Eurotrip 2015: Part 1

In the United States, the traditional first anniversary gift is paper. Rooted in the belief that certain items would bring couples good luck, K and I kept with the custom and gifted each other plane tickets to Europe; just four days after our first anniversary (and six days after The Hall's fourth) we were 32,000 feet in the air, ready for a ten day adventure to Italy, France, and England. I guess our trip to New Orleans went well enough that J & A were willing to not only travel further with us, but also longer!

The first leg of our vacation was a two day stint in Cinque Terre, Italy; getting there, though, is no easy feat. Our trans-Atlantic flight would take us from Dallas to Amsterdam where we would change planes for a flight into Pisa, and then take a two hour train ride to the small, coastal villages nestles in Italy’s rugged Riviera coastline. On board our KLM flight, I immediately took 2 motion sickness pills and half of an Ambien; I was asleep before we reached our cruising altitude.

Benvenuti a Italia

Following our layover in Amsterdam — which must be the most modern, clean airport in the world — we landed at Pisa’s Galileo Galilei Airport. Since we had not pre-purchased our train tickets to Cinque Terre (for fear our flights may be delayed and we’d miss the train), we decided to do a little sight-seeing before we headed North. Feeling pretty jet-lagged, we made our way to Piazza dei Miracoli, a square enclosed by medieval stone walls with a large grass lawn leading to the Pisa Cathedral, Baptistry, Comosanto Monument, and (of course) the Leaning Tower.

Ready to continue our journey to Cinque Terre, we had to fight our way off the bus at Pisa Centrale Train Station through a large tour group, luggage in tow. J & A disembarked. K stepped down. And then, the bus doors closed. My travel companions turned around, checking to make sure that everything and everyone has made it, only to see that I was currently still standing on the bus behind the closed door. And, off we went, the bus and I, down the street. “Dove a Stazione Pisa Centrale,” I ask more people than were necessary as I tried to navigate the city streets back to the train station. When I returned, I wandered around the train station, inside and out, before it occurred to me that K, J, & A had probably chased after the bus in a panic. As I started to power up my phone, ready to bite the bullet and make an international call to one (or all) of them, I saw them walking down the street with their rolling luggage. As I waved them down, a clear sigh of relief seemed to flow through all three. Tired and hungry, we are more than ready when the train started to pull away from the station.

We emerged from our train in Riomaggiore to a cliff side, ocean view. A short walk, and a lot of stairs later, we found ourselves on the fifth floor balcony of our AirBnB apartment, watching the sun start to set over the water. By the time the moon light was pouring onto the balcony, we had full bellies and empty wine glasses.

The view of Riomaggiore from our apartment balcony.

As soon as the sun came up the following day, the sound of squawking seagulls floated through the open bedroom windows. Not long after, a jackhammer on the street below solidified that fact that we were done sleeping. We made our way to the patio of a café on the main drag and then headed off to explore the other villages of Cinque Terre. The original plan for our stay on the Italian coast was to explore the five villages with alternating train rides and hiking paths; unfortunately, only the foot trail from Monterosso to Vernazza (known to be the most grueling hike between them all) was open. But, we didn’t let that stop us! We took the train from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, where we were greeted by colorful beach umbrellas and a long, white sand beach with crystal blue water. We walked to “The Gigante” before finding a spot to settle on the VERY HOT sand. The water was cold, but refreshing; the magical clear water was a nice change from the humidity and unforgiving Italian sun.

Once we had our fill of the sand and the surf, we walked down the main road, stopping for our FIRST gelato of the trip before heading to the hiking trail at the South end of the town. The hike was very scenic; curving in and out, lending alternating views of the ocean and the green cliff sides covered in vineyards and lemon trees. We quickly learned why this is considered the most arduous hike between the Cinque Terre: So. Many. Stairs. Felt like ten trillion! By the time we could see Vernazza peeking out from behind the second mountain below us, our bodies were salty and exhausted. J and I could not resist wading into the marina to cool down; K and A weren’t having it, though. As hungry as we were, we were really pretty disappointed to learn that the restaurants in Vernazza would not open for dinner for another 3 hours; so, on to the next village! Well, almost. Once we were reminded that Corniglia sits at the top of a 400 step staircase, we decide to skip it; we‘d had our fill of stairs. Can you believe we were sad only one section of hiking trail was open when the day started? Once to Manarola, we sat our sweaty bodies on the patio and feasted on chicken, pesto gnocchi, and seafood stew at Il Poricciolo. With happy bellies, we walked to the water front where J went for another swim, while the rest of us dipped our toes in the chilly water. As the sun set, we rode the train back to Riomaggiore where we each took a much needed shower before sipping wine on the patio until midnight, chatting and laughing.

