Europe Adventure ~ The best and the worst of Europe

We finally headed home. After 20 days, 14 cities, 9 countries, we finally making our home. As much as it has been fun, home is where the heart is. Missing the kids so much, though get to skype with them every single day, not being able to hug and kiss them are already a torture!

We had an early flight out from Paris. 11am to be exact. Why I still say it's early. When you are in a foreign airport, you need to be there ar least 3 hours earlier since we don't know what to expect. Certain airports would have different immigration and custom requirements, therefore, it's better to be early than to be sorry.

While I was waiting for our flight, I slowly recapped the best and the worst of all the places we have been to. Let's see how all this translated into a blog entry :

Airport

The Best ~ Dublin

Why ~ Free wifi (super duper important), clean, systematic with choices of vegetarian food. Comfortable and airport staff were friendly without being prejudiced

The worst ~ I was gonna put Rome airport but decided to include Paris airport as well

Why Rome ~ If you read my Rome entry, the moment we landed on the city, we already have the horror feeling. The queue at the Immigration check point were super long. When we came nearer, we realised only one counter was opened. Can you imagine, an international airport, and only one counter was opened! And when it's about to be our turn, we saw the immigration officer in charger was doing his work slowly while chatting away with his colleague. That made the process slower. I then need to go to the loo, and decided to use the loo at the hotel instead as it was super dirty. And when we finally wanted to get a cab, it was like at Pudu Raya with all this ulats worming all over you offering illegal cabs....I must confessed I was horrified and can't wait to leave the airport

The best food city

It'll be this place in Barcelona at the La Rambla's area. It served the best kebab we have ever tasted. It's just next to a famous paella and tapas place there, very Moroccon and right in front of the florist. Sorry, didn't get to take down the name. Was too busy putting food in our month. After many days not having proper meal, we really enjoyed the food there. Overall, Barcelona had the best makan place. The next day we also enjoyed beriani at this Pakistani place near our hotel

The worst food city 

Rome, of course. All you can see are pizza, pasta and wine. And very limited halal place. We ended up eating at the same place for 3 days simply because that's the cheapest halal place in Rome. Luckily, the bed & breakfast we stayed in offer loads of bread for breakfast, so we ate like there's no tomorrow and stuffed some bread in our bags for later use.

The city with the best scene

As bias as I may sound, of course it's Lucerne. How can you not love Lucerne. Wherever you look, they'll be mountain. The rivers and lakes are so clean with clear water and the air is so fresh. So many pictures we wanna take that we were spoilt for choices. A city which I definitely will come again

Overated city

Don't kill me, my vote will go to Paris. Yes, Paris, the city of love. Apart from Eiffel Tower and the beautiful buildings, I don't find Paris interesting. It's crowded, not so clean and things are expensive. It's a tourist city and a place where you just want to tell people, Yes, I've been to Paris. I may not necessarily like it, but yes, I've been to Paris.

The best shopping place

If you are like me, not really season concious, then it'll be Bicester. It's cheaper, and it's much more conducive to shop there. Wifi is everywhere and it's not too crowded. Nevermind they sell spring collection in summer, to me, a nice bag is a nice bag no matter what the season is. And if the price is right, the bags will definitely look nicer :)

We had a splendid time in Europe that we promised ourselves we will go to some of the cities again. As unbelievable as it may sound, it's not that expensive to go to Europe. Next entry, I'll share with you some tips to make your travelling affordable. Yes peeps. It can be done.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ Love continues to bloom in Paris....

If you go to Europe and you don't go to Paris, then you are not in Europe. At least that's what most people say. When we first drafted our 1st itinerary, we did not put Paris as the last stop. We were supposed to return to London and take flight home. However, since it was near to Olympics, things in London become more expensive and it's beyond our budget. Change of plans, Paris was our last stop in this adventure.

We also decided not to shop too much in other cities and to do some shopping in Paris instead so that it's easier to bring home. But, it was one of the bad choices we made, stuff in Paris was so freaking expensive. One of my wish lists I have in this tour is to get a Prada bag *berangan habis*. I did enter the biggest shopping place Galeries La Fayette. Can you imagine people really queue to enter branded boutiques here. In front of Louis Vuitton the queue was as long as some stalls in Pasar Ramadhan.As if the bags there are that cheap. When it was my turn to enter Prada, I started to look around and saw a bag I like. And guess what, price after conversion was RM5k. I politely said thank you to the sales assistant and left the boutique. Long story short, did not get anything in this shopping mall.

