European Tours Thread 3

[Mhoirae]

@mrs research, i was in Manarola October 2012.  It was a rainy day but the place is still breathtaking. 
Although, be warned, the hiking is a little taxing.
Visit Vernazza too, that is my favorite

[foxymom]

^sis, you might want to check out Cathay Pacific's latest promo tie-up with Citibank for business class and premier economy. You get a free round trip ticket to HKG via Dragon Air (KA) for every purchase. Yun nga lang from Clark (CRK) yung flights.

uy! i will check it out. i like cathay's business class also. thanks for the heads up (again) mama squeak!

[tetet]

I'm scheduled for a business trip on the 16th and will be staying in Manchester UK fro 1 week.
I checked the 14 day weather forecast and it says that it will be rainy, cloudy and some days will sunny.
Ask ko lang sana what type of winter clothes shall i bring (type of jacket/coats, shirts/blouses to be worn in conference, gloves).
This is my first international flight so i really dont have idea what clothes to wear and bring. Hoping for everyone's input. Thanks in advance!

[mama squeak!]

^What I usually wear for business trips/conferences during cold weather is my regular office attire plus winter outerwear.

A nice silk blouse and boot-cut wool slacks (so I can wear boots under) or skirt (wear with thick tights). Then I'll have a thin sweater or cardigan on top of my blouse (layering). I prefer cashmere sweaters for extra warmth plus they are very light. Remember there is indoor heating and you don't want to be sweating during the conference if you wear heavy clothing you can't take off.

My winter outerwear usually consists of a heavy wool coat, scarf, hat and cashmere lined leather gloves plus a travel umbrella. Since mauulan talaga sa UK, bring an extra pair of shoes/boots in case mabasa your other pair.

 

[tetet]

Thanks Mama Squeak. I havent seen any affordable wool coat. Do you think the padded/puffy coats will do instead?

[mama squeak!]

^sure as long as it will keep you warm when you go out.    I prefer wool coats lang naman because I don't look good in puffy coats which reminds me of the Michelin Man. Plus wool coats look more "business-like" to me.

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^Lol. You made me laugh with the Michelin Man comment regarding puffy coats mama squeak!  That is so true, I also don't like that kind of coat and so does bf, I only have 1 of that kind of coat and I donated it to charity even if I haven't used it kasi it looks horrible on me. Lol. I notice mostly teenagers use that kind of coat. Wool coats may not provide that much warmth though but it looks more classy. One layer of thermal undergarment is enough plus a scarf and a pair of suede leather handgloves. It's not that cold anymore compared the last few weeks.

[tetet]

Thanks so much for your suggestions. unfortunately i have to be contented with the puffy type coats since wool clothers were too expensive. i'll be staying there for a week only and may not be able to get a chance to travel there again so i cant invest on winter clothing. bahala ng magmukhang colorful snow girl (i'm a pus size too) or michelin man. hehe.

[shegie_285]

tetet i live in Dublin and we have similar weather to Manchester. You can wear your normal office attire, I buy my office attire in the Philippines actually. My normal attire is a sleeveless dress with longsleeves inside or a cardigan. Its not cold naman inside the office.  If you like to wear skirt, just buy black stockings/tights, you can buy these tights when you get to Manchester. There is a shop called Primark tights are probably GBP2 each.  Buy at least 80 ang thickness (nakalagay ang number sa stocking).

As everyone had said, wear hat, gloves, scarf. Primark is the place to go if ever you need to buy winter stuff na mura. They even have an imitation ugg boots for only GBP6.  It can give you warmth but its not very good sa ulan.

[melodymedley]

@sis greenblueblood: That's a long trip!  I think the Italy leg of your trip is just fine. Based on my experience with Trenitalia trains, the conductor will check the ticket during the journey - not before you board the train. For my Venice-Florence and Florence Rome tix, I just showed the print out PDF copy I received via email. For the Florence-Pontigossi (San Gimignano) ticket, I purchased the ticket via the machine but I did not validate it either before boarding the train. It was checked by the conductor during the journey na.

The Euro is slowly climbing back up to 54.00++ Kainez ha. 
Hindi pa polished ang itinerary ko. Malapit na ako mag-panic. Hahaha! Hope I can polish it by next week.

[greenblueblood]

^thanks! I love everything I know about Italy - food, culture, language..oh did I mention food? I haven't had time to focus on my visa application lately. Panic attack! But your blog has been SUPER helpful and inspiring. I can't believe I was just starting the planning (dreaming) stage of my own dream trip when I was reading your blog entries and here you are now planning on going back just after I leave for mine. I guess once you see the beauty that the rest of the world has to offer there really is no stopping the wanderlust!

Good luck to our planning!

[riksy07]

Sisses, pacheck ng itinerary ko for London:

March 25, 2013: Arrive in London by 3PM. So sa evening na lang talaga ako makakagala.
- The London Eye
- Thames River Cruise

March 26, 2013:
- Harry Potter Studio Tour
- M&M's World

March 27, 2013:
- Buckingham Palace
- The Mall, Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch
- National Gallery

March 28, 2013:
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
- Museum of London
- Westminster Abbey
- Big Ben

March 29, 2013:
- British Museum
- Portobello Market
- Shopping?

Ask na rin ako kung ano pa ang mga pwede kong isingit dyan. 

