Day 2 in Paris!
The day begun with a visit to Fragonard Parfumeur. I got my self a French perfume! :] I'm so excited to use it. I can't wait for it to become my signature scent. I have never fallen in love with a scent before. Paris is the city of love. I fell in love with my first perfume, EVER! :] Afterwards, we had a free day. Besides the cabaret excursion that night (which I opted not to go to), we have all day to ourselves.
Rina, Amanda, Tatiana, Sharon and I all ended up spending the day together. Our first stop, because we were around the area, was Galleries Lafayette. We basically just went around and was able to say we went in the Galleries. We then decided to visit Notre Dame, go to Laduree and get some French macaroons, hunt for crepes and take pictures by the Arc de Triomphe in the daylight. And we did it in that order. The five of us figured out the Parisian metro, which I absolutely adore. It was so exciting to be in it. Never have I been so happy to be in the metro. It was sooo…artsy. There were street musicians playing music in the train and on the tunnels to get to the platforms. There were works of art everywhere! It was so interesting to be riding it. And it's also not that hard to figure out, at least in my opinion.
Our first stop was Notre Dame. I LOVE Notre Dame. I was in awe of it. It simply took my breath away. The pictures I got of the church does not give justice to how it looked inside. As we walked around the cathedral, the organ was playing which just made the most perfect atmosphere. We went to Madeline street afterwards and walked all the way to Laduree and got some French macaroons. It was all Sharon's idea which I bought into. And I'm glad I did. I have never had macaroons like this and am absolutely craving it. They were expensive but sooo worth it. We walked towards Champs Elysees from there in order to get to the Arc. It was quite a walk. But it was alright because the view was interesting and nice. We also had crepes along the way. Walking along Champs Elysees is so distracting! I don't think a girl can walk straight down to the Arc without getting distracted by the shops and whatnot. We headed back to the hotel afterwards because they all needed to get ready for the cabaret.
While they were in the cabaret that night, I met up with Anna! We walked all the way to Sacre Coure, which was kind of a walk from where we met up but it was totally worth it. Most amazing view of Paris, in my opinion. I'm so glad we decided to go there. It was totally worth it. Special shout out to you. I apologize for making you late for dinner but I'm glad we got to see each other. I was craving Asian food that night so I had Chinese at a restaurant near our hotel and then I called it a night. It was my last night of travelling and the exhaustion dawned to me.
Back to London tomorrow!
Because the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, our tour manager and tour driver decided that they were gonna do what they call "A Louvre Run" which basically meant that we were going to leave at the crack of dawn in order to get to Paris with enough time to get into the Louvre.
We left Lucerne before the sunrise, at around 6:45. I was asleep for most of the time. The drive would have been gorgeous but it was pretty dreary when we got to Paris. I was sort of disappointed with the drive into Paris. When our tour manager went, "Welcome to Paris", I wasn't really impressed (but I guess it doesn't help that it was the last leg of the trip and it was a dreary day). We went into the Louvre and I got to see Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and few other works of art. I absolutely adore the architecture of the Louvre. To be honest, and don't stone me for this, I was more in love with the architecture of the place than the works of art in it.
We spent about two hours in the Louvre and then we drove down to our hotel and had dinner. There was an included River Seine cruise that evening. Thus, after dinner, the coach drove around the Arc de Triomphe and then took us by the River Seine. On our way to the cruise, we were walking by the Eiffel Tower which is totally way better than the one they have in the Las Vegas Strip. Hahaha.
We rode the river cruise and saw Paris by night. I was totally impressed by it. Paris, in my opinion, is way better at night. The whole aura and mood of the city was just different. It felt more alive at night when the Eiffel Tower was glistening on the hour (as shown in the picture above) than when I saw it that morning. After the River Cruise, we climbed up the Eiffel Tower and saw the city. I loved it. Paris won my hear with how beautiful it looked after the sun went down. Third favorite destination right here.
We went back to the hotel via their metro system which wasn't half bad. Free day in Paris the next day. First in the agenda: Macaroons. Hahaha.
I experienced snow in September.
We left the Italy bright and early the next day and headed towards Switzerland. The drive up the mountain was wonderful. Switzerland is gorgeous and definitely worth seeing. Viewing the alps from the distance as the coach cruised along the roads was an amazing experience. The tour group climbed Mt. Stanserhorn via a cable car. When we got up there, it was snowing. The snow was perfect snowman and snowball snow. If I was wearing the correct clothing for it, I would have totally played in the white fluff. The picture I chose for this day shows how high up the mountain we went. It was snowing up the mountain and everything below is still absolutely green. Go figure.
