6 weeks in Europe
Jul 30, 2022 | 6:59 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, OAK, SJC
Posts: 242
6 weeks in Europe
I try to travel overseas 1-2 times/year, but with COVID and my not wanting to quarantine upon arrival, I haven't traveled anywhere for nearly 3 years. However, with COVID restrictions loosening and a surfeit of accumulated PTO, I decided to take 6 weeks off to travel to Europe. My itinerary was as follows:
Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bruges, back to Paris
I flew into Paris and did a lot of nothing. I was basically there just to get over jet lag and to get a COVID vaccine QR code (which I was not asked to present anywhere I went, so that was a waste of money). Then, I was off to Lyon via train to meet up with my travel partner. I had no real plans in Lyon except to walk around.
After a few days in Lyon, we were off to Barcelona via train. First stop, Park Guell.
Then Casa Batllo and Casa Mila.
The architecture in Barcelona is unlike anything else I've seen in Europe. Granted, I've only been been to about 20-25 European cities, but most city centers' building designs feel somewhat similar. Gaudi's influence on Barcelona is pretty evident.
Sagrada Familia has been one of my bucket list places and one of the few that exceeded expectations. My travel partner mentioned how the outside of the church reminded her of Stranger Things (we happened to be watching season 4 at the time) and now that's all I can think about when I see it. The inside, however, has no resemblance to the show and is spectacular.
Up next, Italy.
Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bruges, back to Paris
I flew into Paris and did a lot of nothing. I was basically there just to get over jet lag and to get a COVID vaccine QR code (which I was not asked to present anywhere I went, so that was a waste of money). Then, I was off to Lyon via train to meet up with my travel partner. I had no real plans in Lyon except to walk around.
After a few days in Lyon, we were off to Barcelona via train. First stop, Park Guell.
Then Casa Batllo and Casa Mila.
The architecture in Barcelona is unlike anything else I've seen in Europe. Granted, I've only been been to about 20-25 European cities, but most city centers' building designs feel somewhat similar. Gaudi's influence on Barcelona is pretty evident.
Sagrada Familia has been one of my bucket list places and one of the few that exceeded expectations. My travel partner mentioned how the outside of the church reminded her of Stranger Things (we happened to be watching season 4 at the time) and now that's all I can think about when I see it. The inside, however, has no resemblance to the show and is spectacular.
Up next, Italy.
Last edited by calbear2005; Feb 16, 2024 at 9:50 pm
Jul 31, 2022 | 12:01 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, OAK, SJC
Posts: 242
We flew BCN-FCO (this was in early June) and when we got to the airport, the lines to check-in were insane. We had arrived about 3 hours early because we had heard that check-in and security lines were going to be long due to the influx of travelers, but luckily, our airline (Alitalia) had virtually no line and we were through security in less than 30 minutes.
It was hard to find information regarding what museums/sites you should book in advance to avoid not only lines but also not being able to procure tickets, so I'll list them out for anyone who is thinking about visiting Italy:
Vatican Museum
Colosseum (if you want to visit the underground)
Uffizi Gallery
Accademia Gallery
Cenacolo Vinciano (da Vinci's The Last Supper)
The day after arriving in Rome, we headed to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. We arrived at the east entrance of the forum about three hours prior to our Colosseum entrance time and slowly made our way through the forum and hill before going to the Colosseum.
The following day was spent in Vatican City going to the Vatican Museum and visiting Saint Peter's Basilica. The line to get in to the basilica looked line a Disneyland ride line, but it went quickly so don't be deterred if you visit.
The rest of the time in Rome was spent at a few more museums, tourist spots, and just wandering around eating gelato. So much gelato.
Borghese Gallery
Spanish Steps
Trevi Fountain, which surprised me due to its location. I had always imagined that it was in some wide open piazza, but it's instead boxed in between buildings on each side.
Victor Emmanuel II Monument
After 5 days in Rome, we took the train to Florence.
View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo
Ponte Vecchio, which I thought would contain apartments or something along those lines, but nope, just jewelry stores.
Uffizi Gallery
Botticelli's The Birth of Venus
Accademia Gallery
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
We booked the earliest possible time slot to walk up to the top of the duomo. Highly recommended during the summer before it got too hot in the afternoon. This is the view from the top.
And then right after, we climbed the bell tower.
Travel tip: assuming you have the requisite tickets, instead of standing in the line that wraps around the piazza to get into the cathedral, go in through the side meant for people to see the Santa Reparata. You get into the cathedral and are supposed to go down to essentially the basement, but you can just stay on the cathedral floor and there's no line.
