European tours

[mama squeak!]

^Wow! That must take a lot of energy. How long is the tour? If it's a month or so baka okay pa but if shorter than a month kakapagod yan. You won't be able to appreciate the places you'll be visiting if it's going to be shorter than a month. I still prefer taking my time to see a place and meeting the locals. Sampling their food and culture. But of course it's still a personal preference. I know someone who's happy magpa-picture picture lang to prove na galing sya dun sa place. 

[mama squeak!]

@sis childstar - Hubby and I are planning to set up a blog for all our travels para makabigay rin ng tips on DIYing. Di pa lang namin malugaran because we're always busy. If you want to see my pics PM me nalang. 

Okay now for the second part of our trip: France

Day 1  Took the TGV from Munich to Paris to connect to our train to Chartres. It was a seven hour train ride as we had two stops along the way. Arrived Paris Montparnasse at 3PM and took their RER to Chartres. Chartres is an hour away from Paris. This pilgrimage town is famous for their cathedral which is a UNESCO Heritage Monument. The cathedral also has one famous relic believed to be that of Mama Mary's veil.

Day 2-3  We were supposed to take the train from Chartres direct to Mont Saint-Michel (another UNESCO Heritage site) via Le Mans and Rennes. Unfortunately, we were caught up in Paris' infamous transport strike. Just to let you know France is quite known for their strikes. It's a way of life for them na. So hubby and I had to go back to Paris to catch a later train to Rennes from where we took an hour and half bus ride direct to the famous Mont Saint-Michel.
The view of the Mont was unbelievable as we were approaching it from the causeway. By the way,  Mont Saint-Michel is an abbey on a piece of tidal rock on the Normandy coast. Here's a link:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint-Michel
We stayed right inside the Mont for two nights, exploring the island, the abbey and the village. It was a wonderful experience!

Day 4-9 Back to Paris! This time instead of staying in a hotel we chose to rent an apartment for the week. It was a studio type apartment complete with all the necessities: kitchen stuff (plates/utensils/pots etc), micro, toaster oven, cooktop, coffeemaker. It even had WiFi! What's great pa it was located at the 1ere arrondissement right at the pedestrian area of Rue St. Denis and Rivoli near the Georges Pompidou museum. There were lots of shops and restaurants around so we didn't have to cook.
The week in Paris was spent walking around, revisiting the sights/museums and most importantly getting a taste of how the locals lived. What a memorable experience!

Day 10 Day Before our flight home, we checked in at a hotel right at the airport since our flight was leaving early in the morning. I had all my purchases inspected and detaxed by the local customs officer. Now I just have to wait for the taxes to be credited back to my credit card.

Day 11  Flight home via Amsterdam. More last minute shopping at Schipol airport, cheese and tulip bulbs!

 

[[-c-h-a-]]

mama squeak, mas naeexcite ako for our europe trip because of your kwentos!! 2 months to go!

[mama squeak!]

^Wow sis! That's something to look forward to. Exciting! Kwento ka rin after your trip.

 

[[-c-h-a-]]

^definitely looking forward to it! I'm thinking of keeping a journal nga so I can at least put our experiences in writing somewhere I'm sure it will be very memorable! New year and our 1st wedding anniversary in Europe!

[maribeth]

^wow, winter romance kayo ni hubby dito sa europe ha...

advise, bring lots of thick clothes..weather forecast kasi dito is super cold, windy, snowy winter (huwag naman sana...). it's only october but we are having negative temperature in the evening already...if you have an Ugg boots, bring it....

[[-c-h-a-]]

^we're from the land of ugg boots so yeah I'm definitely bringing mine!

I also bought down coats.. they go down to probably about 3 inches above my knees.. we bought leather gloves, thermals and thick jumpers.. excited kami sa super duper cold weather! We're going to waterproof the edges of our pants too just in case

we have winter here in Australia but the coldest we experience is about 2 degrees celsius (at least here in our state) so hindi naman kelangan major winter gear shopping. Layer layer as usual

[mama squeak!]

^Yup, that's the secret!

Don't miss out on the Christmas markets (Christkindlmarkts). Love their mulled wine or Glühwein in German.

Enjoy your trip!

[m_lim]

wow, kakaexcite naman yan sis cha! parang ayaw ko na tuloy mag honeymoon sa Europe.. sa 1st year anniv nalang. sa honeymoon somewhere relaxing lang para makapag kuong sa room.

update us ha!

[vhanya]

sis m_lim, naku dont miss out on a european honeymoon hahahah! you can always go back naman diba? =)

kami we set aside an entire month para umikot. ayoko rin kasi na-hassle and nagmamadali so we opt out of the tour packages. we're gonna do DIY yahooo!!

