Next month, I will embark on a 20-day journey in France and Germany and I have to set some goals first so that it will be easier for me to hop from one place to the other. It will be a very exciting and busy journey packed with adventure and beautiful places to see. Yeah, everything were been booked, train rides and hotels were all been paid and secured. All I need to do is review them and study it well so that everything will be smooth and fluid. All copies were been made, copied, and printed and here's my itineraries. Can't wait for the trip and I am very very excited. Although the schedules were kinda hectic, hope everything will turn-out good. Yay!
October 19 - 20, 2014 - My journey starts in Los Angeles LAX via an Aeroflot Russian Airline's flight 107 at 1625H. Will take a long flight across the Atlantic Ocean and will arrive in Moscow, Russia Sheremtyevo Airport (SVO) the next day, October 20, 2014, at 1540H. Will suffer some drastic time change due to the fact that Russia is nine to ten hours ahead of Los Angeles. I will have a lay over there for almost four hours and then will board another Aeroflot Russian Airlines flight 4456 going to Paris, France and arrived at Charles De Gaulle (Roissy) Airport (CDG) at 2140H at night. I will probably take a Metro train (hope there's still one by that time, but I heard they close after midnight) and will locate my hotel at 64 Boulevard de Rochechouart in Montepellier area.
October 21, 2014 - I will still be in Paris at this day. I still have twenty-four hours to roam around and peruse the city. Since my hotel is a tad mile walking distance of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, I will visit it first then will take the Metro and look for the Musee Rodin formerly called Hotel Biron at 79 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France. I will also look for Napoleon's tomb at Esplanade de Invalides and go to Musee d'Orsay at 1 Rue de la Legion d'Honneur along the River Sienne. I will also go to the Eiffel Tower and climb it for the first time and then walk at the Place de la Concorde afterwards near the Eiffel tower. I will also try to pass by the Louvre Museum to get another picture of the glass pyramid.
October 22, 2014 - I will leave Paris early in the morning via Gare Nord going to Dusseldorf, Germany. My train will leave Paris at 0601H and will arrive in Dusseldorf at 0943H. I will probably leave my back pack (will have a light packing due to the extensive traveling) at the train station (hopefully they have lockers there) and then roam around the city. I will stay near the city center to enjoy the important spots around it and if lucky will visit the Rheinturm Tower and take some nice pictures. Since the tower is near the Media Harbor I might probably enjoy a boat ride at the Rhine River and then visit the Neuer Zollhof building and the Esprit arena nearby.
At 1428H I will leave Dusseldorf and board a train going to Bonn, Germany. I will arrived there in less than an hour at 1512H and then start looking for my hotel there to stay overnight. I will be staying at Baden Hotel Bonn in Graurheindorferstrabe (what a long name) and then once settled will start to roam the city for a while and spend the night. Places that's of value to visit are the Museum Koenig at Adenauralle 160, the Poppelsdorf Palace at Meckenheiner Alle 169, the Bonn Minster at Gangolfstrabe 14, and the Arithmeum an arithmetic museum at Lenestrabe 2. Since Bonn is the birthplace of Sir Ludwig Beethoven I will try look for some statues of Beethoven strategically placed everywhere around the city.
October 23, 2014 - The following day I have to leave Bonn early at 0825H to catch up the train going to Koeln (now called Cologne)which only takes twenty minutes (since Koeln is only nearby) and will arrive there at 0845H. Then I will leave my back pack again at the train station (for sure they have lockers there as what I've heard) then walk at the city center and look for the Cologne Cathedral and the Shrine of the Three Kings (conveniently located inside the cathedral) situated at Domkloster 4 (this is the important place I needed to go in Koeln and shouldn't be missed). The Colonius Tower and the nearby Cologne Tower is worthy of visit as well. And some museums like the Romano-Germanic Museum at Ronalliplatz 4 and the Museum Ludwig at Heinrich-Boll-Platz.
Time is short there for I have only like more or less than three hours to see the city and then I will go back at the train station and board another train at 1244H going to Paris Nord and when I arrive there at 1559H I will transfer to Paris EST train station and wait for four hours for my train ride to Strasbourg, France where I will stay for the night. The train will leave Paris at 2017H and will arrive in Strasbourg at 2247H and then I will locate Lagrange City Strasbourg Hotel at 5C Boulevard du President Wilson.
