Our family was very lucky last year and enjoyed our first European trip. Our daughter was studying abroad in Spain and the rest of us joined her for the holidays-travelling to Valencia, Spain; Paris, France; Venice, Italy and Barcelona, Spain. Here are 17 lessons I learned from that wonderful trip:
- Start planning your trip as far out as possible--we had 2 months which allowed for searching for flights and accommodations but not as much time as I would have liked to research the history/culture of each city.
- Be realistic about your travel plans getting to your destination--we flew to Paris, then to Barcelona and then had a 3 hour train ride to Valencia. Between missed connections and the exhaustion of being up all night, I plan to scale down our travel time for the next trip.
- Renting apartments was without a doubt, the best option for us. Having the additional space for everyone to sleep and relax without being in close quarters was invaluable. Adding a kitchen and usually a washer/dryer made for a smaller suitcase to lug around and the option of everyone being able to have breakfast whenever they wanted to. We used Trip Advisor and VRBO to research and find our apartments.
- Pack light. The size restrictions for carry on luggage on European flights are smaller than the US restrictions so unless you want to check your luggage--and wait for often an hour upon arrival to retrieve you luggage, learn to mix and match.
- Bring a filtered, refillable water bottle--it's essential.
- Pick your seat on the plane carefully. On the flight over, we were one row behind the bulkhead--which is where the airlines have cleverly figured out how to attach basinets--5 of them in fact--I pitied the parents of those babies all night long as they struggled to soothe their children--along with the rest of us who did not sleep a wink.
- Grocery stores in Europe are surprisingly cool--it was amazing how they packed in such a selection of items in such tight quarters. It's helpful to stand a minute and watch the regulars so you can figure out the "proper" way of navigating the store--just getting the carts in some stores were tricky--you had to get a special token to release the cart. Bring your own bag or realize that you will have to pay for each bag--if the store even has them. Some stores require you to weigh your produce in the produce section and it prints out a bar code for the cashier to scan.
- Learn some of the common grocery names for items you want to buy before going. Even though we knew we were buying shrimp-we didn't realize that it was cooked shrimp vs raw shrimp--which made for a very different meal.
- If you enjoy wine, look for these great shops that allow you to bring in a plastic liter bottle ans fill it up with wines from these huge wooden casks--that's what the locals do and I wish I had realized that earlier on.
- Know some of the language for the country you are visiting--while most people do know some English, it's polite to at least be able to order something, thank someone or be able to ask for directions in their language. We found that if we attempted to speak the language, the locals were very responsive and helpful.
- Valencia, Spain is amazing--beautiful beaches, modern urban area and very reasonably priced. Lots of people biking everywhere and very friendly locals.
- Osteria Al Pozzo Roverso was our favorite restaurant in Venice.
- Always bring some OTC meds with you--even though the pharmacies in Europe are plentiful, and easy to find--each one had a sign outside the door with a "+" over it--many shut down during the afternoon for a few hours and on Sundays, especially in Spain--which is exactly when someone will be sick.
- Ask a restaurant if they charge when they ask if you want water--unlike restaurants in USA where its common to bring water to the table, most European restaurants charge a fee for the water.
- Bathrooms are unisex in restaurants--it's ok, you'll adjust.
- Don't pack 4 cities into 2 weeks--next time, we'll spend more time in one location to get to know it and the people more.
- Enjoy the lifestyle in Europe--we found it to be very relaxed, social and friendly to visitors.