[mama squeak!]

^You said it! DIY is the way to go! I enjoy planning and preparing trips. Like you I prefer to take my time seeing places and meeting the local people. Hate na hate ko yung minamadali ako to keep up with a jampacked schedule. Ay grabe! Tipong picture-picture lang yung mga places na pinupuntahan. Reminds me of someone I know!     

[vhanya]

^ my friends did this last yr. one day lang sa city then alis na agad. parang di naman sulit yun. di na ako sumama hahahaha! mas madami pang time alloted sa pagtravel sa tour bus kesa sa mismong city tour.

bf and i plan to spend 3 nights each city (city ha, not country hehe). pag malapit lang, we will take the train but if malayo like from venice to vienna, mag plane na kami. tapos yung paris 5 nights kasi i plan to go shopping haha! kaya last city na rin yung paris. tapos pag kulang pa rin, [textspeak!] extend to 1 week lols!

ok na yan no mama squeak, we just want to enjoy the food and culture =)

[maribeth]

Don't miss out on the Christmas markets (Christkindlmarkts). Love their mulled wine or Glühwein in German.
Enjoy your trip!

sis cha..sis mama squeak! is right...tikman mo din ang crepes with banana and nutella..hhhmmm..yummy..sa temperature naman, depende kung saan ka papuntang city/country...and yes, layer ka na lang...

sis mama squeak!, so glad you enjoyed your european trip...nabasa ko lahat...

[mama squeak!]

^Hi sis maribeth, enjoy talaga! Sayang nga we weren't able na to visit Amsterdam. Kulang na sa time. Transit lang kami sa airport. But next time nasa plans na namin yan. Bago isara yung Red Light district, makabisita man lang.   

[mama squeak!]

bf and i plan to spend 3 nights each city (city ha, not country hehe). pag malapit lang, we will take the train but if malayo like from venice to vienna, mag plane na kami. tapos yung paris 5 nights kasi i plan to go shopping haha! kaya last city na rin yung paris. tapos pag kulang pa rin, [textspeak!] extend to 1 week lols!

ok na yan no mama squeak, we just want to enjoy the food and culture =)

Yup, okay your plans. You'll really appreciate the place and the people that way. Another alternative to your flying Venice to Vienna would be to take a night train. You save pa one night on hotel stay. Compare mo na lang the prices kung saan ka makakatipid.

Your one week in Paris, you can stay in an apartment. It will be cheaper than staying in a hotel. Check mo the website where we got our apartment. The savings you get i-pangshopping mo! LOL!

Enjoy your trip! 

[vhanya]

^yup good idea nga yang apartment coz when i checked the prices, big savings nga sya comapred to paying the hotel (10k per night din yun).

[snitch]

Yup, okay your plans. You'll really appreciate the place and the people that way. Another alternative to your flying Venice to Vienna would be to take a night train. You save pa one night on hotel stay. Compare mo na lang the prices kung saan ka makakatipid.

Your one week in Paris, you can stay in an apartment. It will be cheaper than staying in a hotel. Check mo the website where we got our apartment. The savings you get i-pangshopping mo! LOL!

Enjoy your trip! 

yup, good idea ang night train kasi me magagandang sked sila na gabi aalis, umaga next day dating. tapos me mga sleeper trains naman so makakahiga ka plus libre 1 night hotel (dahil fare na siya) plus makakatipid ka pa sa travel time

we may be doing this on our tour next year from munich to rome
we did it last 2007 or 2008, i forgot haha pero from madrid lang to barcelona

anybody going to switzerland? i so love the place sa pics!!! i saw the bavarian alps in germany last time and it was breathtaking!!!! kaya babalik kami sa switzerland naman na puro alps na hihi! hindi ko pa lang nagagawa ang itinerary dahil super busy hehe but we have the flight tickets already kasi nag sale ang lufthansa hehe...

so baka me pupunta ng switzerland hingi po sana ako ng suggested itinerary hehe

[[-c-h-a-]]

thanks sa mga advice

I'm still shopping for one more coat.. saka jumpers. Exciting!

Let's compare notes after our Europe trips

[maribeth]

^Hi sis maribeth, enjoy talaga! Sayang nga we weren't able na to visit Amsterdam. Kulang na sa time. Transit lang kami sa airport. But next time nasa plans na namin yan. Bago isara yung Red Light district, makabisita man lang.   

hahaha..debate pa sila kung isasarado ba talaga..pero I doubt if it would happen..
Hope next time..we could meet..

[mama squeak!]

^Definitely next time, sis. I'll give you a heads up when we're in your neck of the woods.