Paris is most beautiful at night. Lights everywhere and it looks so lively. We went for this night cruise and it was one of the best moment in our life. And the best sight was of course Eiffel Tower, all litted looking really bright. We also saw the tower during the day. We still prefer the view at night, it looks much better.

Like other cities, we used the City Sightseeing tour bus to enjoy our day out. The weather was really good, Alhamdulilah. We walked a lot and stopped by at few interesting buildings, enjoying our final day in Paris. We also managed to purchase some gifts for family since we have few more luggage space to spare.

One of the interesting place we visited was this perfume manufacturing place in Paris called Fragonard. We got the chance to see how perfume was made and also the history of perfume. The prices were ok that we bought a few to bring home. I love this one scent, very flowery and sweet smell. They don't sell their perfume out of their store unless you want to buy it online, something I have to do once my perfume finishes. 

Halal food was quite a few in Paris. No problem in locating them, almost all streets in Paris have them We enjoyed our meals mostly at this stretch along the Moulin Rouge theater. No, we didn't go for the theater, too expensive lah. 

Paris was nice, but there are other cities we feel is much better. For the lack of better words apart from the Eiffel Tower, Paris is overrated.To our personal opinion at least.

The fun time is about to end. Though it has been awesome, we can't wait to get home. Missing the kids terribly...

Next entry, the best and the worst of Europe....

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ Godiva anyone?

When I shared with some people one of the destination we will be going to is Brussels, Belgium, almost everyone said I must make sure I go and get some Godiva. Little did I know, Belgium is the land of chocolate. Not surprise since I don't really like chocolate so never bothered to see where  the good ones are produced and sold. Have heard of Godiva, tasted few times but it's just not stuck in my head.

We first stop at the, no, not the chocolate place yet. We stopped at this place called Atonium. Atonium is a monument made from steel and was built for the Brussels World Fair back in 1958. Actually, I did not believe at first it was built in 1958, the design don't look that old to me. But, when I googled it, yes, it was indeed built in 1958. The weather however, was not too kind, so we don't get to spend much time to enjoy the park.

Apart from chocolate, Brussels is also famous for it's wafel. You can have any type of topping you like, chocolate, strawberry or even chicken floss. But, don't be fooled. Despite stating the price is 1 Euro per waffle, that is only if you plan to get the plain ones. Once you decide on the toppings, it can cost you up to 5 Euro. We did not get any, we are just not waffle fan, and besides, we can always eat waffle in Malaysia, at much cheaper price.

Near the waffle place is this statue called Manneken Pis. Made from bronze, this piece built in 17th century was for this boy who saved the city from fire. Don't ask me how true that is, that was mentioned by the locals. We also spent some time in Market Place and Grand Palace where the Godiva shop was located. No, we did not get any. We got plenty courtesy of Qatar Airways, should be enough to go around the family. There is a Hard Rock in Brussels, however, it was not open yet, in fact they were still at recruitment stage. Tempted to apply, but I don't think I look cool for Hard Rock.

Halal food is not a challenge at all. It's more than sufficient and there's quite a large Muslim community in Brussels. When we arrived, so many of them were having picnic at the park that I felt I was in a Muslim country. So, no issue on that.

Apart from the interesting places I mentioned above, nothing much we get to explore in Brussels. Perhaps we need more time, Insyallah in future.

The Europe Adventure about to come to an end, with one more city, Paris, of course. 

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ The city where everything pun boleh!

Amsterdam is another city I really looked forward to go to. The last time I was here, it was ages that I vividly remember how the city looks like. However, this time around, I did not schedule us to experience the tulips so for those who are reading this entry expecting tulips photos, I'm sorry. The ones in Oxford were the closest we get as far as tulips are concern. 

To be honest, the moment we arrived in Amsterdam, it looked scary to me. The city is so congested, so many vehicles on the road, particularly thousands of bicycles. This was the most scariest experience throughout our tour where I nearly got hit by a tramp, did not see it coming. I gave my better half quite a scare. Apart from that there were cars, buses, trishaws and pedestrians. Yes, you name it. Everything was on the road of Amsterdam.

