Doesn't Mallorca Sound Wonderful About Now?

Towards the end of May, we booked a spur of the moment (stupid cheap) Ryan Air flight to Mallorca, Spain. I told Chris that it would be a delayed present for his 28th birthday; but let's be honest, it was more of an excuse to escape a miserably long Belgian cold spell. Spain had also claimed a special place in our hearts and a prominent spot on our travel calendar after a trip to Barcelona (If you're interested, find some of our Barcelona info here, and here). 

I think there was still snow on the ground as we boarded a flight bound for Spain's largest island. I had heard about the neighboring party island (Ibiza), but the only reason we chose Mallorca was because there was a direct flight from Brussels to Mallorca for less than an Italian dinner for two (Italian is about the cheapest sit down dinner option you'll find in Europe). My type A-must-research-every-detail-of-a-trip-to-a-new-city-personality sort of took a vacation, and I threw planning out the window! I mean, how hard could it be for us to get down to a beach, lay out our towels, and relax on the warm sand?!

I learned my lesson (again), because what we wanted and what we walked into were so completely far off from each other!

 At the airport, we caught the local bus #21, and within ten minutes we were walking into the lobby of Java Hotel. Our accommodation was right in the middle of Playa de Palma, and while the hotel itself was newly remodeled and reasonably priced, the long stretch of beach outside of the hotel was less than relaxing! What we had wanted was a slow couple of days sprawled out on the sand followed by seafood dinners at beach front restaurants. What we actually got was this:

Posing in Pisa, Italy

The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Pisa, Italy. 

As Kayla and I were planning our 10-day-European-girlie-get-together, almost in unison, we exclaimed that seeing Cinque Terre, Italy was an absolute must! For centuries, that charming portion of the Italian Riviera has beckoned tourists to come and drink in the romance. We wanted to go and see what the big fuss was all about! 

From Paris' Orly Airport, we booked a super cheap (only $25 per person) Easy Jet flight to Pisa, Italy. The flight was uneventful and actually put us on the ground ten minutes before the scheduled arrival. Way to go budget airline! After landing in Pisa, we took a five minute bus ride to the main train station. Since trains headed in the direction of Cinque Terre seemed plentiful, we decided to grab a Pisa site map and check out that crooked little Tower that everyone reads about in history class. 

From Pisa's train station, it takes 20 minutes to walk to Piazza del Duomo ("Cathedral Square") where you will find the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa in Italian). Pisa is a small city, so there's not much to see there other than the Tower. I am sure that there are adorable, hidden cafes and restaurants in the city, but all that we had time to explore was the Piazza del Duomo. 

Construction on the Leaning Tower of Pisa started in 1173, and the famous tilt started in those initial construction stages due to a poor foundation. The tilt increased over time until the structure was finally reinforced in the 20th and 21st century. The tilt was actually slightly corrected during those recent reinforcements. I think she's leaning about as far as she ever will. Gotta keep that tourist attraction standing! 

Kayla and I had a great time and we were so glad that we took a little detour to see the Tower. We even  took a few of those ridiculously cheesy "trying-to-personally-topple-the tower" pictures that every tourist has to get when visiting Pisa. We also helped a few passing tourists frame and snap their own picture trying to push the Tower over. No one succeeded on that particular day. 

In Pisa, we made complete and utter fools of ourselves, and we were not ashamed. 

Santa Maria Della Spina Church along the river in Pisa before you get to the Tower. 

First glimpse of The Leaning Tower of Pisa as we entered the Piazza del Duomo.

Too cute!

Looks like I got caught trying to destroy the Tower. 

Pisa on Dwellable

Budget Airlines Round 2

Last minute, Hubby came home from the office and announced that his company had just booked him a flight to go back and finish up some work in Belgium. 

I got this goofy grin complete with a glazed-over-day-dreaming-look. 

Hmmmm . . . Belgium . . . chocolate . . . waffles . . . . amazing steaks . . . lovely people. 

He could see it in my eyes. I wanted a repeat of our December 2011 trip to my (current) favorite European country. 

"Lana, my flight was so expensive because I am flying there in like two days. But you know that budget airline, Ryan Air, just started flying out of Budapest, and Wizz Air has service out of that airport too. Maybe we can find a deal on a flight so you can spend the week with me in Belgium. You know I have to work .  . . think you can entertain yourself?"

Ya think? I have gotten really good at entertaining myself these days. If nothing else, I assumed a sunny patio, my camera, a plate full of handmade chocolates and a glass (or two) of wine could entertain me for a few days while Hubby slaved away. 

(You're the BEST Hubby!)

I immediately started an intense internet search for a reasonably priced flight. . . okay, all I did was Google "Flights from Budapest to Brussels." A whole bunch of cheap flights popped onto my screen starting at $40 round trip on certain days of the week! I was able to coordinate with Chris' flight for a grand total of $100! 

Belgium here I (errrr. . . I mean "we") come!

