Italy, and not learning the basics. I began my usual sweating, swearing, and snapping at Ari who knows not to ask me anything until we are heading to our gate after clearing security, but must’ve forgotten.
Airport security is a little more intense in other countries. You see many more police officers, some with dogs, as well as military personnel armed with machine guns and it can be quite intimidating. As we approached the security access point, agents were barking out orders to travelers making the always agonizing security check even more stressful. I was told to keep my shoes on by one agent and screamed at to take them off by another, all in Italian accompanied by some very helpful hand gestures!
Ari and I passed through the metal detectors and were breathing a sigh of relief on the other side, but then we watched one of the agents remove Ari’s carry-on from the conveyor belt, before disappearing behind a wall. I laughed and said, “I think we found the knives!” But then, sheer panic set in on what this could mean for us and our chances of making our flight. Ari started crying immediately when he saw an airport security agent holding his little suitcase in one hand and the Swiss army knife boxes in the other.
If we thought we were in trouble at the Metro in Paris, it was nothing compared to the prospect of being found guilty of knowingly smuggling knives onto an airplane in Rome. The officer remained stoic despite Ari’s tears. He asked me if we had a connecting flight in Tirana, Albania and I said, “No. It’s our final destination.” We were heading to Kosovo and Ari’s father was picking us up in Tirana. He nodded and walked away with the suitcase and knives.
Ari was inconsolable as we waited and wondered what would happen. The officer returned a few minutes later and without a word, he put the knives back in the suitcase and handed it to Ari. He didn’t smile or gesture or anything, and Ari and I looked at each other puzzled. He walked away without a word and I took this to mean that we were to proceed and not mention a word about it to anyone, but I couldn’t be sure. We were unable to relax until we cleared customs in Tirana and walked out into the fresh air of Albania, where we had a good laugh about our ordeal!
Isn’t it funny? So many of life’s little miseries end up being the stories we tell and retell for a laugh. The trick is to remember this, as it is happening, and not to take things so hard or seriously.
And Finally…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences between these two tours, traveling alone in 2010, and with Ari in 2023. On a grand scale, it is similar to what life was like before and after I had Ari. Traveling alone was exciting, much was left to chance and I could allow myself to be carried away wherever my gypsy heart led me. There was hardly a dull moment and it was super easy to get a table at a restaurant, a spot at the bar, or a ticket to a show. I was often in a boozy woozy state and was convinced that this was as good as it gets. But when the music stopped, the curtain came down or the last dish was cleared and there was no one to turn to, no one to talk with I’d write my thoughts and feelings in my journals because I’d just be bursting to tell someone.
Well, journals don’t keep you warm at night. Journals don’t reminisce or inspire. Truth be told, journals encourage bad behavior, the more scandelous and deboucherous the better! I see myself through my son’s eyes now and I want him to have a mother he can be proud of, a mother who now knows that being fully present for all the experiences we share is truly as good as it gets!
In the end, however, I realize that it is unfair to compare them. What I am trying to say, is that whether you’re traveling solo or with someone else, BOTH can be extraordinary, but YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE IT SO.
SO GO!
"Buy the ticket, take the ride" -Hunter S Thompson
Thank You For Being Here With Me My Friends!
Cheers!
Bridget