Qantas Flight QF 21

Time

We waited for about 10 minutes in each queue and another 10 minutes to pick up our luggage, so it was all good but we were travelling in the dead time. The plane actually got to Tokyo early and we had to circle around because we couldn't land before the curfew of 6am.

Rating - 4

Comfort

The seats had a pretty decent amount of leg room. You can adjust the headrest and fold up the sides to sleep on now. The best thing though, was having our own TV screen to choose our own programs to watch. I think the facilities are pretty first rate for economy - although I didn't really watch any good movies (see my comments).

Rating - 3

Service

You know how everyone is always complaining about Qantas staff. I didn't find any problems with them. They were a bit strict but they worked much more efficiently than I thought. Maybe they were more polite on this trip since we were flying to Japan?

Rating - 3

Allowance/Gifts

We were just over at 41kg for 2 so they let it go. However, I saw heaps of people pulling stuff out of their bags so it seems they are quite strict.

We all got little amenities kit that contained a toothbrush, mask and socks, all in a stylish zip-bag.

Rating - 4.5

Food

Hit and miss. The bread roll served with dinner was dry and the wine list unimaginative, but they was nothing I couldn't eat. My favourite was probably the chocolate coated macadamia.

Rating - 3

Value

This was our 1st leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 22

Info

Sydney -> Tokyo
Website

Mercedes E200 Kompressor

Trip Summary

Munich -> Frankfurt am Main

Drive

Well, we got "upgraded" to an auto, so that was very good for my peace of mind. As you know, there ain't no speed limit in Germany so we made sure we tested the baby out. At one stage we reached 220km/h and I have to say, this baby handled it no probs. Slokky said it was very good to drive so I'll take his word for it.

Rating - 5

Comfort

So this is what's it's like to have a luxury car. Electric seat, adjustable for height and tilt, loads of storage room, individual reading light, individual temperature control, everything is adjustable from the steering wheel to the radio. There's plenty of leg room and the interior is of course leather. The best thing though, the sun roof. I LOVE sun roofs, I think I will get one in my next car...

Rating - 4.5

Service

I didn't see the staff at Munich but they were really strict on the time of pick-up and drop off, but like the rest of Germany, were extremely efficient. At drop off, they were also efficient, but they were more lenient on the time (we got stuck in a traffic jam so was late) and they were helpful, as well as being pretty good looking... (they were females)

Rating - 4

Value

It was $410 for the 2 days so I guess this is what you get. I guess if you can afford it then go for it.

Rating - 3

Clean

Back to the standard I expect. It was very clean inside, but there was a bit of dirt on the outside.

Rating - 4

Zoom Points - 20.5

Info

Mercedes E200 Kompressor

Website

Volkswagen Bora (a.k.a Jetta)

Trip Summary

Bath -> Salisbury

Drive

I'd been a Volkswagen fan since the family Passat from years back. They are reliable and sturdy, and this one wa no different. The Bora came with a powerful diesel engine and really went. We got to test it out on a few highways.

Rating - 4

Comfort

Soft head rest which is easily adjustable. The interior was soft and has much more mod-con to play with. However, there is not much legroom at the back - a reason why we didn't buy a Golf when were were buying our car.

Rating - 3.5

Service

I didn't deal directly with them but they were undersing when stupid Slokky forgot to bring BOTH his license and his voucher when we went to the hiring office. They kept the office open for him to go back and get his stuff, so understanding staff always score with me!

Rating - 4.5

Value

Well, everything in England is expensive, so you need to measure this on relatvie value. It is much much cheaper than catching a train definitely. Plus, we got upgraded from a Holden Astra.

Rating - 4

Clean

Very clean, but then so is just about everything in England. I think they have an obsession with hygiene, maybe their past has something to do with this?

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 20.5

Info

Website

Fiat Panda Unleaded

Trip Summary

Florence -> La Spezia

Drive

The unleaded Panda has less power than the diesel, but apart from that, everything else was the same.

Rating - 3

Comfort

We got a brand new car this time, but you still get the same headrest problems.

Rating - 2

Service

Well, after the Venice experience, these people were like angels. They still did their Italian thing (i.e., slow as anything), but at least they knew what they were doing.

Rating - 2.5

Value

Because of our villa stay, this worked out to be about $29 a day ($1291 for villa + car). However, unleaded costs A LOT more money than diesel, getting up to 1.39 Euros per litre.

