Time: May 8th - 23rd, 2018
Places: United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Vatican City
Company: Wife and daughter
Occasion: Tenth Wedding Anniversary!
Prologue: The first wedding anniversary was Canada. The fifth wedding anniversary was Mexico. The seventh was Brazil. The tenth had to be big, huh? Hence, Europe! Although this was always in the mind, I delayed the planning and booking until March 2018 since I wasn't sure on the financial feasibility. In the end, this delay in itself costed a lot more than what it would have costed had we decided & booked by Dec 2017! Well, anyways.
I always had this thought that one day I might get to work in Europe. That being so, traveling in and around Europe would have been akin to how we traveled in US: seeing all the major places first and then visiting lesser known yet beautiful spots. Alas, as the years progressed, my chances of getting to work in Europe diminished and my attempts in securing an assignment turned futile too. So, the next best thing was to visit as a traveler.
There were two ways to do so - on our own or via a group (package) tour. To do on our own, there had to be an extensive amount of planning that included accommodation, food, travel and tickets. Also, visa had to be secured too. It would have been pricier too. Since it was already March, and I only had 2 more months to finish this tour before daughter's school started, it became all the more imperative to choose the package tour since they had predefined itinerary and they would take care of everything. So, once we knew we had to go the group-tour route, next thing was to compare the competitors - Cox and Kings, SOTC, Thomas Cook, Kesari, Make My Trip and few others. Wifey jotted down the most important places that we wanted to visit by compiling all websites and we narrowed down to an itinerary which CnK had the best - although almost all tour companies nowadays have pretty much the same itineraries. Anyway CnK it was.
Although I have a lot of complaints against CnK, they did good in terms of securing the visa for us within a very short span of time by providing the necessary documentation and checklists. By end of April, we had both the UK and Schengen visas. We did some shopping during first week of May, packed our suitcases and ready to fly again, after 1.5 years!
Day 1 (May 8th): London, UK
Flight to London via Dubai in Emirates Airlines. Uneventful journey. Immigration done, we reached airport lobby and we had to search a while before we could see a bunch of Indians talking together with a guide in the middle. Figured out that it should be a tour package and yes, it was the CnK group. We were all pretty exhausted since it was almost 10 pm. Longish drive in the coach to the hotel and what surprised me was the traffic even at 11 pm. The guide kept talking non stop about the rules and regulations of UK, emphasising on the bus driver's timings and how he cannot work more than 8 hours in a day and hence we need to be on time every day. Finally, we reached our hotel: Hilton Paddington, right in downtown London. Wow, what a hotel - daughter absolutely loved it! Such grandiose! Dinner at neighbouring Flavors of India. By the time we hit the bed, it was past midnight - and yet, the streets were full!
Day 2 (May 9th): Awake at 5 am due to time lag with India. Hearty breakfast at Hilton. Left our hotel at 9:30 am. Started off with London Tour with guide for 3 hours till noon. The coach took us on most important roads and localities, and we just kept clicking photos. Not really my way of seeing and experiencing a city. Saw places like Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, etc with background info on London. We finally stopped near the Palace to see the change of guards ceremony. Rather hyped up affair one would think. Anyway, more clicks. Then went to Madame Tussauds from 12:30 till 2:30. I had already visited this kind of wax museums at various places, so this was not so interesting. But daughter loved it and kept posing with the celebrities. Two hours at this place was a massive waste of time.
Lunch at an Indian restaurant till almost 4 pm. Horrible, horrible traffic. We then went to the Tower of London instead of Lords cricket stadium because of an event being conducted at the stadium. Saw the Kohinoor and other precious jewels. Hardly any time available to spend since the guide had given just 25 minutes. So had to hurry and run everywhere. Took some hasty pics of the Tower Bridge of London on River Thames. Our last destination was London Eye but we were late by few minutes so we were barred entry. Extremely disappointed. It was our only & last day in London & we as a group felt that the timings could have been better managed by CnK. After paying a whopping amount for visa - and spending just one day in UK did not seem so worthwhile. Especially after losing out on many promised attractions (London Eye, Oxford Street, Lords cricket stadium) as per the itinerary. The whole group was pretty disappointed. At least 2 days is needed in London. Anyways, we reached our hotel early but still skipped dinner, got ready for morrow and retired for the night.
