Our European trip was one of our most memorable experiences. My sister, Ninfa,
and her husband, Rene,
were with us during the trip.
England was our first stop and on the day we arrived, we went around the
city via their subways and visited the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge,
Big Ben and the Parliament buildings.
The next day, we had a city tour which brought us to St. Paul’s
cathedral where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married, the
Buckingham Palace and the Windsor Castle which are both considered as
Official Residences of the Queen. At the palace, we were lucky to witness
the famed changing of the guards.
From London, we crossed the English Channel en route to France via a
luxury ship. We arrived in Paris in the evening after a 5-hour bus ride from
the cross-channel port of Calais.
The city tour of Paris the next day brought us to the Notre Dame
Cathedral, considered one of the most beautiful churches in the world; then
to the most famous landmark of Paris, the Eiffel Tower; and then to the
Palace and Gardens of Versailles.
In the evening, we had a taste of the world famous French cuisine
(escargot, french wine, etc.) during our welcome dinner.
The bus ride from Paris to Lucern, Switzerland took us to France’s wine
producing countryside of Burgundy.
Lucern and Lugano, Switzerland are typically Swiss in their cleanliness,
orderliness and beauty.
The descent from the 10,000-foot Mt. Titlis gave us spectacular views of
glacier crevasses and ice falls from the ROTAIR, the first revolving aerial
cable-car in the world.
From Lugano, our bus ride took us to Verona, Italy, where we visited
Juliet’s balcony and statue (of Romeo and Juliet fame) before we reached
our destination: Venice. In Venice, we visited the Piazza San Marco, the
heart of the city. We, of course, saw the Bridge of Sighs, and took their
famous Gondola ride while being serenaded by a local Venetian.
Our next stop was Pisa which is famous for their leaning tower,
definitely one of the wonders of the world. Florence was about a 5-hour bus
ride from Pisa. In Florence, we visited the Church Di Santa Croce which was
built in the 13th century and contains the monuments and the
tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and others. From Florence, we
drove through Chianti valley’s Greve, which is the home of the famous
Chianti wine, before we arrived at our final tour destination: the eternal
city of Rome.
We toured Rome by night and visited Piazza Navona and the Fountain of
Trevi, where you toss a coin into the basin of the fountain to be assured of
a return to Rome.
Of course, a visit to Rome is not complete without a tour of the Vatican:
the St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the St. Peter’s Square;
the Roman Forum and the Roman Colosseum.
The highlight of our trip was our attendance of the mass celebrated by
Pope John Paul II himself at the St. Peter’s Square to commemorate the 20th
anniversary of his Papacy and the 40th anniversary of his
priesthood. We thought we were so lucky to be part of that event.
Ciao and Arrivederci Roma!