Afterwards, we headed to the city of Lucerne and shopped. I got Swiss chocolates instead of a Swiss watch or the infamous Swiss army knife. This shows you my priorities right here. Haha. The tour then went on a lake cruise where in we got to be surrounded by the mountains. It was so cold to be on the top of that boat but it was totally worth it to be there at that very moment during the sunset. We checked in our hotel, which was my least favorite of all the places we stayed in. It was basically a renovated woman's jail.
The hotel was conveniently called Jail Hotel and it was undeniably freaky. I was not a big fan of it. Granted that the whole concept is pretty ingenious but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I give kudos to whoever thought of it but it just was not for me, really wasn't. I was slightly freaked out about how small and jail-like our room was. The architect of the place or the lead interior designer basically chose to preserve the jail concept which is why I wasn't a big fan of it. I felt like I was in jail, only that we have a shower in it.
I went to a German mass that night. Our tour guide found me a church I could go to. I didn't understand a word that anyone said in that mass. However, mass is mass and I felt blessed to be in that gorgeous church. I wish I was able to take a picture of it because it had a wonderful architecture.
Lucerne is beautiful at night. I loved how I hear the sound of the water as I walked back to the hotel after mass. It was very peaceful and relaxing. It's a perfect place to retreat to from the hustle and bustle of the city. Definitely a perfect place to stopover before heading to the crazy, beautiful Paris.
This was the day my 12-day roomie and I almost got left by the bus. We kind of didn't get up until 10 minutes before the bus was about to depart. Kind of embarrassing. Nonetheless, we got on the bus, even if that meant we needed to get ready in a jiffy.
This was also the day that we headed to Florence and a professional photographer was going to take our tour group shot with the view that is shown in the picture above. That is basically the view of the whole city of Florence. Florence was absolutely breathtaking and is my second favorite destination of the tour (Venice precedes it by only a small margin). I wanted to stay longer in Florence. I wish we were there for more than a couple of hours.
When we got to Florence, we had a leather craft demonstration and then we were free to roam around before the walking tour. I went around with Amanda and Rina to get some gelato and then check out the markets. I was really really tempted to buy this one bag for 110 euro. I wasn't exactly sure if it was genuine leather but I loved the design of it. However, I stopped myself.
Afterwards, we went to the Piazza della Signoria in order to meet with the group and go on the walking tour. The tour guide, Giovanni, was extremely nice. He was very laid back and relaxed. We saw the Baptistry which has absolutely gorgeous doors. Afterwards, some of the tour group went to see Michelangelo's David. I decided not to. Don't stone me. It's just a license to go back to the city.
Instead of seeing David, I went to the market in the further piazza. I forgot the name of it and I'm too lazy to get my map and look for it. Nonetheless, I got a really really cool wallet from there which I love playing with. (There's also another story at the market. I'll tell you about it when we see each other, my dear reader. Just remind me. :]). There was a parade of some sort when I headed to the Basilica Santa Croce to meet with the rest of the tour group. I wish I knew what the parade was for.
We left the city center and checked in our hotel at around 5:30. There is a Tuscan dinner excursion that night that I decided to take a part of and I'm glad I did. The food was wonderful. I had such delicious lasagna and another pasta dish which I believe is, once again, pasta arribiata. There was also a beef dish which I loved. The dinner was accompanied by lively music and I got serenaded with Que Sera Sera by the old man and his accordion.
It was a perfect end to my stay in Florence and I would really really love to go back there.
Our hotel is in the outskirts of Rome. The hotel provided a shuttle to get us to the rural train station which connects us to the metro station. If we want to catch the hotel shuttle again, we needed to be back at the station by 5:00 which I know isn't going to happen for me. Thus, we were told about the bus that would take us from the rural train station to the hotel.
We started the day walking to the infamous Spanish Steps and then to the Capuchin monastery. That Capuchin monastery was slightly creepy. It's basically the skulls and bones of the Capuchin monks in decorative form. However, I must admit that it was morbidly beautiful.
