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Earlier this year I found out that my company was having its annual Europe conference in Barcelona, Spain. This presented a perfect opportunity to visit a fascinating country and explore more of Europe while I was over there. Travel is something we prioritize in our lives, so we wanted to make the most of it.
In total I was gone for three weeks, the first week for work, and then my wife flew in to join me for two weeks of vacation. It was an incredible trip! We visited Barcelona, Paris, Venice, and Rome. In this post I’ll recap how we planned the trip and the highlights from each city we visited.
Planning the Trip
Flights: The advantage of building our vacation around my work trip was that my flight was paid for by my company. For most travel to Europe and Asia, the most expensive part is the flight. Once you arrive to the continent, it’s fairly easy and inexpensive to travel from country to country.
We booked my wife’s flight through the Chase travel portal, using 34,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that we had earned through credit card sign-up bonuses. If you haven’t read my introduction to travel rewards, I would highly recommended checking it out.
We knew we wanted to spend some time in Barcelona, and then also visit a few other cities. We decided on Paris, Venice, and Rome. I had been to Italy 10 years ago and loved it, and Italy/France had been highest on my wife’s travel bucket list for awhile.
- We started by flying into Barcelona, spent 4 full days there.
- Then took a short flight to Paris (about $80-90 on Easyjet), spent 3 days there.
- Short flight to Venice (about $90 on Easyjet), spent 2.5 days there.
- Fast train to Rome (about $35), spent 3.5 days there.
- Flew home from Rome back to California.
Lodging: We use Airbnb almost every time we travel, and this trip was no exception. We stayed in Airbnb’s for all 4 cities. The spaces were stylish, comfortable, and inexpensive. When searching on Airbnb, I usually set the filter for how much I’m willing to spend to narrow down the search results. Then I look for the location of where we want to be, and then view the nearby results. By taking price, location, reviews, and then pictures into account, it usually isn’t too difficult to find a space that looks good.
Sights: Before our trip we researched recommended sights to visit. By far the most helpful resource we found was Rick Steves’ travel books. We checked them out from the library and used them to plan sights to see and learn helpful details about each city. He also has a free mobile app where you can download audio tours for the major sights. This was a huge win, we didn’t pay for any tours throughout our whole trip.
Getting Around: Many places in Europe have terrific public transportation systems. We utilized the metro often in both Barcelona and Paris. In Venice you can walk everywhere, and in Rome we were a little further out from the city so we used taxis. Our trips involving a lot of sightseeing also involve a lot of walking, we typically walked 7-10 miles per day as we explored!
Tours: We purchased some tickets for certain sights in advance (Vatican/Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Sagrada Familia) to avoid the lines and get timed entry, however we didn’t pay for any guided tours. Instead, we borrowed Rick Steves’ guidebooks from the library and downloaded the Rick Steves Audio Europe mobile app. The app lets you download free audio tours and go at your own pace. This ended up working out extremely well for us. It saved us both money and time! I’d highly recommend these resources.
Tapas, Sangria, and Architecture in Barcelona
The first stop was Barcelona, and it did not disappoint. The city is know for its tapas, which are appetizer sized plates of Spanish cuisine, along with sangria. Every meal we had was incredible! We would order a handful of tapas to share and try many different flavors. They are also know for seafood and paella, a delicious rice based dish made with various meats and vegetables. I also can’t forget to mention the freshly baked churros dipped in thick Spanish hot chocolate – simply amazing!
The Spanish architecture was also awe inspiring. The most well known Spanish architect is Antoni Gaudí, who designed the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, among other amazing works. We purchased tickets online in advance for both these sights, to help avoid the lines and reserve our spot.
Eiffel Tower, Crepes, and Stain Glass in Paris
After a quick flight, we arrived to Paris. Our Airbnb was a nice loft style apartment that was a short walk from Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle church. We indulged in crepes, croissants, duck, and other delicious food during our brief stay. We packed a lot of sights into a short amount of time including going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, and Arc de Triomphe. Quite sobering to realize that we were at Notre Dame a few short weeks before the devastating fire. Paris had always been one of the top places on my wife’s travel bucket list, and it definitely surpassed my expectations.
Churches, Pasta, and Gelato in Italy
Italy is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. I was fortunate to get to visit Naples, Rome, and Venice during a church missions trip 10 years ago. Getting to go back and show my wife around Venice and Rome was a ton of fun. The food is out of this world, the pasta, pizza, and gelato are all the best I’ve ever had. The locals are friendly, and the sights are beautiful. Rome was much busier and hectic than I remembered, but the city has sights that should be on everyone’s list.
Venice is beautiful and easy to see the whole city by walking around and exploring. There’s a charm in getting lost among the small alleyways and walking along the canal. Rome is where most of the sightseeing happened, including the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, and Pantheon.
Final Thoughts
We had an incredible trip, exploring a few different cities in Europe over the course of two weeks. We crossed a lot of destinations off our travel bucket lists. Next time, I’d love to explore more places that are off the beaten path and avoid the other tourists. I’m already looking forward to going back!
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