Best places to travel in Europe: A Journey
I would like to share some of my experiences when I traveled to Europe.
When I go to a place I have never been before, I love to walk, just walk and walk so I can have a good grasp of the area. Whew, I tried walking following the route of the River Seine (all the time I was walking I am thinking of Fantine -Les Miserables) in Paris from sun up to down and I slept the whole day after. I will not do that again, my feet became sore from walking non stop.
Europe is a very historical and lively place. there are lots of modern and old cities too. It is an awesome place. Lots of museums, bars and restaurants.It is a place very rich in history, architecture, arts, museums and culture. Lots of tourists too, so you feel you are not alone.
No way to go around Europe countries except by train and through airplanes, I realized that. I love traveling by train because I can see the sights and views outside the train. I love looking at hills and endless trees, sceneries and fresh air. When you look at the houses and parks and museum, amenities, restaurants in a certain place, you have a good grasp of their history, culture and society. Things are just a little bit expensive there (because my money is in Pesos and then converted to euro).
In Paris, they served large plate of different pasta. I cant finish a full order and I have learned from a friend that it is rude not to finish all your food in the plate. A full plate is enough to last me for a whole day. There are lots of restaurants in Paris. And I have learnt their language too, the basic ones, like bonjour (hello or good day) and merci (thank you). Most French people don’t speak in English. Just strolling around is romantic too in the city of Paris, they have nice bars and cafes, art galleries and museum, but just walking around, you will see the beauty of the city. There are many lovers around also. I love the Seine River where people dance and enjoy doing thinngs there. Some would just sit down and relax for long hours. The museums and the Louvre museum are awesome places for your cultural tastes. Even if you don’t appreciate museum, after visiting it, you will be definitely amazed. I came back four times at that place just so I can look at all the different galleries. They will open Mc Donalds inside of that museum, they say.
Farther south of France, is of course where most Catholics go and pay a visit to where Saint Lourdes is (in Lourdes, France). There are lots and hundreds of people in line just to see the place or to buy some spiritual items.
Paris is really one place for shoppers (if you have the money of course). It is a crowded city like Manila. It is a hub for many tourists from all walks of life, you roam the city of Paris, and you can find people from all walks of like and from different countries all over the world. Out of curiosity, I also went to different stores with the French products like Louis Vuitton, Ungaro, Givenchy et al. I bought one purse and a perfume, expensive, whew. And everybody goes to Eiffel tower of course, where you can see the great architecture down below. Wow, I have fear of high places, but I needed to go there, because everybody goes there.
In Amsterdam, I was able to see the tulips all in its glory and blooms. I love flowers and traveling by train looking at fields full of flowers made me gasps. All different sights when you go to the city of Amsterdam, the city where you can do whatever you want to do. There were women in glass cubicles (prostitution is legal) and men would just pay them for their services. Mind you they have small rooms at the back of their cubicles. Prostitution at its best. All women in the glass cubicles are lined up and positioned beside a church where nobody goes. In most churches in Europe they turned into a museum or they call it a dead place. (Of course it is a culture shock for me where in my place all churches are too crowded). There are lots of sex shops too everywhere and I enjoy looking and peeking at all the sex paraphernalia on sale. It was my first time to see all of those things and I am very curious at first then I get use to it, (out of curiosity I go there everyday).
Of course it was also in Amsterdam where I thought my friend jokingly told me that they mix coffees with hashish on it (weed, grass), and it s legal there. I discovered it to be true because I stayed in one coffee shop and I noticed all the people are smoking too and are just being lightheaded and to some extent, they are all very happy. Little did I know, I have also a thing there in my cup of coffee, huh. You just go to shops where they sell hashish and buy some of it. Anything is legal in Amsterdam. They do business there, a man asked me one time when I was walking along the bridges in Amsterdam, little did I know about what business means, to buy hashish, and I laughed, I said No, thanks.
The thing here is that these popular places in Netherlands are all accessible by train. It is true in all parts of Europe. Travel has never been so much easier specially after they have one type of currency in some countries there, the Euro.
In other parts of Netherlands, the Rotterdam, they have nice shopping complexes and museums too. I went to Maas Boulevard and Maritime museum Boijmans Van Bunigen Museum. The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, at 5’2 ft. I am nearly almost at their waist line. In Leiden, almost all people use bicycle and I love watching soccer team playing in projectors set up outside parks and gatherings. Sometimes, you can hear people screaming inside bars watching the orange team compete with other Euro countries. They love soccer all over Europe.
Another rich country situated centrally in the Mediterranean Sea, 93 km south of Italy and 288 km north-east of Tunisia is Malta (wikipedia). I traveled the capital of Malta, Valetta by bus, walking through the pubs and restaurants day in and day out. There are many tourists there even though at that time they have high value for their Maltese lira. Malta is known for its Temples\, a world heritage site. It is a country rich in history. I was able to go to the other island there, the Gozo and Comino. The weather is nice, Mediterranean weather, lovely.
I came to Malta from Frankfurt, Germany. I ride the Lufthansa Airline. Malta is more than two hours away from Frankfurt. In Frankfurt, I love the sausages there, and their airport is awesome and huge. I went to the oldest district in Frankfurt, the Sachsenhausen, beside a river, and went to bar hopping, I drank their beers, wow, too big for me, and I love it. I remember Oktoberfest celebrated everywhere. I love the place, I remember buying a book at a bookstore. I went to Romer and surrounding buildings and reminded me of the rich history of that place. Like any other places in Europe, Frankfurt, it is rich historically. Oh in Frankfurt, even though it is a modern city, I think they restored everything after WW II, and I was able to see the Roman bath ruins still sit behind the city square.
I traveled from Amsterdam to Brussels by train. I tasted Belgian beers, chouffe and koninck beers in their glasses with particular shapes, and some chocolates too. I love Belgian chocolates, Like most European cities, the city of Brussels attractions includes great food, interesting museums, trendy galleries and shopping.
Amazing places, historical, museums, bars and restaurants.
That covers my trips to Europe, I could go on and on and tell my travel stories, but I will stop now.
What are the other places I would like to visit in Europe? I would like to go to Romania and visit a friend there. I would like to visit London someday and to look at the Bridge of London and the Big Ben clock at Westminster, but whew, it must be expensive there. I would also like to go to Austria, Switzerland and Norway too --- the top most liveable country in the world (according to the United Nations, 2009).
