Our Epic European Adventure: A Review

[PaulInPGH]

Feeling properly Parisian, we set out to explore some quintessential Parisian sights. First, we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. This turned out to be one of my wife’s favorite sights of the trip—eliciting from her an emotional response unmatched by many other places we visited (as Napoleon intended).

After a quick stroll down a small part of the Champs-Élysées, we hopped back on the Metro to visit the granddaddy of all Parisian sights, the Eiffel Tower. With no plans to stand in line to go to the top of the tower (or, God forbid, climb the thing), it was a quick stop just to check it out and take some photos.

 

While we were taking in the impressive iron structure it began to rain. The forecast had been calling for rain all weekend, but this was the first we’d encountered. We got a little wet that afternoon, but it was the last time we’d see rain the entire trip! The latter half of September, at least this year, was a wonderful time to visit Europe. The warmest it got was in Barcelona (around 77 degrees), and the coolest it got was in Paris (highs around 65). It was basically low 70s and sunny for two weeks, and it doesn’t really get much better than that.

[PaulInPGH]

 

The Arc de Triomphe.

[PaulInPGH]

 

The Eiffel Tower.

[PaulInPGH]

Saving around $500 may have been worth not having an a/c vent over the seat. More budget for sightseeing.

Thanks for the info.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Oh, absolutely. Would definitely take that trade every time. And the return flight had air and was as pleasant as a nine hour flight can be, so it's really just luck of the draw on any given flight.

[tatibus0913]

Looking forward to the rest of your trip! We are currently planning our first European vacation for next summer :D

[PaulInPGH]

Looking forward to the rest of your trip! We are currently planning our first European vacation for next summer :D

 

You'll love it. It's so fun, and so delicious. The only problem is now I only want to go to Europe, so it's hard to be as enthusiastic about other trips that don't involve Europe.

[PaulInPGH]

Back on the Metro yet again (which was much easier to navigate with some sleep), we headed across town to the Place de la Bastille. We took in the place where the Bastille prison once stood, as well as the July Column, which stands in the center of the square, and which commemorates not the French Revolution of 1789 but a later revolution in 1830. The commemoration is slightly spoiled, however, by the placement of large advertisements on the column.

 

From the Place de la Bastille, we took a short walk to the Place des Vosges, which is reputed to be one of the most charming squares in Paris. The atmosphere was slightly marred by the steady rain, but we still enjoyed sitting at a café on the quiet square while we sipped on a glass of wine. We also found Victor Hugo’s house, but we arrived there too late in the day to go in for a look around.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite...Nokia?

[PaulInPGH]

 

Place des Vosges.

[PaulInPGH]

By the time we made it back to Montmartre night had fallen. Still full from our epic food tour, we decided to head up the hill to take in Sacre Coeur, as well as a view of Paris at night. We had a bit of trouble finding the funicular which brings you to the top of the hill, but after some confused circling around we managed to make our way to the top of Paris. Sacre Coeur was beautiful at night, but the view of Paris was a little lackluster due to the cloudy evening. We had a small issue when trying to take the funicular back down the hill. Some disreputable men did something to the ticket machine and were forcing people to buy tickets from them in cash. We’d run out of our pack of 10 metro tickets on our way up, so were kind of stuck. Luckily, the scam didn’t cost much (I think 2 Euros per person), but I’d advise bringing your return ticket up with you, if possible, to avoid the situation all together.

 

Finally hungry, we set out in search of dinner. Since it was a Sunday, many places were closed. We were able to find a place with a good looking steak with pepper sauce which was enjoyable, if not spectacular.

 

What was spectacular, though, was the post-dinner crepe we enjoyed back at the same crepe place our guide introduced us to earlier in the day. That late night crepe (our last bite in Paris) stayed with us as one of the most enjoyable things we consumed the entire trip.

Since we had an early flight to Rome the following morning, we went back to our hotel and got ourselves squared away, ready to brave another new city the following day.

Up next: on to Rome.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Sacre Coeur at night.

[PaulInPGH]

Day 3: An Early Flight and a Delicious Day in Rome

We had initially intended to leave Paris on Sunday afternoon, taking the train to Zurich and then on to Rome via the Alps—the scenic route, you could say. Unfortunately, when it came time to purchase tickets, the prices were a good bit higher than the estimates provided on Seat 61 (a site that helps you plan European train travel). Logistically, too, it just became too much on top of everything else. So instead, we opted for a little more time in Paris, and we booked a short flight to Rome for early Monday morning. And I do mean early.

We were up at 4:00 A.M. in a cab headed to CDG airport, only one short day after not sleeping for over 30 hours. The flight was very affordable (about $75 per person), but perhaps we should have spent a little more money for a little extra time to rest.

After a short, uneventful flight we landed in Rome. We were out of the airport in about 5 minutes (we only brought carry-on luggage, thankfully), and I was slightly surprised when we didn’t have to go through any kind of immigration/passport check. My guess is this is because we flew in from another EU country, but I’m still not entirely certain whether we entered Italy legally or not.

We set up a transfer to our hotel with Rome Limos, and we met our driver right away upon exiting. The driver had us to our hotel in about 40 minutes, and he pointed out sights along the way.

