EntriesEurope Trip 2008 Photo Collection
Here’s a handy little post with a list of all the photo albums I’ve uploaded for my 2008 Europe Trip.
Panoroama – Self Stitched
Panoroama – Adobe Photoshop Photomerge
London
Vence
Milan
Florence
Pisa
Rome
Paris
Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice
Paris Travel Pictures
It’s almost been two months since I’ve returned from my Europe Trip and I’m finally at the last travel picture post! After leaving Rome, the next 12 nights were spent in Paris before flying back to Toronto.
The first six nights were spent at IBIS and the last six in an apartment. Both had their advantages but I preferred the apartment living style over the hotel. That said, the hotel does have nicer perks than an apartment.
On our first full day in Paris we participated in a walking tour with New Europe. Our guide was an American who decided to stay in Paris after his running gig went south. We started at St. Michel’s square and visit the top sites of Paris.
The walking tour also covered the famous Pont Neuf. If you look at each sculpture on the bridge, they are all different. The story is that King Louis XIV got all his friends drunk and hired someone to sculptures to cast onto the bridge. It was his way of saying Thanks.
After a 5 hour walking tour, of which we stopped taking photos since we were going to revisit all the sites, we went to the Louvre. It’s free on Friday evenings from 6PM to 10PM for those under the age of 29.
Not to far from the IBIS hotel is a park were we had a couple of picnics before starting our day. It was pretty relaxing and quite the thing to do in Paris. Each day there were bigger and bigger crowds of people having a picnic. I think the largest was in the order of 30 people.
We didn’t visit too many bars or clubs during our trip but while in Paris we meet up with a couple UofT Engineers and we embarked in a Paris pub crawl which included free screwdriver shots.
By the end of the night (3 hrs), I think I had something in the range of 5 shots, a beer and two glasses of wine.
The true way to drink in Paris of course in style. On one night my dad treated Karen and I on a cruise down river Seine. We got to wine and dine while seeing all the Parisian sites. It was quite nice and definitely worth doing. I believe it was 120 Euros for the two of us. Champagne was the started and we also had a bottle wine to drink. To eat, I had a foie gras appetizers, seared perch and a fruit crepe. Karen had a seafood casserole, steak and fresh fruit in a raspberry milkshake. Delicious is the only was to state that meal.
From our cruise, we got a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the mini Statue of Liberty.
After the tour, we made our first visit to the Eiffel Tower. It was around 9PM and the sky was overcast. It was actually overcast for most of our stay in Paris. We had good weather on the last two days and the odd period.
Another major site in Paris is the Notre Dame, everyone has heard of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and it was that story that kept this church from being taken down.
We had to make two trips to the Air and Space Museum because it was closed the first day we went. So if you ever want to visit the Air and Space Museum, don’t go on a Monday! However, once we did get to go, it was definitely neat to walk around and check out some of the old planes, including a 747, concord and a few fighter jets.
A less popular site is Sacre Coeur which is a church at the just north of the downtown area. The church is situated on a large hill which allows visitors to get a great view of the city. It’s also free to go to which is perfect for the budget traveler.
Speaking of great views, there’s the obvious in Paris: the view from the Eiffel Tower. It is indeed spectacular. We arrived at the top just before sunset and got to watch the sky light up red.
In addition to the Louvre, we visited the military museum that holds Napoleon’s Tomb. The story is that Hitler once came to visit the Tomb but because Napoleon was buried in such a manner you have to bow down to him to actually see his tomb. Hitler of course did not want to bow down to Napolean so he ordered his troops to set up an array of mirrors for him to look at. Upon Hitler’s arrival, the mirrors were out of place which prevented him from seeing Napoleon’s tomb. While backup to leave, Hitler bumped into one of his troops and knocked his hat off his head. In bending down to pick up his hat, he was said to have bowed to Napoleon.
His tomb is under the gold dome in the picture above. Another muesume we visited was Museum D’Orsay.
One of my favourite gardens/parks in Paris was the Gardens of Versailles. This park is absolutely gigantic. It stretches about 4 kilometers, There are fountains scattered throughout the main park area. Something in the range of 3600 cubic meters of water is used during the water festival which we attended.