Day 3 (May 10th): Paris, France
Again, got up pretty early since we had a train to catch at 9ish in the morning. So we had to pack up, have breakfast and leave by 7 am. Our coach took us to St Pancras station. As I understood, there were two ways to get to Paris from London:
1. The whole bus gets into a train coach, and we just sit in the bus while the train takes the bus and its passengers across to France.
2. We get down from the bus, take our luggages, board the train, reach France and board another bus waiting for us in France.
Each have its own pros and cons. The biggest con in the first option is no scenery to be enjoyed. The biggest con in the second option is to take all our luggages from bus to train to bus - and handle it all through.
Our guide had chosen the 2nd option. So we went with it. Apart from the luggages - dragging, handling it in the train (very difficult!) - the train journey was pleasant. Experienced the Euro train - with beautiful lush greenery all around. Reached Paris in about 2+ hours.
Took the new bus and our first stop was another Indian restaurant (called Welcome India) since we were all famished. After our lunch, a French guide joined us for a city tour. Once more, like London, the bus rode through important places in Paris such as Pyramid of the Louvre, Champs Elysees, Hotel des Invalides, and the guide rattled off one historic event after the other. Finally it got done and we stopped at Eiffel Tower.
A huge queue! We stood in the line for almost 2-3 hours! I felt the management can learn some techniques from Tirumala (TTD) on how to efficiently manage the crowd! Surely such a huge wait was uncalled for. Anyway, we finally got to the 2nd level and then on to the 3rd & final level. Views from both 2nd and 3rd levels are awesome and stunning - as it is from any high rise building or tower. We were there at around sunset and the view was very pleasant. Finally got down, and the guide took us to dinner at Bombay Villa.
Dinner done, we went to our Hotel Mercure which was close by. I had to run around to see how I could charge my camera, phone & other electronic equipments because the electrical outlets in France looked strange & I had not thought of a travel adapter nor did CnK warn me. The electrical outlet neither looked like Indian or British or American! So I was flummoxed. Realized, I had to figure out something - and quick because I was running out of charge. Then, got a brainwave: The TV! The TV had a USB cable outlet and by switching the TV on, I was able to charge pretty much all my gadgets! And I used this technique for the rest of the tour! Very exhausted at the end of the day, and hit the bed soon...
Day 4 (May 11th): Palace of Versailles, France
We were given a choice between Disneyland and Palace of Versailles. We chose the latter because we had been to umpteen Disneylands umpteen times in US! However, the majority in our group chose the former. Bad idea. Because, the departure from the hotel was around 9:30 am and that is not the time to leave if you are going to Disneyland - it ought to be 7 am!! So by the time they went, all the rides had huge queues. They could hardly finish one or two rides in the entire day! Having said that, it was not that good either for us.
The Palace of Versailles had a huge serpentine queue for just entry! We stood in the line for 3 hours before we could enter. Once more this was a goof up by CnK because there was a separate shorter line for groups and our tour guide had gone with Disney. So we ended up waiting in the line. But once we entered, we browsed through the different chambers of the Palace quite quickly wherever possible, took some quick snaps and we were out by 1 pm. There were paintings and artwork and historical significances everywhere in the Palace. Since we didn't have much time, we skimmed through the surface of it all. Thing which we liked most was the Hall of Mirrors. On hindsight, it might have been worthwhile to go to the huge magnificent garden that adjoined the Palace (it was either Palace or the Garden for us).
Post lunch, we went to Louvre museum. We had very less time here and we wanted to see the painting of Mona Lisa. Thankfully the entry was quick and there was hardly any line since it was already 4 pm. But when we enquired - boy, was it far! We ran and ran and ran. Finally came to the painting and there was a huge crowd. But we could not see the painting. Perplexed, we cut through the crowd and inched inside to see where it was. Finally saw it. Just a small nondescript rectangular frame of a lady - maybe 3 ft by 4 ft or so. What is the fuss all about this tiny Mona Lisa?! Jeez...! Anyway, took some selfies and walked hither and thither inside the museum. Now we had some time to kill. So went to different chambers of this museum too. Then got our ride back to hotel. Had about half hour time before the Disneyland group came back and we were off to Dinner.