In this city, priority is given to those riding bicycle. They have special parking spaces in a form of multistories building, own lanes as well as according to law, if you walk pass the bicycle lanes and got hit, it will always be your fault. You can hear the bicycle rings everywhere. 

We decided to go round the city via trishaw.. It's the safest and fastest way to go anywhere. At first, we thought of being adventurous and wanted to try cycling all over the city but changed our mind instantly the moment we see how chaotic the city was. We were lucky to get a good and reliable trishaw man. He took care of us really well. One time, he hit this guy eating Ben & Jerry ice cream and the ice cream slipped from his hand. Our trishaw man just said sorry and moved on. With his kind of body, I don't think anyone would want to mess with him.

Also, the fact that almost everything is legal here, even the business transaction of weeds. Yes, weeds as in the drug. My better half was so shocked and the first reaction he had was, no way I allow my kids to study here. Apart from that, any business related to sexual activities are also legal. They even have this place called red light district where loads of sex museums, shops and brothels are located. We walked through there briefly but turned back, feeling so gross and dirty! The highlight of the city will of course be the Hard Rock discovery. We can now axed Hard Rock Amsterdam from our check lists.

The next day we visited the country side of Amsterdam. We experienced the windmill, the real one. We entered into one and get to see the what happens in a windmill. They even had a pamphlet in Malay, which the translation is much better than malay documents in Malaysia. And the view from the top of the windmill was simply breath taking. Just beautiful!

We also visited the cheese factory, which doesn't really excite me considering I am lactose intolerant. However, I learnt there are many many type of cheese and there's this thing called blue cheese. Totally ignorant! We also got to experience how cheese is made. Next to the cheese factory was the clog making factory which was totally fascinating. So many beautiful designs and look very nice too. I wanted to get one but the stare my better half gave me stopped me from doing so. Yes, I know, mana nak letak and how many more shoes do I need.

As far as food is concern, not too difficult to find halal food in Amsterdam. There were quite a number of kebab places or you can also opt for vegetarian meals. Amsterdam may not be my favourite city thus far, but it was a good feeling having to experience the kelam kabutness of this place.

2 more cities to go before heading home. Next stop, Brussels!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ Cologne anyone?

After spending a night in Heidelberg, we made our way to Cologne, a transit before we spend a night in Amsterdam. Cologne is another district in Germany and what I was told it's the originator of cologne, as in the perfume. In fact, we saw the first shop selling Cologne in this city.

There's nothing much I can share about this place. We were there for about 3 hours and just walked around the city. I noticed almost all cities in Europe, it will be by a river. And yes, the rivers in Europe are super clean. The water is so clear, at times the colour is clear green, blue or very light brown. And you can see the bottom end of the rivers, that's how clean it is.

One attraction is this bridge crossing the river where people can buy locks and embossed the couples names on it. They locked it at the bridge and throw away the keys in the river. It was believe this is a sign where the couples will be together forever. There were thousands of locks, I wonder how many actually stayed together forever.

While we were walking around, you can see some people giving out flowers. Don't be fooled, it's not for free. The moment you take the flowers from them, they'll as for money, as if you are buying it. We observed this so when this kind of people approached us, we quickly told them no thanks.

Food wise, not easy. Actually, based on our research, halal food in small cities in German is a great challenge. So, like in Colmar, we had vegetarian pizza to satisfy our hunger. And if you are into shopping, there's a lot of designer boutiques in Cologne. LV, Prada, Ferragamo, you just name it. Almost every stores in this city carries exclusive brands. And of course, I did not get any for myself. Was saving shopping when we reached our final destination, Paris.

A new unplanned discover was when we found Hard Rock Cafe by accident. We were checking in via FB in Cologne and stumbled across HRC as one of the check in location. We quickly finish our lunch and walked towards HRC. Such a good and pleasant discovery that was :)

I would strongly recommend Cologne if you are into shopping. Other than that, there's nothing much to see, at least nothing much that interest me.

Wanna know a city where almost everything is legal? Next change, Amsterdam!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ The real Colmar, France

I was quite reluctant to leave Lucerne. Lucerne is so beautiful and peaceful. The air is fresh and the water is clear, not milky like some rivers or lake. How can you not love Lucerne. But, we need to move on to our next location, this time heading to France, to a place called Colmar, like the one in Bukit Tinggi. And this is the real colmar.

