Gondola ~ Venice

Here is just the highlights and photos.pls refer to :
http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2013/04/detailed-itinerary-venice-from-paris.html and http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2013/04/detailed-budget-15-days-europe-paris.html
for itinerary and budget.

What is in your mind when people mentioned Venice? Gondola? Canal??

Dang Dang Dang... These are how Venice looks like :

Is just so amazing... But please avoid to go to Venice in summer as the water smell not really good. We went during spring, so the weather just nice ..not too hot and not too cold.

The hotel we stayed is San Lio Square (110 euro/nite). Quite a decent place.



From the Piazzale Roma  we have to take the waterbus to our Hotel. Unless you willing to pay for the private water taxi like Angeliona Jolie in 'The Tourist" movie.


Private taxi :

For budget traveller like me, we use the waterbus

.

And stop at the 'bus stop' as such:

Bring as little baggage as you can in Venice as you cant really use a trolley bag here. There are a lots of stairs and uneven stone road. Suggest to take a bagpack..

The must visit places:

Rialto Bridge – The most famous bridge over the Grand Canal – and shopping of souvenirs near the market.

Bridge of Sighs – Behind the Doge’s Palace, you can access it only via a tour of the palace; it leads from the palace court straight to the prison

Piazza San Marco – Venice’s most popular square, often full of tourists but clears out beautifully at night

Palazzo Ducale – Next door to St. Mark’s Basilica

St. Mark’s Square

St. Mark’s Basilica –amazing church. It’s free to enter, and free to book the entry time.

Doge’s Palace (right next door to St. Mark’s)

Campanile (bell tower) in front of St. Mark’s

Just walk around the island, you dont need a map. Just walk which ever way you feel like going and you will discover new things and scene in this island.

Food and snacks we prefer in Venice:

delicious gelato

euro $2.50/ piece pizza!



Popular drink in Venice ~ Spritz - white wine, fizzy water, and orange-red aperol, SanBitter or Campari

Do at lease 3 days 2 nites trip in Venice, to enjoy the sunrise and sunset in Venice. 2 days 1 nite is just too rush.





Destination - City of love and romance - Paris

Here is just the highlights and photos.pls refer to :
http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2013/04/detailed-itinerary-paris-from-rome.html and http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2013/04/detailed-budget-15-days-europe-paris.html
for itinerary and budget.

The city of love and romance ~ Paris.

ok, there is one place that you cannot miss if you going Paris which is Effiel Tower!
If you plan to go up to Effiel Tower, please PLEASE buy your ticket online :http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/ . Book your time and be there earlier. If not you will have to queue for few hours. We went there to see sunset, so after sunset , we went for the Seine River cruise. Remember to take some nice photos of Effiel Tower at night. You can also have a romantic picnic at night at the fields near Effiel Tower.

Cathedral Notre Dame

Arc de Triomphe

Louvre Museum

We get the 2 days Paris Museum Pass for Louvre Museum,Musee d'Orsay,Cathedral Notre Dame ,Arc de Triomphe @ 35 euro last time. But I just checked the website: http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-the-pass-price-36.htm.  Now it costs 39 euro.You have to calculate the costs vs benefits before you buy this pass, ie plan how many museum you plan to visit. With this museum pass, you can go to the museum using the fast lane.

We went to the Paris Disneyland. The Paris Disneyland is much smaller compared to the HK. So if you have been the HK Disney or any other Disneyland, you can skip this.

One of the French Restaurant we went twice during our 6 days Paris trip is this Bouillion Chartier Restaurant:

The food taste great and the price is reasonable, ard 20 euro/pax with wine.

For shopping, we went to  Champs-Elysées for the branded bags! If you want to buy Longchamp, go to the upper floor in Champs-Elysées mall, you will get more variety there and you can avoid the long queue as compared in the Ground floor.



Detailed Itinerary - Barcelona (from Paris)

