Italy & France 2019
May 6 - 23, 2019
There are few places we have ever re-visited in our 20+ years of traveling, mainly because there are just so many places on this earth we want to see, we are reluctant to return to a place we’ve already been instead of exploring someplace new.
But Italy and Paris definitely warrant return visits.
Our very first trip abroad was our honeymoon trip on a group tour (GASP!) to Italy. It was a whirlwind of an itinerary which included only 2 nights in Venice (so only a day and a half there) which simply did not allow enough time to give us a feel for what Venice is really like.
It was also winter and the weather was dreary and sad.
We have always wanted to return to Venice to see it in the sunshine and spend much more time than back in 1997.
So we started this trip in Venice, spending 4 nights which allowed us ample time to explore this incredible city and even to see the outlying islands of Murano and Burano.
Venice was enthralling and magical, a place like no other!
Because we have been to Rome twice now, along with Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Florence and Milan, on this trip we wanted to focus on northern Italy.
So after Venice we took a train to Lake Como where we spent 3 nights in the lakeside village of Varenna.
We explored many other lake towns by train and by ferry.
The scenery was spectacular, even if the weather didn’t always cooperate (we had some dreary, cold weather and one of the days it was so windy that all the ferries were canceled.)
But we were lucky enough to have a beautiful, sunny day on the day we visited the stunning town of Bellagio and the lovely and bustling city of Como.
From Lake Como we took a train to the region of Cinque Terre where we spent 3 nights in the unbelievably charming village of Vernazza.
Cinque Terre takes its name from the five villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
It is famous for its hiking trails that hug the coast and afford breathtaking views of the sea from the cliff tops.
Many of the main tourist trails are closed (some permanently) due to weather events such as mudslides and floods, but there are still lots more available to fill many days with awe-inspiring beauty.
I made a map of all the trails and modes of transport we used to see this gorgeous region.
Cinque Terre was one of my most anticipated parts of this trip and it lived up to all my expectations!!!
After Cinque Terre, we moved on to southern France via train to the city of Nice.
We spent 2 nights on the Cote D’Azur but our luck with the weather was pretty bad. We never got to see the sun on the what is supposed to be the sun-drenched French Riviera.
We stayed 2 nights in Nice. Explored Nice on the day of arrival, then the next day we took a day trip to the town of Menton, France (40 minutes by train east of Nice) which had a kind of Italian flair being only 2 miles from the Italian border.
On the way back to Nice we stopped off in the country of Monaco (13 miles east of Nice).
Monaco was a fun side trip that boosted my total countries to 57. It is the second smallest country in the world, less than one square mile, with only the Vatican City being tinier.
It was a cool treat to see that Monaco was already setting up the racetrack for that weekend’s 90th running of the Grand Prix. We even got to walk on parts of the track.
The famous wealth of Monaco was on full display as exotic cars, Rolls Royces and Bentleys prowled the streets.
Our last leg of the trip was our return visit to Paris!
Paris is one of those cities you can visit over and over and still never see and experience it all.
The last time we were here was in 2002 and while we we wanted to “see” some of the most famous sights again, what we really wanted to experience was some off-the beaten track neighborhoods to get a real feel of the city.
So, while we did go by the most recognizable and iconic sights (Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, etc) we did not go inside many of them since we had done that on our first visit. (Quelle horreur, I know!!!!!😉)
So these photos may not represent all that you envision when you think of Paris, but they are an embodiment of what I feel when I remember Paris…the stunning architecture and countless historic buildings in the grand and most popular arrondissements, the colorful surprises we found when we ducked down a tiny, quiet lane, the charming, maybe even gritty settings of the farther-out districts, the quaint cafes filled with stylish, chic espresso-drinking patrons, the aromatic patisseries and bakeries…all the things that give you the feeling that you could only be in one place in the world like this…PARIS!
Read MoreThere are few places we have ever re-visited in our 20+ years of traveling, mainly because there are just so many places on this earth we want to see, we are reluctant to return to a place we’ve already been instead of exploring someplace new.
But Italy and Paris definitely warrant return visits.
Our very first trip abroad was our honeymoon trip on a group tour (GASP!) to Italy. It was a whirlwind of an itinerary which included only 2 nights in Venice (so only a day and a half there) which simply did not allow enough time to give us a feel for what Venice is really like.
It was also winter and the weather was dreary and sad.
We have always wanted to return to Venice to see it in the sunshine and spend much more time than back in 1997.
So we started this trip in Venice, spending 4 nights which allowed us ample time to explore this incredible city and even to see the outlying islands of Murano and Burano.
Venice was enthralling and magical, a place like no other!
Because we have been to Rome twice now, along with Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Florence and Milan, on this trip we wanted to focus on northern Italy.
So after Venice we took a train to Lake Como where we spent 3 nights in the lakeside village of Varenna.
We explored many other lake towns by train and by ferry.
The scenery was spectacular, even if the weather didn’t always cooperate (we had some dreary, cold weather and one of the days it was so windy that all the ferries were canceled.)
But we were lucky enough to have a beautiful, sunny day on the day we visited the stunning town of Bellagio and the lovely and bustling city of Como.
From Lake Como we took a train to the region of Cinque Terre where we spent 3 nights in the unbelievably charming village of Vernazza.
Cinque Terre takes its name from the five villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
It is famous for its hiking trails that hug the coast and afford breathtaking views of the sea from the cliff tops.
Many of the main tourist trails are closed (some permanently) due to weather events such as mudslides and floods, but there are still lots more available to fill many days with awe-inspiring beauty.
I made a map of all the trails and modes of transport we used to see this gorgeous region.
Cinque Terre was one of my most anticipated parts of this trip and it lived up to all my expectations!!!
After Cinque Terre, we moved on to southern France via train to the city of Nice.
We spent 2 nights on the Cote D’Azur but our luck with the weather was pretty bad. We never got to see the sun on the what is supposed to be the sun-drenched French Riviera.
We stayed 2 nights in Nice. Explored Nice on the day of arrival, then the next day we took a day trip to the town of Menton, France (40 minutes by train east of Nice) which had a kind of Italian flair being only 2 miles from the Italian border.
On the way back to Nice we stopped off in the country of Monaco (13 miles east of Nice).
Monaco was a fun side trip that boosted my total countries to 57. It is the second smallest country in the world, less than one square mile, with only the Vatican City being tinier.
It was a cool treat to see that Monaco was already setting up the racetrack for that weekend’s 90th running of the Grand Prix. We even got to walk on parts of the track.
The famous wealth of Monaco was on full display as exotic cars, Rolls Royces and Bentleys prowled the streets.
Our last leg of the trip was our return visit to Paris!
Paris is one of those cities you can visit over and over and still never see and experience it all.
The last time we were here was in 2002 and while we we wanted to “see” some of the most famous sights again, what we really wanted to experience was some off-the beaten track neighborhoods to get a real feel of the city.
So, while we did go by the most recognizable and iconic sights (Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, etc) we did not go inside many of them since we had done that on our first visit. (Quelle horreur, I know!!!!!😉)
So these photos may not represent all that you envision when you think of Paris, but they are an embodiment of what I feel when I remember Paris…the stunning architecture and countless historic buildings in the grand and most popular arrondissements, the colorful surprises we found when we ducked down a tiny, quiet lane, the charming, maybe even gritty settings of the farther-out districts, the quaint cafes filled with stylish, chic espresso-drinking patrons, the aromatic patisseries and bakeries…all the things that give you the feeling that you could only be in one place in the world like this…PARIS!