Rating - 3.5

Clean

So it wasn't Italians that don't have clean cars, it was just that particular Avis. Yup, the car was very clean.

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 15.5

Info

Fiat Pana

Website

Fiat Panda Diesel

Trip Summary

Venice -> Rome

Drive

It handles worst than the Jazz, and that's not a good thing. Apparently the turning circle is not crash hot and the engine is on the smaller side. But it is pretty zippy so great for getting around the narrow city streets.

Rating - 3.5

Comfort

There's ok room for a small car, however, the headrests are rock hard and non height adjustable. I had to attach my own cushion on the heat so I don't get a sore head every time we go over some bumps. The seats themselves could be a bit more comfy, and all the gadgets are of the lower-hand variety.

Rating - 1

Service

I think this is where I got the true taste of Italy, but at this stage I wasn't used to the way things work yet. The Avis people were 20 minutes late for our 4pm booking which I totally don't understand, what's the point of BOOKING if they decide to staff the office at whatever time they feel like? Anyway, I found out that the Avis people just decided to go for a coffee so closed the shop. We were left waiting on the sidewalk with our huge suitcases and nowhere to go. What's worst, they worked so slowly once they decided to serve us, and they didn't know what they were doing! Hmmm, actually learning your job instead of taking breaks might help. We didn't get out of there until about 4:40 pm.

Rating - 0

Value

$39 a day is ok for the car you get. It's pretty fuel efficient, using 2.2 L of diesel per 100 km, however the service can't be excused.

Rating - 3

Clean

I was already fuming when I got in the car, but imagine my disbelief when I got in. The car hadn't been cleaned since the last hire, and it was filthy! The outside had mud and dirt all over it, the windows were dirty. I can put up with that, but the inside! There was dirt, food crumbs, bits of biscuits everywhere. And it wasn't just a few things, it was ALL OVER THE CAR! I couldn't stand it and went back to the office to complain, and what do they do? Come out with a hand-held vacuum to get rid of some of the crap. When it comes to cleaning, they sure worked quickly though, less than 1 minute later they returned the car to me. All the obvious dirt was gone, but there was still heaps of food crumbs between the brakes and the gear stick and the harder to reach places. Since I had already been so inconvenienced and was way behind schedule, I decided to not bother complaining further.

Rating - 0

Zoom Points - 7.5

Info

Fiat Panda

Website

Things you see everywhere in Canada

Vancouver/Richmond

• Asians
• Asian shopping malls
• Asian food stores
• cars - especially huge four-wheel drives
• flowers and gardens
• totems
• wooden houses
• Starbucks
• fast food stores

Victoria/Vancouver Island

• seaside
• gardens
• chain stores
• fast food outlets
• fat people
• boats
• fish & chips

Travelodge Victoria

Room

All hotels just reflect cultural differences...well from my review of Hotel Waterview, what does that say about Australia? Anyway, I digress. This is somehow so typical of hotels in the little town. It's a 2 level rectangular brick building with a veranda running along one side. You park your car next to the building and enter. There are 2 huge beds (I think they are doubles, but they may be singles...) in the room, with a huge TV, a huge cupboard and wardrobe. The furnishings are quite new, and the theme is green. Because of the veranda and only 1 window, there's not much privacy so you have to keep the blinds closed. The bathroom actually has a bath tub! The beds were also very comfy and there were many pillows, so I didn't have to worry about any flat pillows.

Rating - 4

Facilities

I found the strangest things in the drawers. Besides the bedside bible, the bathroom toiletries also include make-up remover... What's more, there's a digital bathroom scale! Hehe, maybe they are trying to make a point? Of course now that we're out of Europe, there are the usual coffee & tea making facilities, including a huge percolator in every room!

We made good use of their big indoor swimming pool and had a go at their not bad gym equipment too.

The staff were Canadian friendly and were able to cater to a dog.

Rating - 4

Location

Ummm, there's a Travelodge in every town? You wouldn't stay there unless you have a car anyway.

Rating - 3

Value

Well we didn't pay but according to the Internet, it costs from $65 CDN plus taxes for a double, so great!

