0. Not sure if the lie flat seat on the KLM flight to Amsterdam counts as a bed.

1. Slept two nights in Milan at Milano Scala. Hotel was nice but the space around the single bed was tight. It was the only single bed I slept in during my travels but that wasn’t an issue for me. I liked the proximity to the Pinacoteca di Brera. The Brera neighbourhood is very upscale with the most expensive hotels like Mandarin Oriental and Armani nearby. The Milano Scala was more reasonably priced but still had good amenities like a rooftop bar and restaurant where I had one dinner. I can’t remember what I ate so have no good or bad memories of the food.

Just a street view from the window. It looks European but I don’t think I would know it was Italy or Milan.

2. Spent seven nights in an apartment in Siena. The bed was a bit too firm for my liking but not uncomfortable. The apartment was very close to Scuola Dante Alighieri where my Italian classes were held. Siena generally was noisier than I anticipated and a few nights the noise could be heard in the bedroom well into the early hours of the morning. The other downside was the many steps up to the apartment. It was fine the first two days but as fatigue set in, I started thinking about how to reduce trips up the stairs.

The bedroom window only looked into a dark inner courtyard but the terrace view was fabulous as you could see the hills in the distance and the church and Pinacoteca across the street. The sitting area was also light filled on sunny days.

3. One night only in Bologna at the Excelsoir as I was joining the Artemesia group the next morning. Didn’t take a photo of the room, only the view out the window to a green area behind the hotel which was opposite the train station. The location of the room in the hotel meant I never heard the train. The hotel gave me a complimentary upgrade to a more spacious room but I hardly appreciated it as I only slept the one night. The hotel was convenient to the train station and the bed comfortable. I took the hotel slippers as I wasn’t sure the next hotel would have any.

4. The first four nights of the Piero della Francesca tour were in Città di Castello at Hotel Tiferno. The room was rather spartan and the bed very firm. It was also quite cool in the room. I appreciated the slippers from Bologna as the wood floors and tiles were a bit chilly on the toes.

The view was of the car park behind the hotel. The area was very quiet as the town is not touristy and the narrow streets not conducive to fast travelling vehicles.

5. Two nights were in Perugia at an upscale old fashioned hotel, Hotel Brufani, with a nice large room but unbearably hot. The hotel had turned off the air conditioning but the sun and warm weather heated the front section of the hotel. Everyone in the group who were in that part of the hotel complained about the heat. The cool room in Castello was now a fond memory. Luckily the bed, which was comfortable, was next to large windows which I left open all night.

View looked out the front of the hotel. I was on the third floor (second by Italian counting) and did not find it noisy with the windows open. Others on the lowers floors did have noise problems as people hung out in the park across the street until late at night.

6. Two nights in Urbino were in Hotel San Domenico, a hotel that had been converted from a Dominican monastery. Bed was a bit too firm for me. Maybe that was in keeping with being a former monastery. Can’t give monks beds that are too comfortable. Or as I later read in Stanley Tucci’s new book, it looked like a bed but felt like a surface for making fudge.

Another car park view. Again this was a very quiet place for sleeping.

7. Because of traffic, I joined Scott later than planned at the Rosa Grand in Milan. Too bad, the room had limited space around the bed but the room was very nice. The bathroom was marble, modern, well lighted and spacious. As it was late, we ate dinner at the hotel. I had a tasty classic risotto Milanese and cotoletto (veal cutlet).

And the view from the large terrace was still great despite the scaffolding around the Duomo.

8. Spent six nights at the Astoria Hotel in Rapallo in a reasonably spacious room but again with a firm bed. I seem not to have taken any photos of the room which was reasonably sized for the two of us. I must have been too taken by the ocean view from the windows that opened to remember to photograph the interior.

9. In Genova (Genoa) at the Bristol Palace for four nights, the room was more upscale and the bed still firm but not monastic firm. The bathroom was large with a very hot heated towel rack which was great for drying our hand washed laundry. The traffic noise in a larger city with wide straight streets full of trucks and buses was something we noticed as it was definitely absent in Rapallo.

The view was of the side street. A balcony or terrace would have been welcome as it was very pleasant to sit outside.

The hotel has a very fancy oval shaped staircase. It also had the worst food at the bar. After our cooking class, we just wanted a light meal for supper so went to the bar. Scott had a vegetable soup but I opted for a small pizza. The crust was almost impossible to cut with a knife and fork. So sad as Genova is famous for the focaccia bread.

10. In Torino (Turin) at the Turin Palace for four nights we had a comfortable bed, spacious room and a terrace. The hotel is across from the train station. At first I noticed the rumble of fast trains but soon got used to it. With the windows closed, the room was quiet enough for sleeping. The train station has some very large stores. A huge grocery store with a very good selection of wine and another store we could see that had electronics like cellphones but also household appliances including clothes washing machines.

We could see the Mole sometimes. But it rained the entire time until the day we left. Never got to sit on the terrace because the seats were too wet. If we could have had the weather from Genova, it would have been ideal. The hotel also had a spa which we did not check out.

We had lunch at the bar just after we arrived when it was pouring rain and a lot of restaurants had closed for lunch. Scott found his burger acceptable but my simple pasta with tomato sauce had under salted sauce and the pasta bordering on overcooked. We never went to the hotel restaurant as Torino has so many good restaurants.

11. In London for three nights at the Trafalgar St James we got upgraded to a suite and had a ridiculous amount of room and the fluffiest bed. Too soft for Scott’s back but I liked it.

The bathroom had modern touches like a self flushing toilet and a tv at one end the end of the bath tub as well as a view out the window.

There were great views of Trafalgar Square from the three windows.

The hotel’s breakfast was served on the rooftop. It was the best breakfast buffet we had at any of the hotels. Room service on our last night was not too bad either. I had a cheese platter which I couldn’t finish but it was worth packing up and taking it with us to Ottawa.

12. The last bed for five nights in Ottawa at LIV Extended Stay apartment had a bed that was of good firmness but queen sized, a size we no longer have at home so bumped each other and wrestled for covers. Two bathrooms, however, were a definite plus. As this was an apartment and not just a hotel room, we made good use of the in-suite washer and dryer, and the kitchen.

Not great views looking west but we wanted to be near our daughter’s place. As this is a mixed use but initially a residential area, it was quiet. Being on the top floor of a 14 floor building also helped keep it quiet.

Twelve beds over 42 days. It was a bit of a Goldilocks experience: too cold, too hot, too hard, too soft, too small, too big. Rapallo had the best view. London (for me) the best bed. Genova had the best bathroom. Amazingly I never woke up and wondered where I was. However, for my next long trip, I will try to reduce the locations and stay longer.