It's about 2 hours drive and when we arrived, it was near lunch time. Most of the restaurants were full so we decided to just walk around first while waiting for the lunch crowd to reduce. For those who have been to Colmar Bukit Tinggi, this place look exactly like it. Yes, the exact replica. We were told by one of the locals the same designer from France was the one involved in the development of Colmar, Bukit Tinggi. However, she shared her disappointment for Malaysia to chopped down trees just for the sake of replicating Colmar France when she feels we have loads more heritage building we should showcase. I have to agree with her on that one.

What to do in Colmar? Shopping for authentic stuff! The prices of items here are super cheap even after conversion. I bought a pair of flats and it's cost me only RM40 i.e. 10 euros. It's one of the most comfortable shoes I have worn and my regret for not buying more than one pair. Kept on reminding myself we have few more cities to visit and can't afford to buy too many things.

Food? That's a challenge. Halal food is nowhere to be found so we do the next best thing we know, buy vegetarian food. We ended up eating vegetarian pizza. Mind you, size of pizza in Europe is huge and I don't know how everyone order one pizza each for them. When we ordered just one pizza for the 2 of us, I can sense the waiter looking at us as if we are so kedekut, when the actual fact is we can't finish if we order 2. Price wise, not so expensive compared to other Europe cities we have been so far.

2 most interesting items in Colmar would be the canal ride ala Venice and their very own market. The canal ride will bring you all over Colmar, admiring the herigate building. None of the buildings there are newly built. All are refurbished from the 18th century. It's just a simple small town and how they can convert this to tourist attraction. I wish our country acknowledge this and stop demolishing heritage buildings. This kind of buildings can create an identity for our country and attract more tourists :)

Another place in Colmar I love was the market. The market is super clean, despite having all seafood and poultry stuff, it doesn't smell like a market. They also sold a lot of France bakery stuff like meringue, pretzels and croissant.

We spent about 4 hours here before making our way to the next destination, Amsterdam, where everything is legal. Well, almost everything!

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Europe Adventure ~ Switzerland, I'm in love

After Black Forest, we traveled to Switzerland. Unlike other European countries, Switzerland is not binded by EU. So, we were about to cross the border, there's a checkpoint for the bus driver to declare the passengers he has onboard and there's a certain amount of toll he needs to pay. So, if you plan to drive yourself, please remember this.

I was really excited to go to Switzerland. It has always been a country I want to visit. We were quite careful on the cities in Switzerland we choose to visit and Lucerne received lots of good reviews. So, Lucerne it is. The traveling from Black Forest was not a long one, about an hour and a half.

Switzerland is famous for its snowy mountain, chocolates and of course the Swiss watches and knives. We also thought of getting some to bring home. However, I must warn you. Spending money in Switzerland to buy anything is expensive. And please be prepared with your Swiss Franc cause Switzerland don't use Euro. Though in term of currency exchange, Euro is more expensive, but due to the high cost of living, things are more expensive in Switzerland if you convert to Malaysia Ringgit.

When we arrived, we immediately check in to our hotel called Schweizerhof. This is the only posh hotel we stayed in through out our European journey. We really wanted to enjoy Switzerland so we decide to spend abit more money here. After checking in, we did not waste time. We went for a walk around Lucerne, which by the way is not very big town. Walking across the wooden Chapel bridge is of course mandatory. There's quite a few of halal kebab place near our hotel so food is not a major concern. But, be prepared to spend nearly RM100 for a simple meal.

The next day, we started our day early. We were headed to Mount Pilatus. I know many people recommended Mount Titlis, but I am totally afraid of cable cars, and considering that's the only way to got up Mount Titlis, I gave it a pass. We planned our excursion to Mount Titlis.

The journey there was FUN!! We took a boat from our hotel, about an hour ride. The journey gave us an awesome view of the villages as well as many many mountains. We then took a train up the mountain, about 30 minutes ride but it's far much more stable than a typical cable car.

Mount Pilatus is about 1635 metre high. Please allow the pictures to do the talking as the view was beyond words.

Lucerne is one city we will obviously want to come again too. Remember to mark this in your map, as you should also aspire to come here one day, Insyallah.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com