The idea of this blog like my blog on Kashmir is to recollect the memory of the tour and to have at one place some of the pictures clicked by me during the tour. I have given caption to the photos so that it will be easier to identify the places where the photos were taken.
Our tour started from London and ended at Rome, from where we took the return flight to Kolkata. We reached London from Kolkata via Dubai.
It was a great experience to see the historical structures and buildings like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, British Parliament House, Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, the museum of De Louvre, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum.
It was amusing to see the wax museum of Madam Tussaud at London. At Versailles, we were amazed at the sheer size of the palace, its glittering interior and the beauty of its gardens. We were told that this place on the outskirts of Paris was chosen by Louis the 13th for his palace and it remained royal palace for the French rulers till Louis the 16th who was overthrown as a result of historic French revolution. We saw the original painting of Mona Lisa, the masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci at De Louvre museum which has a wonderful collections of exquisite paintings and great works of sculpture. I could take photos of the breathtaking view of Paris city from the second floor of Eiffel Tower.It was a joy to click the illuminating Eiffel Tower at 11 p.m. in the night in the midst of drizzling rain.
We could savour the natural beauty of the countryside of Europe as our air conditioned luxurious couch moved across the continent. The weather was wonderful and the journey was very comfortable. As we moved from one country to another, it appeared to me that the boundaries between the countries had ceased to exist, probably due to the concept of European Union.
The experience of going to the top of Mount Titlis, the highest peak of Swiss Alps at more than 10,000 fit height in a three stage cable car ride including a revolving car enjoying a panoramic view of the snow capped mountains will remain unforgettable. The landscape around Engelberg from where we took the cable car ride to Mt. Titlis was simply delightful. The scenic beauty of Switzerland and Austria, the joy of cruise in the canals of Amsterdam, the beautiful Madurodam park, a miniature Holland and a photographer's' paradise near Hague, the grandeur of Grand Place of Brussels, the amazing collection of crystals at Swarovski museum at Wattens, Austria, the sight of gondolas criss crossing the canals of Venice, the majestic ST.Peter's Basilica and St.Peter's Square at Vatican will remain enshrined in our memory.
There were however few disappointments too. After seeing the massive Dubai airport, Gatwick airport at London where we landed was a bit disappointment. Rome airport though big in size also did not impress me. Paris by night was another big disappointment; New Town, Rajarhat has more illuminations these days unless there is a power failure. It appeared that people in Paris were very keen on power conservation. Paris by night however gave us the opportunity to see a dazzling cabaret show where we were given seats at very vantage position. Interestingly the oldest member of our group ( I was not the oldest ) was seated at a place which was within handshaking distance of the topless girls performing exotic acrobatics. Unfortunately the acts of the show could not be shared as photography was strictly prohibited there.
All the glamour and glitters of modern Europe, its pompous show of wealth and luxury, could not however hide a few spots of darkness even from a casual tourist like me. I could see a beggar on the street of Munich, a beautiful girl sitting on the lane of Rome with a pensive look asking for alms, a few shabby houses inhabited by people on the outskirts of London.
We could not see some places which I would have loved to see. We could not travel by London Tube, the worlds oldest and longest underground railway system. We could not see Heathrow airport which has largest volume of air traffic among all the airports of the world, the ceremony of change of guards at Buckingham Palace, Euro Disney at Paris. We moved through Oxford Street, a shopper's' paradise in London but could not get enough time to disembark from the couch and have a look inside some of the most famous shops in the world. We did have only a glimpse of the International Court of Justice at Hague through our moving couch. We realised that it was not possible to see everything within a short trip; so there was no other alternative to keep some places unvisited.
Our tour started from London and ended at Rome, from where we took the return flight to Kolkata. We reached London from Kolkata via Dubai.
It was a great experience to see the historical structures and buildings like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, British Parliament House, Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, the museum of De Louvre, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum.
It was amusing to see the wax museum of Madam Tussaud at London. At Versailles, we were amazed at the sheer size of the palace, its glittering interior and the beauty of its gardens. We were told that this place on the outskirts of Paris was chosen by Louis the 13th for his palace and it remained royal palace for the French rulers till Louis the 16th who was overthrown as a result of historic French revolution. We saw the original painting of Mona Lisa, the masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci at De Louvre museum which has a wonderful collections of exquisite paintings and great works of sculpture. I could take photos of the breathtaking view of Paris city from the second floor of Eiffel Tower.It was a joy to click the illuminating Eiffel Tower at 11 p.m. in the night in the midst of drizzling rain.
