Honeymoon... Retrospective Post

As fresh as my memories serve me... I planned the whole "backpacking" trip. We were on budget so I had to do quite a bit of research & also plan our itinerary since N is more a US-type of guy. Not really into museums, monuments & history.

We were to fly into Rome, make a day-trip to Pisa, en-route to Florence, head to Venice before chugging on a night train to Paris & lastly taking Eurostar to London, all in 15 days.

Booked hostels & budget hotels, train tickets etc all online before setting off. As is our first time in Europe, just wanted to make sure we will not go off schedule.

3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Venice, Night-Train to Paris (got a glimpse of Swiss Alps in early morning of train ride), 3 nights in Paris & 2 nights in London.

In Rome, we walked alot, used very little of public transport... bad move coz feet ached badly.

Love Pisa, white & pristine building, sun shining in blue blue sky, makes pictures taken look really good & one of the best pasta we've eaten during entire trip was at a restaurant near the leaning tower :)

Florence was also one of my fave destination on the trip, quaint little town, very walkable from sights to sights. Shopping was fun as there were many small unique shops scattered all over... like little surprises popping round the corner en-route to our destination.

Loved the pink facade of the Duomo & waking up to the bells every morning.

Venice was a little under the weather, St Mark's Square was flooded on both our days there... we spent much of our last day seeking shelter in our hostel to wait for night train as rain was so heavy, you'll need boots to survive the flooding.

Night train to Paris was fun, in a bunk... though we arrived much later than expected due to strike in France.
Not very friendly Parisian at train station, as we needed coins to buy tickets to get to hotel, but no one wanted to help change our dollar notes. :( But that was the only negative experience.

Loved Paris, day & night, rather safe & clean, more urban-like, shopping along their shopping strip "Avenue des Champs-Élysées" All my fave brands lining up on both sides of the street.

Lourve was eye-opener & extremely big, could only cover a fraction of it in 1 evening.

Parisian ladies eat very little, I noticed that none of them ordered mains while we were dining in a restaurant. Maybe that is why they are so slim... all of them.

Finally to London, met Yen there :) Been talking about visiting for the longest time & I finally made it! We were covering the usual sights like Buckingham, Tower of London, London Eye, Westminster & Harrods.

We survived! with our rations of instant noodles (to save some $$ on meals), milo, cereal mix, bread & water from local supermarts. Not forgetting our maps & iPhone to guide the way.

Came home with lotsa shopping... snacks, souvenirs & most impt of all: memories of the luggage-dragging up & down trains & buses with my dear N.

Thank you for going along with me for the trip, N!