Given the option to just visit the garden for the day, visit the chateau or both, I would have just visit the garden. You can easily spend a day wandering through it all.
Taking the advice from another couple on the boat cruise, we went for a walk along River Seine towards the Eiffel Tower to get a really nice picture of the tower. On the way we also passed by Princess Diana’s memorial.
In Parisian style, we had one night picnic by the Eiffel Tower with champagne and dessert.
On our final day, we wandered around visiting the Paris Pantheon and watched the sunset by Notre Dame while enjoying a Parisian favourite: the crepe.
On June 10th 2008, our trip came to an end as we boarded our Air Canada flight back to Toronto.
Those who say a grad trip is an eye opening experience is definitely correct. The trip went by so fast and every second was memorable. If you have the opportunity, I definitely recommend you take a few weeks off and travel Europe. You can bet I’ll be back, maybe not soon but I’ll definitely be returning!
Tags: Air Canada, Champagne, Chateau of Versailles, EIffel Tower, Europe 2008, Gardens of Versailles, Grad Trip, Hitler, IBIS, Louvre, Museum D'Orsay, Napoleon, Napoleon's Tomb, Notre Dame, Pantheon, Paris, Princess Diana, River Seine, Rome, Sacre Coeur, Statue of Liberty
Europe Trip 2008 Panoramics
I have finally pieced together photos of our Europe Trip that covered London, Venice, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Paris between May 7th and June 10th. The photos were taken with a Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 (10MP) digital camera and pieced together using Adobe Photoshop.
London was the first city we visited but we did not visit any high points in the city that would allow for panoramic city photos.
Venice was the first Italian city of our trip and from the Bell Tower in San Marco (Campanile di San Marco) you get a wonderful view of the city, the water and the islands that dot around Venice.
Leaving Venice we took the train to Milan but like London, there were no good free high points that allow you to take panoramic photos. From Milan we went to Florence, where the blue skies, green grass and small city made for breathtaking views. The photos below was taken from Cimitero Delle Porte Sante on our way to Michelangelo Piazza.
From Michelangelo Piazza the city is a bit closer.
Karen and I both believe that Florence had the best view during our trip.
Leaving Florence we went to Pisa for one day where the most obvious thing to do is to visit the Leaning Tower. However, going up the Leaning Tower is quite the experience. I think it is the best way to fully appreciate the lean. You also get a great view from the top.
The final Italian city for us is none other than Rome. Rome is full of history and two of the most popular places include the Vatican City and the Colosseum. At the Vatican City we went to the cupola (top of St Peter’s Basilica) and I had enough photos for 2 panoramic, possibly more if I wanted to put the rest together. In addition to those two sites, I compiled a panoramic photo of some ruins along Via dei Fori Imperiali between Colosseum and Victor Emmanuel II.
The final stop on our trip was Paris and the most obvious place for panoramic photos would be at the top of the Eiffel Tower. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the view from the Eiffel Tower was spectacular but at such a great height (300m above ground) some of the detail is lost. However, it is the only monument open late into that night allowing for pictures of the “City of Lights”. Before revealing the photos from the Eiffel Tower, we first went to Notre Dame, the site Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. From here you can see large portion of Paris and its surrounding area.
The night of our boat cruise we also went up to the Eiffel Tower because the weather was finally starting to clear and we didn’t want to miss the opportunity. When we arrived at the top, the sun was setting.
That’s a wrap for all the panoramic I currently have. I am still selecting which photos from each city I will upload and share. Expect that to happen in the coming weeks.
Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, Grad Trip, panoramic, Paris, photos, Pisa, Rome, Venice
Back in Toronto
After 36 days in Europe for my graduation trip where I covered London, Venice, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Paris, I came back to Toronto yesterday afternoon in one piece. The flight was smooth until the last 20 minutes when we hit some very choppy air. To make matters more interesting, they made us sit in the plane for another 20 minutes while Peel police escorted someone off the plane. Why? Who knows!
Over the coming weeks I will slowly upload a few of the photos I’ve taken. In total there are over 2200. I’ll likely break it down by city and share a few comments about why the photo is special.
Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, Grad Trip, Itinerary, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice
. 11 Jun 08 | Travel | Comments (0)
Final Itinerary for Europe Trip
Here’s our final itinerary for Europe. I’ll be back in Toronto in June!
| Date | Depart | Arrive | Location |
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 | 18:25 | Depart Toronto | |
| Thursday, May 08, 2008 | 6:25 | Arrive in London | |
| 7:15 | Liverpool Finsbury Square | ||
| Monday, May 12, 2008 | 11:25 | Depart London (Stansted) | |
| Monday, May 12, 2008 | 14:20 | Arrive in Venice | |
| Bus to Venice | |||
| 16:00 | Arrive in Venice | ||
| Friday, May 16, 2008 | 10:30 | Depart Venice | |
| Friday, May 16, 2008 | 13:05 | Arrive in Milan | |
| Tuesday, May 20, 2008 | 11:50 | Depart Milan | |
| Tuesday, May 20, 2008 | 14:32 | Arrive in Florence | |
| Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 10:00 | Depart Florence | |
| Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 10:35 | Arrive in Pisa | |
| Sunday, May 25, 2008 | 8:55 | Depart Pisa | |
| Sunday, May 25, 2008 | 12:14 | Arrive in Rome | |
| Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 3:00 | Bus to Airport | |
| Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 6:45 | Depart Rome | |
| Thursday, May 29, 2008 | 8:50 | Arrive in Paris | |
| Bus to City | |||
| 8:00 | Train to CDG Terminal 2A | ||
| Tuesday, June 10, 2008 | 11:40 | Depart Paris | |
| Tuesday, June 10, 2008 | 14:05 | Arrive in Toronto |
Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, Grad Trip, Itinerary, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice
. 07 May 08 | Travel | Comments (0)
Europe Trip Planning – Where We’re Staying in Paris, France
Our final stop in our Europe trip is none other than Paris. We’ll spend a total of 12 night in this city, starting May 29th and returning back to Toronto on June 10th. The first 6 days of our stay will be at the IBIS Paris Porte d’Orleans. One could technically argue that it is slightly outside the city but it’s only a short walk to the metro and close enough for me that I’ll call it part of Paris.
There’s not a whole lot of information about this place, other than it is somewhat cheap…70EUR/night. The rooms look comfortable enough without very many features – a a clean room, wifi, and a place to shower. Good enough until we make our way to our apartment.
Images courtesy of IBIS.
The reservations are quite relaxed; you can cancel with no penalty up until the afternoon of the day you’re expected to check-in. We’ll continue to look for better deals that will move us closer to the city and save us money!
This being the last update on where we’re staying in each city, I’ll try and take some pictures and post actual reviews of each place I stayed at after I return.
Tags: Europe 2008, Frane, Grad Trip, IBIS, Paris
. 07 May 08 | Travel | Comments (0)
Europe Trip Planning – Bookings
We have finally started making some purchases for our trip to Europe. With the planned itinerary more or less finalized, it’s time to get our flights and finding places to stay. We will depart Toronto on May 7th and arrive in London, UK on May 8th at 6:25 AM. Flight AC856 uses a Boeing 777-300ER and I can’t remember which rows we are in. The 50’s come to mind. It’s a window seat.
For our return, we will depart from Paris on June 10th at 11:40 AM and will be back in Toronto by 14:05, assuming no delays of any sort. I know we’re in the upper half of the plane siting in aisle seats because all the windows were taken. Flight AC881 uses an Airbus A330-300 (333).
The multi-city flight was just under $1400 for two tickets.
The only other booking we have done is put a down payment for 6 nights inside a Paris apartment. The apartment is in the 15th district of Paris which is relatively close to the Eiffel Tower an Arc but I believe pretty far from the major window shopping areas. The down payment was 60 Eur and the total bill for 6 nights is 300 Eur with an optional 25 Eur cleaning fee should we want to take it. Here are some pictures of the apartment, I have no idea if it is actually pinkish in color, but I’m guess in it is. For the price we paid, it’s hard to beat. It comes with a cooking area, private bath, washing machine and a sofa bed that converts to a double.
By the end of this week, we’ll probably have a few more bookings done or at least attempted a few more on Priceline or Hotwire.
Tags: 777, A330, Air Canada, apartment, Europe, Flight AC856, Flight AC881, Paris
. 14 Apr 08 | Travel | Comment (1)
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