Euro Trip

May 27

The start of our Europe sojourn – the much awaited 2 week hiatus in the continent I always wanted to holiday in – began at 1a.m in the morning. As usual I had to start off with an adventure – coz I got home after a long day at work, followed by a crazy party with friends, and barely had time to do any packing. Thankfully Geeta took care of most of it, and we got to the airport on time.

We were flying Royal Jordanian, and people were joking asking if the flight would even take off! But not only did it take off, it was one really neat flight too – very cool in-flight entertainment, smooth landing, and of course – booze on the menu!

Only thing off with the flight was the stopover at Amman airport – now that is one arid desert! No plant, the few we saw anyway, seemed to grow taller than 2 feet!

Anyway, we reached Amsertdam airport at 1:30p.m Holland Time, and found our way to Marriot Hotel where we were staying – thanks to Tunu. He managed to do this even during mine and Bala’s stay in NYC, and this trip he got in to some of the coolest hotels in Europe – ones that we may have never been able to afford on our own. So, it started with Marriot – a hotel strategically located in a place called Leidsepelin – which was walking distance from canal rides, Vondel Park, the Heineken Brewery, Leidsepelin square – where all the big concerts take place, and of course, the infamous RLD.

We met up with Shreyas and Neha and Murtuz, and had a really nice evening in Amsterdam. Tunu and Archana couldn’t come out as they fell sick in Paris before getting to Amsterdam. The rest of us did everything Amsterdam had to offer J

May 28

After a long night of partying – the perfect start to the trip, we decided to just loaf around the neighbourhood. Shreyas and Neha had left to Barcelona in the morning, and we were to take the flight with Tunu and Arch in the night.

So we almost did a repeat of the previous day till about 6p.m, after which we went back to Marriot to check out and catch our Vueling Airline flight.

There were quite a few things we could have done at Amsterdam, especially considering the proximity to these places from Marriott – like the Heineken Brewery Experience, a Canal ride, and visit to the Hard Rock Amsty. But somehow none of us felt too up for doing much this day and just chilled and walked around town till we departed.

May 29

We reached Barcelona at 1a.m in the night and took a cab to Hilton – yup, thanks to Tunu again! But this hotel seemed to be a bit of a mess. Unlike Amsterdam where Geeta and I even checked in on our own in spite of the booking being made by Tunu, at Hilton, there was limit on the number of people in one room, and the guys there made a bit of an issue with 4 of us moving into one room.

Anyway, we got to know about this only after we slept and woke up – and Tunu and I had to make a reservation for another room for the second night stay – which he managed to pull off as he had enough points to go ahead with it.

So we did it, grudgingly though, given the predicament the hotel put us in at the last moment.

Anyway, the day at Barcelona was good fun though. Started off with a usual walk down the Ramblas, and ended with the best ever party we were to have for the entire trip!

So we caught up with Shreyas and Neha who had got in earlier, and 6 of us went to a beach near Barceloneta station. We walked down and hit a restaurant that looked like a proper local joint – we wanted to enter a place like this to get an authentic experience. What turned out was the best experience Barcelona could have offered us.

It started with us drinking and having Tapas at the restaurant. The Tapas were the kind we have never had before. Can’t say we liked it too much – coz the Potatoes (Bravas as they are called) was too thick and the Octopus (Pullo) was too under-cooked. But Joequim, our super friendly waiter who could not speak a single word of English but still an awesome job communicating with us, served us not one, but two rounds of local Spanish tequila for us (the drink was yellow in colour, and tasted a lot better than the regular Tequila we have) and by the end of it – every one of us was super high.

Next there was a party! Yup, a party right on the streets! This was almost like in the movies – and we were seriously lucky to be a part of this.

So the local communities dress up in traditional clothes, to honour an old tradition where their fore-fathers went hunting in the mountains, and start a march towards the foothills of the mountains. So what was once a means of survival, is today a reason to party for the common folk – and we were only too happy!

So we joined the happy crowd, kept buying drinks on the way, partied with all sorts of people, and were just having a blast. Geeta whacked a mast that one guy was carrying and dancing, Archana and Neha were busy dancing with some freak chicks – ones with rings, tattoos and netted stockings, and Shreyas, man, he was just out of it! Tunu and I were the responsible boys, standing to a corner, handling everyones bags and cameras, while the rest of them partied like mad.

Soon Shreyas was falling all over the place, and we had to pretty much carry him to a cab. There was one time he took a fall, and properly too Neha down with him as well. That was when we realized party is getting a little out of hand, and we needed to head back home. But this was only the start of our troubles!

