If you are planning any sort of trip such as this, I would love to share some of the apps that we used that were really helpful.
When planning the trip, we used Trip Advisor a lot! This helped us learn which hotels would be a good option for us, and it also helped us plan activities within each city/country.
Visit a City was helpful to us, but I didn't use it a ton.
In London, we found the Tube Map to be most helpful. This allowed us to figure out what line we were supposed to be on, where we needed to transfer, and how long it was going to take us to get there. It worked without data, which was the best part. However, there was some "real time" stuff available if you did have use of a cell phone plan.
I had downloaded Open Table because most of the hotels that offered Afternoon Tea hosted reservations there. In the end, we didn't need it.
The London Pass app was helpful in planning which things we wanted to see. But it also can host your pass there as well. We had the physical pass because we were uncertain of how often we would need to find wi-fi.
The Gatwick Express app was helpful for us in finding times that the trains ran to and from the airport. You can also purchase your tickets on the app as well.
In Paris, the Paris Metro app was most helpful for getting around the city. It also told us which line we would need to be on, when we would need to transfer, and how long it would take to get to our destination. We are both good at reading maps, so it helped to have a map of the transit of the city.
We used Google Translate for the majority of the trip. If we didn't know what a word was, we'd type it in the app and it would tell us. It would also tell us how to say English phrases in the language we needed. It worked offline, but if you are connected online, you can hear them read it back to you so you know how to pronounce it.
Pocket Maps is super helpful too. You can download maps of whatever city you need so you know where to go.
Rick Steves offers his audio guide on an app. If you're wanting to know more, he offers guides for almost anywhere!
The SBB app was helpful in Switzerland when we were trying to figure out which trains to be on. Unfortunately, we needed to be hooked up to wi-fi to use it. But we'd try to plan ahead and take screenshots of our routes that we needed.
There are a lot of apps out there that can be helpful. Find the ones you like and use them! These are the ones we found most helpful.
We left Venice very early the next morning and headed to the Treviso airport. We found cheaper flights to London from that airport than Marco Polo. We got to the airport and ended up having to wait to even get checked in. I guess it's better to be early than to be late.
Getting through security was my worst nightmare. I set off the detector and had to get patted down. It was literally horrible...especially for someone who has a personal bubble. It really upset me. But there were no rules on what to take off or what we could leave on...it's truly different than in the US. I also have a very difficult time understanding people who have accents. I have to ask them to repeat themselves and I have to focus really hard on what they're saying, but it didn't help this time.
On top of that, our flight was delayed for 2.5 hours. I think I was overly tired, and we really lucked out on all of our other travel. So to be delayed, I was just really annoyed that day. But it all turned out okay and we made it back to London.
We only spent one night in London since we were flying back to the US the next day. We decided that we had enough points left on our credit card that we decided to splurge on a hotel. So we found a super nice hotel that was connected to Victoria Station. We stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel in an Executive King Suite.
Tyler and I joked along the way that our hotel rooms progressively got larger. This was the biggest (and fanciest) of all of them.
We stayed on the very top floor of the hotel. This was our view.
We basically dropped our things off in our room and headed over to the Wolseley Hotel for Afternoon Tea. This was the one thing that I was looking forward to the most. And I think I was also crabby at the airport because we hadn't eaten much that day. We were both looking forward to this late "lunch."
Afternoon Tea is something you must do if ever in London. But almost every hotel offers some version of it...some are way more expensive than others. I researched and researched and researched and still didn't decide on a hotel to have tea at until we were in Venice. I did have my options written down and what they offered, but it was a difficult decision. Some hotels take reservations and others offer walk-ins.
We decided to walk-in since it took so long to decide. I had heard great things about tea at the Ritz, but you have to be dressed up, and we were already squeezing our backpacks as close to full as possible. So we went right next door.
He was so ready to eat!
Scones, pastries, and finger sandwiches
The clotted cream was delish!
