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Published: October 23rd 2009
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Travel Date: May 2009
I had made up my mind to travel to Europe a year before the trip. But at that time neither did I have any monies nor did I have any leaves (new job).
So my target was to go by mid-2008 which I did. But what I didn’t realise was the great ordeal I will have to face in picking and choosing which places to go!
You got only this many days and this much budget whereas Europe is an endless ocean with sooooo many things that you DON’T wanna skip ! So after SEVERAL permutations & combinations- decided on doing some major cities.
I think my trip was lovely. But if I could have a crystal ball to take a peep at & had a choice to do it all over again- I would choose one country & do many, many small towns in it. I guess that’s the way to soak in the culture and most of all- have a cheaper, less stressed out trip (You cannot imagine HOW MUCH we walked EACH DAY!)
Italy was unarguably the most memorable stop in Europe . It was unbelievable to see a
small city like Roma & Vatican had SO much to offer to tourists & historians!
Soon as we got there- we got utterly bewildered with- WHERE to buy the underground metro tickets from! Wasted about half hour in figuring out that they’re available in tobacco shops!! So finally after reaching San Giovanni we checked in our bags in a B&B place~ with cute orange walls & beds! The BEST part was it had a huge balcony facing one of the oldest churches of Roma ! I have pleasant memories of having breakfast on the balcony J
We got out without delay and got in a place called Mario’s, which had the BEST sea food pasta I’ve eaten in my life by far! (My mouth’s watering just thinking of it!). A short walk later, we reach the magnificent Colloseum. But let me elaborate on the subject of Italian food. (ummm… I need a minute to take a deep breath) - it was absolutely YUMMMM…. I believe any place you visit; the cuisine plays an integral role, lingering in the memories… So, on one hand we got bored of living on bread and its likes in the UK, and on
the other hand, the Italian palate made us long for it more & more. We revisited Marios for the 3 course meal (fish, and more fish) and wandered into other few more small restaurants and cafes too, to get our taste buds in high spirits. Another interesting dish we had was the Tris De Primi Piatti lasagne, ravioli, spaghetti, "amatriciani".
Another plus point about Italy unlike France was: simple pronunciation! Intense mugging for a week for the 12th board exams is something that probably made my way around Paris easy. But I struggled HARD with the tube maps there. The names & pronunciations were so confusing, made simple things like co-relating a name on the board and on the map a painful task. Italy was simple. Spagetti is spaghetti. Ravioli is ravioli. Aaah. Simplicity, Grazzi!
So in the 3 days we were there we covered the Colloseum, Foro Romano, Sistine Chapel, Vatican museum, St peters basilica at the piazza, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, and each of these structures were simply indescribable !
One thing I would elaborate on is the St Peters Basilica. There was a queue up to the Copula. We had no clue what it was
Menu
to remember what we ate! for but joined it knowing we gotta climb more than 300 steps. Not only was it a task, it also made us a tad breathless with the narrow tunnels and a hundred people trying to scramble in! Finally when we got out, we realised that we were on the top of the basilica, with the entire Vatican City in front of us! It was a breathtaking view of the entire piazza, the Vatican museum etc. aaah, felt good.
It rained the last evening we spent at Roma. Rains as you can get from my revus are an inevitable part of Europe. Which, as per me, is also one of the coolest part of Europe J We walked down to a close by park and had some Italian coffee. Watched people run & walk their dogs in the slight drizzle. After days of intense walking, it was nice to sit back and soak in the weather.
Other Observations:
Language~ many Italians scrambled with English, but we could manage
Train to the Airport~ Most cities in Europe have a train to the airport for about 6-10 Euros. Easy & convenient!
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