Adventures of Miss Maix

l’infini commence aujourd’hui. Infinity starts today. Photo by Jamie Mabanta. Paris 2011.

I’ve got the world on a string.

Just finished sending an email to a friend on tips for his euro trip. I wanna share this love to everyone else who’s wants to go on this adventure but is clueless.

Feel free to comment, share your own experiences and add to the tips.

So here it is, in verbatim and all wrong capitalizations and punctuations.

Hi!

Since you will be getting a 15 day eurail pass, you can wing most of your trip and schedule. i’m sending you the must sees (in my experience) in the cities you wanna visit. and just a few travel reminders:

REMINDERS:

put a copy of the eurail timetables, metro train maps, maps to hostels and scans of your important documents on your itouch/ipad

always book a hostel with wifi and walking distance to places of interest or near a metro/bus station. hostelworld.com is best

upon arrival at a city, make sure to ask about reservations for your next train trip (it is summer so there might be routes that get sold out)

always keep your euros in your money belts or neck slings. dont ever lose sight of your important stuff.

beware of pick pockets. they are very sneaky in europe. watch out for each other also. always be alert and aware of your surroundings.

read about your next destination during train and plane rides. history gives meaning to cities and monuments

decide on your per-city collectible

dont forget your memory cards and battery chargers

use shampoo sachets and showergel + loofah

pack light, you can do laundry in hostels

visit the city grocery for local goods and possibly pasalubong

always bring a water bottle so that you dont always buy at the expensive tourist stalls

remember the best times for pictorials are: 1 hour before sunset and after sunrise (GOLDEN HOUR), 1 hour after sunset (where the sky is perfectly blue)

bring a tripod

be patient with each other. Travel is the best test of friendship

talk to “safe looking” locals. and always speak well of your country.

flirt.

My Favorites:

MADRID

- museo de jamon for cheap snacks and take home jamon. jamon serrano is the cheapest and pata negra is the best

- that fan store in puerto del sol

- if you have just one day to go around, take the tourist hop on hop off bus. dont go off for one round just to see the sights. then take another round to hop off at your favorite spots

- mercado san martin

- plaza mayor

- botin (oldest restaurant) just at the side of plaza mayor fronting mercado san martin

BARCELONA

- Parc guell

- Las Ramblas

- the old walled part of the city

- plaza catalunya

- marina area

- olympic area

- boqueria market

- sagrada familia

- passeig de la gracia for shopping and nice gaudi buildings

- the beach! - barceloneta

PARIS

- Louvre (free for youth on fridays, 6 pm onwards)

- Eiffel, Champs de Mars

- Champs Elysees

- MontMartre and Sacre Couer

- Notre Dame (go inside :))

- take the fee new europe tours that meet at st. michel 11am and 1 pm everyday 

*they also have in a lot of other cities http://www.neweuropetours.eu/ THIS IS MY SUPER FAVORITE

beware of men trying to put bracelets on you, may bayad na yun if pumayag ka

Dont forget to take the daytime train from paris to zurich for the scenic view. and also the day time train from switzerland to milan

MILAN - the Shopping area of vittorio emmanuel is iconic.

- you can also try to go to the last supper (just ask tourist information)

From Milan, pass by pisa, florence then rome 

PISA - Leaning tower (just 1 bus ride)

FLORENCE

- from train station, just walk along via nazionale and ask where the duomo is. Also walk to Piazza della reppublica and the ponte vecchio.

- dont forget to eat gelato!

ROME

- Hostel reco : cialdini inn (pls check hostelworld.com) - ask the receptionist for the tourist map and the bus line you should take to see the sights

- collosseo

- trevi fountain

- pantheon

- piazza navona

- spanish steps and via condotti

- piazza venezia

*also nice to see at night when there are no tourists 

VATICAN

- piazza san pietro

- st. peter’s basilica

- MUST TAKE A GUIDED TOUR OF THE VATICAN MUSEUM

from ROME, you can stop over at venice. Just take the vaporetto from the train station all the way down to piazza san marco. Check out the piazza, bridge of sighs, rialto. the whole city is just nice. you can also buy murano pendants for souvenir and pasalubong to moms and titas (dont buy a the piazza, its a bit expensive. buy at the side streets instead

VIENNA

Schonbrunn Palace

you can Catch a Mozart show (he was born here!)

Eat Apple Strudel and Viennese coffee at the market

SALZBURG

Quaint town where sound of music was filmed. If you are a fan, take the sound of music tour

BUDAPEST

Chain Bridge

Prague Castle (where Katy Perry shot FIREWORK)

Fisherman’s Bastillion - nice views of the city

St. Stephens cathedral

The Market - ground floor is full of sausages and paprika for pasalubong but second floor is filled with cooked food

MUST TRY: Langosh (local version of pizza and Goulash!)

also try PALINKA (their national liquor)

If you have time to gimik, go to SZIMPLA. Just ask the taxi to bring you

look for the round smoked mozzarella cheese in the grocery. sobrang sarap!

PRAGUE

Take the New europe free tours again 11am and 1 pm at old town square

Try the sausages at wenceslas square

photo op at charles bridge

Drink beer! Pilsen was born here! (pilsner urquell!)

AMSTERDAM

coffee houses

fries along damrak

red light district

anne franks house

heineken tour

There is also a free new europe tour here

BRUSSELS

go to the area around grand palace! eat all the waffles, chocolates and beer that you can! :D

If you found this useful, you can buy me bottle openers from cities you’ll be visiting or perhaps carry on my passion for manholes and email me photos

M