Italy - Agrate Brianza

My journey took me to Italy now, though it's projected to be mostly of work.

It started at Budapest Airport, as per usual. Ryanair is my least favourite airline, but they are the only ones who go to Northern Italy directly from Budapest. They have messed around with their price settings, so it got increasingly complicated. We got priority boarding just to make sure that the laptop wouldn't end up in cargo. We had the big bag wrapped up, to prevent theft. Budapest Airport has been in the news a lot lately, because the steeling got out of hand. The rule had always been that you only put clothing and toiletries in what you check in, but it's been getting international attention just how bad the thefts had got. Hence more people are opting to get things wrapped.

I also tested my new laptop backpack. I never got the point of laptop bags that you carried on your side. Especially for women, laptops can get heavy. I've had pain in my waist because of heavy bags, so I decided to get a backpack for my work laptop. I got a Samsonite one, and it was well worth the higher price. I could feel my spine being supported much better.

My usual routine at the airport was interrupted by Costa Coffee being closed. I'm lactose intolerant, so I always have to pay attention that they have my milk where I get my coffee. Luckily, at Upper Crust they had my milk, and even caramel coffee, so I was happy. Good coffee too, I recommend it.

As per usual, the boarding gate for the Ryanair plane was in a little building outside the airport building. We went there and waited, and waited. They only started to let us into the plane around the time when we were supposed to take off. I guess that's not so bad.

My seat was an isle seat, so sadly I couldn't take pictures. I got my laptop out and watched a few episodes of Iron-Blooded Orphans. I want to watch more Gundam until I go to Japan, because I want to check out the Gundam café in Tokyo. What was annoying was the captain of the plane. When he spoke, you couldn't tell if it was Italian or English most of the time. He was speaking so fast, I don't think he breathed. The speakers were extra loud too. I was just glad it was a short flight.

We arrived to Bergamo airport, which is sort of near Milan. There are lots of buses going to Milan, so if you arrive to that airport, don't worry. I'm sure they also have a price competition going on. We got our rental car, and were off to Agrate Brianza, where the hotel is. Sort of.

On the way we stopped at a local store and got some food and drinks. Nothing special, but I usually get Yoya drinks here, which are very nice.

Checking into the hotel - Hotel Ibis Styles Agrate Brianza - went very smoothly. The receptionist spoke really good English, she didn't even have the usual Italian accent. Very nice woman too.

I got an accessible room, because they're cheaper. For more on the room, check out my video. What I don't talk about on there is that the bed is very comfortable. The water pressure in the shower is okay, could be stronger. The hand-shower was also so high up, it was a bit difficult to reach. Good thing I'm not in a wheelchair. The annoying thing is that since the room is right next to the lift, I can hear it going up and down all the time. There is also an electric buzzing in the room, and so I have to have something on all the time to make a sound barrier. They often have this sound in chain hotels. Why, I have no idea, but it's highly annoying.

We had dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Kind of late, as my boss usually likes to eat at odd hours. Not very good for my attempts to lose weight. I was pretty tired by then, so of course I made the bad choice of pasta. Bad for my waistline, but it was very good. Perfect sauce. Also had a glass of wine, so by the time I ate it all, I was ready to fall into bed. I did fall asleep quite fast.