The Drive Down

The drive down the hill was quite adventurous. Big bus, steep downhill drive, Italian driver. Great combination. Luckily I didn't succumb to motion sickness. Otherwise I would have to say goodbye to my big breakfast on the seats.

Got in town in one piece despite the morning traffic which awaited us as soon as we reached the foothill.

From the terminal, it was a 10 minute walk to the Congress Hall. The sun was still hidden behind the clouds then, so it was time for jumper to be on. What should I be listening to this morning?

Breakfast in Sunshine

It was 16 C outside and Subuh at this time of the year was 5 am. By 6, the sun was already almost out. I was ready for breakfast when the cafe was opened for business at 7 am. And soon, the rest of my group cane trickling down as well. We had to get the breakfast quick as the shuttle bus would leave at 7.45 and things are efficient here. 7.45 meant 7.45 Swiss time.

The breakfast food was also much better than expected. I was expecting a light continental fare. But they served full English here. I had my scramble on toast, added to that huge croissants and cereals. I was done!

And the cafe latte was gorgeous, all on the verandah looking at the sunrise. Heaven it was. Incline see the valleys and Lake Lugano down below on the horizon. Shame that it was only for half an hour.

Time for Bed

Luckily the hotel had free and blazing fast internet. The only problem was, I was too tired to enjoy it. The full day journey, followed by lecture to 9 pm meant that, straight to shower and then sleep. Didn't even have time to properly unpack.

The hotel was located right on top of the hill and the journey to and from the hotel using the provided bus easily took 40 minutes. It was a winding drive as well. Not good if you suffer from motion sickness.

So, time to sleep now. Will blog more later.

Off to Milano

Reached Schipol in plenty of time to catch the connection to Milan. Then, we would take the 90 minutes drive in a minibus across the Swiss border to our destination, Lugano.

After the tiring call, I actually fallen asleep even before the aircraft took off. I refused the inflight supper, and slept for almost 10 hours. Even my colleagues were surprised. My ex-boss only managed an hour sleep despite taking medications.

I would blog more about the KLM flight - on a 777-300, an aircraft which was actually longer than the 747 - which I only realised after boarding, along with 415 fellow flyers.

For now, I would have to switch off my mobile - boarding soon.

A Quick Bite

Anticipating the terrible inflight meal, I decided to have a second dinner. I already had some rice at home. Guess that wouldn't be enough. Plus I planned to sleep all through the flight since I was still tried from the call last night.

What should I have? The queue at the cafe here was just too slow and long. Only O'Briens looked a bit sensible. So, that was where I parked.

Most of the Doctors in my group had already checked in but I was yet to find them. Hopefully it wouldn't be a crowded flight as I wanted to have some rest.