After many years dreaming of fun times like these, I spent the last few weeks with school friends travelling around parts of Europe.  It has not always been easy or accessible when we were younger as we lived far away in the Caribbean, the cost to travel was expensive, and we needed pre-arranged visas etc to travel to some European countries. Our education, work and family lives were also given priority, so dreamy and carefree travel like this was put to the back of our minds.  However, this time has now come for us to explore the world (within reason) and spend quality time together.  This is exactly what I did and I hope you’ll enjoy the recap here of my recent trip.

Getting the Eurostar train from St Pancras to Paris is always a good start and such an easy journey from central London to the heart of Paris. The view of the English and French countryside are great to see from the fast-moving train, especially with the yellow mustard fields.  This time we stayed near the Champ Elysée and Arc du Triumph. This part of Paris is always filled with tourist checking out the shops and landmarks.  It is also one of the best walking spots from the Arc to the Louvre Museum.  You get to see one of the most famous Paris avenues down through the Place de la Concorde and Tuileries.  I remember my first visit and it is still magical to take in the Panorama. The best aspects is also that the weather held up and the rain that we were expecting did not happen. 

Later that evening, we went out for a walk around the Eiffel Tower, a cruise on the river Seine and dinner in a French Brassiere.  The Eiffel Tower looked amazing at sunset and lit up as the night crept in.  The cruise was a musical cruise and it was nice to hear some of the most famous French music whilst on the Seine with the glimmering lights and cool breeze.  We saw some of the Parisian nightlife from persons jogging, cycling and exercising along the river to restaurants and riverside shows for locals and tourists.  Although we spent just over an hour in Paris – it was great to get to see some of the beautiful aspects of the city and I hope I can visit again one day, especially on my way to visit Versailles (which I haven’t seen as yet). A bientot Paris!

Our next stage of our trip to Switzerland was fairly easy to get to from Gare du Lyon to Zurich.  It was great to get the train direct which took just over four hours with a reasonable amount of comfort and amazing views on the way.  Once we got to Zurich, it was great to settle into a nice hotel which was only about 10 minutes from the Lake Zurich which dominated the views with scenic buildings and promenades all along the lake.  Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and is known for being the global centre for banking and finance. We had a walk along the lakefront shops and saw some of the other parts mainly whilst we were going to other places but we certainly had two major treats from our base. One was the day trip to Mount Titlis and Lucerne, the other was the Lindt Museum in Central Zurich.

For our trip to Mount Titlis, we asked our hotel to organise the trip with a local tour company and we booked the trip for the next day from the coach park near the main Zurich train station.  We got the coach with a tour guide who gave us insightful and funny stories of Swiss history, culture and facts. It is so worth it to learn about the landscape, people who lived on the land and building of the country from romans to modern Swiss engineering and innovators.  The mountains, valleys, chalets, and natural springs were all fantastic to see.  We went past a few original chalets and many modern homes.  I could help remembering the book ‘Heidi’ which I received as a child from my primary school.  More than anything, I would like to actual spend some time in a chalet and enjoy the views a bit longer should I visit Switzerland again.

When we got to Mount Titlis, I was not nervous but I haven’t for such a long journey on a cable car before – I have only briefly been on one in Sicily in 2019.  We were also not sure how cold it was going to be but in hindsight, it was not very cold at -2degrees.  The cable car was truly spectacular and the ascent was breath-taking.  I was a little nervous but it was not shaking, plus the second part of the journey we also go into the first revolving cable car! The snow-capped Swiss Alps and altitude is an experience, especially for three women from the Caribbean. It was also awesome to see skiers in deep snow so high up the mountains. 

 It was also good to spend time in the shops at the top or to grab a bite if you were hungry. The ice cave was also another bonus to the tip – I have only seen these in images from Scandinavia and it was interesting to go into a glacier – it is making how humans can create these places despite the temperature and altitude!  As an adult, Mount Titlis was brilliant for exploring somewhere I have never been too before it was like a real-life amusement arcade for all the family.  I would certainly recommend it!

We also had an hour in beautiful Lucerne with the lake, good shopping areas and the splendid ancient bridges. One other note is that Rolex is a Swiss brand, and like other clock and watch makers – there are many world-class Swiss watch makers which you can see as you go around the shopping areas. The views around these areas were really interesting to see and apparently in the heart of warmer weather, the bridges and chalets are decorated with beautiful colour geraniums which must be a sight to behold.

The second treat to the Lindt factory was informative, educational and flavoursome!  The museum is easy to get to from central Zurich with many tourists especially there for Good Friday.  It was special being there for the Easter weekend.  The museum was curated with a giant chocolate fountains and tasting areas, the history of chocolate production and a section on the history of Swiss innovators and entrepreneurial businesses.  From Nestle, the Red Cross to Lindt founders – the stories of invention, and business development were showcased and celebrated.  The fact that Swiss engineering, standards and creativity are still respected today was highlighted at the museum (I also thought of the engineering of cable car up the cold and wet Swiss Alps!).  And to top it off – there was a lot of chocolate tasting stations in the Lindt Museum as well as amazing shop with all their flavours and brands. We left Zurich that afternoon but truly appreciative of Swiss culture, natural beauty and ingenuity.  

The final part of our continental journey was a flight to Venice.  I was impressed that when we arrived at Marco Polo airport that we were able to get a water taxi straight to our hotel for only 18 euros compared to other expensive taxi services in other cities.  The last time I went to Venice, I went via bus from Treviso so this really journey really had me in awe that you can go straight from airport to water transport!  Our hotel was in a residential area and really scenic along the waterfront. 

Venice is beautiful and it was great to plan trips to Murano and Burano the next morning.  As we approached the island – the colours of the buildings especially in the Spring sunshine was a feast for the eyes.  Murano is world renown for their glassmaking and our tour included a glass making demonstration.  The glass objects and jewellery on display and for sale were beautiful and hard to resist.  Burano had some great restaurants and piazzas for hanging out for a couple of hours.  There were some nice shops which is also famous for their lacemaking.  I haven’t been to the islands before but it was great to see them on this trip.

The final part of the journey was spent in St Marks Square and near the Doge Palace.  Venice had a high density of tourists so these part were exceptionally beautiful but also there were thousands of tourists.  The next day we also had a walk along the shops to the Rialto Bridge and surrounding areas.  The shops, buildings, waterways, markets and gondolas are great to see in this unique city.  When in Venice – there was a lot of shops to see and the Italian food was also great to savour, in particular the seafood, wine and pasta.  I most likely will visit Venice one day again in the future but for now, it is still such a magical place to see and experience.

We ended up our trip in London and even though I live in the city, it was great to spend time doing new things such as going to the Shard, seeing the show Mamma Mia, visiting some new restaurants and spending lots of time shopping from Oxford Street, Covent Garden, shopping malls to local retail outlets.  We also has fun checking out Borough Market and the Sky Garden in town which some of the best street food and view across the city. 

This time allowed me time to switch off from my busy schedule and spend time with friends whilst seeing more of the world.  Although it took us a long time to do it – it came at the right time for us to enjoy the sights and life in good company with laughs and memories to cherish for the rest of our lives. I truly appreciate and treasure the journey and the peak time spent together.