Dinner done, we went onto a cruise on the river Seine. Now, this part of Paris was the best experience of all. Serene Seine water. People sitting on the banks, having a nice evening time, waving at us all - there was so much of love and laughter. One could feel the positive vibes and energy everywhere. Since it was dusk, the lights were being turned on (including the Eiffel) and the cruise went past many historical landmarks. By the time, the cruise returned back to the dock, it was 9 pm and Eiffel was sparkling. This sight was magnificent. It lasted only a few seconds and it was worth watching every second of it! After that, we once again went through the historical landmarks of Paris but this time it was night. So it seemed totally different and colourfully lit up. While touring, once again the Eiffel sparkled at 10 pm and it was a sight to see from afar! Finally the long day came to an end, and we reached back to our hotel at midnight.
Day 5 (May 12th): Brussels, Belgium
We left Paris at about 9 am and drove 2 hours, pit stop & another 2 hours to reach Brussels, Belgium. Along the way, we saw a number of windmills made of wood (which is kind of famous in Belgium). Our host as usual gave some excellent commentary on the country and its history especially about Mannekin Pis. The first stop in Brussels was an Indian restaurant which was right on a main road where trolleys run. So we had to hurriedly get out. And not just that: since our bus had no place to stop, we were given instructions as to when to get back onto the same spot so that he didn't have to wait for us with honking trolley cars behind him. So, this by far, was the fastest lunch we all ever had. We were all done in maybe 15 minutes flat. This included the full course North Indian meal - just like all days - and not just that, it included an ice cream too! Imagine gobbling all up in 15 minutes - and rushing to the bathroom too!
So, we were then back onto the same stop. Sure enough the bus came and we all hobbled on. Our next and main stop in Brussels was the Grand Place where we had a walking tour amidst heavily crowded region. We walked all the way to Mannekin Pis landmark and took some pics. Then we immersed ourselves in the Belgium happy crowd and experienced their life. We even experienced their famous Godiva choc but skipped the waffle and their beer.
At the time we were in the Grand Place, some event was underway and there were fireworks. Pretty strange time to have the fireworks because there was daylight and hardly anything could be seen. But we could only hear the cracking up of the fireworks. Anyways, we made back to the bus after more pics and also took few pics with enormous cathedrals (St Michel? & St Gudula).
Our next stop was the Atomium. But it was just for the sake of a pic in front of the landmark building - which looks like a steel-clad UFO. We didn't have time to go up the top (not sure if even it was allowed) or to the museum. So we were done with it in maybe 10-15 minutes.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Our last stop before the night halt for the day was at an Indian restaurant in Rotterdam (Netherlands). It was still 6 pm when we were supposed to have dinner apparently. The way all these tour agencies work is that they have slots at the restaurants: 6 pm for Cox & Kings, 6:30 for Thomas Cook, 7 for Kesari, 7:30 for SOTC, 8 for MakeMyTrip, etc. just to give an example, and this keeps rotating on a daily basis at different cities. The rapport between all tour managers is amazing and they all help out one another - they are not just for their own groups. There are cases when if one group forgets a bag in a restaurant, the following group ensures it gets to the right customer the next day because all the tours are following one another in pretty much the same itinerary!
Anyways, at about 7 pm, dinner done, we lazed in front of the bus. Apparently there was a beach nearby but it was too cold. Finally we retired for the night at Novotel. The last time I was in Novotel was in 2009 Canada for our first wedding anniversary! I was blown away by the luxury of the hotel then and it didn't disappoint me this time either!
Day 6 (May 13th): The Hague, Lisse & Amsterdam, The Netherlands
It was a dull looking day with forecast of rain. Our first stop was Madurodam in The Hague - a miniature city filled with everything miniature: airport, railway station, trains, planes, football stadium, ships, ports, churches, cars - you name it, it is there in miniature! An amazingly well-crafted place. We got one full hour here to spend, appreciate and take pictures.
