Europe - The Trip I Didn't Ever Think Would Happen!
First Leg ✈ Italy
We flew from Columbus, OH to Philadelphia, PA and after a short 1.5 hour layover we boarded an American Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for the flight to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. We flew from 9:15 PM through the night and arrived the next day at 10:30 AM. The flight was smooth with no issues and then after another layover we flew the final leg down to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport and arrived at 3:30 PM.
We took the Leonardo Express train from the airport to the Rome Termini train station. It is a huge station but we found our way to the taxis and headed to our Air BnB. We took a number of taxis during our time in Rome and all I can say is the rides were a little on the crazy side. There was more than one time when I was convinced we were going to run into another car, bike or person!
Our Air BnB was located just a few blocks to the west of the Piazza Navona. We couldn’t have been happier with the location or the Air BnB itself.
Rome
Simply put, Rome was a fantastic experience. The city is full of so much history and beauty. From a personal point of view, there were so many picturesque views and amazing churches. What was interesting about many of the churches is that from the outside they are fairly “subdued” and a number are not necessarily recognizable as a church. But once you walk inside they are amazingly beautiful. The well known attractions like the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain are can’t miss places and of course the food is great! We really enjoyed the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (also called the Alter of the Fatherland). We made it there just before sunset started and stayed up at the very top until well after sunset. To the north you see central Rome, northwest is St. Peter’s Basilica and turning around and looking south is the Colosseum. Watching the sunset from here as the city lit up was fantastic. The one large disappointment was our scheduled tour of the Vatican and planned trip to the stop of St. Peter’s Basilica’s Dome. We made sure to book an early trip for smaller crowds and all was going well until our group leader did not show up. So we were combined with another group but there was confusion at the entrance and we waited for them to sort things out. In the end, things did not work out and we did not get in. By this time the normal line to get in was unbelievably long. So we just went and looked around Vatican Square and then headed out to see more of Rome.
We enjoyed the food and drink along with the coffee / espresso and desserts. The people of Rome were kind and very hospitable.
You can see in the Trip Gallery all of the beautiful locations we visited. Simply too many to list out and describe here. In past journals I have never posted too many pictures of myself and family but decided that showing the many pictures we took of one another would be the one of the best ways to remember this trip. The smiles will always remind me of the fun and laughs we all experienced on this trip.
Amalfi Coast
While in Rome we decided to take a full day trip to the Amalfi Coast. The trip included the high speed train ride down to Salerno and then we travelled via ferry to the cities of Amalfi and Positano. Arriving in the city ports via the water ferries was a great way to take in the coast. The cities are as pretty as you might imagine. The homes, hotels, and restaurants were perched on the very steep cliffs with unbelievable views of the sea. We all agreed that the highlight of the Amalfi Coast trip was visiting a lemon farm on the cliffs of Amalfi. We climbed the MANY steps and learned about growing the lemons of Amalfi. We ended the steps at a covered terrace with tables where we sat and enjoyed fresh lemonade and lemon cake – oh yeah, and some limoncello! The lemons themselves are enormous compared to those we have in the United States. Once we were back down in Amalfi city we found the lemon sorbet shop and I am telling you it was soooo good! The sorbet was served in a scooped out lemon and as I mentioned earlier they were huge. You can see the pic below! The final pic is as we left the train station back in Rome Termini with our tour guide Mauro – he was fantastic and we could not have been happier with our day on the Amalfi Coast!
Florence
On our final day in Italy we had scheduled a second day trip up to the city of Florence. Back to Termini station to catch the high speed train. We walked all over the city and enjoyed it as well. We had to of course see the Statue of David. I had seen so many pictures of it prior to our trip but for me it was different to stand in front of it and appreciate Michael Angelo’s masterpiece in person. There were many other amazing art pieces in the Accademia Gallery as well. Amy was able to find a necklace in Florence (on the Ponte Vecchio bridge among the gold and jewelry shops) in honor of her mother which I’m sure will always make Florence special for her.
The evening highlight of the day was our trip to walk the steps up to the top of the Florence Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore). We had joked about it’s 463 steps for months before the trip. We all would reference it as we walked during the summer so we would be prepared for all of the daily walking we would be doing on this trip. Well when the time came we were all up for the task and we stepped all the way to the top. There is a stop about 1/2 way up where you come to the inside of the dome and you get an amazing view of the painting on the dome ( The Last Judgement begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1572 and completed after his death by Federico Zuccari, in 1579.). When we climbed out of the Duomo stairs to the top observatory area, we were greeted with the Florence sunset and incredible 360 degree views of Florence.
After soaking up those views we made it back down and realized we had just a little time left if we wanted to go up the Florence Duomo’s bell tower – Giotto’s Bell tower. Only issue is there are 414 steps to the top of it! Michelle and Missi said they were happy right where they were but Amy and I decided we were going to give it a try. Suffice it to say it was rough the last 75 steps or so to the top. Time was almost up and when we made it to the top the young lady working there said you two are the last ones up today and…its time to go down. What!?!? – we literally just killed ourselves getting up here! We stalled as long as we could and I tried to get a few pictures the best I could. The top is covered with a wire cage to keep people safe which made it a little difficult to get a clear picture. I was able to get about three with one of them being a shot back at the top of the Florence Duomo dome observation deck where we had just stood. One of my favorite pics from the trip. Anyways we made it back down and we all started the walk back to the train station. We were tired but it was one of those “good” tired feelings after such a full final day in Italy.