The moment we dragged Shreyas to the main road, I realized that my wallet has been snitched. Geeta and I traced our steps back through the streets, to the place we partied, but couldn’t find it anywhere. So we got back, and noticed Archana too out of it, and throwing up on peoples feet.

So Geeta and I went about calling cabs – Tunu and Arch took the first one and left. We both decided to drop Shreyas and Neha and then get back to Hilton. We had to pass 3 cabs before one stopped for Shreyas, as they just wouldn’t take a guy pretty much making love to the roads falling all over it. Finally, one nice guy stopped for us, and he even gave us a pit-stop en route for Shreyas to throw up for the 20^th time that night.

We finally got back to Hilton super late, checked on Tunu and Arch, and called it a night.

May 30

Tunu and Arch were up early and having breakfast at the lounge when we met them. They both seemed totally out of it and supremely hungover. They were to leave early that day to Venice too. Geeta and I were staying over 2 more days in Spain, before getting back together with them in Rome.

So we checked out soon too, and headed to our room in Barcelona. It sure was a huge shift from the Hilton, but a neat cozy place in any case. After dropping our luggage there, we took a walk and had a good Spanish lunch at a place run by Chinese! But they did serve up quite a neat Paella (a typical Spanish dish that could easily be called a Seafood Biryani!). We peacefully enjoyed the meal, and then caught up with Shreyas and Neha at the Sagradia Familia church. Beautiful architecture it was – one of those unfinished masterpieces as Mr. Sagradaia  from the Gaudi family died before he could finish it. But it just didn’t seem worth spending 20Euros per person to enter it. So we just did a round outside the church and then headed to Castle Montjuik – entailed a cable car ride to the top of a hill, from where you get an awesome view of the port on one side, and Barcelona town on the other.

We spent some time here, then took another trip to the beach, and finally headed back to the Ramblas for one last Barcelona meal and some shopping, as we were heading to Ibiza the next day.

May 31

“We’re going to Ibiza – we’re going to party” I think those were the lyrics to that song – and man, was it a party in Ibiza! So much so that as we were landing, the guy next to us kept saying “Lets hit the party, lets hit the party”. We flew Ryan Air, and our maiden trip on this flight was an adventure in itself. We needed to ensure our bags fit their standards, and even if its an inch bigger, we would have to pay extra, then we had to pretty much run into the flight, coz its open seating, and try to get seats together. The flight itself plays a “victory” trumpet on landing as if to literally say that it actually managed to land us safely! Was one helluva experience.

But nothing compared to what Ibiza had to offer us. Now this was Goa on steroids! Sometime even literally! But it really was a pumped up Goa – super happening clubs, awesome beaches, supremely hot looking people, in even hotter clothes, or the lack of it, depending on whether you were at a beach or a club.. all in all, it was just too much of an eyeful for all of us. We sat at the famous Café Del Mar, coz the even more famous Café Mambo had a 60Euro entry charge, and watched the famous Ibiza sun set sipping on some beer. Then we headed to dinner, and finally toured around some of the happening Ibiza clubs, and called it a night for some much needed rest.

June 1

Took a bus to a beach called Cala Blassa, which was the mother of the beach Cala Gracio where we went the previous day. Coz the number of topless women was simply too enormous to fathom in this one. People were so friendly too out here, they kept offering to take photos of us, as if we ourselves couldn’t contain ourselves from taking enough photos!

But what was even better that the people on the beach, was the beach itself. It was as good as a swimming pool, given the complete lack of waves in it. The temperature also was perfect, and Shreyas, Neha and I swam around for a while, before Geeta and I rushed back to our Hotel to get ready and check out of Ibiza to head to Rome.

On the journey back, we saw people sunbathing all over the place – including the bus stops! There were girls walking around town in bikinis, and there would be boards outside shops and buses saying “Please wear your shirt when you enter” – man, this place was just something else. I would call it a must-visit when on a Europe Trip, and definitely for longer than the one day that Geeta and I spent there.

Well, we bid a sad adieu to Ibiza and went on to Rome. This place was only going to get better, coz we stayed at the very famous Rome Hilton Cavalieri this day.

We got there around 9 and checked in – and the room was one of the best we’ve ever seen. The Hotel itself was on top of a hill, and there was a huge balcony from where you get a splendid view of nearly the entire city – everything from the Vatican city to the “wedding cake” was visible from here.

Geeta and I had the Chinese food that Tunu had ordered for us – both of us wondering why we are having Chinese in the best place for food in Europe, but nonetheless, enjoyed the food sitting in the balcony with all of Rome sprawled in front of us.