Date/ Time		Details
Fri 22/4	2225-2355	Depart from Paris to Barcelona Paris Beauvais (BVA) to Girona (Barcelona) (GRO) ,Ryanair Beauvais: Ryan Air operates a service between Beauvais airport and the 17th arrondissement in Paris. Beauvais airport is about 40 miles from Paris and driving time is approximately one hour. When arriving in Beauvais, follow the signs to the bus, it leaves 20 minutes after flight arrivals. When departing France, you can catch the Ryan Air Coach at "Paris-Beauvais-Shop", 1, boulevard Pershing, close to Metro: Porte Maillot. The bus leaves 2.5 - 3 hours before the scheduled flight time.There is no other scheduled transportation to Beauvais airport, so if you miss the bus you will need to arrange your own transportation. Stay near Barcelona Airport
Sat 23/4 Barcelona, Spain		From Girona to Barcelona, Spain Take bus from Girona to Barcelona Bus stop at estacio del nord bus station.take metro Arc de Triomf Estació del Nord ( Main bus station) Take the Red Line ( L.1) and get off at Plaça Universitat (hotel). 1) Catalonia Plaza: statues, fountains and shopping 2) From Catalonia Plaza to the south, towards the La Rambla Boulevard 3) From the end of the La Rambla boulevard to the Gohtic quarter. Visit Catedral de Barcelona 4) The return way from the Gohtic quarter is finished at the Catalonia Plaza and from there continue now to the north, to the Eixample quarter and Passeig de Gracia street where are many stores and architectural work of art such as Casa Batiio and others.
Sun 24/4 Barcelona, Spain		Barcelona, Spain Barcelona stadium (Metro: Collblanc –Blueline L5) Gaudi's Casa Mila (Metro:Diagonal-Greenline L3 /Blueline L5), Font Montjuic (Magic Fountain) on the top of Montjuic hill (Metro:Placa Espanya –Greenline L3/redline L1)
Mon 25/4 Barcelona, Spain		Barcelona, Spain Sagrada Familia temple (Metro: Sagrada Familia temple- blueline/purple),  Shopping near hotel n hardrock
Tue 26/4 paris	1330-1530	Walk from hotel to Catulunya metro- T2-to airport Flight 3918 Barcelona (Terminal 2) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (Terminal 2B) Dep: 26 April 2011 13:30-1530 Check in opens: 11:30 -12.50 Barcelona to Paris Charles de Gaulle (1hr to town)

Detailed Itinerary - Paris (from Rome)

Date/ Time		Details
Sun 17/4 Paris	1100 1215 1515-1715 1900	Take bus Reach airport (40min) Flight 428: Rome Ciampino to Paris Orly (Terminal Sud): Check in opens: 13:15-14.35 The RER B (suburban train) connects to Orly airport via the Orlyval airport train. Follow the signs from Orly Ouest or Orly Sud to "Orlyval", then from the Antony train station, connect to the RER B, direction Paris. If need be, you can then connect to the Paris metro at stations Denfert Rochereau, Saint-Michel, Chatelet-les-Halles, or Gare du Nord. Departs: every 7-10 minutes, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Price: 9.60 Euros (note that you must buy a special ticket from an RATP ticketer at the airport). The RER C (suburban train) connects to Orly Airport via shuttles that leave from the Porte de Rungis station. From the airport, take a shuttle to Porte de Rungis, then the RER C to Paris. Departs: Shuttles for Porte de Rungis leave every 15 minutes, 5:45 a.m.- 11:15 p.m., from gate G- quai 1 at Orly Sud and from the arrival level at Orly Ouest. Price: 5.65 Euros each way (approx. $7.50) Rome Ciampino to Paris Orly Montmartre Village, a mere 5 minute walk from Sacre Coeur, and just 2 minutes from metro station Pigalle/Abbesse. the adress is 76, rue des martyres and it a dead end witch is Rue André Gill. Reach hotel
Mon 18/4 Paris		Eiffel Tower -7th arrondissement (Metro: Bir Hakeim or Trocadero (Line 6), Ecole Militaire (Line 8), RER: Champs de Mars-Tour Eiffel (Line C) ) Seine River Cruise
Tue 19/4 Paris		Louvre Museum-1st arrondissement (Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (Line 1)) Musee d'Orsay- 7th arrondissement (Metro: Solferino (Line 12) RER: Musee d'Orsay (Line C)) Designer Shopping in the Rue Saint-Honoré district
Wed 20/4 Paris		Cathedral Notre Dame - Notre Dame Cathedral-4th arrondissement (Metro: Cité or Saint-Michel (Line 4)RER: Saint-Michel (Line C) Arc de Triomphe-8th arrondissement (Metro: Charles de Gaulle Etoile (Line 1, 2 or 6)RER: Charles de Gaulle Etoile (Line A))
Thu 21/4 Paris		Disneyland
Fri 22/4 Paris		Free &easy shopping Montmartre Depart from Paris to Barcelona

Detailed Itinerary - Rome (from Venice)

