:: tour of europe
I'm thinking of taking Lottie to the Netherlands in September, so she can finally meet my parents and sisters. As one of my sisters lives on a Greek island though, we might as well make it a proper Tour of Europe. To motivate her to get a passport soon, this is a wee presentation on what we might do.
Crossing Europe by car or motorbikes would be knackering, and aeroplanes would be costly, as well as not very flexible. Though trains aren't cheap either, we'd be able to make stops on the way, sleep while travelling and follow our own itinerary.
On Day One, we'd be leaving Manchester with a Virgin Express to London Euston, then hopefully an equally fast train from London Victoria to Dover. The ferry to Calais would be cheap due to our Interrail tickets, which would come in handier still in getting to Paris in time for dinner and an overnight stay.
On Day Two we'd spend the morning and early afternoon in Paris, then grab the Thalys high-speed train to Amsterdam at 3.30pm - which would arrive just four hours later, again in time for dinner. We'd then spend the night there, but could grab a very late train (0.22-1.59) to get to my home town Nijmegen.
Day Three and Four we'd spend in and around Nijmegen, with plenty to see and do. We might also need to recuperate a bit from all the travel - and get ready for some more.
On Day Five I intend to show Lottie around a bit of Germany. We'd grab an early train to Arnhem, then the ICE express straight into Cologne, even before 10am. After a few hours here, we could get a Regional Express train along the Rhein and Moselle rivers to the gorgeous town of Trier. Where we'd stay the night.
Day Six we'd get to Luxembourg for breakfast, then via Nancy and Lyon to Marseille, Genova and on to Florence. That's quite a journey, but you wouldn't want to stop in France now would you?! The speed of the TGV should make it possible.
Luxembourg..
.. To Florence
Day Seven we'd spend just checking out Florence, and later on, Rome. Whether you can do Rome in a day or not remains to be seen. Perhaps we could act like American tourists eh.. Sorry y'all but we have to get to Athens by Sunday. Innit.
The next afternoon we'd travel to the port of Brindisi later, getting on the ferry to Patras in Greece - where we'd arrive in the morning of Day Nine. We'd get to Athens by the afternoon and spend some time there, as well as the next day, Day Ten.
By now hopefully Lottie will have overcome any fears of flying and particularly short runways, as the best way to get to Lesvos is getting an aeroplane on Day 11.
Day 12 we'd spend with my family in Greece (how suave is that), as well as Day 13. On Day 14 we'd have to fly back to Athens, but again could spend some time there as well as the night. The Friday after, we'd grab the train back to Patras and the night boat to Brindisi (arriving Saturday, day 15). In one long haul, we'd travel the length of Italy again, and through Switzerland would arrive in Frankfurt.
Well, Paris is passé. On Day 16, We'd travel from Frankfurt through Paris to Calais and London by high speed trains, then Manchester late on Sunday night..
Crossing Europe by car or motorbikes would be knackering, and aeroplanes would be costly, as well as not very flexible. Though trains aren't cheap either, we'd be able to make stops on the way, sleep while travelling and follow our own itinerary.
On Day One, we'd be leaving Manchester with a Virgin Express to London Euston, then hopefully an equally fast train from London Victoria to Dover. The ferry to Calais would be cheap due to our Interrail tickets, which would come in handier still in getting to Paris in time for dinner and an overnight stay.
On Day Two we'd spend the morning and early afternoon in Paris, then grab the Thalys high-speed train to Amsterdam at 3.30pm - which would arrive just four hours later, again in time for dinner. We'd then spend the night there, but could grab a very late train (0.22-1.59) to get to my home town Nijmegen.
Day Three and Four we'd spend in and around Nijmegen, with plenty to see and do. We might also need to recuperate a bit from all the travel - and get ready for some more.
On Day Five I intend to show Lottie around a bit of Germany. We'd grab an early train to Arnhem, then the ICE express straight into Cologne, even before 10am. After a few hours here, we could get a Regional Express train along the Rhein and Moselle rivers to the gorgeous town of Trier. Where we'd stay the night.
Day Six we'd get to Luxembourg for breakfast, then via Nancy and Lyon to Marseille, Genova and on to Florence. That's quite a journey, but you wouldn't want to stop in France now would you?! The speed of the TGV should make it possible.
Luxembourg..
.. To Florence
Day Seven we'd spend just checking out Florence, and later on, Rome. Whether you can do Rome in a day or not remains to be seen. Perhaps we could act like American tourists eh.. Sorry y'all but we have to get to Athens by Sunday. Innit.
The next afternoon we'd travel to the port of Brindisi later, getting on the ferry to Patras in Greece - where we'd arrive in the morning of Day Nine. We'd get to Athens by the afternoon and spend some time there, as well as the next day, Day Ten.
By now hopefully Lottie will have overcome any fears of flying and particularly short runways, as the best way to get to Lesvos is getting an aeroplane on Day 11.
Day 12 we'd spend with my family in Greece (how suave is that), as well as Day 13. On Day 14 we'd have to fly back to Athens, but again could spend some time there as well as the night. The Friday after, we'd grab the train back to Patras and the night boat to Brindisi (arriving Saturday, day 15). In one long haul, we'd travel the length of Italy again, and through Switzerland would arrive in Frankfurt.
Well, Paris is passé. On Day 16, We'd travel from Frankfurt through Paris to Calais and London by high speed trains, then Manchester late on Sunday night..