June 2

Stepped out early and headed straight to the Vatican City. On the way, Tunu wanted to eat at  Mac-D, but we thankfully found a Pizza place before he dragged us to another non-Italian joint, and this time, he was glad too, coz the Pizzas we had was simply stunning. It was at this place called Panificio Mosca, on the parallel street to the entry of Museu Vatican, and I’m not sure if this would be on a lonely planet or a Trip Advisor, but it sure should, coz it was one of those heavily crowded local joints of Rome, where Pizzas were sold by weight with a per-gram price on it. We totally enjoyed this first Italian meal, the many that was to follow in our 5 day stay of Italy.

Vatican Museum was really neat, with the highlight obviously being the Sistine Chapel. It really was something to watch. You could stare at the ceiling till your neck hurt, and watch the whole thing in total amazement.

We then went into the Vatican church which had a really long waiting line, and when we enquired with the usher as to how long it would take to get in – he tells us in typical Italian style “This line, ees nothing. 20 minutes, tats all” He delivers the line slowly, with the typical Italian arm movements we have seen in all the Godfather movies. Man, the one thing I loved about Italy apart from the food, was this style of the Italians – it was seriously impressive – Mafioso impressive.

After the Vatican Church, we had lunch at a typical touristy restaurant. Geeta and I had Conolenni and Pasta here. Totally loved it! Then we took a cab to the Colloseum. We did the cab in all of Rome, coz places were so close and there were 4 of us, so it always worked out between 1.5-2Euros per person, which is what we would have spent in the trains anyway. Only, we realized nobody really pays on trains and buses, and even water-taxis in all of Italy, but of course, we didn’t risk that too often though.

Colloseum was awesome too - I took an audio guide here to learn a bit of history, and got to know why the Colloseum is called so (and no, its not because its colossal!) and why it looks as hammered as it does..

We finally bought Firewood Pizzas from a store on the way, along with some alcohol from an Italian wine store, where we got to savor some local Italian Liquers as well, and headed back to our hotel room, for a last night in the luxury of the Cavalieri, and a last night with Tunu and Arch before they departed the next day.

June 3

Tunu and Arch came to drop off their luggage at our room in Rome where Geeta and I were going to check into, as we were headed to Pisa only the next day. And this room was the worst we had stayed in during the entire trip. So it was a total transition from Cavalieri to a cabin for us!

What put us off was that the place was not cleaned when we had checked in, and the shared bathroom was quite far away from the room. But anyway, it was going to be only a short night stay there. And as we were checking in, Tunu smelt some Chinese food and pretty much followed his nose leading us to the Chinese restaurant that was down-stairs, and here we had probably the most authentic Chinese dish we might ever have outside of China. For one, the place was filled with Chinese, both the waiters and the clientele, the menu was in Chinese, people spoke only Chinese, but the food – smack, it was good! Yes, another Chinese dish with Tunu, but good nevertheless.

We then headed out loafing in Rome. Archana needed to get some shopping done, and Geeta and I spent the day walking all over Rome – visiting the Pantheon, the “wedding cake” (which was how a local taxi driver described the big white parliament building of Rome that he said all Romans totally disliked), Palantino (ruins near the Colloseum) and finally ended with the Fontana di Trevi (according to me, the best place to visit in Rome). We even ate at a small family run restaurant in between the streets of Rome, where we were even served complimentary aperitifs, and totally enjoyed the Ravioli Geeta ordered, and the authentic Spaghetti Corbonara I had.

We couldn’t get to see off Tunu and Archana as we ended up walking different directions, so had to bid adieu over the phone itself. It was really good hanging out with them though – Tunu was probably the entire reason for the trip coming together in the first place, and we really did have a good time with them..

June 4

It was the start of the trip for only me and Geeta from today, and our first stop was Pisa. We realized that a lot of Indian Junta actually end up visiting Pisa, and almost all of the junta there do the standard leaning against the leaning tower photo. We had a meal outside – Arabiatta and Tagchieti this time (we pretty much cut through every different Italian dish that we could pounce upon) and then entered the Leaning tower. It was good fun walking inside the tower, you actually feel the inclination as you walk to the top. Spent some time there, and then headed to a beach in Pisa called Tirennia. This was a brilliant beach – very different from Spains, but a pretty sight still. There were shows happening on the beach, and we sat at a restaurant by the side, ordered a Pizza with a beer and then made our way back to the bus stop. I had a panino on the way from a small bakery sort of place, and this was another kick-ass dish I had – it was the original subway, but way more tastier – with even your choice of meat from the numerous ones hanging around – creepy!

The bus journey back was even more creepy though. First we had to wait a really long time, and began to panic thinking we missed the last bus that was headed back to Pisa for the night – and there was no other way of getting back from Tirennia, as there are no Taxis in that town, and no other means of public transport.