Next stop was Keukenhof gardens in Lisse. It was the last day for the Tulip show for the year and hence there was a sizable crowd. The tulips were present in plenty but some of them had passed their prime. Nevertheless it was a magnanimous display of wide variety of colorful flowers - not just tulips. Spent about 1 to 1.5 hours and it wasn't truly sufficient for there was so much more to see. Thankfully it didn't rain while we were here.
Finally we reached Amsterdam. Interesting to see lots of cyclists, cycle lanes, cycle traffic signals and even multi-storey cycle parking! Upon reaching, we walked to Moti Mahal, an Indian restaurant pretty close to Dam Square. Lunch done, we walked to Dam square and immersed in the local ambience. It was slightly drizzling by now and we had our umbrellas up. The architectural grandeur of the churches & buildings (Royal Palace & National Monument) around were magnanimous. The host re-told the story about Anne Frank. Unfortunately the itinerary didn't include the visit of the house where Anne Frank lay hidden but we were told vaguely where it lay.
At about 4 pm, we took a canal cruise. This was a nice experience, listening to the host's announcement of uniqueness of Amsterdam - and how most prefer cycles than other vehicles for commute. There was a point in the canal where we could see 7 bridges but unfortunately it was not clear since it was now raining steadily. The cruise in the canals itself was unique considering there was traffic signals even for boats! Cruise got done in about an hour and we were back on the bus.
We had dinner at The Taj at the city of Breda. And then we retired for the night at a large castle kind of hotel called Hotel NH Eindhoven Conference Centre Koningshof. Now this was a super big hotel obviously made for multiple conferences to be held simultaneously. The hotel itself was surrounded by a lush forest & it was beautiful. This place itself was good to stay for a day or two but we were here only for overnight which seemed unfair! After London and Paris (where we stayed for 2 nights), this overnight stays at different hotels started being very irksome - what with the hauling of the luggage every night into the hotel often on unpaved roads and again hauling them back on the bus every morning. And some of these hotels had only one lift - and a bus full of passengers had to wait in line with 2-3 luggages per passenger for that lift alone. Sometimes not just one bus but many buses! Anyways - tucked ourselves to the bed for a restful night.
Day 7 (May 14th): Dusseldorf, Cologne, Heidelberg & Hirschberg, Germany
Breakfast at the hotel was in a huge hall that could hold about 300-400 people. That done, we lugged our luggages on the gravel to our bus - just like how other tour troops were doing! Since this hotel was nestled cozily amidst trees, there was a nice foggy mist all around that made the scenery very beautiful. Anyways, left at 9 and our first stop was a car museum in Dusseldorf. All antique & vintage cars everywhere and we spent about an hour taking pics!
Next stop was Cologne. The cathedral at Cologne was super big and atmosphere inside was nice too. Paavani saw (for the first time) Jesus being nailed on the cross and had all sorts of questions! Spent about 30-45 minutes inside & outside the cathedral, and then did some shopping. Walked about 10 mins to a nearby Indian restaurant called Jaipur Restaurant.
Lunch done, we went on a long drive to Heidelberg. It was a short stop to see the castle on top of a hillock and to spend some time by the Neckar river. We walked the streets of Heidelberg and immersed ourselves into the little town's culture. While it was too hot in Cologne, it was now drizzling. The Neckar river bank was nice too and we took some more pics. Dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant called India Palace, and then it was time to retire in our hotel at Hirschberg.
Day 8 (May 15th): Schauffhosen, Black Forest, Drubba, Rhine Falls & Zurich, Switzerland
A 3 hr drive took us to Black Forest/Drubba. The scenery had drastically changed now and it was lush greenery everywhere. Because we had entered Switzerland - a country that we had dreamed of visiting since a long time!