[PaulInPGH]

We stayed at the Caesar House Residenze Romane, and it was the only hotel we stayed at that I wouldn’t recommend. The rooms were spacious (much more so than our hotel in Paris), but they were extremely noisy. Worse, though, was the staff; they were thoroughly unhelpful. The location wasn’t bad—it was very close to the Colosseum—but it was definitely not really in the charming part of town. Via Cavour seemed to be filled with tourist trap shops and bad pizza places, and you had to walk a little bit to find the more charming streets of the Monti neighborhood. In short: pick another hotel in Rome.

We finally hit the wall on tiredness, so we decided to take a nap for a couple hours before hitting the streets. Thankfully, we didn’t book any tours or activities that day, so we were able to rest and recharge.

[PaulInPGH]

Rested and ready to get back out there, we struck out on foot to see some sights before our 7:00 dinner reservation. For the directionally-challenged, Rome was a bit tough to navigate, at least at first. My visual impairment made it even more difficult—my wife had to constantly keep the two of us from getting run over. It was especially difficult on many of Rome’s very small side streets, where sidewalks were the exception rather than the rule.

We relied heavily on our phone’s GPS, and we were able to navigate our way from our hotel over to the Pantheon area. Granted, this took us about an hour, when it should have taken about 20 minutes, but we improved as the trip wore on.

We picked up a slice of pizza to enjoy as we walked—Roman style. When we arrived at the Pantheon, the line to enter was quite long. We decided to continue our walk and return later, as our dinner was located just across the street.

We eventually made it to the Piazza Navona, which was beautiful. The only negative—and this was the case in most of Italy—was the crowds. Everywhere we visited was extremely busy. I think we may try a visit during winter next time, just to see if it’s any less crowded.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Piazza Navona.

[PaulInPGH]

Once again turning on our GPS, we set off to find a snack. Our goal was Supplizio—a restaurant we saw featured on television, and which specialized in Rome’s quintessential street food, suppli. Suppli are fried balls with various fillings (like rice, cheese, and meat). We tried the traditional version (filled with rice, mozzarella, and meat), but we also tried one filled with carbonara (yum) and one filled with cacio e pepe. They did not disappoint.

On our walk back toward the Pantheon, we stopped at a nice little café on a quiet street to have a drink. The atmosphere was wonderful;there was very little traffic, the evening was cool, and there was even a guy playing a violin. Looking back, my favorite parts of this trip were when we were able to just enjoy sitting somewhere with a drink, enjoying the wonderful atmosphere of Europe.

This is also where we had our first exposure to what would become the drink of the trip: the Aperol Spritz. The spritz was so cold and refreshing, and we ordered them at every opportunity over the next two weeks (including on the ship). Upon our return home, we stopped by our local liquor store and purchased our own bottle of Aperol, and we’ll be making our own spritzes quite often, though they’ll probably lack that extra something when not enjoyed in such a wonderful setting.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Suppli.

[PaulInPGH]

 

My new obsession, the spritz!

[cxc362]

We were out of the airport in about 5 minutes (we only brought carry-on luggage, thankfully), and I was slightly surprised when we didn’t have to go through any kind of immigration/passport check. My guess is this is because we flew in from another EU country, but I’m still not entirely certain whether we entered Italy legally or not.

 

You did. Your guess is correct.

 

I had a similar feeling once. We flew from PHL on US Airways to either Munich or Frankfurt and switched to Lufthansa for our code share flight to Rome.

 

We had to switch terminals and before entering the second terminal they checked our passports. I didn't think much of it until we exited FCO without going through passport control. Then it hit me: We cleared EU immigration in Germany before our intra-EU flight.

Edited October 12, 2017 by cxc362
Typos

[cxc362]

I think we may try a visit during winter next time, just to see if it’s any less crowded.

 

It will be and hotels will be much cheaper. The trade off is that it will be colder, daylight hours will be shorter, places to visit will have more limited hours, and some seasonal establishments (for example from our personal experience, many restaurants in Venice) will be closed.

[Clarea]

Enjoying this excellent review.:)

[PaulInPGH]

It will be and hotels will be much cheaper. The trade off is that it will be colder, daylight hours will be shorter, places to visit will have more limited hours, and some seasonal establishments (for example from our personal experience, many restaurants in Venice) will be closed.

 

That certainly makes sense. Good to know, though, since Venice was probably our favorite place we visited, and we absolutely loved the food there.

[PaulInPGH]

Enjoying this excellent review.:)

 

Thanks very much, Bob!

[PaulInPGH]

When we made it back to the Pantheon, the crowds had started to thin, so we were able to make our way inside for a look around. It was very impressive and absolutely worth a stop when you’re in Rome.

Our dinner that evening was just across the street at Armando Al Pantheon. Even though it’s right in the heart of tourist central, the food was absolutely unbelievable. We did the full Italian meal (when in Rome and all that), and we ordered appetizers, a pasta course, and a meat course. Everything was fantastic, and our waiter even recommended some delicious local wine to accompany the meal. We luckily made our reservation in advance, because they were turning folks away all night. It was one of the most memorable meals we had, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Stuffed to the point of bursting, we headed over to the line of taxis outside the Pantheon. After a short ride back to our hotel, we made it an early evening. This was good, because we had what would probably be the most tiring day of the trip on tap for the following day.

 

Up next: A look at the less-touristic side of Rome, and the most-touristic.

[PaulInPGH]

 

The Pantheon.