France and Italy
We landed into CGD at 11am and then took a taxi to our Airbnb in Paris. After we arrived in front of our Airbnb building, we were early for check-in so we decided to eat at a pizzeria downstairs at La Commandarie. We had escargot, calamari, and onion soup. It was a nice warm meal but we were exhausted from our flight. After we checked in at 2pm and freshened up, we walked to Champ de Mars and Eiffel Tower, only a 10-minute walk from our Airbnb. We went ahead on a pre-booked 1 hour Seine River cruise. It was a good value to see landmarks quickly without the effort of walking. It did start raining pretty hard so we didn’t stay outside at the top. It’s very touristy to do but why not when you only have 2 days in Paris. By the time we left the river area for our dinner reservation, it started REALLY pouring. We had dinner reservations at a restaurant called Vesper right around the corner from our Airbnb. We were dripping from our raincoats when we stepped into this swanky and classy bar/restaurant. We ordered the shrimp tar tar, crouching tiger, duck gzoza, octopus. Our favorite was the duck dumplings. But when we saw the bill was $200, it just wasn’t worth the price at all.
Highlights: Champ De Mars, Eiffel Tower, Seine River Cruise, Vesper.
Day 2
We woke up in the morning and took a taxi to the Louvre. Our skip the line tour was worth it on GetYourGuide, our security line was insanely long but a line to get a ticket is longer too. Time is of the essence at the Louvre, we spent 3 hours there and felt like time goes by so quickly because there are so many rooms and works of art to see. We had sandwiches for lunch at a cafe there. If I could do it differently I would get an audio tour or guide to learn more about the artworks. The Jaconde (Mona Lisa) is worth seeing. Saint Chappell was within walking distance and we waited for the wrong line at first (Concierge) but we were able to ask the security at the front of Saint Chappell to see if we can skip the line and he graciously let us in, even joked that arriving at 4pm is way later than original 10am
. After visiting Saint Chappell, we tried duck liver (foie gras) and meat trimmings (chef’s terrine) for the first time and loved it at La Terrasse. We soaked in a little bit of sunlight sitting outside. Our Airbnb was a minute away and we freshened up before walking to dinner at La Coquette. They were busy when we arrived since we had no reservation and ended up coming back half an hour later where they accommodated us with no problem. We sat at the bar and enjoyed razor clams, lobster bisque, beef stew, and French toast for dessert. We were treated so well the entire evening and this experience blew our dinner at Vesper the night before out the water. We felt very welcome and food was comforting to eat especially the lobster bisque and beef strew. After dinner, we walked and stumbled upon Vinosapiens wine bar. Thierry was the owner and we really enjoyed chatting and getting to know him. He gifted us with his warm hospitality, a tote bag, and wine bottle opener. Thanks Thierry! Highlights: Louvre, Saint Chappell, La Terrasse, La Coquette, Vinosapiens.
This was the first morning we could relax because we didn’t have any reservations for anything. Our first time figuring out the metro with City Mapper and it was not too hard. We ended up in MonteMarte, an artsy neighborhood, very touristy and perhaps tourist traps with their souvenir shops but worth seeing at least once based on its popularity and history. We walked around to see the artists painting and Sacra Coeur. We took the metro back to the city which took about 30 minutes. We wanted to rest and recharge before getting ready to have dinner in Villebon with Uncle and Auntie. It was about an hour taxi ride but worth taking a taxi rather than a combination of metro, bus, and walking
. When we arrived, Villebon seemed like a very quiet suburb where Uncle and Auntie took us in their home. We were excited to gift them hats that they wanted with the Los Angeles name on it and a very classy Whiskey bottle, that Uncle really enjoyed. Uncle and Auntie prepared snacks and drinks as appetizers, Vietnamese Bo La Lot, Cuon rice paper wrapped grilled shrimp, beef, rice noodles, and vegetables. Auntie even prepped a homemade apple tartlet 
. This was my favorite part of Paris. 
Day 4
We woke up early in the morning to catch our flight out of CDG (Paris) into FCO (Rome). The flight was about 2 hours and we took a taxi from the airport which was about 55 euros to our Airbnb, located in the historical center of Rome. Our host helped us check in and we immediately thought this Airbnb was a huge upgrade from the Paris
. We freshened up and walked around what was right outside of our Airbnb. Our first and best restaurant experience in Rome was at La Fraschetteria, where we ordered the Bruschetta pomodoro, Tagiatelle, Lasagna, and Porchetta arrosto. Everything was perfect, its home style environment and scrumptious dishes swiftly topped our experience at La Coquette in Paris. Later we walked dinner off, taking a stroll around Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Navano. Highlights: La Fraschetteria, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navano.
