11 days. 4 Countries. Part One.
Before I went onto my first overseas trip to Finland, my husband and I had finally gotten our shit together and booked our first European vacation. I planned it by myself—flights, hotels, tours… I’m the planner and my husband is the navigator.
At first we were surprised with how cheap flights to the UK were. As a musician, my husband was thrilled about seeing London and feeling the British vibes. We also chose the UK to start, obviously because of the language. We decided 4 days there would be enough to recover from jet lag, get situated and still have time to explore.
Our itinerary was jam packed with all the tourist spots. We left from CLE and flew to Newark for our layover before landing in London. (15 years later, I avoid Newark AT ALL COSTS). It was April, and as most of us know, that’s the rainy season—which was probably why flights were cheap, major thunderstorms were rolling in, and our flight was delayed by a few hours.
Thankfully, since London Heathrow was our final stop, we didn’t have to worry about missing any connecting flights. Once again, I had packed a large luggage, thinking there’s no way in hell I was going to spend 11 days in Europe and only have a small carryon. Let me tell you—dragging a full sized luggage down the cobblestone streets of London is absolutely fucking awful. My husband and I had no idea how to use the metro, and I was certainly still traumatized from being stranded in Stockholm, so we walked.
Cobblestone streets in London, near Tower Bridge
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no reason for you to be dragging a full sized luggage through the streets of anywhere, unless you’re moving.
We made our way through the sites, pubs and gardens and all of it was just mesmerizing. All of this was here, before the USA was even a thing, I felt so sheltered in my way of thinking about other countries and the people who there. This experience was changing who I was at the core.
I’d highly recommend Westminster Abbey. Buy tickets online and you’ll pass all the poor souls who don’t know how to use the internet and wait in line. Don’t be that person. If you have a ticket (it can be on your phone), you walk right up, show your ticket and walk on in. We saw the palace, the war rooms, big ben—several gardens and we walked through SoHo, covent garden, Waterloo, Westminster and St. Kathrines. I’d say four days (losing one to jet lag) was the perfect amount of time to be here.
From London, we took the Chunnel to Paris. We only had 1.5 days (2 nights) in Paris and I can confidently say, we were seriously nervous when we arrived. I can look back now and laugh, thinking about what travel babies we both were.
My husband and I stepped out of the train, me with my massive suitcase, looked around for the exit. “What the fuck is a Sortie? And how the hell do we get out of here?” There were so many paths leading in different directions, people moving in every which way, not many of them speaking English.
And here, my dear reader, is where you learn a new French word. Sortie means exit.
Paris was a whole new ball game. The metro—fucking MASSIVE. And to make it even crazier, Paris has 20 arrondissements (think little towns) and they are laid out in a giant clockwise spiral starting right in the center of the city at the Louvre, like a snail shell. Hoooollllyyyy shit. We were frozen like a deer in the headlights.
Paris Metro Map.
Thank god for Google Maps, and wearing sneakers (ladies, leave your cute shoes at home!) because we walked to our hotel. Again, dragging my massive suitcase down cobblestone roads.
The hotel staff spoke English, and we checked into our room which was decked out in red and green striped wallpaper, gaudy ass furniture and a bed, well… it was a bed. It was manageable for two nights.
Our next mission was dinner. We were both so terrified, not knowing the language, and we didn’t know how to get around. We heard that Parisians didn’t want to speak English and were rude to Americans, so we walked around until we saw a British flag on a pub and decided we would go for it.
In hindsight, we again, were such travel babies. I have learned now over my years of traveling that people don’t bite, and if there is a miscommunication you just say thank you (Merci!) and try again with someone else.
The woman who ran the restaurant could feel our anxiety and she greeted us in English. We were so thankful for that, we left her a $10 tip.
Now, as you may or may not know, Europe pays their restaurant workers full wages. Tips are not expected, nor will you be rushed from your table. You have to request your check to get one, or you’ll be sitting there all night long.
During the full day we had in Paris, we wandered the streets, taking in all of the architecture. We saw Notre Dame (before it burned down), walked the Seine River—did the whole love lock on the bridge thing—and ended our evening with dinner atop the Eiffel Tower.
Locks on bridge fence in Paris
This was an experience. It was a pricey 3-course meal with lots of other tourists, and now that I’m more traveled, I’d opt for a cruise dinner on the Seine at night instead.
The next day, I packed up my big ass suitcase and we headed for Amsterdam!