Date/ Time		Details
Fri 15/4 Rome, Italy	0550 0645 0845-0950 1030 1230	To reach bus station To reach airport Fly from Venice Marco Polo to Rome Fiumicino (terminal 2) Flight 984, check in:6.45-8.05 From airport to hotel by bus (70mins) just minutes from the main Railways station 'Termini' and Metro Line 'A' & 'B' 'Termini' Metropolitan Train Line FM1 Route: Airport station - Ponte Galeria (change here for trains to Fiumicino Citta) - Muratella - Magliana - Villa Bonelli - Roma Trastevere - Roma Ostiense - Roma Tuscolana - Roma Tiburtina – changed to ROME metro line B Timings: Runs Mon-Sat every 15 mins 0627 -2127 and also at these times: 0557, 2157, 2227, 2257 & 2327. On Sundays every 30 mins 0557 -2327. You can transfer to the Rome Metro system at Ostinense. Transfer to the tram system at Trastevere (direction Largo Argentina for the Colosseum & Pantheon). Trams cost €1, buy tickets at cafes and kiosks. Cost: Ticket price €5.50 one way to the city. Transfer time to Roma Tiburtina 30 -40 mins. To Trastevere ~30 mins. Hotel check in Vatican City (Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica) – Catholic Church World Headquarters Access: Rome bus lines #40 or #64 which both stop near St. Peter’s Basilica; Metro stop Cipro-Musei Vaticani is the closest to the Vatican Museum and is about a 10-minute walk from the museum’s front door. Spanish Steps – This fantastic staircase is a hopping meeting point at night Trevi Fountain – Fantastic fountain. Must go at night.
Sat 16/4 Rome, Italy		Rome, Italy Forum, Colosseum and Palatine Hill to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. A day spent visiting those sights (and the views of the Forum from Capitol Hill) is a day spent walking – a lot. Forum Location: Main entrance on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, but there’s another at Via San Gregorio 30. How to Get There: Colosseo Metro stop, bus lines 60, 75, 85, 87, 95, or 175 Admission Fee: €11 (This is a ticket that covers the Forum, the Colosseum, & Palatine Hill, and it’s good for 48 hours.) Hours: Daily, 09:00-19:00 (or one hour before dark) Palatine Hill and Colosseum Hours: Daily, 09:00-19:00 (or one hour before sunset) Admission: €9, covers Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Palatine Museum within 24 hours Location: Next to the Roman Forum and the Circus Maximus in central Rome; main entrance is near the Arch of Titus and Colosseum, a second entrance is on Via di San Gregorio Metro stop: Colosseo

Detailed Itinerary Venice (from Paris)

Date/ Time		Details
Wed 13/4 Venice, Italy	9:00AM 14:00- 15:40 1630 1700	Arrived at Paris Orly South Terminal Paris Orly (Terminal Sud) to Venice Marco Polo(Flight 4295) Dep: 14:00 -1540 Check in opens: 12:00-13:20 Taking a Bus from Venice Airport to Venice and then to Hotel A one-way ticket on the Venice Express is €3 (you can get a round-trip ticket for €5.50), and the trip takes only 20-30 minutes from the airport to the Piazzale Roma. ATVO’s Venice Express buses run roughly every 30 minutes from the Venice Airport starting at 08:20 (the last bus leaves the airport at 00:20). Buses from Piazzale Roma start running at 05:00, and the last bus leaves Venice for the airport at 20:50. You can buy tickets in the baggage area of the arrivals hall at the automatic machines (they’re blue with a yellow ATVO logo), at the ATVO ticket office in the arrivals hall, or at ATVO machines just outside the airport where the buses actually depart from. Shuttle bus (ACTV or ATVO) to the Piazzale Roma and then take the waterbus line 1 or 82 to the RIALTO stop. From RIALTO:walk through S. Bortolomeo Square and S. Lio Square - 10 meters before the San Lio Square you'll find a green door on the right side of the street. (6.50) Hotel check in Rialto Bridge – The most famous bridge over the Grand Canal – and shopping of souvenirs near the market. Bridge of Sighs – Behind the Doge’s Palace, you can access it only via a tour of the palace; it leads from the palace court straight to the prison Piazza San Marco – Venice’s most popular square, often full of tourists but clears out beautifully at night Palazzo Ducale – Next door to St. Mark’s Basilica
Thu 14/4 Venice, Italy		Venice, Italy St. Mark’s Square St. Mark’s Basilica –amazing church. It’s free to enter, and free to book the entry time. Doge’s Palace (right next door to St. Mark’s) Campanile (bell tower) in front of St. Mark’s