Black Forest/Drubba is famous for cakes, of course, & also for cuckoo clocks. Our guide told us the story of Black Forest & the clocks. We reached by 12 pm and it was time to have lunch. This lunch was different since we had Black Forest cake, a burger, fries, etc. Lunch done, we went upstairs to look at all the cuckoo clocks. Some of our team members bought the clock and the guide had to arrange for duty-free, etc. At 1 pm, the large cuckoo welcoming clock did its thing and it was very nice to see the dancing toys in the clock!
Departed at 1:30 pm and reached Rhine Falls at 3:45 pm. Once again it was drizzling but the scene was amazing! We were all excited to go near the falls. A boat took us to the middle of the falls where there was a rock which we had to climb. It reminded us of Iguazzu Falls in Brazil and Niagara in America. Even though it was not so massive in scale, the roaring water falls definitely made us nostalgic. Atop the rock, it was like waterfalls surrounded us 360 degrees! It was fabulous. Back on the boat to mainland, we were greeted by an Indian chai which was refreshing considering it was drizzling and cold.
Departed the falls area at 4:45 pm and reached Zurich at 6:15 pm. The bus stopped near the Zurichsee (or Lake Zurich) and we had some nice time with the cranes and swans. The sun was back out again and hence atmosphere was super nice! We just walked around the edge of the lake for some distance and came across a bank where some elderly folks were feeding the cranes and they shared the bread with Paavani to feed the birds. Paavani enjoyed the experience immensely. The overall atmosphere was very soothing and we had a nice relaxed time. At about 7 pm, we left in our bus again to go to our hotel called Swissotel. There was an Indian restaurant close by and some of us went but some of us skipped. Wifey & daughter went and on the way back, Tontu skipped a step and injured her ankle. From next day onwards (until we reached Pisa, she kept limping and at times, one of us had to carry her!)
Now this hotel was crucial because we would be staying in this hotel for 3 nights - so we badly wanted this hotel to be nice and comfortable. And it definitely fit the bill! It was grand, posh & comfortable. But the only thing unique about this hotel that we found was that the bathroom was partitioned by a transparent glass wall! Now that could be ok for honeymooners, but for our group with senior citizens, families with teenage and young children - this room with pretty much an open bathroom was a laughing topic in the bus the following day!! Anyways, we packed up for the next day (for it would be coooold) and retired.
Day 9 (May 16th): Jungfraujoch & Interlaken, Switzerland
It was a long ride to Interlaken, hence we left early. At about 10ish, we reached the postcard city of Interlaken. Beautiful lush greenery everywhere nestled cozily amongst Swiss Alps. Photo time (including Yash Chopra's statue here!). After a quick half hour, went to the small town where the cogwheel train takes us up on the mountain. Another beautiful small town called Grund nestled in a mountain pass. We had to change trains midway at a place called Schynige Platte.
While the first train offered great views, the second train passed through the mountain tunnel - and hence not much of views. One can only admire the folks who constructed these tunnels and railway tracks way back in the 1800s - and paved the way for us to enjoy the beauty of mother Nature. Very soon we were amidst snow. And loads of it. Officially we were on top of Europe: Jungfraujoch. And its considered as the highest altitude railway station in Europe.
There were a number of things to see here. An ice tunnel took us to ice palace. And then there was an opening called Sphinx Observation Terrace where we could enjoy the snow. And in fact, it was snowing, so had a great time soaking ourselves in the cold flurry! Played throwing snow at one another. There would have been an option to walk on the Aletsch glacier but since it was snowing, the path was closed out.
There was also a Cinema Experience and Alpine Sensation attractions. To top it all, was a full-fledged Bollywood lunch atop Europe. I believe this is available only for those visit via groups - hence those who visit separately are denied this lunch! Pretty unfair but we were lucky to be in the group!
At about 4, we descended and it was a long drive back home. Reached hotel at about 7ish, skipped dinner (since there was a long queue) and retired back in the room. Anyways we had enough of home-made stuff to fill ourselves. Tontu had a great time in the room (as usual)!
