First time traveler to Europe.

[Sweets]

Hello:  I don't know if anyone is planning to travel to Europe soon, but I thought some might find our experiences helpful. We went for three weeks to London, Paris, and Rome and returned on April 15. We were very uncertain about going due to the spike in Covid as well as Ukraine, but we had a wonderful trip. We were in a travel group of 28 people (none known to us at the beginning), and unfortunately, seven did develop Covid and had to quarantine, despite all of getting our vaccines and boosters as well as testing negative one day prior to travel to London. We did have to test negative one day before we were allowed to fly home to the USA. So, Covid is still very much an aspect of traveling in Europe, but for the most part, we wore masks and stayed off public transportation as much as possible. All the people who tested positive rode the subways, since we had a lot of free time in our group travel. My husband and I stuck with walking or taxis. 

And, at least in London, we couldn't find anyone to take paper money. Everything was by "contactless". We used Apple Pay everywhere. This is the first time we had ever been to Europe, so we were excited and basically newbies to overseas travel. London was fantastic, Paris was sublime, but my favorite was Rome. Everywhere we went we were treated very courteously, and at least we got the impression that they were happy to see the American tourists coming back. Nothing was crowded, except the Trevia Fountain and the Vatican, so I guess it was a good time to travel. We would definitely advise anyone not to be afraid to travel now to at least western Europe. We had a wonderful time. And without a doubt, the Sistine Chapel was a highpoint to me-I burst into tears at the sheer beauty of it. And I wasn't the only person who cried. Our tour director told us later that is a common reaction to people who see the Sistine Chapel for the first time.

And lastly, be prepared to walk. We walked a lot. A whole lot. A whole lot more than I thought we would. I had bought good shoes at Fleet Feet and they saved my feet. I thought I was in shape - but no. I wasn't. Stairs everywhere. Since I'm in my 60s, the Italians would give me a hand and say, Let me help you, Mama, as I went down the stairs. A lovely gesture but boy I felt old. 

Anyway, I thought this would help someone. We hope to go back in 2023 to Germany and Austria. But this time we will do it on our own. A tour group was too fast paced for us.

[HomeAgain]

The walking........you're right, there's so much of it!  We were looked down on for wearing trainers everywhere and they definitely marked us as Americans, but honestly, I can't imagine doing all that in pretty shoes.

[edelweiss]

Thanks for sharing! My daughters leave Tuesday for a two-week school trip to Rome, Florence, and London. Then, DH and I are meeting them in London and we are going to spend another two weeks in Paris, Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. We are very excited, but not as pleased about having to worry about COVID , inflation, and WWIII potentially breaking out! None of it is going to stop us though.  

I have been to Europe before, so I am aware of all of the walking we will be doing. I have been having knee issues on and off, so I'm concerned about it, but we will just have to rely more on cabs, if necessary. 

I'm glad that you had a great trip!

 

[Guest]

Thank you for sharing! My daughter just booked for Italy this year on their wedding anniversary. (Couldn’t do it for honeymoon as intended due to Covid.) 

I have not been to Italy but my boss said the same thing about both the Sistine Chapel and The David moving him to actual tears. 
 

Agree about the shoes and walking! 

[mommyoffive]

Glad you went in the Spring.  I have heard that this summer is supposed to be packed.  We have been to Europe a bunch of times and we always came home skinner because of the walking.  

Italy is my top fave of all the countries I have been to in Europe.  And Rome is my 2nd favorite city.  

[Terabith]

I clicked on this thread wanting to know how we authenticated a time traveler in Europe, and I will admit to being a bit disappointed.  

Good advice, though.  

[vonfirmath]

7 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I clicked on this thread wanting to know how we authenticated a time traveler in Europe, and I will admit to being a bit disappointed.  

Good advice, though.  

me too

 

[Bootsie]

Glad you had a great time!  

Just curious if you had any recommendations of places to stay in London or Paris?  We are going in about a month.  For many of the places, reviews are two years old, which is reasonable because of COVID, but we know a lot could have changed over the past two years.  

I highly recommend Germany and Austria; I find them very easy to visit without being part of tour.

