European tours

[chinita8]

hi mama squeak!, do you have any recommended sites where i could find decent b&b's or apartment for rent (with short-term or daily rates) in Italy? something like the site you recommended to me before on where you stayed at in paris.  thanks again in advance! 

[mama squeak!]

^Hi sis, aside from airbnb.com you can also try this site

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/italy.html

My friend always uses this site everytime she and her hubby go to Europe. So far wala naman daw paltos yung nakukuha nya here.

Happy planning!   

[chinita8]

^thanks so much sis! i knew i could count on you! thanks agn! 

[Mhoirae]

Hi ! Has anyone try driving in Tuscany?  My friends and I are planning to rent a villa near Siena and tour the neighboring towns. 

[chez]

hi mga sis, pa join.  im in research mode pa, hehe.  im was offered an all expense paid trip to attend a convention in vienna for june or boston for october.  still undecided what place to choose.  so i guess the side trips will tip the scales.  whats the other places to visit if im already in vienna, and can extend my stay for another 4-5 days after the convention?  TIA

[vhanya]

^you can go to budapest. the best city in europe for me. also, you can sidetrip to bratislava =)

[mama squeak!]

hi mga sis, pa join.  im in research mode pa, hehe.  im was offered an all expense paid trip to attend a convention in vienna for june or boston for october.  still undecided what place to choose.  so i guess the side trips will tip the scales.  whats the other places to visit if im already in vienna, and can extend my stay for another 4-5 days after the convention?  TIA

I'd go for Vienna hands down! Lovely city! Home of Swarovski (shopping!). Then you can take the train to Salzburg, setting of the movie The Sound of Music. Or go to Prague at the Czech Republic.
 

[[-c-h-a-]]

^^I second that.

Austria is a surprisingly VERY beautiful country. It's actually tied with Switzerland for me after France and Italy.

[vhanya]

for me naman, vienna and budapest are the best followed by france and italy hihi

[chez]

thanks mga sis for the replies, now im already 95% for vienna, hahaha 5% na lang for boston.  whats the weather like in vienna on june? and does anybody know the site of the austrian embassy in manila?  TIA

[mama squeak!]

Hi ! Has anyone try driving in Tuscany?  My friends and I are planning to rent a villa near Siena and tour the neighboring towns.

Have always wanted to do this ever since I read the book "Under the Tuscan Sun". Hopefully my hubby and I can do this after we do our road trip first to the Loire Valley and southern France.

Update us please kung matutuloy kayo para we can get tips from you and your friends.

 

[mama squeak!]

thanks mga sis for the replies, now im already 95% for vienna, LOL 5% na lang for boston.  whats the weather like in vienna on june? and does anybody know the site of the austrian embassy in manila?  TIA

Austrian embassy - 4th floor Prince Bldg. Rada st. Legaspi Village, Makati. Tel no. 817 9191 ; 817 4992 ; 817 4993
Call them muna to inquire on the requirement and set an interview appointment.  When I applied with them way back in 2006, super higpit nila. They'll ask you to leave your cellphone with the guard on the ground floor and kung wala kang appointment di ka papapasukin. But mabait naman yung mga staff nila specially the bald guy (forgot his name).

Weather in June is nice and cool. Though it's the start of summer, temperatures range from 18-22C. Bring a light jacket and lots of pocket money if you're into shopping. Swarovski is cheap since dun gawa. H&M and Zara are super cheap too!

 

[Mhoirae]

Have always wanted to do this ever since I read the book "Under the Tuscan Sun". Hopefully my hubby and I can do this after we do our road trip first to the Loire Valley and southern France.

Update us please kung matutuloy kayo para we can get tips from you and your friends.

 

Loved that movie, too. It was what inspired my friends and me to go on this trip.  Planning to do it next year.  But I'm a little scared about driving in a foreign land.  Might break rules I'm not even aware of.  Any tips?

[chez]

thanks mama squeak!

[mama squeak!]

Loved that movie, too. It was what inspired my friends and me to go on this trip.  Planning to do it next year.  But I'm a little scared about driving in a foreign land.  Might break rules I'm not even aware of.  Any tips?

Haven't tried driving in Italy yet but have done so in Germany (wonderful!), UK (confusing!) and France (great in the countryside! Paris is another story). But basically it's all standard road rules naman with some deviations on each country. You can check the links below for tips:

http://www.initaly.com/travel/info/driving.htm

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

By the way, you don't need to get an International Driving Permit if you will be staying for a short time. But it's up to you if you would prefer to get one. The main purpose naman of the IDP is for translation of your local license in case it is in a language other than English. Our license naman is already in English so no need for translation.   

Happy planning!

[[-c-h-a-]]

next time we go back, I wanna bring my Mom pero I just want to focus in 3 countries - France, Italy and Spain

I wanna bring her to Lourdes, Vatican etc... relihiyosa kasi yun, she will LOVE it!

naiinggit talaga ako sa inyo mura mura ng tickets to europe from manila! Dito kasi talaga hindi bababa ng $2.3k! Yun bili namin sa ticket namin last time was around $2.7k! Eh kung umuwi kami ng pinas (1.3k ticket) tapos from pinas to rome sabihin natin 1.2k, mas nakamura pa kami ng $200

kaloka!! Kaya next na gagawin namin, from Manila kami lilipad.. para makapagbakasyon na rin sa pinas at the same time

[Mhoirae]

Haven't tried driving in Italy yet but have done so in Germany (wonderful!), UK (confusing!) and France (great in the countryside! Paris is another story). But basically it's all standard road rules naman with some deviations on each country. You can check the links below for tips:

http://www.initaly.com/travel/info/driving.htm

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

By the way, you don't need to get an International Driving Permit if you will be staying for a short time. But it's up to you if you would prefer to get one. The main purpose naman of the IDP is for translation of your local license in case it is in a language other than English. Our license naman is already in English so no need for translation.   

Happy planning!

Yup, have checked out those sites.  Thanks for the tip about the IDP, I thought we need to apply for that pa.  We will be driving for 1 week lang naman.  More than the driving, I'm anxious about parking and the restricted areas, where you'll be fined just by driving into them.  Heard that Italy got lots of those because of the historical places, etc.

[xtine]

Am already planning my EU tour next year.  Just checked Air Asia, they have RT airfare for less than $600 to Paris via Orly / London as long as the flight is 7 months from time of booking.

I am actually thinking of buying the Eurail global pass good for 15 days train travel good for 2 months.

Tentative Route is Paris - Brussels - Amsterdam - Berlin - Leipzig - Prague (a must) -  Salzburg - Paris (for flight home).  Even if it will be our first time in EU, we chose to skip the usual Spain, Italy as we want to capture northern Europe. 

[vhanya]

^nett na yan? my gosh! bili na rin ako hahahhha!

[lesters_gal]

Sis mhoirae if I were you I will advise you not to drive here in italy lalo na kung for a week lang and kung mag ttour lang kayo. because its very difficult to find a parking lot here.as in..lalo na sa centro..at yung mga tourist spot na
pupuntahan ninyo.siguro it would take you one hour or more para humanap ng parking lot,tyempuhan pa..tapos sis hindi lahat ng parking lot pwede ka magpark.pag color blue lane my bayad.sa white lane free.chaka sis dito my mga place na hindi pwede daanan ng car kasi pang mga bus lang.basta ingat ka sis baka magka multa ka.yung saken I enter dun sa hindi pwede my god 85euro na agad...