Rating - 4

Snooze Points - 15

Info

229 Gorge Road East
Victoria, B.C, Canada
V9A 1L1
Phone (250) 388-6611 or 1-800-565-3777
Website

Krönlein im Weinberg

Room

Finally, we found a hotel in Germany that's actually different to all the others. This place is situated in a suburban area. It's basically a very big house, in the style of the big attics. And that's where we got to stay. The room looked very cool, with a huge slope ceiling and a window that you open sideways. Unfortunately that meant the room was quite small, but still bigger than Japan and Centro Turistico Citte di Bologna. It also meant we had to carry our luggage up 2 flights of stairs. The bed was big, but the blankets and pillwos the same as all the other German hotels. Still, they made some effort with the room, with some better asthetically looking furniture.

Rating - 1.5

Facilities

They have unique touches, like a shoe shine machine, a sewing kit, bottled water, but no fridge. The lollies on the pillow were from the famous German brand Haribo.

The staff really reflect the philosophy of the hotel, they were the friendliest and warmest in Germany. They were able to accomodate our reqeust for an earlier breakfast because we had a flight to catch, and they made us feel very welcomed.

Rating - 4.5

Location

As mentioned, this is away from the touristy area, but there were parking and it was nice to look out to see farms and trees. The location was especially lovely when you could have breakfast out on the balcony, with a great view over all of this.

Rating - 4

Food

The breakfast was defintely worth the wait. A few types of very yummy bread and 5 different liver/sausage spread along, not to mention jams, honey, nutella, cold cuts, cheeses, as well s the German breads, muesli, a really yummy chocolate cereal, yoghurt and fresh and dried fruit. The boiled eggs were cooked just right and they made freshly brewed coffee (unfortunately Italian coffee beats it any day) and I'm happy to report, not a croissant or pastry in site!

Rating - 4.5

Value

We paid 58 Euros, not bad considering the excellent breakfast. And the hosts had charm, which is more than you can say for a lot of these places!

Rating - 4

Snooze Points - 14.5

Info

Gerbrunner Strasse / Krönlein 5, D-97236 Würzburg-Randersacker
Phone +43-1-40 40 20
Website

Achat in Augsburg

Room

I'm beginning to think that German hotels all look the same! I didn't know that Achat is actually a chain until I arrived. The building was huge but ugly, the room was again, quite big, with nice blankets, big beds, but flat pillows.

Rating - 3

Facilities

Not too bad, they had all the usuals, plus a nice bowl of lollies at the front. Finally finding somewhere where they supply the shower caps was good too. Again, no fridge or Internet.

The staff were nice and friendly. They did make a mistake with our bill, charging us for breakfast when we didn't have any. This was all fixed quickly when I told them the mistake though.

Rating - 3

Location

It's outside the city centre, but we had a car and there were plenty of parking. There's good public transport, with trams not that far away, so it's all good.

Rating - 3.5

Value

We paid 51 Euro, which was ok for that area and size. The breakfast that we were slugged was actually 12 Euros - good thing you can choose not to have it, as I think you can definitely eat A LOT with 12 Euros.

Rating - 3.5

Snooze Points - 13

Info

Servicezentrale,
Untere Hauptstrasse 11,
68766 Hockenheim
Phone +49-(0) 62 05-20 49 0
Website

Hotel Royal

Room

Like the other German Hotel, Hotel Garni Diplomat, the room was quite big and spacious, with a very long and large bed and comfy blankets. The pillows were a bit flat though, but the heating system was quite good. The room and the hotel, was, in the German way, quite plain but very functional.

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

They had a lift, albeit a small and clumsy one where you have to shut lots of doors manually before it works. Our room was quite high up so we couldn't really take the stairs up, or with our luggage. They have Internet, as well as all the usual hairdryer..etc, but yup, no kettle or fridge.

The staff were friendly and helpful, with very good English skills.

Rating - 3.5

Location

Excellent, close to trains, tram and the city centre, and also right in the heart of the red light district by the looks of things. There's an Aldi nearly as well as lots of cheap eating places.

Rating - 4

Value

When they advertised, they said that breakfast was included, at 69 Euros per night, it was quite expensive. I guess you are paying for the location?

Rating - 2

Snooze Points - 13

Info

Schillerstraße 11a
D-80336
München
Phone +49-(0)89-59 10 21
Website

Hotel La Residenza

Room

The bed was big enough with some extra pillows, but the room itself wasn't that big, so after putting all our luggage in there, we had to stay on the bed all the time. The decor and furnishings were a bit warm, and not like the design-conscious efforts we've seen so far. We couldn't adjust the air-con so we were quite cold. This was also the first hotel out of the whole of Europe we stayed in that had no bidets!

