Day 5 - A day in the life

Woke up, fell out of bed,

Dragged a comb across my head

Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,

And looking up I noticed I was late.

Found my coat and grabbed my hat

Made the bus in seconds flat – Lennon & McCartney

Window of  the day - Warm Sunshine

The sun sneaked into my room via a small slit in the curtains as my Blackberry began to wail the sounds of Santana’s electric strings - Samba Pa Ti.  The music provides a much sweeter sound than a clock with a ringing alarm.  Before I could reach the off button, the church bells joined in with their forceful bongs creating a cacophony of new and old.

The first thing I always do after silencing the alarm is to check for email from home.  A little blinking amber light when on travel provides the only link to home, and is always anticipated.  Unfortunately, this morning the light was a harbinger of bad news.  A very close family friend had left this world while I slept.  Go with God Bain – Semper Fidelis, and I extend my prayers and thoughts to Charlotte and family for the love you two have given and for someone that meant so much to Janet and I – his presence will always be with us.

Monday - Off to work I went.  I missed the L bus, but no worries the S followed shortly behind.  I was not sure which stop to get off, so I jumped off at the Penny Market, and had to walk over the overpass which is under construction.  It is the only part of the entire walk that really stinks, but when I crossed over I saw a sign saying the L Bus stops on the other side.  Tomorrow I will make sure I get on the L Bus and will be ringing the bell on the bridge to get off.  To give my co-workers a heads up – I caught the 7:24 bus and walked from the bus stop to the plant arriving at 7:55.  I arrived 35 minutes early, but I had built in a lot of cushion to be safe - it was the first trip solo.

Today I am going to spend time on the hotel. If you endure the write up there is a slide show at the end.  The  My One Hotel as a place is very good!  The rooms are clean and the hotel is well located, but nothing fancy.  The pictures are worth a 1000 words. 

Bedroom

Work Area and Closet

The bathroom

The bathroom is very narrow, but has everything you need - maybe more, but it is definitely just a one person kinda of place.

Oh yeah... nothing works unless the key is plugged in.  The damn EU saving power!  You leave everything turns off!

The views are definitely not romantic and marginal at best.  But remember... location, location, location

The breakfast, which is included, is filling and I think will meet the needs of the most any picky eater.  No picture but there is fruit, chicken babies (eggs), ham, assorted breads, bacteria (aka yogurt) and bunch of cerals.  I must admit Italian butter is kinda weird.  BTW Richard you are right - Italian Breads suck!

Getting to work - The bus stop we need to use is a very short walk, and to be honest can be very enjoyable in the morning.  Once you get off the bus and have to finish the journey to work – not so much. But that part it is very short.

After work for those who like to run or power walk, there is a park with great trails that parallels the waterfront.  It is also a wonderful place just to stroll and take in the beauty.

I have been asked to locate a laundry, and I have been successful!  It is a very short walk from the hotel.  The laundry mat is brand new and very clean.  The cost is 4 Euros per load to wash and 4 Euros for a 37 minute commercial dryer.  Self Service - Life is good!

If I was to give a hit  to Hotel One it would be the internet.  The wireless service is iffy at best, but the nice lady just told me I can direct connect in the room - more on that later.

I will not cover my dinner, but once again it was amazing!  Three course of pure bliss.  All very small portions and all full of flavor.  The highlight were raw fresh fava beans.  Open the pods and enjoy.  AMAZING!

You have made it through the details now for the fun stuff!  I took some time and tried to capture our Saturday excursion to Cinque Terre in pictures and comments…

Follow the link:  A day exploring Cinque Terre

Ciao

BTW - Comments welcomed - Just like email :)