Day 5
We woke up well rested and ready to explore Rome. Today was the only day we had to do it. We walked to the Trevi Fountain. There was a line to visit when we arrived in the late morning. But it went by quickly and we had to wait to find a spot to take a picture. But it was very much worth it and my favorite part of Rome. We walked to the Colosseum and entered Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica located in Vatican City was one of the most stunning works of architecture I have ever seen. One of the best parts of Rome is that many famous sites are walking distance. Right outside Vatican City, we saw there was a line for a takeaway pasta place called Pastasciutta where we got the pesto and bolognese. Both were just ok but a good deal for a quick bite. We opted out of buying tickets to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, due to our energy and time constraints. We decided to take the metro back to our Airbnb where we had dinner right across from our place, Osterio Barberini, a cozy and classic Italian restaurant our host recommended. We admired the truffle pasta, and preferred it over anything at La Fraschatteria
. I liked the carbonara more. The truffle pizza was ok too 
. Rome was a city where we got some good shopping, souvenirs, and food 
. Highlights: Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Vatican City, Osteria Barberini.
Day 6
We arrived into Florence from Rome via TrenItalia. It was a bit stressful navigating how to get to the train station with two large luggages. Even though we booked the tickets online in advance, it took us some time to figure out which platform and train we needed to take. We booked a first class ticket for 2 hours to Florence so that we could get assigned seating and room for luggage. It also came with a small chip bag for snack and a water bottle
. Overall, worth the purchase for first class! We found the Florence Airbnb from the train station by walking. Was it brutal to lug two large suitcases on the Florence streets to get to our place? Very much. Next international trip we are only carrying a carry on size suitcase 
. We were fortunate that our Airbnb host greeted us upon early arrival and we got to check in early around 12-1pm. After we freshened up, we explored what was right outside from our place, like how we did in Rome. We walked around Piazza del Duomo and went inside the Cathedral of Saint Maria Del Fiore. It’s free to visit inside but we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes. What was truly enjoyable about Florence is that you can walk along the Arno River that divides Florence into two parts. It is really peaceful to take a stroll along this river when the sun is almost setting. We would cross the Ponte Veccio to walk up to the Piazzle Michaelango. From there you can see one of the best views of all of Florence. It’s definitely one of the top things to do in Florence that doesn’t require any money, just time and effort to walk the trek up. But for the first time seeing this view, it’s definitely worth the climb. We had dinner reservations at 4 Leoni as our host recommended to try their Florentino Bistecca. We were excited to try it, but it was prepared too rare and overpriced in our opinion. For dessert we unknowingly ordered the strawberries with whipped cream so we decided we should try gelato at Del Neili 
. Highlights: Piazza del Duomo, Cathedral of Saint Maria Del Fiore, Ponte Veccio, Piazzle Michaelano at sunset, 4 Leoni, Gelato Del Neili.
Day 7
We got tickets to see the Accademia Gallery in the morning, which is so worth the purchase so you don’t have to wait in line to get tickets. I think seeing the sculptures in person, you can really appreciate the author’s technical skills. We toured the museum for an hour before heading out for our e-bike tour. Our tour guide was very friendly and guided a small group of us safely around Florence. We met a family who was also from Orange County - what are the odds?! We took the scenic route on bike to Piazzle Michaelangelo today. The weather was lovely and we got to cycle through scene hills to see olive groves. A husband and wife run this tour and would recommend any first-timer in Florence to do this tour! The tour comes with gelato tasting and we were given cards to redeem at Gelato Cattaria, which in my opinion was my favorite gelato place, in close second with Gelato Del Neili. It was a nice treat after riding bikes around Florence. We asked our guides where they liked getting pasta and they recommended Trattoria Anita for lunch. It was a nice stop to sit down and eat pasta but nothing memorable. What was memorable was our last dinner in Florence, at Trattoria Il Bargello. The inside of the restaurant was so charming and cozy. We ordered the Ribolitta, Trippa fiorentina, and Pappardelle pasta venison ragu. A more affordable and tastier dinner than our 4 Leoni experience in my opinion. It was a beautiful dinner to end the Florence leg of the trip.
Highlights: Accademia Gallery, Florence Bike Tour, Piazzle Michaelangelo at daytime, Trattoria Il Bargello, Gelato Cattaria.