We could savour the natural beauty of the countryside of Europe as our air conditioned luxurious couch moved across the continent. The weather was wonderful and the journey was very comfortable. As we moved from one country to another, it appeared to me that the boundaries between the countries had ceased to exist, probably due to the concept of European Union.
The experience of going to the top of Mount Titlis, the highest peak of Swiss Alps at more than 10,000 fit height in a three stage cable car ride including a revolving car enjoying a panoramic view of the snow capped mountains will remain unforgettable. The landscape around Engelberg from where we took the cable car ride to Mt. Titlis was simply delightful. The scenic beauty of Switzerland and Austria, the joy of cruise in the canals of Amsterdam, the beautiful Madurodam park, a miniature Holland and a photographer's' paradise near Hague, the grandeur of Grand Place of Brussels, the amazing collection of crystals at Swarovski museum at Wattens, Austria, the sight of gondolas criss crossing the canals of Venice, the majestic ST.Peter's Basilica and St.Peter's Square at Vatican will remain enshrined in our memory.
There were however few disappointments too. After seeing the massive Dubai airport, Gatwick airport at London where we landed was a bit disappointment. Rome airport though big in size also did not impress me. Paris by night was another big disappointment; New Town, Rajarhat has more illuminations these days unless there is a power failure. It appeared that people in Paris were very keen on power conservation. Paris by night however gave us the opportunity to see a dazzling cabaret show where we were given seats at very vantage position. Interestingly the oldest member of our group ( I was not the oldest ) was seated at a place which was within handshaking distance of the topless girls performing exotic acrobatics. Unfortunately the acts of the show could not be shared as photography was strictly prohibited there.
All the glamour and glitters of modern Europe, its pompous show of wealth and luxury, could not however hide a few spots of darkness even from a casual tourist like me. I could see a beggar on the street of Munich, a beautiful girl sitting on the lane of Rome with a pensive look asking for alms, a few shabby houses inhabited by people on the outskirts of London.
Some people back home asked me which place did I like the most. It is difficult to answer as each place had its own charm. Further one, I feel, can not form a definite opinion about a place on such a short visit. If Paris had fascinated me for grandeur and opulence, London impressed me because of its wonderful blend of modernity and tradition. Its fleet of double- decker buses reminded me of old Calcutta. Nature was in its full glory in Switzerland and Austria; the pristine beauty of nature at Lucerne, Engelberg, Innsbruck and Watten was delight to the eyes. Rome of the once mighty Roman empire did not impress me much, barring a few of its landmarks like Colosseum, the majestic St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square in Vatican( a state within the city ), the seat of Pope, the religious head of the Catholic Christians all over the world.
Apart from the scenic beauty and the grandeur of its many towers and palaces,what, however, will remain etched in my memory most about Europe is its amazing clean roads and sense of traffic discipline on the roads.
We could not see some places which I would have loved to see. We could not travel by London Tube, the worlds oldest and longest underground railway system. We could not see Heathrow airport which has largest volume of air traffic among all the airports of the world, the ceremony of change of guards at Buckingham Palace, Euro Disney at Paris. We moved through Oxford Street, a shopper's' paradise in London but could not get enough time to disembark from the couch and have a look inside some of the most famous shops in the world. We did have only a glimpse of the International Court of Justice at Hague through our moving couch. We realised that it was not possible to see everything within a short trip; so there was no other alternative to keep some places unvisited.
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| Buckingham Palace, London |
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| In front of Buckingham Palace |
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| Tower of London |
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| Big Ben |
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| Picture of British Parliament and Big Ben taken from London Eye |
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| Madam Tussaud's Museum Photographs of picturesque Madurodam near Hague          Two pictures of Grand Place, Brussels    Manneken Pis, Brussels
 
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Picture of Paris from the second floor of Eiffel Tower
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    Pictures clicked at Venice     Colosseum, Rome  Photo of Colosseum clicked from another angle  St.Peter's Square, Vatican   |
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican
Guards at the entrance at Vatican
Five photos clicked of gorgeous interior of St. Peter's Church, Vatican
The trip to Europe, my second tour
abroad will remain as a sweet memory for me for years to come.