Day 10 (May 17th): Mt Titlis & Lucerne, Switzerland
And another day atop the Swiss Alps. Another cold day. Another day amidst the snow. Hence, packed ourselves up as best as we could. Although today's drive was long, it was not as much as the previous day's. We reached Mt Titlis base and took the cable car. And then we had to take another cable car - popularly called Rotair because it is a cable car that rotates 360 degrees while it climbs so as to give a 360 degree view of the mountain while climbing. Pretty cool.
Once atop the mountain, we were greeted by another snowing day. Hence some of the activities were closed out - like snow-tubing. It was almost like a blizzard and everything was white-out. Despite the snow, the Ice Flyer option was open. It is another cable-car kinda thing like how skiers climb the mountain - so it is open and legs are dangling! Quite an experience! It was a roundabout cable car - so we came back to where we started. And then there was cliff walk. Since it was all white everywhere, we couldn't distinguish much but still could identify that we were walking pretty high up on a cliff on a walking bridge which was dangling. So if we jump on the bridge, the bridge would jump with us!
Finally, took a pic with the world-famous DDLJ post-card cut-out placed right on top of Mt Titlis. And then went inside to enjoy the Ice Glacier Cave. That done, next stop was lunch. Lunch was a quick Indian buffet. And then it was time to head back down. On the way down in the cable car, we heard the jangling of the Swiss cows. It was very pleasant to hear that amidst the "mountainly silence". Finally, we were back on the bus.
Next stop was in the town of Lucerne. We walked to the Lion Monument which is carved on a huge rock. I missed the story but it seemed superfluous anyways, thanks to wiki! The carving itself was great. Then we walked to a Casagrande souvenir shop near the Lucerne Lake. It was a massive 3-storey building. Lots of us did Swiss shopping. And then it was time for a cruise on the lake. The one hour cruise was smooth and very soothing with stunning views of the Swiss Alps everywhere. We had a nice "group" time with all of our CnK mates - taking photos, singing songs, etc. Took a number of photos.
Back to our hotel. En route, had dinner at Hotel Tandoori which was very close to our hotel. Final night at Swissotel.
Day 11 (May 18th): Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Departed after a healthy fulfilling breakfast. But just a couple of hours later, we stopped at Vaduz. One of the smallest countries. Not much to see here. Just lazed in the sun, took few pics at a monument. And shopped for some souvenirs. And then headed for lunch. At 11 am! Imagine having an Indian restaurant in Vaduz!
Wattens, Innsbruck & Seefeld, Austria
Next stop was Swarovski Crystal Museum at Wattens. The crystal museum was amazing - with all kinds of crystals displayed extremely artistically - even the biggest and smallest. Spent almost an hour inside the museum. Even the entrance was enchanting.
Our next stop was not a hotel but a resort just outside of the city of Innsbruck called Seefeld atop a mountain. It was a fantastic resort called Seelos. In fact the resort was so good that some of them skipped rest of the day touring including dinner, and preferred to spend some time at the resort itself which was nestled cozily amidst mountains.
Rest of the group then left the resort to head to Innsbruck. It was a good one hour away. By the time we reached Innsbruck, it was almost 7 pm. There was a short & fast walking tour - and we saw the Golden Roof, an ornate Gothic balcony decorated with gold painted copper shingles & the Imperial Palace. Some of us did some quick shopping.
Then we walked about 15 mins to another Indian restaurant. In fact, we almost ran. With Tontu still limping, had a hard time carrying her! Dinner done, we went to another bus which took us to Sandwirt restaurant with a stage-show live performance.
The performance was Tyrolean Folklore Show by Gundolf familyand it was truly remarkable for 1.5 hours. It seemed like a family thingy. There was dance, there was songs, there was instrumental music and hand-clapping, hand-slapping, foot-dancing and many such fast-paced feats which kept us on the edge of our seat - even though it was 11 pm! Nationalities from more than 15 countries had visited and they played national songs of all of those countries while the respective country's audience stood up. The best, of course, was the Tiroler Holzhackertanz (aka woodchopper's dance). All of this is passed down through the generations.
Finally, we left to our resort. Reached almost 1 am. It was, alas, a very short stay at the resort and we felt a pity that we were spending so less time at such a great resort.
