I am in the process of planning the Europe trip. We are planning to go sometime in 2010. Spring or early summer. There are so many places I want to see, so I have been trying to narrow it down as best I can. Here is what I know....
1. I want to go on the Sound of Music Tour-- Salzburg
2. I want to see Mozart's Birthplace and House, and where he composed the Salzburg Symphonies and parts of The Magic Flute. --Salzburg
3. See as many places from the Sound of Music movie as possible-- Salzburg.
So that is what I know. Salzburg is a go. The rest is up in the air. Other thoughts....
1. During college, studying music history, I had a huge desire to go to Venice, Italy. I know I want to see at least one city in Italy. But which one....
2. Ryan has never been to Ireland and Scotland, and I hear good things about them, so I that is an option.
3. I want to see London..Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and also we could see Broadway shows, which I LOVE.
4. Paris is an option, and Ryan says we could see it in 2 days max. I want to see the Eiffel Tower, of course.
5. I also don't want to overwhelm myself, but I don't want to waste a trip where I get to pick where we go. Decisions, decisions!
So many thoughts....Can't decide! I need a first time Europe survival counselor.
So that's where I stand. Back to my research!
Much love,
Allison
Most people I know that have been to Italy said Venice was their least fav. We went last May and I loved Florence, then Rome, Naples was ok. I've heard Cinque Terra is amazing and am sad we didn't get to go there. Barcelona is really awesome too if you like architecture. Can't speak for Salzburg but Ireland and Scotland are really cool. How long will you be in Europe?
ReplyDeleteI have so many ideas for you :)
ReplyDelete-Paris or London take a bike tour www.fattirebiketours.com it's not very strenuous and you have american guides so you can actually understand what they're saying
-Italy: I liked just seeing the major Rome attractions (Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, etc) and I LOVED the Cinque Terre. We stayed in a small town just next to it called Lerici and it was great because it wasn't crowded with tourists but it was just as beautiful as the actual 5 cities.
I didn't go to the other places you mentioned, but I had friends that took the Sound of Music tour and really enjoyed it. I'm so happy that your planning your trip!!
THANK YOU! These are great ideas!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Sound of Music Tour is totally awesome if you are a big fan like me, so def do that! Venice was one of my favorite places as well. The Cinqa Terra is sooo beautiful so I would go there if I was you!
ReplyDeleteI would pick between Paris and London, you need more time in London to see anything, so if you're going for a couple of weeks, I'd do Paris for 2 days, take a train to Vienna, becuase I love it there so much, spend a coupld of days there, then take the train to Salzburg, another one of my favorite and stay 2 days there, then go to Italy. Each city is not that far apart, so I would spend a day in Venice, then take the train that night to florence, spend a day or two there, then swing by the cinque terra, because it is awesome, then go to rome....there is really too much to see! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAl!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I know it's been awhile since you posted this--
I went backpacking through Europe summer after senior year of college--and you MUST go to Salzburg. We also went to Vienna (in Austria) to see the Vienna Boy's Choir--they sing every Sunday at mass. If you just want to hear them (not see them) you can buy tickets for 7 euro (or something kinda small like that) and sit in a small room with a screen. But you can hear them! And they're great! Otherwise, we fell asleep when we were in Vienna because we woke up so early to hear the boy's choir! :)
I definitely recommend Italy. And Cinque Terre. GORGEOUS. I have now been there twice and always think of it fondly. I also recommend Florence and Venice--I thought Venice was really neat and very different from any other part of Italy (the architecture is Turkish inspired, so it's much different from the rest of the places we went). And Rome is just wonderful as well. If you go anywhere northern (Paris, Berlin--my fave, London, etc.) you should look up NEW EUROPE TOURS online. It's a free walking tour in English (tip based) that just gives great tours. We took their tours wherever we could! Hope this helps! :)
Also, I went to Barcelona for the first time just a few weeks ago, and wish I could go back. The architecture there (a lot of work by Gaudi--amazing!) is really cool as well.