Traveling Abroad Europe became a reality on June 2016. A dream come true. For years my wife and I would talk about going to Europe, especially to Rome. Financially, this looked like it would never happen. But little by little, saving money, we reached our goal. Arrangements were made and we were on our way. My experience abroad had come on two occasions. In 1987 and again in 1994.
Invitation To Nice
My students received an invitation from the city of Nice, France to participate in the annual Carnival, held every year in Nice, France. It’s like the Mardi Gras we celebrate in New Orleans. I felt the travel bug. I just had to go back and see more. My two visits to Nice on those two occassions, showed me that anything is possible. It became a reality. I quickly learned that a large number of the people along the French Riviera speak English. Being bilingual I realized I could communicate with most that spoke Spanish and English. The plan was laid out. We started a two week trip in Paris, down into Italy, back to Nice, and into Spain.
Traveling Abroad Europe
Traveling Abroad Europe. Excitement is in the air. We were finally on our way from Dallas non-stop to Paris. Once there we met with our tour guide, who took us to a nice hotel. During our stay in Paris, we toured most of the usual sites. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphed, Avenue Des Champs Elysees, Chateau De Versailles and took some excursions on our own once receiving instructions on how to travel on the subway trains. Then on to Italy by bus.
Italy
Our first stop was in Venice. St. Marks Square, rides on the Gandolas and just walking around and shopping. That is one of the first things you learn when you get to Europe. You have to do a lot of walking, a lot of steps, up and down. No elevators or escalators anywhere. Traveling Abroad Europe presents many challenges. I do believe I lost at least 10 to 15 pounds during the two week trip. From Venice, a stop over in Florence. Visited the museums and saw Michael Angelos famous statue, David. The sculpture is amazing. It also helps if you learn a little French and Italian. Not too many folks speak English in the interior. Communication becomes a challenge. Then came to the town of Assisi up on a mountain and the monastery. Rome was next. While in Rome, we took a trip to see the excavations of Pompeii, the Port of Napoli and to the Island of Capri. A beautiful place where most of the buildings are up on the mountains. Capri used to be like a resort for the Romans 2000 years ago.
Traveling Abroad Europe
Rome, the eternal City. Our days in Rome were spent walking around to all the plazas, beautiful fountains, like the world famous Trevi Fountain. For centuries people go to the fountain and throw coins in the fountain for luck, for love and if you throw three coins, that means you will return to Rome some day. Wow, so much history, so much culture, so much to see and not enough time to see it all. It takes your breath away. Then Vatican City. As if the rest was not enough, the Vatican with it’s museum, beautiful frescos, sculptures and architecture. It’s like putting the icing in the cake. Amazing!!! Literally, there is so much to see. We wished we had more days, weeks or months to take all of this in. Our last part of Italy was stopping at Pisa to see the leaning tower. I actually have pictures of me, helping the people of Pisa hold and straighten the
leaning tower. Wow, what a feat. Nice was next on our itinerary. We spent one night there. Toured the palace of the Principality of Monaco and saw some of Monticarlo before leaving for Spain.
Spain and Toledo
Once in Spain, we stopped in Saragoza, spent an afternoon there and on to Madrid. While in Madrid, toured most of the city and then went on to the city of Toledo, once the capital of Spain. Then an afternoon in Barcelona and the famous cathedral La Sagrada Familia. It has been under constrution for many years and still not finished.
My wife and I enjoyed the two weeks tour, but we were always on the go. Never having the time to spend and explore and experience the history and culture. Now we know what to expect. Next time, we will take our time and really enjoy all of these places one at a time. With so much to see and learn, we plan to go to Italy first. This would be our home base where we can plan our daily outings throughout Rome.
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