Day 12 (May 19th): Venice & Vicenza, Italy
Despite sleeping late, we decided to get up early to enjoy the resort. So got up early and took some snaps while soaking in the luxury of the resort and its ambience. Then had hearty breakfast. Finally it was time to leave.
The journey to Venice was the longest. Not because of the distance but because of the traffic. It was a Saturday and a glorious day. So pretty much everyone was heading to Italy. The vehicles were hardly moving. The journey took almost 6 hours whereas it should have taken 4 hours. So our guide had to make some on-the-spot arrangements. She ensured that we save some time by not stopping for lunch. Instead, she arranged for lunch packs on the way and we all ate lunch while the bus was moving. Obviously it wasn't that great nor convenient but it sufficed and saved us almost an hour. As soon as we arrived at the destination (Tronchetto Pier), entire bus rushed to the loo since we were holding up for the entire 6 hour journey! That was remarkable considering we had a group that consisted of young kids and elderly adults.
And then we headed quickly to a cruise that took us to across the Venetian Lagoon to the main island of Venice. The guide quickly finished a walking tour, so she showed us the main spots on the island and then gave us some free time to enjoy on our own. So we spent some nice time walking across Piazza San Marco (St Marks Square), taking pics on the Bridge of Sighs, Doge's Palace, etc. There was a carnival atmosphere everywhere and lots of pigeons. So daughter had a nice time walking amidst them.
After having enjoyed our "share" of viewing Venice, we headed to the Gondola ride who took us on a canal cruise amidst residential buildings that apparently seemed like constructed on the ocean! It was indeed a city like no other. We wanted a photo of the Gondola with the boatman but he was gruff and refused, so missed it. Nevertheless, it was quite a different experience going on the actual "Venetian Gondola" after having experienced the "Venetian Gondola" in Las Vegas! Although, I must confess, Vegas gondola was better than Venice gondola - maybe because the water in Vegas is cleaner than the partial sewage that we have in Venice!
Finally, it was time for us to head back to our cruise. The only thing we lost out was Murano Glass showroom (thanks to the time we lost in traffic). We had to wait for a long while for the boat, though. Soon we came to know why. Our guide had arranged a special Indian dinner on cruise! We all gave a whooping joy, and enjoyed our dinner while we cruised on the Venetian Lagoon. And that was not all. At the end of the dinner, all families were presented with a Champagne bottle! This was a gift from CnK - and highly appreciated. Some joyous pictures.
Cruise done, we headed back to our bus which took us to our hotel at Vicenza. We checked in and retired for the night. Unfortunately for me, my backpack which contained the Champagne bottle fell and the bottle broke into a thousand pieces inside the bag. Fortunately, my presence of mind made me retrieve the passports which were in the same backpack (in a different compartment) quite quickly and saved ourselves a lot of trouble. Thank God for that. Spent the next hour trying to clean up the bag and remove the tiny glass shards.
Day 13 (May 20th): Pisa, Florence & Rome, Italy
From Vicenza, our next destination was Pisa. Journey took almost 3 hours, so it was noon by the time we reached. Just 1 hour was sufficient to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa & take sufficient photos. The accompanying Field of Miracles and Bell Tower Cathedral seemed time pass compared to the leaning tower. Lunch time at a nearby Italian restaurant. Tried an Italian pizza too! Thankfully, the buffet also included an ice cream as a desert, which was much needed considering the day was so hot! After lunch, we waited for the shuttle bus that would take us to our couch. Some of us did shopping to kill time whereas some of them kept taking pics!
Next stop was Florence. It was slightly drizzling by the time we reached. A walking tour was arranged for us. We walked through what is considered as a the fourth largest cathedral in the world - with a large dome. And then there was a cobble-stone filled plaza with a number of statues everywhere of prominent Renaissance activists. We continued walking to a famous bridge called Ponte Vecchio which even contains windows. Our bus then took us atop a mountain (Piazzale Michelangelo) where we had a birds eye view of the city of Florence. It was quite spectacular.
Finally we left Florence and travelled to Rome. Our first and only stop was for dinner, and then moved on to our last hotel of the trip.
