Two Amazing Weeks in Europe

Departures/Arrivals

I am sitting here in the Rome Fiumicino airport (otherwise known as Leonardo da Vinci) after saying a bittersweet farewell to my daughter and putting her on a plane back to Montreal. I can't say enough great things about my travel companion, who has endured two weeks by my side. I have been lucky enough to experience her growth from a tiny human into the incredible, adventurous, sensitive, smart, fun-loving human being that she has become. This will be her first solo flight (nine hours!) and she is handling it like a champ. She has an exceptionally bright future. I could say much more, but I am already on the verge of tears; brought on my a mix of joy, expectation, anxiety, sadness and excitement. I am within a strange limbo between the end of one great adventure and the beginning of another.

Two Incredible Weeks

We drove from Ottawa to Montreal on August tenth, where we boarded a nine PM overnight flight to Barcelona. Train tickets in hand, we crossed over into France (Marseille, Nice and Monaco) and finally making our way to Italy (Venice and Florence) before arriving at our final destination - Rome. We spent only two nights in each city (hence the whirlwind), with the exception of Rome, for three nights. We lucked out; each day was sparsely clouded, and only on one day (in Florence) did it rain for a two-hour period. That being said, it was stiflingly hot - between thirty and thirty-five degrees Celsius, with high humidity. This made our sightseeing somewhat challenging; luckily, until we arrived in Italy, we had ample time to cool off in the Mediterranean beach-side and work on our tans. All of our plans went off (nearly) without a hitch - despite a very close call with a train transfer due to a delayed train, and a mad late-night dash through a sketchy area of Marseille at ten o'clock at night to find our accommodations. With all said and done, this trip was truly a masterful plan on my part (a hearty self-pat on the back is in order); although, I will be quite glad not to have to pack up with such frequency, and I won't miss hauling a heavy suitcase up long flights of stairs (Monaco) or rolling one with some difficulty across many cobbled streets (Rome). I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Barcelona

For the first two nights of our journey, I opted to stay at a hotel close to the port (much to the chagrin of my wallet) - a couple of short blocks from a Metro station and about a 15-minute walk to the port (for your info - Hotel Coronado).

I'll transcribe a journal entry dated August 13th here:

"A day at the beach, swimming in the Mediterranean, then train to Marseille. Barcelona with its grand boulevards, mix of neo-gothic and modernist architecture forces the eye upwards. Down every alley a hidden treasure. You can hear many dialects from those you pass in the street - Italian, French, English, Aussie, German. A group of young twenty-something Italian women yelling at people on the metro - out for a night of partying. Paella and tapas on offer at every restaurant. Europe is having a heat wave. The afternoon is siesta time, where we sleep away the heat. Beer is just as cheap as Coca-Cola. In fact, I bought a beer for 0.80 Euros on the beach. Vendors bury their goods in the sand when the police drive by. You can buy almost anything on the beach (it stretches for miles) including a massage, blanket or fresh mojito.

It's only been two nights though it feels as if we've been here for a week - there's so much to take in. Sadly we didn't have any churros y chocolate or calamari - although we meant to. Surely we will come back to Spain! I can't wait to eat all of the bread and cheese in France. Maybe a little bit of wine. It's a funny accent here - some Catalan mixed in with Spanish. Most people didn't understand my Spanish at first. You have to pronounce your "c" as "th" - as in "Barthelona". The city is alive, and full of spirit and explodes at night."

Marseille

We arrived in Marseille just after nine o'clock in the evening and dashed madly through a fairly rough-looking neighborhood. Our place was in the fifth arrondissement in "Le Camas". To be fair to Marseille, I had heard that it was a little rough, so I saw all the graffiti and roving gangs of "young people" and immediately felt a bit panicked. It was just unbearably hot and humid - adding to the underlying sense of dread. Not helpful was the fact that I was pushing two heavy suitcases up an appallingly long and steep hill. What I had estimated as a short, five-minute walk became twenty. Thankfully we arrived at our apartment (after a three-story climb), drenched in sweat and dying for a shower. We stayed in a tiny bedroom in a tiny apartment with a very nice young family.

