Taking home a trunkful of European memories

ANOTHER adventure comes to an end. After a month of hopping in and out of planes, moving from one place to another, seeing familiar sights and rejoicing as entries on the bucket list are ticked off, I make a final luggage check in at the Singapore Airline counter in Charles de Gaulle airport bound for the P.I. via the Lion City.

I bore an extra luggage this time, one I’m not checking in. It was packed and heavy but totally weightless. It was that of fond memories of this trip, all 30 days of fun and frolic, new ideas. Throw in a few unpleasant ones, which broadened my perspective and taught me a few more lessons about traveling. This trunkful of memories is the most precious of the lot I’m taking home with me. Weightless, priceless.

It was great to see Rome, Florence, Versailles and Paris once more. It’s a few of the cities that one may never get enough of. There’s always something brewing, a new corner to discover, exciting destinations always.

Pisa was a new place for me, a short and pleasant getaway destination off Rome. I will be back for more.

Madrid, more than anything else, was a food destination. Ask me about Madrid and food will take the top story, the paellas most especially. The city I will always remember as having to eat a year’s worth of food. Gained weight I did, and it was only the second leg of a long journey across Europe.

Ticked off my list was a selfie with the famed astronomical clock in Prague’s Old Town Square. The Czech city is enchanting and easy to fall in love with. The fact that you can explore the old quarters all the way up to the magnificent castle grounds (where the St. Vitus Cathedral is also located) via the historic Charles Bridge and back down, at your own pace, makes it even more appealing. Praha’s history is rich and it is excellently preserved. The new age artworks, strategically situated, make an exciting contrast to the old world vibe of the city.

As if the Versailles palace was not enough, I had to visit three royal palaces in the Scandinavia. If not for good friend Des, I wouldn’t have seen these attractions, along with the cities’ other top attractions—the Little Mermaid and the canal in Copenhagen, the Gamla Stan and Vasamuseet in Copenhagen, the Ekeberg and Frogner parks, the Scream at Munchmuseet and many more. Two nights in each of the Scandinavian cities is not enough. I will go back for sure.

The few nights left in Europe was spent in Paris with my cousins who made it their home. I thought I have seen the attractions I wanted to check out, but no, they pointed me to a couple more. One was Pere Lachaise, the burial grounds of personalities. It was an eerie place to have selfies with the graves of Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison or Oscar Wilde.

Good times will always trump the sleepless nights, tired body, unpleasant encounters and even the busted diet. I took it all back here and related my tales via this column. Yes, I could have added the #TBT on all the titles, but does the destination have an expiration date? Nope.

Thank you, Universe! Tales of another journey will find its way on this page next.

For more photos about this story, & other travel & lifestyle stories, visit http://jeepneyjinggoy.blogspot.com/ and http://apples-and-lemons.blogspot.com/