When it was all said and done we all loved our time in in all of the Italian cities we visited!
Second Leg ✈ Paris
I loved Italy and I was now excited to head up to Paris and show the girls all I had seen in our first trip there last year. I not only wanted to show them Paris but I really wanted to see it again myself. I realize I have see a very limited amount of Europe up to this point but I have told everyone that I really loved and identified with Paris for some reason. I loved how easy it is to ride the metro to get around the city as well as simply walking between sites. And for me the “sites” of Paris are so impressively beautiful. For a person like myself who enjoys taking pictures, its a great city to wander around in!
I was confident riding the metro but ironically as we exited the RER train from the airport and looked for our connection to ride the metro to a stop a little closer to our Air BnB, I couldn’t find the metro in the multi level station! It was the only time I had an issue the whole trip. So we just came up to the surface and we were standing right in the middle of Paris near Notre Dame. I said ‘Welcome to Paris’!
After failing to hail an Uber or local taxi because of all of our luggage, we finally decided to just walk to our place. The walk was a little longer than you would normally want to do with luggage but it allowed for some immediate site seeing of the local shops and restaurants. Last year we stayed in the Latin Quarter and this year we were staying in Saint-Germain. This was a “true” Air BnB and we were able to meet the host who actually lived there – she was enjoyable and her place was perfect for the four of us.
As with Italy, there are so many locations we visited that I will not talk through them all but instead encourage you to visit the trip page to browse through them.
A couple of unexpected events happened in Paris.
I had purchased our tickets well before the trip to all of the sites we planned on visiting. One of our days we had planned to visit the Arc De Triomphe and then head over to walk up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. As we approached the Arc De Triomphe I noticed that I could not see anyone standing up on top. As we went under the road via the tunnel and then walked up to the entrance I thought where are the people waiting in line? Why are there no workers at the security point? Well….turns out it was closed. No sign explaining why. We had paid tickets in hand but all we could do was spend time admiring the monument up close as the others there were doing. Don’t get me wrong, if you visit but do not plan on going to the top of the Arc De Triomphe, you definitely should still go and admire it from the ground. It is a very impressive structure. Much bigger than I thought it would be based on seeing pictures of it. I really enjoy the Arc De Triomphe and getting a meal nearby. We then hopped on the Metro and headed down around the Eiffel Tower for our next stop. We walked up to the entrance and it was closed with no one staffing it. I had no idea what was going on – we had paid tickets for this as well. Initially we thought maybe they had closed the monuments down as a safety precaution due to new conflict in the Middle East. Later I learned that it was due to one of the public workers union strikes that do occur in France. Initially we were a little disappointed but this crew rolls with the punches. It is hard to stay disappointed long in Paris! We ended up booking new tickets to both sites but this time we would be going during the evening hours. So we had the good fortune to see them in both the daytime as well as night. Both sites are very different during the day versus the night.
The only available time that worked for us to reschedule the Eiffel Tower visit was the last night of our trip. Our previous ticket was to visit up to the second level (which those of you have visited the mini 1/3 replica Eiffel Tower at Kings Island Amusement Park may be interested to know that the King’s Island tower is only 314 feet tall but the real Eiffel Tower’s second level is higher at 377 feet!) Total height of the Eiffel tower to its tip is currently 1,063 feet and the top observation deck is 906 feet up. Last year I took the approach that we would go up to the top of Montparnasse Tower (56th floor observation deck) so we could look upon the Eiffel Tower (and Paris in general). I was thankful we did last year but this year we all agreed we wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower itself. Plus, the Montparnasse Tower was indefinitely closed for some reason (but as I type this now Montparnasse Tower is open again!) Anyways, when we rescheduled our tickets they now had tickets to the summit observation deck. I am very happy we were able to go all the way to the top. At the second level you have to exit the first elevators and board a second set of elevators that take you to the top. It was fairly cold and very windy that night at the top. Thankfully we had purchased hats in preparation. Simply put, the views and experience at the top were amazing and so worth it. Our Video Outtakes of the Eiffel Tower
As we were up there I was proud of us for making a trip like this happen. Most of all I am very thankful to Michelle, Amy, and Missi for making it happen. It may seem simple to many but it takes effort and desire to make anything in life that you care about happen – especially trips like this. The trip I thought this group may possibly do some day was smaller and shorter. Instead the group said let’s really do a trip to see some of the amazing places in this world – and the fact that these three girls have been lifelong friends made it all the more special for them. I was happy they let me play tour director for them!
As I heard stated a few times:
or at least until the next one 😉.
Europe 2023 Extended Videos
Final Thoughts 💭
As I said last year and to everyone I meet, if you enjoy travel, do not put it off if you can help it. You simply do not know how long you will have your health and what tomorrow holds. This trip reinforced to me the need to get out there and make trips like this happen!
Finally, a big thanks to Michelle, Amy, and Missi for taking this trip and making it one we will always remember!