View of the Ligurian Sea from the blue hiking trail. Sign to Vernazza. Vernazza Marina.

The next morning we awoke to the first alarm of our vacation with the intent of getting breakfast before our 10AM checkout. La Grotta had become our local favorite breakfast place; aside from the good food and friendly service, they also had free WiFi. After checking our baggage at the train station, we made our way up to Pie al Ama for some coffee and shade before exploring Riomaggiore — our current home away from home. With tired feet from yesterday’s hike, we were slow moving, but we still managed to explore the marina, the Castello, and the Church of San Giovanni Battista before heading to Milan for our overnight train to Paris.

We arrived in Milan after taking a much needed nap on the train. With three hours to kill before our departure, we headed out to see the gothic architecture of the Duomo. We stepped into the piazza as the sun was setting, illuminating the Duomo in vibrant orange and yellow hues. In order to make the most of our “layover,” we wandered the streets of Milan, taking in the sites on our way back to the station. When we finally boarded our overnight train we were dismayed at how hot it was; apparently the AC has been broken since the train departed Venice and it was a million-billion degrees. Before we left the station, we heard the faint but familiar hum of the AC unit turn on. Unfortunately, it barely helped and we had to leave the window open during our commute. Hot, loud (and occasionally wet as the sporadic rain came in through our open window), the overnight train was miserable for everyone except K. The bunk beds were hard, the blankets short — even for me, and we were jolted from our sleep quite abruptly at the border crossing by French police knocking on our door to check our passports and search our compartment with flashlights. Back to sleep, although not a very restful one.

Bienvenue a France

We groggily regained consciousness in the morning with the return of our passports by the train staff and news that we would be arriving in Paris in about an hour. We got dressed, brushed our teeth, and tore down our beds only to have a 45 min delay; so, we napped. The Gare de Lyon train station was SO BUSY, and the French signs/arrows to guide the crowds to where they want to go were really confusing (we still did not have the system figured out when we left five days later). Still two hours before we could check in to our AirBnB apartment, we decided to check our bags at the station and do a little exploring near by. With K as our navigator, we headed down the banks of the Seine River towards Notre Dame. It turns out Paris is HUGE and the distances on the map we had were misleading; what we thought would be a short walk, turned into tired feet. By the time we made it to Notre Dame, we were feeling pretty hungry and it was finally time to try the little bit of French we had learned on the train. With coffee and croissants in hand, we sat ourselves on a bench overlooking Notre Dame and the Seine. We spent the remainder of our down time visiting the Archeological Crypts, St. Chappel, and Pont Neuf before heading to our apartment to check in. After we each took a much needed shower, we headed to dinner at Le Petit Louis around the corner. Unfortunately, it was 5PM and they don’t serve dinner until 7PM. So, back to the apartment for another 2 hours! When we returned, we were so grateful to the waitress who took the time to translate the menu for us, and we gorged ourselves on amazing French food & wine before heading home. Exhausted from the overnight train and miles of walking we were all ready for a good night’s rest.

The Arc du Triomph & the Eiffel Tower.

Still tired from the day before, we didn’t walk out the door until 11AM. Our first full day in Paris was off to a slow start. Nonetheless, we were eager for the walking tour A and I had planned over the last few months — first stop, the Arc du Triomph! The arc itself is incredibly ornate, and below it is the eternal flame which has burned since the end of WWI. Inside, we took the dizzying spiral staircase up to the top for a breathtaking, 360 degree view of the city. Next, we headed towards the iconic Eiffel Tower and then to the Muse del’ Armee. Enroute, we stopped for pictures at Paris’s oldest military school (where Napoleon himself graduated) and at a grocery store for lunch supplies. Outside the Muse, we snagged a bench shaded by trees to feast before heading to view Napoleon’s tomb, the Churchill/de Gualle WWII exhibit, and the hall of French weaponry. Continuing on our journey, we crossed the stunning and lavish Pont Alexander III to the North side of the Seine River where we passed the Grande and Pettis Palais on our way to Champs Elysses.

Our final destination of the day was the Louvre. To get there, we crossed Paris's most dangerous pedestrian intersection and snapped photos at La Concorde, a large circle with an obelisk and mirror image fountains that mark the spot of the infamous guillotine. By the time we walked through the Jardin Tullerie, it was 5:30PM and 15 minute until the museum closed; it seemed our late start finally caught up with us. We snapped photos outside of the Louvre before returning home for a night in to prepare for our excursion to Versailles in the morning, officially half way through our vacation!





To read more about our trip to Europe, check out Eurotrip 2015: Part 2