We then proceeded to Vatican City and had a tour of the Vatican Museum, which is the picture above. I got to see the Raphael painting of School of Athens and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. I was absolutely amazed at the idea that I saw those, IN PERSON. I stood in the same room as those works of art which have just be boasted to me during history classes. The tour ended in St. Peter's Basilica which had amazing and inspiring architecture. However, there were so many people in it that I didn't get to feel the basilica feel which slightly disappointed me.
Our tour guide brought us to Alice' Pizza which has delicious pizzas. I miss pizza in Rome. It was plain mouthwatering goodness. I then decided to spend my day visiting the other 3 major basilicas in Rome. Everyone else wanted to go inside the Colosseum and I wasn't particularly interested because to me it's just a pile of rocks. I personally thought the best part of the Colosseum is the outside, but this is just my personal opinion.
I only visited 2 out of the 3 other basilicas, namely Mary Major and John the Lateran. The other one was outside the city walls and too far away from me. I walked all the way from the Spanish Steps to John the Lateran. If you know the map of Rome, you'll know that I was crazy for doing this. It was totally worth it though. John the Lateran or Basilica San Giovanni in Laterno was my favorite basilica. I prefer it over St. Peter's. I think it helped that there weren't a lot of people visiting it and I got to pray and cherish being in there. Afterwards, I stopped and got myself gelato from Giolitti's which is the best gelato in Rome. (There's more walking involved here than I put. If I know you personally, remind me to tell you the story. )
The adventure of going home then began. I got to the rural station just fine. I can ride trains and get to where I need to be. As for buses, however, that's a different story. Nonetheless, I got home (let's leave the kinks out of it) and my legs were exhausted. It basically wasn't very happy with me. At the end of the day, however, I realized I saw enough of Rome. I was ready to move on to a different city.
Rome is amazing, don't get me wrong. It's just one of those cities that can only be handled in small doses, at least in my opinion. There's only too much of it you would want to do for a period of time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Rome thoroughly and I wouldn't mind going back for another 2 days.
ROME!
I was so pumped up to go Rome the next day. Italy was part of the reason why I took this tour. The fact that it went to Venice and Rome were pretty much the deal breaker for me. We got to Rome mid-afternoon. It began with a walking tour led by Dave. We walked by the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi fountain, Piazza Venezia, the Pantheon, ending up in Piazza Navona with a gelato treat.
My eyes were very happy in Rome. The Colosseum was just absolutely breathtaking. The piece of history saved as shown in the picture up there is just unbelievable to me. The Roman forum was very impressive. The Trevi fountain was absolutely full of people. I threw in my coin to ensure my return to Rome. The Pantheon was nice as well. There were a lot of people in it and I kinda wish it wasn't as packed because that way, I'd get to savor the moment of being there. Piazza Navona was love. I loved sitting down there and eating my gelato as I watched the people.
Rome is absolutely crazy. It was louder and more frantic than Venice. Hustle and bustle was EVERYWHERE! Crossing the street was a sport and avoiding hagglers was a talent. We finished the day off with dinner at a restaurant, which is included in the tour. The food was delicious. Bread in the beginning, followed by pasta arribiata (sp?) then fried chicken (not KFC style.) topped off with tiramisu for dessert was just impeccable.
On the way to the hotel, we passed by Vatican City which was gorgeous at night. If my camera and hand would have listened to what I wanted to do, that would be the picture that would be up there right now.
We have another day in Rome the next day.
The Venetian is my favorite hotel in Las Vegas. Imagine that favoritism evolve a hundred fold the moment I saw the city it was modeled in. The architecture, the view, the construction and the whole history of Venice completely had me reeled in. I felt as if I was transported into a whole other era as the whole tour group and I walked through the city of Venice. I was in love with every little detail of it. I didn't even smell the canal odor that was bothering a lot of the people.
When I stepped into the REAL St. Mark's Square, I was all smiles. This was the point in the tour that I got so jumpy and excited as to where I am. I wanted to stay there, to be there, to completely immerse myself in the Venetian way of life. I wanted to be back in history when Venice was a booming center of economy, important to commerce. I guess this is where you see the businesswoman in me. I perk up at the sheer mention of economics and business.
The picture above was taken during the gondola ride excursion that the group went through. Being in Venice and riding the real gondola ride (I took one on my 16th birthday in The Venetian) was just surreal to me. To top it off, we had a lovely dinner at an authentic Venetian restaurant complete with wine, antipasto, four courses of pasta and a gelato in the end.
Oh, and don't forget the funny musician who serenaded our whole group. :]
