Living the Magic of Europe – Experiencing Paris and Italy

Through the eyes of former Lifestyle Magazine Journalist
(A Railways membership magazine), Rachael Tickner

Circa 2014

In my own words..

This winter I embarked on a month long tour of beautiful Paris and Italy. Having been to Paris a few years ago, it was my first time returning as a married woman and with the memories of our romantic engagement as clear as day in my memory, being back in the world’s most romantic country was very special indeed! It was only June 2011 that we had last enjoyed the beautiful city of Paris and all that it offered, and three years on, the city was just as amazing. This time though, we were able to truly immerse ourselves in the culture and its hidden secrets!

After touching down in Paris, it wasn’t long before we felt like we had never left, checking in to our comfortable boutique hotel in Saint Germain, Saint Germain Hotel. Greeted by the friendly French concierge, we were settled in before no time. After exploring the big icons for the second time, the Eiffel Tower was still a favourite for both my husband Brenton and I. We met up with my lovely friend Renae for our 30^th birthdays and treated ourselves to a private driver for the day and a trip to the “Champagne Country” wine regions. To our delight, we were not disappointed one bit! It exceeded all of our expectations. From the Moet and Chandon tour to the Verve wine tasting, it was surely a day to remember! (Would highly recommend it on your must-see list for your next trip to Paris.)

Another day was spent exploring Disneyland’s two adventure parks. We were game enough to go on all of the rides, which included the famous “Space Mountain and Tower of Terror”. The day was surely one to remember and we experienced the train ride home with fellow tourists and French locals. It was an experience, trying to navigate our way out of the station with 50 exits that all looked exactly the same! A lovely local lady helped us out and as you do with Paris, we discovered a truly breathtaking building which we took in and enjoyed for the rest of the day.

“Disneyland was such a fantastic experience and one which we would highly recommend. I am a big Disney fan and so is my husband. Paris is a magical park with lots to do and see!”

Other sight-seeing in Paris included the city’s tallest building (Tour Montparnasse), which gave us stunning views as far as the eye could see, the Arch de Triomphe, which is just an amazing structure and the Army museum which we spent hours looking at all of the historical armour wear from the soldiers. The Pantheon and Montmarte (also known as Sacre-Coeur), were also popular spots – both offering so much history to learn more about.

We also dined at the country’s oldest restaurant, Cafe Procope, which offered wonderful old-fashioned service and quality French cuisine, including tasting snails for the second time in my life. They were delicious but the garlic marinade certainly does help the taste-buds approval!

After our amazing time in Paris, we hopped on an early plane flight to one of Europe’s other well-known romantic cities – Venice. Here we were absolutely blown away by the truly amazing hotel which funnily enough, was the oldest hotel in Venice, built in the 1100’s. We were treated to first class 5-star service and it was a few days which we will never ever forget. From the private water taxi ride and driver from the airport, we enjoyed every single moment of immersing ourselves in the culture of Italy. We were blown away by the “uniqueness” of a city that was built on water all of those years ago.

The museum was incredible as was the “must do” Gondola ride. We most definitely ate our way through Venice with their delightful Gelato flavours from all of the Gelato parlours on offer.

After an incredible few days in Venice, we caught the train to Florence for six days of exploring the Tuscan countryside and the city of the Renaissance. Here our Italian improved as we started to feel at ease, speaking with our hotel staff and locals as we went along. Florence is amazing for shopping too! We stocked up on plenty of quality leather goods for ourselves and friends and family. The Duomo and the Cathedral interior was incredible to see and walking to the top of both the Duomo and the Bell Tower was something which we will never forget!

 

“We loved every minute of our time in Florence, it was truly incredible and something which we will never ever forget!”

Two of our most memorable day trips including visiting the Tuscan towns of Siena and San Gimignano. The Medieval towns were so interesting and our tour guide Michelle was so knowledgably talented. It was there that we learnt about the Medici family who have had a long history with Italy and had created a lot of wealth in the country. “The Medici balls” are prominent in many parts of Italy and are featured in plenty of the museums. Another wonderful travel memory is of our day trip out to Cinque Terre. We visited 5 fishing towns on the Coastline of the Italian Riviera. The towns were gorgeous and the perfect place for tourists to relax and unwind.

Following our amazing time in Florence, our next stop on the trip was the city of the Pope, Rome. There we visited Vatican City were we fell in love with St Paul’s Batsilica. We also visited the Military Museum Monument which was incredible and also offered a wonderful birds-eye view of the city. Would you believe that we actually bumped in to a lovely couple there from our Tuscan tour, Italy is quite a small country when you think about it! (Especially when tourists are concerned as we love to explore the same well-known sights when we arrive).

Rome also opened our eyes to the array of amazing churches and chapel which were on offer to explore at every street corner. Daily we were blown away by the incredible architecture.

“From Tuscany through until our time in Florence and then on to Rome, our time in Italy was truly amazing in every way possible. There were so many wonderful highlights.”

After Rome, we were whisked off to the Amalfi Coast. The windy roads and the stunning scenery certainly prepare you to the true beauty that awaits. And as the holiday drew to a close, we took this time to relax and unwind. With a boat trip to the beautiful “Positano” we spent our days indulging in home-made family owned Italian restaurants and exploring little alley ways.

What can we say Paris an Italy, it was truly our pleasure. We hope to meet again someday.

Until next time, Amore! Yours in European history, Gelato and stunning Italian sunsets. Xo