Most of the budget airlines (check out my last budget experience) ONLY allow one carry-on. Don't even try to bring a personal item such as a purse, briefcase, ipod case, passport case, shopping bag filled with the extra clothes you couldn't fit in your mini-carry on. Everything MUST fit into one bag. Everyone working at the budget airport is looking for passengers on the go with more than one bag in tow. 

I guess this one-bag-rule is how they make their money seeing as an extra bag will cost you between $20 and $60 a pop. That is usually more than you paid for one leg of your adventure. 

You get what you pay for. 

It may not be the most classy way to travel, but it is the cheapest, 

and I wanted to get to Belgium classy or not!

Fly classy - even on a budget!

I decided that since I was flying budget, I would start the trip out in style with a glass of champagne. Also, the guy working at the little airport restaurant was so bored that he sort of talked me into a glass. He didn't have to try too hard to get me to dish out the cash for some champagne. 

Next stop - springtime in Belgium!

Is Easy Jet Really that Easy??

. . . Or Worth it???
From the name of the airline, one might expect to arrive at his destination without any hang-ups, headaches or unreasonable amounts of turbulence. Let’s just say that I had a crash course (no pun intended) in Easy Jet procedure 101.

Knowing full well that Easy Jet is a budget airline, I honestly didn’t expect much in the way of comfy pillows and online cuisine with local wine pairings, but I guess I expected more than I got.

On one of our recent trips, Chris and I had to book a flight back to Budapest, and Easy Jet offered the most competitive rates; so we opted for their cheapest option and clicked “no thank you” when offered the Speedy Boarding upgrade. We’re fairly conscientious and light travelers; you know, the people who search for the cheapest rate, only fly economy, forget about travel insurance and try to pack the largest carryon possible so as to avoid baggage check-in fees. Yeah, that’s us – and I think we are becoming the norm when it comes to young travelers because it seemed that the plane was full of people of the same mindset. Maybe you have to be just a little bit crazy to fly airlines like Easy Jet.

So our adventure started in the airport “holding area.” I had never seen anything like it; basically, we didn’t have an assigned gate, so we were stuffed into a waiting area with the rest of the anxious Easy Jet flyers. Conveniently, the “holding area” was adjacent to the duty free shops, so Chris and I decided to poke around the stores while keeping an attentive eye on the monitors that would proclaim which direction we should run to catch our flight. I started feeling uneasy fifteen minutes before our departure time when we were still without a gate assignment. Just then the monitors changed, our gate was revealed, and the “holding area” erupted into a steady stream of people moving in the same direction.

No one had seat assignments, so it was a race – or rather a cattle charge - for a seat and overhead space for an oversized carryon. I think I mooed at Chris once while we were being shoved and stepped on in line. He gave me a knowing smile and all we could do was laugh at how unorganized and ridiculous the whole process seemed.

Once we showed the gate attendant that we had indeed paid for the flight, we were herded into yet another “holding area” to await the final race. Chris and I felt confident in the middle of the pack; we would be able to find seats next to each other and hopefully find nearby space for our luggage. The “holding area” steadily filled up but the gate attendant was not happy with our lines. She kept shouting at us to move forward, and had Easy Jet allowed her a cattle prod, she would have used it on us. People from the back of the line started filling in the spaces towards the front, and everyone tried to push forward as much as possible.

“Lana – they are bringing two staircases to the plane for boarding, one at the front, and one at the back. Let’s move towards the back one, then we can sit towards the back and try to avoid the rush of people.”

“Great idea honey – I like how you think. Always one step ahead of the pack.”

Suddenly the doors opened, but ONLY for the savvy passengers who had pre-purchased the Speedy Boarding upgrade. We all looked on in envy as they climbed the first set of stairs and quickly boarded the plane. Then to our dismay, the gate agent closed off the front entrance that they had just disappeared into, leaving us with the rear of the plane as our only option. The gate agent motioned to us, and everyone in the “holding area” made a mad dash to be the first to get on the plane. We walked quickly, confidently maintaining our middle-of-the-pack advantage. Boarding was slow and unorganized and just as we were getting to the bottom of the rear staircase, the gate agent opened the front staircase again. Half of the line behind us turned around and ran over each other to get to the empty gate at the front of the plane. Chris and I had gone from being in the middle, to being the very last people to board.

We were lucky enough to find two seats next to each other in the last row, but finding overhead space was the issue. People were so inconsiderate, placing purses and small shopping bags in the overhead bins when they could have easily been placed on the floor at their feet. The flight attendants kept urging people to help out, move your small items, make space, but their pleas did nothing to move people to action. Poor Chris walked to the front of the plane before he could find a space for my carryon. We shoved his oversized computer bag under my feet and hid it from the flight attendants as they did their final safety checks.

We got to Budapest without so much as an onboard drink and salty peanuts, but we were home safe and sound - oversized carryons and all. Maybe a safe trip is all that I should ever expect from Easy Jet from here on out! And maybe next time we will purchase those Speedy Boarding upgrades.

You really get what you pay for, and in the case of Easy Jet, you don’t get very much.

Have you ever flown Easy Jet? If so, I would love to hear your comments after reading this post. Do you recommend any other budget airlines above Easy Jet - or are the all sort of the same?