[melvel]

^Pwede mo isingit St. Paul's Cathedral after Tower of London, or before British Museum, same area lang yon.  Parang yung March 27 schedule mo maluwag pa.  After ng National Gallery, punta ka ng Covent Garden.

Kami we're also doing the following:
-Kensington Palace tour
-Watching a West End Show at night (Les Miserables on June 22) or two (baka we'll watch Once also)
-Borough Market

Pero 8 days kami, so mas marami time.

[riksy07]

^ thanks melvel. I checked and Buckingham is closed. late July pa ulit siya mag-oopen. Boohoo. I decided to take the free walking tour nalang ng Sandeman tapos National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, then Covent Garden.

[paulina19]

Hi mama squeak and sis lavieenerose...if ever I will be approved, what do you prefer a DIY or sign up a tour packages like Expatexplore according to my sis in law. This coming 28 feb na kasi ang appointment ko and complete na with all the requirments. may tie up kasi ang company namin na travel agency kaya di ako masyadong nag kaproblem sa supporting docs. Advise lang po... and if ever group tour, what do you suggest na group tour companies. And may advantages po ba ito aside from having a lot of frieends  thanks pa

[paulina19]

Hi mama squeak..nung nabasa ko ang start na thread nato... na encourage ako mag DIY... kaya lang di ko alam how to start na oover whelm ako

pero ang place n gusto ko puntaha is Paris- Germany-Italy-Amsterdam. help mo naman ako ng best place na puntahan.  Approve ako for a 16 days leave from June 27 to July 12.. help mo naman ako mag construct ng itnerary and how to go from each palces of them.. Sa 28 na ang appointment ko for the schengen via. cross finger

Thanks in advnce ...

[mama squeak!]

^sis, yung 16 days mo including travel time na yan? So lalabas 14 days or two weeks max yung tour mo? I don't know your style of travel but with the limited amount of time plus the number of places you want to visit is parang packaged tour ang dating nya. Okay lang naman if you prefer to travel that way pero feel ko picture-picture lang ang mangyayari sa yo. Ideally you stay sana in one place minimum of 4 days (3 nights) para talagang maka-explore ka.

Where in Germany and Italy do you plan to visit?

[paulina19]

Hi Mama squeak..thanks for the quick reply.  Am torn between DIY and going on package tour... Advice sa akin ng sis in law ko sign up daw ako sa expat explore..have you heard about that? sa cotiki kasi over age na ako, am 39. Sa germany,, munich and berlin and gusto ko vivist ang long time no see friend ko na german sa Saaldorf. Sa Italy naman, verona, gondola and rom ang gusto ko.  Advise me please, mukhang ang package tour eh parang picture picture nga lang talalga..although [textspeak!] ka na iintindihin na booking of hotels... wait for your reply po.

[d_zialcita]

mamasqueak, sorry about being ot on the other thread.
 

hope you can asnwer my questions here though,

mamasqueak thank you for replying.
manila-paris--- athens-manila...

how do i book that using cathay pacific?
tried the website of cathay pacific, and it seems they don't have flighs from athens to manila?
or am wrong?

klm though is cheaper, it's just USD 1,460.57 per person.
the waiting time is very long though. but that's a big difference with the price so I'll talk to the hubby and decide.

thank you for adding klm to the list!
by the way, the leg room of klm.. is it better than emirates?

thanks!!

[mama squeak!]

@paulina19, I haven't heard of expat explore. The usual tours I know are by Contiki 18-35yo (for budget conscious travelers) and Insight Vacations. If you want to see all the places you mentioned in two weeks, then package tour ka na nga lang.

But if you will opt for a DIY travel na hindi ala amazing race, suggest to drop some of the cities you want to visit. Here's a sample IT:

Day 1    Departure MNL
Day 2    Arrive Rome (if you take Cathay Pacific you will be arriving early in the morning so maximise ang
                                   day 2 mo)
Day 3    Rome
Day 4    Rome 
Day 5    Rome  (take afternoon train to Verona. Check trenitalia website for the schedule and fares)
Day 6    Verona
Day 7    Venice
Day 8    Train to Munich (probably you can ask your friend to meet you in Munich) / Munich
Day 9    Munich
Day 10  Munich
Day 11  Take 3AM train from Munich to Paris (6 hrs) or get a morning flight (1hr) / Paris
Day 12  Paris
Day 13  Paris
Day 14  Paris
Day 15  Paris-Manila
Day 16  Arrive Manila

If I were you I'll probably concentrate on two countries for the two weeks, Germany and France or Germany and Italy. Save Amsterdam for another trip. Amsterdam deserves at least 4-5 days 


@d_zialcita, no CX does not fly to Athens. But what you can do is take a budget carrier from Athens back to Rome or Milan. Or if you want to get CX's promo of USD950 all-in then you will have to do a round trip fare.

If you'll do a MNL-CDG-MNL ticket, you will be buying domestic tickets or taking the trains in between the countries you will be visiting. I prefer taking the overnight trains basta on First Class ha otherwise take the plane. Try to compute saan kayo makakamura plus of course yung time factor din.

What are your dates and IT?

Oops! Forgot your Q about legroom. If you're taking economy halos pareho lang legroom ng EK and KLM. Not sure lang now with EK but with KLM I pay extra for their legroom seats in economy (bulkhead seats/emergency exit seats). But for CX I get them for free since I'm a Marco Polo member (first come first serve nga lang).