When a few tourists whom I met years ago told me that they were on a 30-day shipping tour cruising around the United States, my very first thought was that they were basically mad, and probably filthy rich. Fast-forwading the time to the present, I myself was actually going to embark on this long 22-day journey with another ten close friends and I still couldn't believe that any of this was real.
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| The after-rain night view of the Eiffel Tower. |
France, our very first destination, was the lucky thirteenth country that I had ever been to in my entire life. Paris, which was notoriously famous to attract flocks of tourists, was not my type of dream destination but still it was on my "places-that-I-must-visit-before-I-die" list.
During the day, Eiffel Tower looked alright but once nightfall arrived, the beautiful tower would sparkle for the first five minutes of every hour and the view was simply magnificent. For me, this somehow made the wait more interesting and the moment even more memorable. For our first dinner of the tour, we were served by a good-looking waiter who had the ability to bring flirtation to a whole new hilarious level!
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| The sparkling tower. |
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| Yummy! |
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| Our first dinner in Paris. =P |
Jessie was our tour guide for the second day and we managed to cover a lot of must-go places and we even had the chance to climb up the Notre Dame before a huge line of tourists appeared before our very eyes.
The most exciting part of the day was that we got to try the famous Amorino gelato and Laduree macarons and they certainly didn't disappoint. After dinner, we went back to the Louvre to appreciate its elegant night view before headed back to our hotel to rest and prepare ourselves for Switzerland! =)
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| In front of the Notre Dame. |
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| It's the home of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and friends!! |
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| Hello Paris! |
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| The love locks~ |
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| The petal-shaped Amorino gelato!! |
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| The delicious colourful macarons!! |
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| In front of The Louvre!! |
After long hours of driving, we finally came back to Switzerland and it still stood as my favourite country as its scenery was so breathtaking that it made me feel as if I had transcended into an ethereal realm. Who wouldn't fell completely in love with the mountainous terrain, perfect weather and invigorating crisp air?
Guided by Dillon, we took a boat cruise and visited a well-lit cave with cascading waterfalls. Also, we had the opportunity to try out cheese fondue again and it tasted so much better than the one that we had in Zermatt. The kind-of funny "shortage of rice" situation during dinner would no doubt be remembered for a long time to come. =)
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| Dinner! |
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| Amazing view from the bus! |
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| In heaven! |
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| Cheese fondue~ |
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| The gorgeous lake view. |
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| Say Hi to Espresso, a gift from Alicia and Dillon! |
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| Trying to overcome my fear of height. >.< |
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| The waterfall at the entrance of the cave. |
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| The Swiss Truffles!! The champagne flavour was the best of all! |
Italy was our third country and surely it had plenty to offer but all I could remember was that it was blazingly hot most of the time. My favourite place in Italy would be Tuscany, but my belief might be slightly (or lot) biased due to the heartwarming movie Under the Tuscan Sun.
But to be fair, it had one of the most stunning evening view and walking the streets of its city at night was nice and comfortable. Additionally, I got my best gelato in Italy over there. Now it didn't sound so biased, did it?
But to be fair, it had one of the most stunning evening view and walking the streets of its city at night was nice and comfortable. Additionally, I got my best gelato in Italy over there. Now it didn't sound so biased, did it?
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| The Leaning Tower of Pisa!! |
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| An adorable evening in Tuscany!! This was the reason why I loved my iPhone so much. |
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| Or may be not so much during the night... but still let's scream Gelato!! |
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| Thumbs up! |
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| The best dark chocolate gelato of all time! |
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| In Florence!! |
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| And finally Rome!! |
Our next destination was the smallest country that owned the biggest church in the whole wide world - Vatican City. The exterior and interior of the buildings including the paintings on the walls were definitely spellbinding. On the next day, we stopped at Pompeii and then Bari before taking an overnight ferry to Croatia to begin our journey in the other part of Europe.
After showering and freshening up, Dillon, CH and I took a walk around the deck to enjoy the night view. While there, we accidentally bumped into Grandma Stamina and helped her locate her friends since she was lost. Before long, bolts of lightning began to pierce through the dark sky so we decided to call it a night.
After showering and freshening up, Dillon, CH and I took a walk around the deck to enjoy the night view. While there, we accidentally bumped into Grandma Stamina and helped her locate her friends since she was lost. Before long, bolts of lightning began to pierce through the dark sky so we decided to call it a night.
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| Stephanie and ChieChie~ |
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| In the biggest church of the world. |
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| I knew I wasn't allowed to take photo of this masterpiece in Vatican City but... |
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| The volcano in Pompeii. |
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| With the pretties in Pompeii. |
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| Fucking loved this convenient drink everywhere in Italy! |
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| Loved it so much! |
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| Local Italian food~ |
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| Boarding the ferry to leave Italy. |
As the ferry took us further and further away from the land of Italy, I felt utterly grateful and incredibly lucky to have the chance to visit all these beautiful places with beautiful people who knew me best. Goodbye Italy, for now! =)
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift