Wednesday, 21 November 2007

• Our 10 nights 12 days honeymoon journey to Europe (1st time)

  Purpose of this trip: Honeymoon

  Travel Agent: Air France Holidays

  http://www.airfrance-holidays.com

  Tel: 1-800-237-2623

  Price: $3,648 for 2 passengers includes:

  10 nights of hotel & breakfast every day.

  Flight & Transportation:

  Flight Ticket - SFO to Rome

  Train Ticket - Rome to Venice

  Flight - Venice to Rome

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  Rome 10/10/07 - 10/13/07 - Grade A from our Travel Rating

  We love Italy! The culture, the food, the sunshine weather (pretty much like California), the environment, the side walk cafes, the mosaic streets, the colorful buildings, the Vespa scooters, everything in Rome makes you fall in love with the city. Doing the "Caesar Shuffle" from the Colosseum to the Forum, then over Capitol Hill to the Pantheon made us felt that we traveled back in thousand years ago & hung out with the gladiator and romans. Strolling from Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps, made us felt in love again & again. Every fountains we walked pass by, we kissed then kissed some more. At the Trevi Fountain, we tossed coins over our shoulder and made a promise to Rome to come back again in our next BIG anniversary (probably a 10 year one). I wonder if the word "Romantic" derive from the meaning of roman ways of doing romantic things?!?! It must be it! We were totally overwhelmed by this smallest state in the world but holds one of the world's most fine treasures and master art works - the Vatican City: the impressive extravagant St. Peter's Basilica & the HUGGGGGGGGEEEEE Michelangelo's master piece of "Last Judgement" inside the Sistine Chapel of Vatican Museum. This whole Rome trip was totally filled with artistry and romance, spending the 4 nights in Rome definitely were NOT enough to see everything we wanted to see.

   

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  Venice 10/14/07 -10/16/07 - Grade A for our Travel Rating

  The beauty of Venice totally surprised us when we 1st got there by train. No cars were allowed, ships, boats, gondola rides all flooding on the busy Grand Canal. This is a complete manmade environment rising from the sea with no visible means of support. Even though Venice seem to be an overcrowded tourist trap, but we still find that Venice's magic - Romantics revel in its atmosphere of elegant decay. And Venice awakes first-time visitors from ordinary lives to a fantasy world unlike anything anywhere. Getting lost is a treat in residential Venice, and gazing into a still canal totally calms our mind. We felt that VENICE is MUST place to travel in our life time.

   

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  Paris 10/17/07 - 10/20/07 - Grade C for our Travel Rating

  I've heard you will either love Paris or hate Paris. During this very last journey of our trip, the 4 days we spent in Paris, we dislike Paris more than what we loved. We LOVED the touring the Louvre and local food in general but hate their Paris culture. The Eiffel Tower was NOT that impressive, it just a big dark brown-ish metal tower next to a not very well maintain park which smelled like urine. Graphitiis were everywhere on subway & streets, with everywhere smelling like urine, this reminds me of San Francisco downtown market street & Bart stations. The Champs-Elys嶪s were cool but it doesn't have much to see except for A LOT of shopping near by, though I did go into Louis Vuitton but totally turn-off by the crowded "China Northern Mandarin" speaking tourists smoking & squatting in front of the store. However, the Louvre is the nicest thing about our Paris trip, Mona Lisa painting was VERY small and statue of Venus looks nicer on TV. Regardless, the Louvre made us feel that Paris was worth of our time, if it wasn't for the Louvre, we would give Paris a grade D for travel destination. The Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle were okey since we have seen better from the St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican. There was hardly any sun in Paris, people seem to be very LAZY in general to work. Unluckily, we also came across a 2 days public transportation strike in Paris and the ENTIRE city melted down with street traffic jams. We also wasted 2 of our precious days on doing nothing b/c MOST museums were closed due to people couldn't get to work.The worst part was, of all the french people we encountered during the trip, their manner were way different than the nice Italians from Rome & Venice. We felt that the Parisians treated us coldly and ignored us most of the time, or this could have to do with the Subway Strike which makes everyone was unhappy. Perhaps we should have see Paris first before Rome and Venice, but it was too late and we had enough of Paris and probably won't go back unless it's necessary. :[

  

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  Am I too harsh on Paris? Maybe I am, but if I would plan this trip over again, I would choose to go to Florence Italy instead of Paris. We REALLY should have gone to Florence instead since is midway between Rome & Venice. Well, this means we'll go back to Italy in our life time again :D Got any travel advise & Comments? Feel feel to drop me a line or two?

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