Day 8
We woke up early to lug two large suitcases to Florence Train Station to get to our Manarola, Cinque Terre destination. We took 3 trains in total: Firenze -> Pisa, Pisa-> La Spezia, La Spezia -> Manarola. Total time was about 2.5 hours. t was very stressful getting off and on the train stations but we made it to our destination with no hiccups! 1st class premium tickets are worth the assigned seating. The 2nd class ones were tricky to try to find space to be on the train. Out of all the cities, Cinque Terre was the hardest to lug our luggages up the hill to our Airbnb. Next time we travel to Europe, only carry-on Our Airbnb host’s mom, was so cute and gracious as she welcomed us. She said her family lived in the building really close to ours. The best part of our Airbnb was the balcony view and the little washer we used to wash our clothes. Our host also recommended a restaurant that turned out to be our first and favorite of Manarola. Everything we ordered was a hit at Trattoria dal Billy: spicy spaghetti, tuna tar tar. We had happy stomachs and hearts and I blindly followed Eddie on the hardest hike in Manarola to Riogiomarre, (trail). It took about 2 hours with steep elevation change. The viewpoint was sweet but it made me realize how out of shape I was. When we got to Riogiomarre, we didn’t find much to do there. It was late afternoon. We tried to ask for information at the desk, but the lady wasn’t as forthcoming. We had to buy the Cinque Terre Card trekking 1-day pass plus 10 euro supplement to walk the 20 minute path back to Manarola, called Via de Amorre. If I could go back, this path is not worth the money and feels like a tourist trap based on the marketing. I would just save money and take the train to get back to Manola instead. When we got home, we air dried our washed clothes out on the balcony clothing lines with clothespins. It felt like we were living like a local. 
We explored the other side of the Manarola village where there were more restaurants and shops. We had dinner at Il Porticciolo where we ordered mussels, pizza, and octopus. We put it in our fridge for the night for leftovers.
Highlights: Trattoria dal Billy, Blue Trail: Manarola to Riogiomarre, Il Porticciolo.
Day 9
We both got good rest for a full day of hiking ahead of us. We got our Cinque Terre trekking cards and train pass to take the train to Monterosso from Manarola. The info lady at Manarola was very helpful in getting us the best deal for what we wanted to do for the day (unlike the info lady at Riogiomarre . Monterosso was known for its beach, which is why it’s popular among locals especially. The weather was nice and sunny but not hot enough to want to go for a swim. We walked down the beach to reach the trailhead. The entire coastal trail is Blue Trail. It’s a moderately challenging hike that takes about 2 hours to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. Out of the 4 trails we took in Cinque Terre, this one was my favorite. The views are worth the trek. Vernazza is very lively with tourists roaming around the marina. Eddie wanted to try this restaurant called Pirasca. It was a bit hidden and we had to ask a few locals to get to it. But we’re so glad we did as this restaurant was our favorite and best restaurant of our entire Euro Trip. At Pirasca, we ordered salted anchovies, monkfish pasta, mullet fish, and cuttle fish. After lunch, we decided to do one more hike from Vernazza to Corniglia which took about 1.5 hours. The Cinque Terre Trekking card included this trail so we might as well hike our way back home. When we arrived to Corniglia, the trail from here to Manarola was closed so we took the train back. It’s about 4 euros per person for one-way train to each town in Cinque Terre. But the trains are so overcrowded, it didn’t seem like anyone checks the tickets. So buying a Cinque Terre train card and multi-day hiking pass didn’t seem worth the money for us. It’s safe to say that the best way to explore the 5 towns of Cinque Terre is to hike along its coast line. To top off the day, Eddie went out to a local shop to buy a home prosciutto plate with chorizo, mortadella, spec, salami, olives, tomatoes. The coolest part was this whole spread was only 12 euros . For dinner, we enjoyed the sunset while eating takeaway pasta, pesto and ravioli.
Highlights: Monterosso, Vernazza via Blue Trail, Corniglia via Blue Trail, Pirasca.
Day 10
Our last full day in Cinque Terre we chose to spend relaxing in Manarola. There was no set plan, but sleeping in and eating leftover pasta from last night. We didn’t have a microwave, so Eddie thought of steaming our food over a stovetop to heat it up . I wore a jumper that I bought in Rome that I finally got to wear for the weather today. We walked to the Marina and sat on the rocks by the oc
ean. It started getting hot so we walked up to a viewpoint, not knowing that we were about to walk to Nessun Dorma. This was a restaurant that I heard was very popular online. They are best known for their pesto making class but I think it is a bit of a tourist trap because it is $80 a person to take the class 
. We ordered takeaway bruschetta to sit and enjoy above the restaurant where there were tables. This was the perfect spot to enjoy Manarola’s sea cliff view 
. We went back home to relax, before heading back out for our dinner reservation at Billy’s, what would be our first and last dinner in Manarola. Dinner was delicious as expected and it was a bonus that it was 2 minutes away from our Airbnb. My favorite dessert apart from the gelato in Italy was trying their Panna Cotta.