Day 14 (May 21st): Rome, Italy & The Vatican
We started off the day at The Vatican (the smallest nation in the world). Huge line greeted us but since we were part of a "Group", it was much shorter and we were able to enter the The Vatican within half hour. But once we entered, there was another human mass waiting for the audio headphones which was supposed to be used to hear the guide as well as the various points in the museum. But there was so much cacophony that I couldn't hear at all. So just enjoyed myself looking at the various artistic paintings all around. But the most important thing that I noticed was the huge crowd everywhere - in every tunnel, chamber, room, etc. Much like Tirumala temple on Brahmotsava! And The Vatican was HUGE. We walked and walked. We even saw the St Peter's Basilica (one of the largest churches in the world), St Peter's Square & of course, Sistine Chapel.
That done, we boarded our bus and for Rome city sight-seeing. Much of it was seen in the bus itself but I remember the Ben Hur shoot location (Circus Maximus). However, we stopped for 20 minutes at the mighty Colosseum. Now that is a place which can take almost half a day or even more but we only took some snaps from outside. Hence it did not take that much time.
After lunch, we headed to an attraction called Time Elevator. This was not really needed in the package but I guess this might be more of a CnK thingy to lure customers. It was nice but not all that worthwhile although it made us feel as if we were back in the ancient era when Rome was famous and ruling the world. After the attraction, we went to the famous Trevi fountain. Spent some time taking pictures and just soaking in the carnival atmosphere. We knew, this was the last thing we would see as part of the tour. So it was kind of happy-sad thingy.
Finally, we had dinner and left to our hotel.
Day 15 (May 22nd): This was a day of complete leisure and just for ourselves. We had to check out by 11 am, so for the first time in the last 15 days, we got up real late! We checked out but continued to stay in the lobby itself until 2 pm with our luggages. Since the whole group was with us (except one family who decided to see Rome on their own), the time passed without much ado. Our guide gave us packed lunch. At 2 pm, we left the hotel and reached airport. Had lunch at airport while we waited for the check in counters to open. From 5 pm onwards we pursued the regular airport formalities - checkin, security and waiting at the gate. It was, alas, time to bid adieu to all the group members and Europe! Rest of the journey in air was uneventful, as it should be!
Day 16 (May 23rd): After a longish lay-over (almost 7 hours) in Dubai where we slept most of the time, got onto our BLR flight and we were glad that we were heading back after so many days of staying away from home! Another uneventful air journey - and thankfully Tontu did not get air sick. The cab driver was waiting for us and he took us home safely. Finally we reached Home Sweet Home at about 9 pm.
Epilogue:
I must confess it was quite hectic with the group package tour. The first four days was the toughest of all - London and Paris. And then it eased up but then long road journeys started. So tour is good if one wants to spend overnight in excellent hotels, see lot of places in short period of time with a budget amount (all in all, the cost for the three of us came just under 8.5L). But if one wants to spend more time and plan self-paced itineraries, it is better to go on own - and experience everything first hand like driving, staying in hostels, eating local delicacies, etc.
The thing that I did not like the most about this tour was London. It seemed too much of a hassle (and cost) to obtain visa for just one day of sight seeing - and we even missed the London Eye & the Lords cricket stadium. Either CnK should have excluded UK altogether from this tour or should have at least showed us 2-3 days of sightseeing spots like Scotland or at least get rid of the Madame Tussaud's (that took 2-3 hours). Or maybe there was such tours and I missed to see it. Either ways, sore point of this tour was London.
The best thing about the tour was the time spent in Switzerland. We spent 3 full days and saw the best of it. In the entire trip, we covered mountains, water falls, snow fall, rain, hot sunny days, long drives, long walks; we went in boat, bus, super-fast train, cogwheel train & airplane.
And like that a long awaited European dream vacation finally came to an end. All in all, we visited 10 countries: United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy & Vatican City. And this vacation was to commemorate our 10th wedding anniversary! What better way to gift my better half on the 10th anniversary than this trip (in addition to a Swarovski crystal, of course)?!
😉
