That Epic Holiday

Over the past month I've been on a well-deserved holiday, accompanying my parents as they explored Europe for the first time. It's been quite an adventure for all of us as we went into tourist mode for over three weeks, something we often do not have a chance to do. My parents are not big travellers or holiday-makers and I've cut down on my overseas travelling due to my marathon training commitments. But when the opportunity arose we went into it with great enthusiasm. Let me share some highlights.

Highlights

Climbing the Eiffel tower (for the second time)

View of Paris, Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysées, from the top of the Eiffel tower.

Sound of Music tour (also for the second time, are you sensing a trend here?)

Schloss Leopoldskron, or the rear and lakeside terrace of the Von Trapp family mansion in the movie The Sound of Music.

Taking in the stunning scenery in Bern and Lucerne

The Chapel Bridge, with Mt Pilatus in the background.

Exploring the canals of Venice and having a rather expensive coffee in St. Marks Square

Sunset and the Grand Canal on the Rialto Bridge.

A rather expensive coffee in St. Marks Square.

Taking in the historic sights and sites of Rome

A view of St. Peter's Piazza from the top of St. Peter's Basilica.

Inter railing between cities and countries

On our way to Milan, Italy, from Bern, Switzerland. Here, the train makes a stop at Brig, just before the Swiss/Italian border.

There were only two instances where we flew between cities. The preferred mode of travel between cities was train, and taking all sorts of trains (Eurostar, Thalys, Intercity and Eurocity) between cities and countries was very cool indeed. We had no problems with service delays and other incidents, it was just a pleasant experience to sit on the train, relax and watch the scenery fly by.

Lowlights 

Of course there were some lowlights too. Such as:

Nearly getting pickpocketed in Paris. Almost five minutes on arrival at Gare du Nord, Paris, we were approached by a couple of con-artists asking for "signatures" on their petition. Foolishly, I read their petition while they tried getting very close to me and my parents. I managed to have the presence of mind to walk away at the last minute, and while they kept following us pleading for a signature, we managed to shake them off. So sad to see this sort of stuff happening.

Hay fever attack in Rome. Not sure what was in the air in Rome; I was sneezing so hard with itchy eyes and runny nose, slightly dampening the Rome experience. It didn't happen in other towns, so why Rome?

Delayed flights. The two flights we had booked were both delayed by 2-4 hours, so heaps of waiting at Amsterdam Schiphol and Berlin Tegel.

My food and drink voucher given to me by easyJet. Admittedly it wasn't really enough for a 4 hour delay.

All in all, it's been a great three weeks where I've managed to enjoy quality time with my folks, just as much as they've enjoyed seeing my side of the world. Now back at work, supposedly recharged and more focused? Or maybe needing a bit more holiday to recover from this one!

To be continued, so stay tuned for more.