I don't even really like tea, but their house blend with milk in it wasn't that bad. I did drink the whole pot. :)
Oh this is a moment I would have loved to discuss with Granny. She loved having girl tea parties at her house...and actually, when we were all sending her to heaven, the girl grands had a tea party in her honor. I know she would have loved to hear all about it.
After we got done with our tea, we headed over to the British Library. We kept our Visitor Oyster Cards and added some money to it so we could use the Tube. I had really wanted to see the ancient Bibles that were displayed there, but unfortunately, all of the exhibits were closed for an event. So we hopped back on the Tube and went over to see Kensington Palace.
Kensington Palace is in Kensington Gardens. However, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are literally right next to each other. Had we had more time on the other end of our trip, the London Pass would have let us in to tour.
Round Pond
Kensington Palace
Queen Victoria
Looking toward the direction we were in from the Hyde Park side.
Notice anything about this carousel?
I absolutely loved this...it's hard to remember that the English drive on the wrong side of the road. ;)
We headed back to our hotel for an early evening in. At this point in our trip, we were both tired and almost ready to head home.
The next morning, we did get up early enough to see some last minute sights. We started out the morning with yet another English breakfast. I loved how easy it was to keep on track with healthy eating. There were plenty of healthy eats available to us on our trip.
We then headed out to go see Buckingham Palace. We were hoping that we'd be able to see the Changing of the Guard, but with needing to head to the airport, we didn't see it. In the end, we were okay with that.
I also had a list of photos that I wanted to take while we were in London, so I was trying to finish those up...like the stereotypical phone booth! We also looked inside some shops, as I was collecting Christmas ornaments from our trip.
This building had plants of some sort growing on it. It was cool.
We headed back to our hotel to finish packing up and to get ready to head to the airport. Here were a couple more cool things about the hotel:
I loved that you could just flip the light on!
We took the Gatwick Express to the airport. Because we had gotten upgraded seats, we had the option to wait in the lounge. We also have a Priority Pass card that comes with our credit card that would have also afforded us this option as well. I had never been in a lounge before, but it was cool. We got food and pop and desserts. It was a great treat before we headed home.
Our flight home wasn't bad. We ended up watching movies the entire time.
Our flight got into Chicago, and we had a hotel for the night. We were so exhausted that we ended up going to bed at 7 pm. The next morning, we caught an Uber to take us to Midway since we were flying Southwest home.
My mom was already there with our pup, and we were so excited to be home.
I shared this on my facebook post right before we left Europe, and I'll share it here:
Still trying to wrap my mind, heart, and soul around what just happened these last 17 days. I’m not going to try to put it into words {yet}.
I am leaving Europe with a broader worldview, a deeper love for ALL people, and a gratefulness that I can’t even describe. I’m teary just writing this.
I am ready to be home, get back into a routine, and drink a LOT more water because I know exactly where the free bathrooms are at.
We had such a wonderful time and it was truly a trip of a lifetime. I hope that I will eventually get the opportunity to go back...maybe to visit the same places, but definitely to keep exploring the world. :)
I was truly sad to leave Switzerland. Here's an excerpt of my journal:
Today, we have to leave beautiful Switzerland. It's a sad day. I truly loved our time here. It feels like it's been weeks since we were in Paris, but it was only a few days ago. Does that mean I soaked in the time we had here?
I want to remember the houses nestled in the side of the mountain that is surrounding the deep teal lake. I want to remember the cute brown houses in the mountains that look like something from a storybook. I just don't know how to describe this place--there's nothing like it. I am so grateful to have been able to visit and experience it!
But the trip wasn't over yet. We got to go to another beautiful city. We went to Venice. We took the train from Wengen to Basel where we then transferred to the airport. Did you know that the Basel airport is technically in France? Basel is very close to France and Germany. We didn't have time to go to Germany, though.
Leaving Wengen.