October 24, 2014 - The following day will be my 45th birthday and I will spent it there partly in Strasbourg in the morning and the other half in Nancy Ville at night. I will wake up early in the morning and start the tour of Strasbourg at the famous Strasbourg Cathedral (the most beautiful and enormous notre dame in the whole of France) and the Kammerzell House nearby at 16 Place de la Cathedrale. Worth visiting as well are the Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune Protestant Church at 3 Rue de la Nuee Bleue, the Palais Rohan at 2 Place de Chateau, and the UNESCO World Heritage site which is the Grande I'le or simply the Grand Island near the River Ill.
At 1420H I will board another train going to the nearby Nancy Ville to spent the night at Mercure Nancy Centre Stanislas Hotel at 5 Rue Des Carmes. I will arrive in Nancy at 1543H and will still have an ample time to roam around at the famous Place Stanislas and take a lot of pictures there for my online album. Since it is my birthday I will enjoy the rest of the day and night treating and celebrating by myself for my birthday.
Places not to be left out while in Nancy Ville are Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy at 3 Place Stanislas, the Nancy Cathedral at Place Monseigneur Ruch, and the intricate Palace of Dukes of Lorraine that surrounded the entire Place Stanislas. I will take a lot of pictures of the enormous and beautiful plaza and its gardens for my Facebook online album
October 25, 2014 - The following day I have to wake up early and leave Nancy Ville by train at 0701H and arrive at 0925H at the ancient town of Reims. I have six hours to peruse the place but most importantly I need to visit the famous Reims Cathedral at Place du Cardinal Lucan which is the usual place where French Kings and Queens of France were being crowned during Medieval times. Also notable places to visit are the Abbey of Saint Remi at Place du Chanoine Ladame, the Palace of Tau at 2 Place du Cardinal Lucan (adjacent the cathedral), the Foujita Chapel wherein the Chapel of Our Lady Queen of Peace with the famous frescoes on the walls is located at 33 Rue du Champ de Mars, and the Porte Mars situated at the Place de la Republique.
At 1547H I will board another train bound for Paris EST train station with a slight layover at Champagne-Ardenne between 1555H and 1606H then will arrive at Paris at 1656H. I will then transfer to Gare Lyon and board another train at 1819H going to Marseille and arrive there at 2129H then will have a short layover there for forty minutes then will leave again at 2205H and arrive at Aix-en-Provence at 2249H. This will be the end of my trip where my friend Rosalie will pick me up at the train station at 2300H and I will basically stay at her house while I am there in Aix-en-Provence. This will be the temporary end of the first league of my journey.
October 26, 2014 - I will basically stay at Aix for this day for my rest of the day and catch up with Rosalie who is off on that weekend. We will probably tour the town and just basically talk about life and what was been happening to her for the years that I haven't seen and visited her. Of course I will interact with the kids; Kenneth who will turn 19-years-old next month (and will have his birthday on October 18th), Pierre who is now 11-years-old and whom his mom had told me has two girlfriends, and little Diane who is now 4-years-old (who was still a baby when I was visiting last time.) I have a lot to catch to these kids. Hehehe.
October 27, 2014 - I will start the second league of my sojourn on this day going southwest of France starting at Toulouse. I will take the train from Aix at 0810H and then will change a train in Marseille going to Toulouse which will arrive there ay 1412H. Then I will start roaming the city looking at the famous places like the Capitole de Toulouse at Place du Capitole, the famous Pont Neuf at 12 Place du Pont Neuf, the Toulouse Cathedral at Place Saint-Etienne, the Basilica of Saint Sernin at Place Saint-Sernin, the Notre-Dame de la Daraude at 1 Place de la Daraude, the Musee des Augustins at 21 Rue de Metz, the Hotel d'Assezat at Place d'Assezat, and the famous Canale de Brienne which connects the Garonne River with the Canal du Midi and the Canal de Garonne.