The next morning we woke up at the very reasonable hour of ten AM and stepped outside; as all of the doubt of the night before dissolved. As we walked down the wide, tree-lined street, I noted that this was in fact a nice, family-friendly neighborhood. We grabbed what would become the first of many classic French breakfasts - espresso and croissants at a local bakery. Afterwards we walked down to the old harbor and met our tour guide (a pleasant young German gentleman) who would be leading us all over Marseille on e-bikes. Neither Zoe or I had ever ridden one so we were pleasantly surprised at the power our bikes possessed! We were two stragglers amidst a gaggle of cruise ship day-trippers. It was quite sunny but incredibly windy (as you can see from the photo). We rode up to an incredible view of the city from le Palais du Pharo, followed by an epic seaside ride out to le Parc national des Calanques (of course, with a stop for some anchovy pizza and calamari). We obviously came prepared with our bathing suits under our clothes and we dove with total abandon into the deep azure waters.

Finally, we climbed a long spiraled hill to the jewel of Marseille - Notre Dame du Mont - with incredible 360-degree views of the city. After saying au revoir to our pleasant group, we explored the area of the port as well as the Mucem (Musee des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Mediterranee) featuring an exhibit by Ai Wei Wei (this guy is all over Europe). We rounded off the day with a classic moules et frites on a port-side patio, trying not to die from all of the second-hand smoke.

Nice

We arrived in Nice the following day and walked the few short blocks to our apartment. While we arrived at the appointed time, our host was nearly two hours late. Despite this fact, we were still optimistic about our lodgings. This optimism was soon crushed, as we were finally granted access to the building.

To begin with, we had to walk up five flights of stairs (the stair saga continues), with the top flight being very steep and narrow. We opened the door to a single room with a run-down bathroom (no towels), a bunk bed, a kitchen which we were forbidden to use for cooking, no Wi-Fi, a tiny television that was not connected to anything, and a large window that would not close, leading onto a roof easily accessible to any other apartment on the fifth floor. I employed the very sophisticated security method of locking my electronics and passport into my laptop bag then locking that to one of the drawers beneath the bunk bed (genius). Luckily, we had just enough time for a refreshing swim at one of the many beaches (very clear and very clean), followed by a sunset walk into the old city and dinner by a fountain in an open square (of course, I had the Nicoise salad; Zoe, the spaghetti).

We woke up late the next morning (who wants to set an alarm when they're on vacation?) and essentially bee-lined it to the beach after picking up some cured meats, cheese, baguette, orange and some beer. We ate, lounged, swam, and repeated. For some reason during the hottest part of the afternoon we decided to climb up the (hundreds, thousands?) of steps up the Colline du Chateau but we didn't make it too far (I was determined to go, so I let Zoe sleep in the next day and undertook an early morning expedition). That evening we went to a boutique theatre (the Rialto) and saw Une Valse dans les allees, original title: in den Gangen.

Monaco

A very peaceful and short train ride brought us to Monaco, and here our saga of the steps continued.

We were set to stay with Agnes, in Beausoleil - which is essentially the neighborhood just above Monaco - and when I say above, that is almost literally true. While Agnes claimed it was a seven-minute walk from the train station, she recommended a 15-Euro cab ride. When I inquired at the station's info desk, the kind gentleman informed me that a cab was absolutely unnecessary, and luggage in hand, we began the arduous journey of steps. The journey paid off! Agnes greeted us with ice cream and ice-cold water. She essentially waited on us hand-and-foot the entire time that we were in Monaco, including elaborate and tasty breakfasts, customized to our preferences (if you want to stay with Agnes, shoot me a message). Our first evening, we had a leisurely walk around town (obviously with a stop at the beach) past the Monte Carlo casino as well as a ton of high end shops and restaurants. We had dinner at the port and marveled at the multi-million dollar yachts moored there. Obviously, Zoe ordered pizza and it was horrid. I tried to convince her to wait until we got to Italy but she would not listen to reason. So, I ate three-quarters of the pizza as well as my salmon crepe (also oozing with cheese).

After an incredible breakfast served to us by Agnes of pain au chocolat, yogurt, fresh fruit, coffee and orange juice, we headed out by bus to the Jardin Exotique de Monaco, after a visit to the Museum of Anthropology. For me, the garden was the highlight of our Monaco stop. Located on the cliffside overlooking the palace and old port, we marveled at the thousands of species of cactus, tree, shrubs and flowering plants, finding solace along the way in peaceful grottos with koi ponds and waterfalls. Now here is where things got interesting! We stumbled across the entrance to a huge, million-year old cave, where we were led on a guided tour 300 steps down into the cliffside. This was an unforgettable experience - Zoe (although feeling very claustrophobic) compared the environment to the end of the E.T. ride at Universal Studios where riders are whisked away to E.T.'s home world.

We hopped back onto the bus for a visit to the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium, as well as a self-guided tour of the Royal Palace. After a short visit to the Cathedral of Monaco, we spent the afternoon at the beach (as tradition dictates). I can't remember for the life of me what we ate for dinner.

