European tours

[mama squeak!]

^You should be alright. All European airports opened last Wednesday the 22nd. Expect a lot of stranded passengers lang trying to get home.

Re Lourdes, not to disrespect or anything but my hubby calls it the Disneyland for Catholics because of the festive air surrounding it. Plus the tons of souvenir shops outside. Though having been there I can say the experience was truly one of a kind. At the Baths, we waited in line for 4 hours but it was truly worth it! Surprisingly, we didn't feel cold when we were dunked in the freezing water (this was in October). We also brought home gallons of holy water, hanggang ngayon meron pa kami.

Oh and the bus drivers there know some Tagalog kasi nga the place is popular with Filipino pilgrims.

 

[childstar]

hi all, am baacckk!!!

Ang ganda ganda sa Italy! The places I was able to go to were Rome, Pisa and Florence (which they call Firenze)

Day 1 April 13 = We arrived Rome 3pm local time,  from Fiumicino, it's a good 45 minute drive to the city. Parang Alabang to Makati ang layo. You'll see apartment complexes, industrial zone etc. sa hiway. Then when we entered the city proper, the personal driver of our gracious host, took the long cut to show us some of the sights with matching brief history / background. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the Coloseum for the first time! It was grand! So then we checked in Hotel Veneto http://www.hotelvenetorome.com/, rested then had dinner at a nearby "cantina" which to our delight had a Pinoy cook    We retired early that day and woke up very early the following day.

Day 2 April 14:  Walked around Via Veneto and reached Piazza de Spagna. V. Venetto is just 2 blocks away from our hotel (via Piemonte rd.) Had lunch at this quaint little cafe which served food by the 100 grams. Each dish of 100 grams is about 3-5 EU depending if the dish had meat or just veggies. I split the food with a colleague. We had Eggplant parmigianna and ciabatta sandwich with lettuce, mozarella and tomatoes. YUM! Our bill was about 8 EU (already included water which was .70 cents only). Larga going to the Vatican and St. Peter's. Maluha luha ako when I saw the huge columns of the Basilica.  As in I can't believe I was really there already!

[childstar]

to be continued... will edit this post... be right back,.,,

[rockONsaint]

^^Sis, pati ako naluluha rin sa tuwa para sayo.  Honestly ganyan din nafeel ko nung marating ko yung Great wall sa Beijing kasi nga yung feeling na you can't believe na nandun ka sa isang popular landmark na nakikita mo lang dati sa TV or sa mga books.

I'm sure ganyan din ang mafefeel ko when my family and I go to Europe... sana soon na yun. 

I'll be waiting for the continuation of your story sis. 

[ertang]

hi guys! i've just read na yung prague is the same sa visa ng schengen.
medyo nififinalize ko  yung mga countries na iplan ko ivisit..we're going to have our honeymoon in october..and plan ko is around 3-4weeks..can you please help or suggest if ok na ba ito?

Manila to Paris 4/3nights or 3/2nights?
Barcelona 3/2 nights
Florence/Pisa 3/2nights
Rome 4/3nights or 3/2nights
Venice 3/2nights
Vienna - ?
Amsterdam - ?
Prague - ?
then go back to Paris..

kaya ako babalik ng paris is because mascheaper ata yung flight if nakabook ako ng roundtrip from my point of entry..nasa around USD950 using Cathay Pacific

so how do we go about this? tama ba yung in order ko? thanks in advance!  you can also recommend a country na wala dto..plan
ko kasi is yung mga malalpit lang..ty!

and lahat ba ito using schengen visa lang?

[mama squeak!]

^sis, check the following links:

For schengen countries:
http://www.axa-schengen.com/en/schengen-countries

The eurail map so you can see which countries are adjacent/near to each other:
http://www.eurail.com/downloads/eurail/eurail_railway_map_2009_1.pdf

Check the links first to find out what countries you really want to see then let us know so we can help refine your itinerary.

 

[ertang]

hi ito medyo finalize ko na..

Paris 3 nights
Barcelona 2 nights
Florence 2 nights
Rome 3 nights
Venice 2 nights
Zurich or lucerne?- 2nights
Prague - 2nights
Berlin or munich? - 2nights
Amsterdam - 2 nights

then go back to Paris..

pwede na ba to? or add pa ako ng bruseels, Holland?

and is it correct na ba yung list ko?

[kreez]

^ sis Brussels - belgium , when you're here in Amsterdam, 2-3 hours by train nalang ang Brussels might as well go na rin kasi maganda din dun, and binge on some belgian chocolates 

[kreez]

Ang ganda ganda sa Italy! The places I was able to go to were Rome, Pisa and Florence (which they call Firenze)

Sarap sa Rome noh, super enjoy din kami ni hubby nung pumunta kami dyan, very charming city

[mama squeak!]

sis ertang, ito suggestion ko for your IT using a round trip ticket to/from Paris:

Day 1-3  arrive Paris at 6AM / leave bags at hotel and start sightseeing
              Stay 2 nights only. The third night take the night train to
              Barcelona.
Day 4     Arrive Barcelona in the morning. Stay one night only.
 
