Blog: Recap of the Europe Trip
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Recap of the Europe Trip - Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I'm back from Europe! Our 17-day tour was extremely long and tiring, yet fun and insightful. Here are the highlights of each day:
Day 1 - June 21
3-hour flight from Los Angeles to Houston, then 9-hour flight from Houston to London. First time flying longer than one hour. Tried unsuccessfully to sleep in the plane to reduce jetlag. Found the TV displays behind every seat very cool, but the games were horrible and laggy.
Day 2 - June 22
Met our tour guide, Liming Pan. Since the tour was supposed to be conducted in Mandarin Chinese, I was glad that she actually conducted in English and translated in Mandarin. In England we toured the Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, and the oldest in continuous occupation. Stopped for pictures in front of Buckingham Palace, toured the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, and the adjacent Tower Bridge.
Day 3 - June 23
Eurostar train to Brussels, Belgium. Saw the Manneken Pis, a famous fountain statue of a boy urinating. Had mussels lunch in the Grand Place, the central marketplace. They looked at us funny when we asked for tap water, and they wouldn't allow us NOT to order bottled water. They took a long time preparing the food and since we had a tight schedule, we had to ask for a to-go box. This was also something they had no concept of, so they packed everything in a plastic margarine tub. Drove to the Netherlands, stopped in front of an old windmill for pictures, and took a canal cruise in Amsterdam.
Day 4 - June 24
Visited a diamond cutting/polishing factory in Amsterdam where we saw a lot of expensive diamonds, including a 2-carat selling for 32,000 euros. Drove to Cologne, Germany where we visited its Cathedral. Took a cruise on the Rhine River, and had pig knuckles and non-alcoholic beer for dinner.
Day 5 - June 25
Toured the Heidelberg Castle, learned about the construction of cuckoo-clocks at a shop at Lake Titisee in the Black Forest, stopped for pictures at the Rhine Falls.
Day 6 - June 26
Explored the center of Lucerne, Switzerland. Visited some large shops selling watches and Victorinox knives. Saw the Lion Monument, a memorial to the Swiss Guards killed during the French Revolution. Saved money on lunch by getting food from a supermarket, which was a large building with two stories and an escalator. Had a meager Fondue dinner that cost 170 Swiss Francs (about $144).
Day 7 - June 27
Visited Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, a tiny country I never knew existed. Saw the ski jump, the Golden Roof, and the Swarovski store in Innsbruck, Austria.
Day 8 - June 28
Explored Salzburg to see sites where "The Sound of Music" was filmed, and the house where Mozart was born.
Day 9 - June 29
Toured the Schönbrunn Palace, often dubbed the Austrian Versailles, in Vienna. Went on a drive through the city to see the Vienna Opera House, and the Hofburg and City Hall buildings.
Day 10 - June 30
Took a ferry to Venice, explored the city, took a gondola ride through the Grand Canal and smaller canals, walked on the Rialto Bridge, saw the Bridge of Sighs, and stood in the plaza of St. Mark's Basilica trying to woo pigeons.
Day 11 - July 1
Saw two replicas of Michaelangelo's David statue in Florence, the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, and wandered through the huge Peruzzi leather store.
Day 12 - July 2
Spent the first half of the day in Rome, where we toured St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City, the Colosseum, Constantine's Triumphal Arch, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. The rest of the day was spent traveling to the city of Lucca in Tuscany, where we had a four-course Tuscan dinner at our hotel.
Day 13 - July 3
Went onto the grounds of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Lost five euros in video poker at a casino in beautiful Monte Carlo, Monaco. Traveled to the French city of Nice where we walked along the completely rocky Mediterranean shoreline.
Day 14 - July 4
Explored Avignon, the residence of seven popes during the Avignon Papacy. Had lunch at a McDonald's where the lines were incredibly slow because people don't get out until they've received all their food at the register.
Day 15 - July 5
Arrived in Paris in the afternoon. Went up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, took pictures of the panoramic view of the city, and took the stairs all the way back down. Took a cruise on the Seine River where we saw Notre Dame and other sights. Had escargo and goose liver in a five-course French dinner.
Day 16 - July 6
Toured the interior and a bit of the gardens at the Versailles Palace. Saw many statues and paintings, including the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre Museum. Posed for pictures in front of the Arc De Triomphe. Wandered around the huge Galeries Lafayette department store.
Day 17 - July 7
Our homebound flights from Paris to Houston, and Houston to Los Angeles.
Some things of interest that make Europe different from the United States:
Whew. So what was Europe? Incredibly fun. Incredibly tiring. Definitely worth it. I don't think I'd ever want to go on a trip like this again though, at least not for so long! In a tour things feel rushed and you don't get much free time to take everything in at your own pace. But I had a good time. Now I can say that I've been to all these places.
Europe also made me appreciate things in the United States that I've taken for granted. Like sunny weather (it rained almost every day for the first two weeks), free water in restaurants, not having to pay to use restrooms, and the relatively low cost of living. Even concerning housing- I thought prices of houses were high in California, until I saw places in Europe where people pay much more, for flats.
So that was the trip in a nutshell. Now it's back to reality once again.
Day 1 - June 21
3-hour flight from Los Angeles to Houston, then 9-hour flight from Houston to London. First time flying longer than one hour. Tried unsuccessfully to sleep in the plane to reduce jetlag. Found the TV displays behind every seat very cool, but the games were horrible and laggy.