Thankfully the bus came in some time, and it was a freaky bus. The people in there all looked weird, and Geeta chose the seat right opposite a Eunuch, who was the weirdest of them all – coz she was really well built! Anyway, we just engaged ourselves in some banal conversations to kill time as the bus hollered its way back to Pisa, ran back into our hotel and called it a night as we had another early morning travel to Florence the next day.

June 5

Florence was a very brief stop over, although we felt we should have done more of Florence and a bit more off-beat Italy that the usual Rome-Pisa-Venice, but guess that would be for the next time around. We had a quick but expensive and needless breakfast in Florence, and continued on our way to Venice.

On reaching Venice, we realized that the island called Lido where we had booked our room in was actually very far from the main Venice island, as we required a bus ride, followed by a Vaparetto ride to get to the island from our Hotel. Should have just taken peoples advice and stayed on the main-land, but I thought I was being cool getting a good deal on one of the islands!

To top it, it kept raining in Venice, and our entire stay there was turning our real messy.

We had lunch at a local place, where I tried out a local dish called Gamberi – Prawn with onions and grapes – local Venetian cuisine, and real tasty!

Then we walked around the Venice streets, finally had dinner next to the canal in Rialto, and headed back to our room by dusk.

Repeated the routine the next day – photos in the Marcus square, some more shopping, some tasty croissants, and finally, made our way to the airport.

One last Ryan Air flight for the trip – and this time to the magical city of Paris!

We reached Paris by 8p.m and checked in just before nigh-fall. This was a good hotel, and very close to the Paris Nord station, called Timhotel. I specifically booked a good place, as I knew this was going to be at the end of the trip, after staying in a bunch of cheaper options, and of course – being in the city I’ve been dying to visit..

June 6

Now I must say movies like Moulin Rouge and Midnight in Paris spoiled the real Paris a bit for me – coz I had built this huge fantasy city in my head – and Paris turned out to be just about normal.

We began the day visiting the Lourve, and we nearly missed the Mona Lisa while walking through the aisles. And Mona Lisa was all that people said it out to be – supremely normal, and making you question why the brouhaha. Then we went to Rolland Garros to try and see if we can get in and watch the mens quarters that was going on, but there were no tickets being sold at the spot, which we knew, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Then we headed to Arc De Triumph, Champs Elyses, by luck walked by the Crazy Horse and LIDO, and finally reached the Eiffel

This was a real let down, as we waited in line for quite a while, but the rain didn’t seem to let up, and Geeta couldn’t take it anymore. So we headed back to our hotel thinking of coming back the next day, having some crepes on the way from a place run by Indians. Just the previous day we had Indian food from a small restaurant that was run by French!

June 7

The rains just didn’t let up, and add to it some renovation work going on at the Eiffel, we ended up taking 6 hours to get in and out of the Eiffel tower. We then visited the Sacre de Courre, and finally decided to hit some shops, but they closed by by 5p.m. before we could get anything done.

All of this was making  Paris very difficult to appreciate, and feel very far from the image I had in my head..

And this was all until visiting the Moulin Rouge – coz magic comes right back when you watch this show, and then take the midnight was after the show through the streets of Paris – the whole experience was just beautiful. I’ve seen Crazy Horse at Vegas, and Wicked in London, but I would say that this show totally takes the cake – it really is the mother of all cabarets!

June 8

Left to Amsterdam by the Thalys – super premium luxury train, and reached Murtuz place by noon. Had lunch at a Surinamese place, a country in Africa that was colonized by the Dutch and the people there given freedom and the right to stay in Holland and run hotels like these after their independence.

Then Geeta and I just chilled out for the rest of the day till Murtuz got back, and then we hit a club called 1890 – which was actually a joint that was as old as the name – and I totally loved the evening here.

The waiter was one of the coolest I’ve spoken with and I was just asking him about the local beer and food, and he began to pretty much give me a course on the kind of stuff they served. He gave me tastes of some of the beer, explained to me how they were prepared and even brought on some awesome short eats. My favourites for the evening were Wallen Beer and Bitterballen snacks – man, simply loved them and can’t wait to have them again J

June 9

Geeta and I visited Zaanses Schans this day – the place where you get to see authentic Holland – all with windmills, cheese and clog factories, canals and museums. It was a true Dutch experience for us on this day. We got back and met up with Murtuz, visited some more nice coffee shops, and ate everything we wanted to savor one last time before leaving Europe – wok to walk for Geeta, steak for me, waffle for Geeta, croquette for me, and finally a long and nice train journey followed by a walk to Murtuz’s house by the canal.

Best end to a killer Euro Trip.