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

This was a 3.5-star hotel, but the facilities were nowhere as good or everything as nice as Hotel Admiral. They did have 10 minutes of free Internet though, which, while good, you can't really do much with. Having a lift also helps.

The reception staff were so-so, polite, but not friendly. Who I had a problem with though were the breakfast ladies. They spoke no English but did manage to be rude! They were really slow in getting the food replaced, so people were constantly waiting, they told me off for using the coffee machine which was supposedly broken but there was no sign up telling you not to use it. Of course we had to ask for cappuccino, and they reply with a rude, "room number", that's it. They advertised that breakfast was supposed to start at 7.30 but of course when we got there they weren't ready, in the Italian way.

Rating - 2

Location

This was extremely hard to get to, we needed to catch a few connecting buses as well as walk a long way from the bus station to get there. Luckily Milan's public transport system works relatively well most of the time. I think this is best if you have a car.

Rating - 1

Food

Despite my discontent at the breakfast ladies, at least there was a bit of variety (when you can get it, you basically have to pounce on the food when it comes out) besides the usual fares. There were some coddled egg dish and other pastries we hadn't try before. Those cappuccinos that was so hard to get tasted quite good though.

Rating - 3.5

Value

65 Euro for an out of the way place with a smaller room and nowhere near the quality of Admiral. Still, out of all the hotels we've stayed at, this one is reasonable for the price.

Rating - 3.5

Snooze Points - 13.5

Info

Via Scialoia 3,
20161 Milan
Phone +39 02 6461646
Website

Admiral Hotel

Room

The room was very nice and comfy, decked out in period furniture. The bed was very comfy, with good pillow and blanket. The room was big with a huge balcony. Too bad when you get out there it's really noisy!

Something you probably didn't know, and probably doesn't affect you in any way, but they are the home of the James Bond Fan Club. The lobby is decked out with all sorts of 007 memorabilia.

Rating - 4.5

Facilities

This was a 4-star hotel, so facilities were excellent, or would've been if wireless internet wasn't broken. They had a mini bar - which meant a fridge! The toiletries were also quite nice, with all the extras besides the soap included.

The staff were quite funny because they didn't speak much English. Otherwise they were quite helpful. At breakfast though, we didn't get asked for cappuccino by the ladies again, but we really couldn't be bothered because there was a huge group at breakfast and we didn't want to wait.

Rating - 4

Location

Not that close to the city centre, but very close to public transport. There's a tram right outside, the train station is about a 7 minute walk away. I guess that's why it's cheaper.

Rating - 3

Food

The standard fare was present, i.e. tarts, pastries, cakes...etc, but the quality was better. They had some good muesli and fruit. I'll be quite glad not to have to eat Italian breakfasts anymore.

Rating - 4

Value

Excellent! For only 60 Euros a night. Too bad we didn't get to stay long enough to really enjoy it. We actually wanted to book 2 nights but they were fully booked out.

Rating - 5

Snooze Points - 20.5

Info

via Domodossola 16,
20145 Milano
Phone +39 023492151
Website

Albergo Il Sole

Room

A pretty big room with a big bed and firm pillow, plus extra blankets. Decor wise, things could be better. There was no carpet but this worn green lino thing on the floor that had little pot holes. The furnishing were all very worn.

Rating - 3

Facilities

This was only a 2 star hotel, so everything was very basic. The worst thing was that we weren't allowed to use the lift so had to lug our suitcases all these giant staircases. Our room was basic, by that I mean no TV, phone, iron...etc, but all we really needed was a bed, chairs and table really. At least they cleaned the room and we had towels everyday! I was there was a fridge or Internet though.

This was a family run place so they were very friendly and helpful. Over our 3 nights stay we met most members of the family. Slokky had a big football and F1 conversation with them too.

Rating - 2

Location

Right in the heart of the city centre, it was also about 10 minutes walk from La Spezia station. There's a lovely park across the street and the ocean is not too far away either.

Rating - 3.5

Value

You pay for the location I guess. This place served its purpose, but could be cheaper. I think because of the Easter holidays we were charge peak season rate.

Rating - 2.5

Snooze Points - 11

Info

Via Felice Cavallotti, 31
19121 La Spezia,
Italia
Phone +39 0187 735164
Website