Day 2 - June 22
Met our tour guide, Liming Pan. Since the tour was supposed to be conducted in Mandarin Chinese, I was glad that she actually conducted in English and translated in Mandarin. In England we toured the Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, and the oldest in continuous occupation. Stopped for pictures in front of Buckingham Palace, toured the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, and the adjacent Tower Bridge.
Day 3 - June 23
Eurostar train to Brussels, Belgium. Saw the Manneken Pis, a famous fountain statue of a boy urinating. Had mussels lunch in the Grand Place, the central marketplace. They looked at us funny when we asked for tap water, and they wouldn't allow us NOT to order bottled water. They took a long time preparing the food and since we had a tight schedule, we had to ask for a to-go box. This was also something they had no concept of, so they packed everything in a plastic margarine tub. Drove to the Netherlands, stopped in front of an old windmill for pictures, and took a canal cruise in Amsterdam.
Day 4 - June 24
Visited a diamond cutting/polishing factory in Amsterdam where we saw a lot of expensive diamonds, including a 2-carat selling for 32,000 euros. Drove to Cologne, Germany where we visited its Cathedral. Took a cruise on the Rhine River, and had pig knuckles and non-alcoholic beer for dinner.
Day 5 - June 25
Toured the Heidelberg Castle, learned about the construction of cuckoo-clocks at a shop at Lake Titisee in the Black Forest, stopped for pictures at the Rhine Falls.
Day 6 - June 26
Explored the center of Lucerne, Switzerland. Visited some large shops selling watches and Victorinox knives. Saw the Lion Monument, a memorial to the Swiss Guards killed during the French Revolution. Saved money on lunch by getting food from a supermarket, which was a large building with two stories and an escalator. Had a meager Fondue dinner that cost 170 Swiss Francs (about $144).
Day 7 - June 27
Visited Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, a tiny country I never knew existed. Saw the ski jump, the Golden Roof, and the Swarovski store in Innsbruck, Austria.
Day 8 - June 28
Explored Salzburg to see sites where "The Sound of Music" was filmed, and the house where Mozart was born.
Day 9 - June 29
Toured the Schönbrunn Palace, often dubbed the Austrian Versailles, in Vienna. Went on a drive through the city to see the Vienna Opera House, and the Hofburg and City Hall buildings.
Day 10 - June 30
Took a ferry to Venice, explored the city, took a gondola ride through the Grand Canal and smaller canals, walked on the Rialto Bridge, saw the Bridge of Sighs, and stood in the plaza of St. Mark's Basilica trying to woo pigeons.
Day 11 - July 1
Saw two replicas of Michaelangelo's David statue in Florence, the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, and wandered through the huge Peruzzi leather store.
Day 12 - July 2
Spent the first half of the day in Rome, where we toured St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City, the Colosseum, Constantine's Triumphal Arch, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. The rest of the day was spent traveling to the city of Lucca in Tuscany, where we had a four-course Tuscan dinner at our hotel.
Day 13 - July 3
Went onto the grounds of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Lost five euros in video poker at a casino in beautiful Monte Carlo, Monaco. Traveled to the French city of Nice where we walked along the completely rocky Mediterranean shoreline.
Day 14 - July 4
Explored Avignon, the residence of seven popes during the Avignon Papacy. Had lunch at a McDonald's where the lines were incredibly slow because people don't get out until they've received all their food at the register.
Day 15 - July 5
Arrived in Paris in the afternoon. Went up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, took pictures of the panoramic view of the city, and took the stairs all the way back down. Took a cruise on the Seine River where we saw Notre Dame and other sights. Had escargo and goose liver in a five-course French dinner.
Day 16 - July 6
Toured the interior and a bit of the gardens at the Versailles Palace. Saw many statues and paintings, including the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre Museum. Posed for pictures in front of the Arc De Triomphe. Wandered around the huge Galeries Lafayette department store.
Day 17 - July 7
Our homebound flights from Paris to Houston, and Houston to Los Angeles.
Some things of interest that make Europe different from the United States:
- Everything from homes to roads and vehicles to meals is smaller in Europe.
- For large vehicles like coaches and semis, their speed limit on highways depends on the amount of tax paid. The higher the tax, the faster they get to drive. This is done to try to control air pollution.
- Commercial drivers are also required to take a vacation day every so often, and cannot drive more than a certain amount of hours each day. Their vehicles are equipped with instruments that keep a continuous record of operation and speed, and are readable by law enforcement.
- Toilets are in many areas called water closets (often abbreviated WC), and many have flushing switches that can start and stop flushing on command to save water.
- An umbrella is an essential thing to carry, because rain is very unpredictable. It might be clear one minute and pouring heavily the next, and vice-versa.
- Euro banknotes vary in physical size- the larger the denomination, the larger the dimensions. I'm guessing this is to expedite recognition and sorting.
Whew. So what was Europe? Incredibly fun. Incredibly tiring. Definitely worth it. I don't think I'd ever want to go on a trip like this again though, at least not for so long! In a tour things feel rushed and you don't get much free time to take everything in at your own pace. But I had a good time. Now I can say that I've been to all these places.
Europe also made me appreciate things in the United States that I've taken for granted. Like sunny weather (it rained almost every day for the first two weeks), free water in restaurants, not having to pay to use restrooms, and the relatively low cost of living. Even concerning housing- I thought prices of houses were high in California, until I saw places in Europe where people pay much more, for flats.
So that was the trip in a nutshell. Now it's back to reality once again.