I will leave Toulouse at 1855H hoping that I went to all the places stated above (God bless me) and will connect the train via Narbonne between 2032H and 2115H which will eventually arrive in Montpellier at 2213H to spend the night there at Hotel d'Angleterre at 7 Rue Maguelone.
October 28, 2014 - The following day I will roam around the huge and beautiful city of Montpellier and its famous French Riviera bayfront starting at the Place de la Comedie which is the focal point of this humongous metropolis, the Porte du Peyrou which is a triumphal arch near the mouth of the Jardin de Peyrou, the Montpellier Cathedral at the Place Saint Pierre, and the famous Antigone Place which is a neighborhood best known for its modern and contemporary architectural design by the Catalonian artist Ricardo Bofill.
At 1213H I will board another train that will arrive at Nimes at 1246H. I will then roam this classic and old Roman town starting at the Arena of Nimes which is an ancient Roman amphitheatre (similar to the Colisseum but smaller in size) built in 70 AD at the Boulevard des Arenes, the Maison Carree which is an ancient best preserved Roman temple at the Place de la Maison Carree, the Nimes Cathedral dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the local Saint Castor of Apt at the Place Saint-Castor, and the Carree d'Art which magnificently houses the Museum of Contemporary Art and the city's famous library which is constructed in glass, concrete, and steel at 16 Place de la Maison Carree.
Then at 1835H I will leave Nimes and take the train going home to Aix-en-Provence taking the train which will have a short layover in Marseille and will eventually arrive in Aix at 2049H. It will be a tiring journey but it's all worth it, I guess.
October 29, 2014 to November 1, 2014 - I will stay in Aix-en-Provence most of these days and will catch-up and spend time with my friend Rosalie who is off at that time. I might ask her to bring me to Arles by bus to visit the world renowned Vincent van Gogh Museum there and also to shop in Marseille on one of the those days. If have time we will visit some of the key tourists spots in Marseille (which I went before) and my dream place to visit (which I've missed before because of the windy weather) the Chateau d'If. Hopefully this will be the time to do that.
November 2. 2014 - At this time I will leave Aix-en-Provence and bade good bye to my best friend and the kids because I will start the third league of my journey here. I will leave Aix at 1650H going to Paris to spend the night there in preparation for my long train ride the next day to London. I will be arriving in Paris via a layover in Marseille at 2053H in Gare Lyon. Then from there I will just probably look for a cheap hotel around there just like what me and Doreen had done before during my last vacation because it is more nearer to Gare Nord where I will be taking the train for London the following day.
November 3 2014 to November 6, 2014 - I will leave Paris on November 3 at 0713H bound on the famous Eurostar bullet train and then stay at my college classmate's house in London. Famous places I needed to visit and should be placed on my list-to-do while staying there are the London Bridge and Tower, the London Eye, the Kensington Palace, the 2012 Olympic Park, the Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Westminster, the Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Parliament Building and the Big Ben, the Oxford University campus, the National Gallery, the London West End to watch Miss Saigon, the world renowned British Museum, the Westminster Abbey, the famous Trafalgar Square, the enormous Hyde Park, the Globe Theater, the Royal Albert Hall, the Harrods, etc. I will have enough three days to roam around London wnd will surely not miss all of them. I will also try to make use of the Metro trains (always crowded I've heard) and the double decker buses. I will also take a lot of pictures for my online album.
November 6, 2014 - This will be my last day in London and the day that I will fly back to the mainland. I will be leaving London at 1225H and will arrive at Paris Nord at 1547H. Then I will transfer train going to CDG airport and get ready for my departure going back to the United States. I will take the Aeroflot Russian Airline Flight 4451 which will leave at 1820H going to Moscow, Russia and will arrive at Sheremtyevo (SVO) airport at 0100H then I will have a twelve-hour layover there (will be bored I guess). The following day I will take the Aeroflot Russian Airline flight 106 going back to Los Angeles, California at 1320H crossing the Atlantic Ocean for another 1-12 hours that will eventually arrive in LAX at 1510H. It will be a tiring flight back home.
I am quite excited already about this jampacked adventure and my ultimate hope is just to have all my adventures fulfilled and for me to enjoy the places that I will be visiting. I hope everything will be okay and that I will have no troubles along the way. Please help me Lord Jesus! Amen.
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