Day 5     Sightseeing in Barcelona. Then take the night train to Rome
              or Florence. I would prefer Rome first then Florence on
              your way to Venice.

Day 6-7   Arrive Rome. Stay 2 nights. Then take the afternoon train
              back to Florence (2 hours ride)

Day 8-9   Arrive Florence in the afternoon. Stay 2 nights.

Day 10-11 Leave for Venice after lunch. (3 hours train ride). Stay 2
              nights. 

...to be continued on the next post.

[mama squeak!]

^Day 12  Either you backtrack to Zurich/Lucerne or go to Salzburg
               and Vienna  via Munich. I prefer the latter para di ka na
               pabalik-balik. (Check the Eurail map link I posted earlier)

Day 13    Sightseeing in Munich. Stay 2 nights.

Day 14    Leave for Salzburg in the morning and stay for 1 night.
              Salzburg is small so you can hit the tourist spots in one
              full day.

Day 15    Leave for Vienna in the afternoon. Arrive early evening.
              Stay 2 nights.

Day 16-17  Sightseeing in Vienna. On the night of the 17th day take
              the night train to Prague.

Day 18-19    Arrive Prague in the morning. Stay 2 nights.

Day 20   Sightseeing in Prague. Take late afternoon train to Berlin.
              (5 hours train ride). Arrive Berlin at night.

Day 21-22  Sightseeing in Berlin.  Stay 2 nights. On the night of the
                  22nd day take night train to Amsterdam.

Day 23-24  Arrive Amsterdam. Sightseeing in Amsterdam. Stay 2
              nights.

Day 25   Leave for Brussels after lunch (2 hour ride).  Stay 2 nights.

......next post...

[mama squeak!]

Day 26   Sightseeing in Brussels.

Day 27   Leave for Paris in the morning (4 hour ride).  Flight back to
             MNL in the early afternoon.


Medyo hectic yung IT but it's doable. Better travel light so you won't have a hard time lugging your bags around. Get a Eurail Pass so you can maximise your train travels. And lastly, have FUN! 

[childstar]

Day 5     Sightseeing in Barcelona. Then take the night train to Rome
              or Florence. I would prefer Rome first then Florence on
              your way to Venice.
Day 6-7   Arrive Rome. Stay 2 nights. Then take the afternoon train
              back to Florence (2 hours ride)
Day 8-9   Arrive Florence in the afternoon. Stay 2 nights.
Day 10-11 Leave for Venice after lunch. (3 hours train ride). Stay 2
              nights.

@ Ertang :I agree with mama_squeak! Go to Rome first then Florence (side trip kanaden to Pisa about 12 EU lang / head ang fare back & forth florence-pisa-florence)

[vhanya]

ang sarap mag europe ngayon. anglakas ng peso vs euro waaaaaaaa! all the designer bags i can buy for cheap compared to their prices in asia hmp!

hay please sana payagan ako. 1 still have 4 plane tickets. 2 HK, 1 BKK, 1 SG. after na siguro. me pera pa kaya ako? patay tayo jan lols!

[childstar]

yeah nga sis, ang winner! 1 EU = 53+ lang. Sana makasama ako ulet sa boss ko this June. Rome ulet. This time I will not let the opportunity pass at mag paparis and Switzerland na talaga ako!

[vhanya]

wow lucky you! =) sana nga makasama ka ulit sis =)

[m_lim]

may mag paparis ba dito soon? baka pwede magpabili ng bag!

[vhanya]

me too =) paris or UK, papabili lang ako ng bag hihi

[babytres03]

If anyone here falls between the ages of 18 - 35 years old, I suggest www.contiki.com . I went on a tour in Spain (15 days, I wanted to go on an in-depth tour, one country at a time) and it was blast! It was my first time in Europe. Sabi kasi ng iba kong mga kakilala who went on tours, most tours kasi mga older people kasama mo, so I went with Contiki.

If you want to visit places with people your age, do try Contiki. It's not expensive at all. The tours are really "built for" people in that age range.

We were 51 people on the tour, and it was a good mix of people. A lot of them are even travelling on their own, so it's a nice way to meet new friends. The first day nga felt like it was the first day of school. LOL.

If you visit the Contiki website, you will find tons of different tours (North America, Europe, Australia, pati Asia!) and for sure you will find something that fits what you want.

You can go on a 2 or 3 5 day one country tour, or even as long as a 35 day 15 country tour. They even have a forum on the website so you can chat or message people who were going on the same tour you want and even try to go an extra day some place else.

hi sis.. i checked their website and am very much interested on contiki's london,france, switzerland, rome, italy package. yun na lang muna, since its our first time in europe. just a question, we're a couple traveling, so are we gonna be on a separate room during the whole duration of the trip? where did you book your airfare na mura? thanks sis. im soooooo excited. how much does it cost to apply for shengen visa? which agency did you apply for it? i need your help....

[like_bree]

what's the cheapest airline from turin, italy to manila?