[Bootsie]

6 hours ago, edelweiss said:

Thanks for sharing! My daughters leave Tuesday for a two-week school trip to Rome, Florence, and London. Then, DH and I are meeting them in London and we are going to spend another two weeks in Paris, Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. We are very excited, but not as pleased about having to worry about COVID , inflation, and WWIII potentially breaking out! None of it is going to stop us though.  

I have been to Europe before, so I am aware of all of the walking we will be doing. I have been having knee issues on and off, so I'm concerned about it, but we will just have to rely more on cabs, if necessary. 

I'm glad that you had a great trip!

 

The good news is that the Euro and the pound have both decreased about 5% in the past couple of months--helping to counteract any inflation.

[Annie G]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Glad you went in the Spring.  I have heard that this summer is supposed to be packed.  We have been to Europe a bunch of times and we always came home skinner because of the walking.  

Italy is my top fave of all the countries I have been to in Europe.  And Rome is my 2nd favorite city.  

What’s your favorite? I cannot imagine loving a city more than I loved Rome.  But do share!

[mommyoffive]

8 minutes ago, Annie G said:

What’s your favorite? I cannot imagine loving a city more than I loved Rome.  But do share!

Venice.  Rome is a close second.

[TravelingChris]

As a disabled person, I csn tell you to not be afraid of travelling.  There does not hsve to be a lot of walking.  

In 2018, Dh and I took our first group tour and I got injured thr first day.  We were touring on s bus in  Greece, then a cruise to Ephesus and Grecia  islands snd then 2 days in Athens.  The hotel allowed me to borrow the wherlchair for while we stsying in Thessanika.  I got walkers at many sites.  I could not climb uo Meteora but found out that the views I did see were the best part and the insides were similar to monasteries I had been in previously. 

Even in Europe, you csn get a lot of assistance. 

 

[HomeAgain]

7 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Venice.  Rome is a close second.

Same.  Venice has so many nooks and crannies and is just fabulously patchworked together.  It's like going on an adventure every trip we went.

Rome was beautiful, and I wouldn't mind going back, but it was a more straightforward experience.

 

One thing I'm glad we did was travel with a large cardboard tube.  We bought a painting from street vendors whenever we felt the need to capture the scene, took them to the states in the tube, and then had them framed for our walls.  I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and looking at a sunset on Santorini right now, but the view of pulling up to the Doge's palace is next to the dining room table.  We spent about 100 Euro on each, which was steep for us at the time, but I'm so glad we did.

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Same.  Venice has so many nooks and crannies and is just fabulously patchworked together.  It's like going on an adventure every trip we went.

Rome was beautiful, and I wouldn't mind going back, but it was a more straightforward experience.

 

One thing I'm glad we did was travel with a large cardboard tube.  We bought a painting from street vendors whenever we felt the need to capture the scene, took them to the states in the tube, and then had them framed for our walls.  I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and looking at a sunset on Santorini right now, but the view of pulling up to the Doge's palace is next to the dining room table.  We spent about 100 Euro on each, which was steep for us at the time, but I'm so glad we did.

Oh how cool!!   I read your first sentence and was trying to think of why it would be good to travel with a large cardboard tube.  🙂   

[HomeAgain]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh how cool!!   I read your first sentence and was trying to think of why it would be good to travel with a large cardboard tube.  🙂   

😄 Well, I mean it might be good to take back wine, too.....

I am really glad we did it.  It started out as a whim, and then we realized that this was the type of souvenir we really wanted to bring back.  We don't do much in the way of ornamental stuff.  And I'm a terrible decorator, but seeing bits of our travels around the house makes me so happy.

 

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

😄 Well, I mean it might be good to take back wine, too.....

I am really glad we did it.  It started out as a whim, and then we realized that this was the type of souvenir we really wanted to bring back.  We don't do much in the way of ornamental stuff.  And I'm a terrible decorator, but seeing bits of our travels around the house makes me so happy.

 

Well now you make me want to go back and get some pictures.  

[happi duck]

21 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

me too

 

Me three!

I blame a time traveler for *vaguely gestures at everything*.  I think a time traveler made the Cubs win the world series in 2016 and ruined our timeline!