Enjoy a Vicarious Vacation Thru Europe

I was very lucky to have a six week trip through parts of Europe over Sept-Oct. We started with a couple of days in Budapest which was a fascinating start to our trip. Really lovely city with a lot of history. Amazing buildings. The start also of our tasting journey of great food and drinks.

Powerful memorial to the Iron Curtain (Outside the House of Terror Museum) – Don’t say I don’t know how to have a good time!

We boarded our river boat to travel up the Danube over the next six days. It was a good trip although we were definitely amongst the youngest on board, not counting staff of course. The boat stopped at Bratislava, Vienna, Melk and Passau. So many properly old buildings to experience. Not 150 years old, but 1000 years old. Or more. Sometimes hard to actually grasp from our NZ perspective.

I particularly enjoyed Bratislava which had a nice feel wandering around. Good lesson too about getting into towns and cities early, before the ‘tourists’ so that you can enjoy the feel of the real town. It felt quite different once others started arriving. Had the best hot chocolate ever in the Schokocafe Maximilian!!! Divine!

There was also an outdoor photography exhibition, much of which was in English. This particular imagery caught my eye.

After getting off the boat in Passau we caught three trains to Paris. Our arrival there started with standing outside the train station and hearing running feet behind us. Glanced around to see a young man race past and  up some stairs. Before we could really register he was followed by three running policeman who got to the bottom of the stairs and gave up.

Then our taxi trip to our accommodation was held up by some sort of traffic jam in a tiny narrow street. It appeared someone had simply stopped while they unloaded something which took probably 15-20 minutes. Cue a LOT of horn  honking! Which, surprise surprise, didn’t seem to change anything.  True Parisian experiences we joked!

A couple of days in Montmarte were really enjoyable. Perfect arrondissement (district) to stay in Paris. Quirky, fun, streetside cafes, a huge array of street art, and a short walk to Moulin Rouge.

We then picked up a lease car and started our driving holiday, travelling north first to Le Quesnoy. This ancient walled town has strong links with NZ after it was rescued by NZ troops in WW1 with no loss of civilian life. NZ is very much celebrated there and they have an amazing museum that tells the story. Interesting read if you look up the story. https://nzliberationmuseum.com/

From there we headed south and spent the next few weeks exploring the south of France and the north of Italy.

Nimes was a special town that I would love to see again. Particularly enjoyed walking around the colosseum there, known as the Arena of Nimes. Smaller than the Roman counterpart but still in use today.

They have restored some areas, created some more modern useable areas while preserving the oldest parts to be seen as well. A clever blend of extremely old and useable new. Sadly we missed a jazz concert there the night we arrived as we weren’t aware until the following day it had been on.

After Nimes we travelled through Gordes, a village perched on top of a mountain, partly carved out of it and partly built into it. Fascinating old buildings and walkways, it has a very distinctive feel to it. Market day was on when we were there and that had a mixture of genuine local artisans and the usual mass produced tat. Well worth the drive up the hill!

A brief stop in Monaco on our way to Italy gave a glimpse into how the other half live. A non-stop display of somewhat obscene wealth which left us bored. We moved on instead to the next town, Menton, to have lunch and what a completely different feel it had. Probably where many of those who work in Monaco live. Also where we finally dipped our feet into the Mediterranean.

Driving on from there was where Simon had his first and only driving on the wrong-side-of-the-road 'oopsie' – coming up to an intersection with surprisingly few vehicles he went through the wrong part of a traffic island. No cars so no big deal… apart from the four policemen on the other side of the road watching! I suspect the red number plates on our lease car told them we were foreigners and they didn’t react. Whew!

And then on to Cinque Terra. One of my favourite places. Five little towns (Monterosso al Mare; Vernazza; Corniglia; Manarola; Riomaggiore) linked by walking trails and trains, it was a magical, very Italian place to stay. And a place where staying in the town so as to enjoy it before and after the ‘tourists’ all leave was really worthwhile.

Talking with the locals, walking the little tiny streets, so much good food and delicious Italian wine and limoncello. And restaurants with views like this – what’s not to love!

From there we went on to Florence, staying a few metres from the Duomo and a fairly short walk to the Uffizi galleries it was a special place to visit. Best restaurant meal of our trip - thanks to a recommendation from our son who had been there 10-12 years before - Il Profeta.

Il Profeta still has awesome food and brilliant service. They always ask why you have come? On telling them how long ago our son had been and still had their business card, our waiter, who had been there for 15 years, was adamant he was getting a photo with us and then delivered a dessert that he proceeded to feed to the "mother of the boy who recommended us from ten years ago"!

Anyone going to Florence should absolutely go there for a meal!

From there we travelled through a couple of smaller towns, staying for two nights at La Pria winery. Again a really personalised special experience that felt like top level luxury, but at an incredibly reasonable cost. Great team and one of the owners was excited to see his ‘first black passports’ – NZ being the only country to have black ones. Another highly recommended stop for anyone travelling to the north of Italy.

After this it was off to Venice for a couple of nights – I know it’s a cliché but it really was worth the visit. And another place that is worth staying in so that you can explore early and late, around the other tourists. We did a boat tour over to Murano but sadly that felt like a real tourist trap, more than anywhere else we visited, so we were happy to leave and come back to walk some more around Venice. The tiniest, twistiest streets broken up by canals and bridges. I would love to go back and spend longer there. Yes it too is a tourist trap but a special place and my other favourite stay on our trip.

After Venice it was drive to Milan where we only had a brief stay before heading home. An amazing experience, great accommodation choices and the very best food and drinks you could imagine.

I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to our next adventure!