Venice

Our journey from Monaco to Venice was one of our longer travel days (with the exception of our trans-Atlantic flight, as we had to take a local train into Italy (Ventimiglia or Ventimille in French), then catch a train to Milan, transferring there to our train to Venice, which we only narrowly made as our incoming train was severely delayed. Thankfully the train had a cafeteria car so we were able to gain sustenance.

To gain access to our Air BnB, we had to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt. First, we had to find the "I Love Venice" luggage storage kiosk, enter a code, wherein a locker opened which contained the apartment keys and a map which would lead us to our apartment. We finally found the place, located in a picturesque square above a quaint restaurant. Being exhausted from our travels, we ate a great pasta dinner and promptly passed out. I ate a simple but delicious spaghetti dish with oil, garlic, and chilies. Often, simplicity is best.

We woke early and picked up some delicious olive rolls, and fresh peaches and ate as we walked (as it is forbidden in Venice to sit anywhere and have a picnic). We joined up with a free walking tour and learned some interesting facts and history of the city. The first thing you notice about Venice is it's peacefulness (with the exception of the throngs of tourists), as there are no bicycles or scooters, and the only mode of transportation is boat! The city is very walkable, and it's very easy to lose yourself in the myriad alleyways and avenues. The only issue we ran into were some interesting aromas, as we learned that much of the city's sewer system drains directly into the canals, and relies on the tide to flush it away out to sea. After a yummy lunch of pizza an gnocchi (as well as a spritz with Campari - which got me fairly loaded), we went on a traditional gondola ride (although our pilot did not serenade us) through the city's canals. We headed back to our apartment for a short siesta, then got ready for dinner. I did not approve of Zoe's dinner attire - she was pretty angry about having to change - so she hastily approached the stairs and tumbled all the way to the bottom (we'd laugh about this much later), bruising her cuisses - so I went downstairs and ordered some pasta (carbonara, my hands-down favorite) to go while she recovered with an ice pack.

Florence

We arrived in Florence in the early afternoon and made our way to our accommodation, which was only a short walk from the train - located on a lovely side street full of bars and cafes (and, we finally had some AC!). We then went on a private e-bike tour of the city, crossing the river and heading up into the countryside, among countless olive groves, visiting plateaus and 1,000-year-old churches with incredible views of the city.

This effort was rewarded with some traditional appetizers and local wine. I make a concerted effort to try the local culinary specialties, so I ate some Lampredotto, which is the fourth stomach of the cow, poached and then seasoned with salt and garlic, sauced with a red, spicy sauce and a green, savory sauce. I usually don't go in for tripe, but this dish (served on a brioche-type bun), just exploded with an earthy flavor. It's a must-try!

I won't bore you with the details of all of the museums, galleries and churches that we visited over the following 24 hours, but Florence was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Rome

I am fairly certain that this was Zoe's favorite spot. The Coliseum is a traditionally iconic landmark. Rome was a close second for me for no other reason than we stayed for more than two nights. It was also the location beset with the most emotion, as it was where my daughter and I would be parting ways.

We were both immediately blown away by the sense of being propelled back in time. They say Rome is like a lasagna, as it is a city built upon a city. After the fall of Rome, it was essentially abandoned, and the incredible buildings and infrastructure left to decay and collapse. During every new construction, they are continuously finding new ruins, and excavating them. The city's landscape is constantly changing.

Of course, we partook in the classic activity of throwing coins over our left shoulders into the Trevi fountain, which is the end point of the only remaining aqueduct in Rome. Most of the public fountains are supplied with drinkable water, so they serve as a refreshing meeting spot for locals and tourists alike. We partook of another free walking tour (these are great!) which essentially retraced our exploratory walk in the afternoon.

We spent the next day continuing our exploration - including a guided tour of the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and Forum. We visited the spot where Caesar was killed - another bucket list item checked off! That afternoon, we visited Vatican City and marveled at Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. At this point Zoe had absolutely had enough of walking, so we took the Metro back to our apartment, where we prepared for an evening out at the Opera (a somewhat shortened version of La Traviata).

On our last day in Rome, we were debating taking a day trip to visit Pompeii and Vesuvius, but opted instead for an hour long train ride South to the quiet coastal beach town of Sperlonga, where we rented a couple of lounge chairs and umbrellas for the day (only 25 Euros!) as we were much to exhausted to spend another day walking around in the heat. We snacked on paninis and pizzas, played in the waves and just relaxed.

An incredible day to cap off an incredible journey. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and leave me a comment!

Ciao, au revoir, hvala!