Highlights: Manarola Marina and Village, Nessun Dorma, Trattoria dal Billy.
Day 11
We woke up early to catch our train from Manarola, to La Spezia, to Florence, to Venice. This time we were more prepared and hopping on and off the trains was a little less stressful as we knew what to expect. We got McDonald’s breakfast waiting in La Spazia and bought sandwiches to eat on the Venice Train. Shout out to Eddie for always planning ahead 
. By our fifth European city, we realized that carrying 2 large checked in suitcases was going to be tricky. Venice is a group of 100 islands that are connected by 400 bridges. Some bridges had only steps, and few had ramps and stairs that were curved to accommodate some strollers and wheelchairs. Locals carry groceries using wheeled carts. It would be so hard to get around on wheels. Preferred travel is either by boat or foot. We arrived at our Airbnb in Cannaregio, a relatively quieter neighborhood, away from the busy streets near San Marco. But to get to the San Marco Plaza, Saint Basilica of Saint Mark, and Doge Palace, it was about 30 minutes by walking. We had lunch at L’Osteria Le Guglie and dinner at a restaurant where we didn’t look up and stumbled on because we weren’t able to find the original restaurant we wanted to go lol. We learned 2 lessons this first night in Venice. 1. Look up the restaurant before entering because restaurants here are nowhere as good in Rome, Florence, or Cinque Terre. 2. Don’t walk around by yourself too late at night in Venice . By day time, it’s tourist central. But night time, the streets seem sketchy. We also arrived at the edge before peak season, so streets are not as busy here as it is during summer.
Highlights: L’Osteria Le Guglie
Day 12
We booked a half day group boat tour to visit the islands of Murano and Burano. I think it was worth doing a guided tour to visit these islands versus figuring out how to take a water taxi on your own. It started in the afternoon, with meeting point at San Marco Port, giving us the morning to relax at our own pace. In the morning, we walked right outside our Airbnb for coffee and breakfast. Italian breakfast will never be as good as French but it did the job for us. I walked to a nearby supermarket for some water for us. Around noon, we started our trek to the tour meeting point. I happened to find a boutique shop that had the trench coat I wanted for 60 euros. I looked for one in Rome and Florence and gave up. So I guess Venice won something for that 
. I got poke at a place on the way to the tour while Eddie got a sandwich. I knew it was not going to be good because they have tomatoes and cucumbers as their add-ins 
but I couldn’t have expected much on this island. I was looking for something that was light before the boat tour. The service was slow too 
. Our guide, Francessca, met us at the San Marco port and we visited Murano first to see how they made glass art. It was all very neat but felt like a tourist trap with their glass art and gift shop with minimum price for a cup going for 80 euros and earrings minimum was 60 euros . We got to see Burano island next which was more charming colorful village to show us how they make lace pieces. It was all very neat but I wouldn’t know what to do with a piece of lacework 
. We took some picture in front of the colored houses and got a gelato ice cream. This tour was kinda perfect in a way to spend our time without too much effort because there really wasn’t much to do in Venice, other than go on a gondola ride or shop/eat . In the evening, we got dinner at Al Timon, where we had smoked Burrati cheese with local salad and tomatoes and Chateau Briand with vegetables and potatoes for entree, more than enough for 2 people.
Highlights: San Marco Plaza, Saint Basilica of Saint Mark, Doge Palace, Islands of Murano and Burano via boat tour, Al Timon.
Day 13
Today is our last day in Venice, Italy. And we had nothing planned! We didn’t go out to the shopping area until 10:30. After shopping, we went to eat at Ristorante Trattoria Cherubino where it felt like a cozy Italian restaurant. They gave us the best seat in the house next to the window so we could people watch. We ordered spicy mussels spaghetti Mama Mia, and Fillet Sea bass Burbano style. Overall a good Italian restaurant to end our trip. 
. When we got home, we cooked us a perfect dinner for 2 with the seasonal purple artichokes, salad, onions, and leftover fillet, potatoes, and vegetables from Al Timon. It was the best and the perfect way to end our European adventure together. 
Highlights: Trattoria Cherubino
Day 14
Travel day and flight from Venice to Paris with layover at CDG to LAX home. We were successful in getting to our terminal/gate CDG, getting foie gras and cheese for our family and boarding our flight on time. 
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“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.” — Thomas Jefferson
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