We scored some super cheap flights on a budget airline (EasyJet) from Basel to Venice. We loaded the plane from the ground, which was something new for me but still cool. There were two obnoxious kids that sat behind us--they screamed the entire time and kicked the back of our seats all the way there. However, it was only a 50-minute flight, so we were happy to get off when we got to Italy.
We bought our bus tickets to take us into Venice. Lucky for us, our hotel was literally right by the bus station, so we didn't have to grab a water taxi or carry our backpacks over tons of stairs. By the way, I cannot imagine lugging a 50 lb suitcase around Europe.
We stayed at the Hotel Olimpia. It was absolutely dreamy!
The first and only bidet we saw...and no, we didn't use it!
The view from our room.
The courtyard of our hotel was gorgeous! If we would have had more time to relax, this would have been the perfect place.
It rained right when we checked in, so we decided to text our parents and let them know we had made it. We cranked the A/C because it was HOT and humid, and we got settled in. Once the rain stopped, we decided to head out and explore.
The steps up the Rialto Bridge.
View from the Rialto Bridge
View from the Rialto Bridge
We had a map from our Rick Steves book, but the hotel receptionist gave us an even more detailed map of the island. But one thing I had read was that one of the best things to do is to put the map away and just get lost. So that's exactly what we did. We found alleys and dead ends and it was so fun.
We did end up finding a cute little restaurant to have supper at.
Our first Italian meal.
Once we got back to the hotel, we were pretty much drenched in sweat. Ha! We did end up sleeping in a little bit the next morning, but we started the day with a delicious breakfast at our hotel. It's a good thing that we slept in because things didn't open until 9 am.
Their breakfast room was so adorable! I loved it!
We headed back to the Rialto Bridge to get some pictures and then found our way to St. Mark's Square.
I had read in the Rick Steves book that I would need to wear clothes that covered my shoulders and knees. But nowhere else that we had toured enforced that, although it was mentioned for each of the cathedrals we visited. However, he did mention that St. Mark's was a little more strict. So at the last minute, I grabbed my scarf. When we got in line, there were ladies wearing all sorts of outfits, and they were getting in the door. However, once inside, they had to purchase paper covers to cover themselves. So I'm really glad that I stashed that scarf away.
The cathedral itself was beautiful. It was gold. It was made of mosaic tile. It was so different from the other cathedrals we toured, but so cool.
This is a depiction of Jesus' family tree. It was really neat!
This was what music looked like before the treble and bass clef were created.
Doge's Palace is to the left.
Looking out at St. Mark's Square.
We then purchased our tickets to see Doge's Palace and also got entry to the Correr Museum. I was most excited to see Doge's Palace because I had been reading about the Bridge of Sighs. It was also very beautiful.
You can see St. Mark's in the background.
On the Bridge of Sighs looking outward.
On the Bridge of Sighs looking outward.
The Bridge of Sighs
For lunch, we found another restaurant that was tucked away. We loved it.
We headed back towards our hotel for some downtime, but along the way, we checked out some of the shops and even found us some gelato! I continued to take a million pictures of the beautiful canal.
For supper, we decided to try out a restaurant right around the corner of our hotel. I tried gnocchi for the very first time...I had never even heard of it before. I know...I'm sheltered. We sat out near the canal which was very neat.
...and then...my dreams came true.
We went for a gondola ride at dusk.
Y'all...the gondola ride was every bit romantic as I could have imagined! I always dreamed that I would ride a gondola with the love of my life...but to actually ride the gondola with the love of my life was a literal dream come true.
It was peaceful and relaxing and very romantic. The buildings and bridges were so pretty and the water was so smooth. I am pretty sure I had a smile plastered to my face the entire time. Tyler said that it was the best thing about Venice. :)
I loved being in Venice. It is exactly like you see in pictures. There were tons of people there during the day because of the cruise ships that came in, but in the evening, it was peaceful. I think a day and a half was perfect for exploring. It really was amazing.
