European Backpacking: The Summary

WOW! I made it and my mom survived! We're finally back after our 16-day European pilgrimage-backpacking trip. We visited 11 cities in 4 countries with 5 airplane rides, 2-overnight trains, 2-high speed trains and 2-regional trains.

My partner. Haha!

Our main purpose was to attend the beatification ceremony of Don Alvaro Del Portillo in Madrid, Spain. But since we were already in Europe, might as well visit other sites. It was already our chance!

So we visited famous pilgrimage sites such as Fatima and Avila, prayed in major Basilica like the Sacre-croix (Sacred Heart) in Paris, Milano Cathedral and St. Peter's Square in Rome, attended Papal Audience in Rome and of course other must-visit side trips -- Disneyland Paris, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Coloseo to name a few.

To summarize our trip:

Spain: Avila. Madrid. Segovia.

Portugal: Fatima. Lisbon.

France: Paris. Versailles.

Italy: Milan. Florence. Pisa. Rome.

Just to give you a run down of what we did:

Manila - Doha - Madrid: Qatar Airways. We had a 9hrs layover in Doha for and so they provided a free hotel for us to rest. But obviously, we didn't actually rest but met with my mom's cousin and spent time roaming around the State of Qatar. We weren't able to see much due to limited time in the city. Nevertheless, it was fun to go around by car and visit one of the biggest mall in town.

Villagio Mall, Doha, Qatar

Spain: We arrived in Madrid early morning Friday and went directly to my mom’s cousin’s house. After leaving our luggage, we went around the capital city immediately. We visited the famous Plaza del Sol, Almudena Cathedral, the Grand Palace, Parque del Retiro, etc. The following day, we attended the Beatification Ceremony of Don Alvaro Del Portillo. Our last day in Spain was a side trip to Segovia and Avila, a neighboring city of Madrid.

Grand Palace, Madrid, Spain

Portugal: A 2-day stay in Portugal was like forever when we visited Fatima, Portugal.  We went to Our Lady of Fatima Basilica, attended mass at the Chapel of Apparition, where our Lady showed up to the 3 kids of Fatima – Blessed Jacinta, Blessed Francisco and Lucia who just died in 2005. Of course we went around Lisboa too! We visited Jeronimos Monastery, Belem Tower, Commercio Square, Rossio Square and more.  Also took the famous Tram 12, 18, and 28. Oh, and I got the chance to watch a Champions League game between Sporting Club de Portugal and Chelsea FC. Unfortunately, the home team loss.

Commercio Square, Lisbon, Portugal

Chapel of Apparition, Fatima, Portugal

Champions League: Sporting Club de Portugal vs Chelsea FC

France: A very quick trip in the city of love. Visited the famous Chateau de Versailles  on our first day after a short lunch with Jean-Eudes, my French friend who also visited Davao city before. He also gave us free ticket to the Eiffel Tower since he works there. Yay! The following day, we visited the happiest place on earth, Disneyland Paris! In the next 2 days, we explored the city! Of course, the must sees! Louvre Museum – Monalisa. Attended Mass in Notredame. Visited St Chapelle, Arc d’ Triomphe and Champs Elysees. Gare d’ Lyon. The food was also amazing! Very delicious but quite expensive. Argh!

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Disneyland Paris

Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Italy: We visited 4 cities in a couple of days. First stop was Milan via overnight train from Paris. We attended Sunday Mass in Milan Cathedral. It was a very laidback stroll in the city just waiting for the night train to Firenze. The next day, we had a half-day trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In the afternoon, we walked around Firenze to see the Statue of David, Ponte Vecchio and other must sees there. Not to mention the gelatos!

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

Last stop was Roma and the Vatican City. Priceless. On the day that we arrived, we got our tickets for the Papal Audience the following day. And at the same time went inside St. Peter’s Square and attended mass there. The most important of the trip was the Papal Audience. I saw Pope Francis face-to-face and he was very close to us as the Pope Mobil stopped in front of us because the Pope kissed one of the kids on the audience. Amazing once in a lifetime experience! In the afternoon, we went to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel, the School of Athens and other famous paintings. Afterwards, we stroll around the eternal city visiting the famous Basilicas – St. John Lateran and Mary Major. Visited the Coloseo, Scala Santa, Spanish Steps and more!

 

St. Peter's Square, Vatican

Viva Il Papa!

Coloseo, Rome, Italy

Overall, it was fulfilling but really tiring. Imagine walking everyday. Yes, literally walking to reach point A to point B. Just think about it, there are sites that are just a station or two away from our current location, we might as well walk to see other things along the way than take the metro and won't see anything. Others may argue that you are already tired when you arrive at your destination but for me, the walk itself is a tour. It's good to get lost in Europe. But of course, it still depends on you.

Hopefully, I can write about my experience in Europe! Yay!