Next we took the train to Venice. While beautiful, Venice was exactly what I had pictured and I can see why a lot of people make it a day trip. The island is so small that you can easily walk across it in 30 minutes and you can see all the "must see" sites in a day.
Rialto Bridge, which like Ponte Vecchio in Florence, is lined with stores.
Doge's Palace
Bridge of Sighs, seen from inside Doge's Palace (and you can walk across it from inside Doge's Palace as well).
Scalzi Bridge
Saint Mark's Campanile
View from the top of Saint Mark's Campanile. Unlike the bell tower in Florence, this one has an elevator that takes you to the top.
Saint Mark's Basilica
Ponte delle Guglie
Rialto Bridge at night
Saint Mark's Square
We did manage to make a day trip to Murano. Burano was out of the question because my travel partner got sea sick from the short 15 minute vaporetto ride to Murano; the 45 minute ride to Burano would have been worse. If you plan to buy glass work on Murano, be sure to walk well into the island as the first few shops closest to the first vaporetto stop on the southern edge of the island seem sell the same items for 2-3x as much as the shops more towards the center of the island.
Our final stop in Italy was Milan. Once again, we took the train. The convenience of European trains cannot be overstated. The tourist areas in Milan are pretty well concentrated in the center and all within walking distance from one another. We opted to stay near the central train station (scroll down to find out why) and getting to the center only required a <10 minute metro ride.
Cenacolo Vinciano
The Last Supper. You get 15 minutes to view the painting in a group of about 30 people before you need to move on for the next group to come in.
Milan Cathedral
View from the top of the cathedral
Inside the cathedral
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, basically a fancy mall
Milan Cathedral at night
From Milan, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre. It's about a 3 hour train ride from Milan; we took the train from Milan to Monterosso early in the morning (thus our decision to stay about a 5 minute walk from the central station) and from La Spezia to Milan at night. Be sure to buy the Cinque Terre Card as it gives you access to the trains running between each town, the hiking trails between the three northern towns, and the restrooms at each train station.
Vernazza
Manarola
Riomaggiore
Up next, the remaining countries from my trip abroad.
It was hard to find information regarding what museums/sites you should book in advance to avoid not only lines but also not being able to procure tickets, so I'll list them out for anyone who is thinking about visiting Italy:
Vatican Museum
Colosseum (if you want to visit the underground)
Uffizi Gallery
Accademia Gallery
Cenacolo Vinciano (da Vinci's The Last Supper)
The day after arriving in Rome, we headed to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. We arrived at the east entrance of the forum about three hours prior to our Colosseum entrance time and slowly made our way through the forum and hill before going to the Colosseum.
The following day was spent in Vatican City going to the Vatican Museum and visiting Saint Peter's Basilica. The line to get in to the basilica looked line a Disneyland ride line, but it went quickly so don't be deterred if you visit.
The rest of the time in Rome was spent at a few more museums, tourist spots, and just wandering around eating gelato. So much gelato.
Borghese Gallery
Spanish Steps
Trevi Fountain, which surprised me due to its location. I had always imagined that it was in some wide open piazza, but it's instead boxed in between buildings on each side.
Victor Emmanuel II Monument
After 5 days in Rome, we took the train to Florence.
View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo
Ponte Vecchio, which I thought would contain apartments or something along those lines, but nope, just jewelry stores.
Uffizi Gallery
Botticelli's The Birth of Venus
Accademia Gallery
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
We booked the earliest possible time slot to walk up to the top of the duomo. Highly recommended during the summer before it got too hot in the afternoon. This is the view from the top.
And then right after, we climbed the bell tower.
Travel tip: assuming you have the requisite tickets, instead of standing in the line that wraps around the piazza to get into the cathedral, go in through the side meant for people to see the Santa Reparata. You get into the cathedral and are supposed to go down to essentially the basement, but you can just stay on the cathedral floor and there's no line.
Next we took the train to Venice. While beautiful, Venice was exactly what I had pictured and I can see why a lot of people make it a day trip. The island is so small that you can easily walk across it in 30 minutes and you can see all the "must see" sites in a day.
Rialto Bridge, which like Ponte Vecchio in Florence, is lined with stores.
Doge's Palace
Bridge of Sighs, seen from inside Doge's Palace (and you can walk across it from inside Doge's Palace as well).
Scalzi Bridge
Saint Mark's Campanile
View from the top of Saint Mark's Campanile. Unlike the bell tower in Florence, this one has an elevator that takes you to the top.
Saint Mark's Basilica
Ponte delle Guglie
Rialto Bridge at night
Saint Mark's Square
We did manage to make a day trip to Murano. Burano was out of the question because my travel partner got sea sick from the short 15 minute vaporetto ride to Murano; the 45 minute ride to Burano would have been worse. If you plan to buy glass work on Murano, be sure to walk well into the island as the first few shops closest to the first vaporetto stop on the southern edge of the island seem sell the same items for 2-3x as much as the shops more towards the center of the island.
Our final stop in Italy was Milan. Once again, we took the train. The convenience of European trains cannot be overstated. The tourist areas in Milan are pretty well concentrated in the center and all within walking distance from one another. We opted to stay near the central train station (scroll down to find out why) and getting to the center only required a <10 minute metro ride.
Cenacolo Vinciano
The Last Supper. You get 15 minutes to view the painting in a group of about 30 people before you need to move on for the next group to come in.
Milan Cathedral
View from the top of the cathedral
Inside the cathedral
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, basically a fancy mall
Milan Cathedral at night
From Milan, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre. It's about a 3 hour train ride from Milan; we took the train from Milan to Monterosso early in the morning (thus our decision to stay about a 5 minute walk from the central station) and from La Spezia to Milan at night. Be sure to buy the Cinque Terre Card as it gives you access to the trains running between each town, the hiking trails between the three northern towns, and the restrooms at each train station.
Vernazza
Manarola
Riomaggiore
Up next, the remaining countries from my trip abroad.
Last edited by calbear2005; Aug 2, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Jul 31, 2022 | 1:02 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, OAK, SJC
Posts: 242
Next, we flew MXP-AMS. Once again, no issues with long lines at either airport.
Rijksmuseum
Rembrandt's The Night Watch
Vermeer's The Milkmaid
Van Gogh Museum
After a day of museums, we took a day trip to Haarlem and wandered around.
Back in Amsterdam...canals
After Amsterdam, we took the train to Rotterdam.
Cube House
Market Hall
I overheard a tour guide say that the third floor and up in the Market Hall contain apartments.
We took a quick day trip to The Hague and Delft.
Mauritshuis. Around the museum, dozens of police patrolled the area. I forgot about this fact until I got home and reviewed all of my photos. I Google Mapped the area and apparently right next door is is the Ministry of General Affairs (somewhat equivalent to The White House).
Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
Delft main square known as the Markt
After Rotterdam, we traveled to Bruges by train.
Market Square
Rosary Quay
Quick day trip to Ghent
And our final stop, Paris.
Pont Alexandre III and The Grand Palais in the background
Sacre Coeur
Palace of Versailles
Hall of Mirrors
Rijksmuseum
Rembrandt's The Night Watch
Vermeer's The Milkmaid
Van Gogh Museum
After a day of museums, we took a day trip to Haarlem and wandered around.
Back in Amsterdam...canals
After Amsterdam, we took the train to Rotterdam.
Cube House
Market Hall
I overheard a tour guide say that the third floor and up in the Market Hall contain apartments.
We took a quick day trip to The Hague and Delft.
Mauritshuis. Around the museum, dozens of police patrolled the area. I forgot about this fact until I got home and reviewed all of my photos. I Google Mapped the area and apparently right next door is is the Ministry of General Affairs (somewhat equivalent to The White House).
Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
Delft main square known as the Markt
After Rotterdam, we traveled to Bruges by train.
Market Square
Rosary Quay
Quick day trip to Ghent
And our final stop, Paris.
Pont Alexandre III and The Grand Palais in the background
Sacre Coeur
Palace of Versailles
Hall of Mirrors
Last edited by calbear2005; Feb 16, 2024 at 9:59 pm
Jul 31, 2022 | 6:32 pm
#5
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 35,598
Fabulous pictures. They brought back great memories of my past travels. I was surprised at the lack of crowds in several of the pictures. Specifically, St Marks Square in Venice and the Spanish Steps in Rome are generally jammed in the summer.
Jul 31, 2022 | 6:50 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, OAK, SJC
Posts: 242
Thanks! Regarding the Spanish Steps, because of recent damage caused by tourists, you could no longer sit on the steps and hang out. There were tons of cops around the steps enforcing this, so while the steps may appear relatively empty, the area around the base of the steps (where I took my photo from) had throngs of people.
Last edited by calbear2005; Jul 31, 2022 at 7:09 pm
Aug 1, 2022 | 3:37 am
#7
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott (Lifetime Titantium), whatever other programs as benefits make sense.
Posts: 2,014
Great photos. I agree that Barcelona is very different than any other city in Europe when it comes to architecture. It's a very unique place for that reason.