[Throwback] Final thoughts on my Europe Trip

Before I start, here's a summary of my posts on this amazing Europe trip:

Europe Trip: Italy, Greece, and France
Rome, Italy
Rome Landmarks
Vatican City
Rome Experiences and Memories
Athens, Greece
Experiences and Memories in Athens
France: Paris and Lourdes
Paris
Lourdes, France
France Experiences and Memories
Final thoughts on my Europe Trip

The Acropolis in Athens

This trip was the first time I took my mom abroad on an international vacation. Thankfully, my assignment in Brussels allowed me have enough resources to take her. I had also earned enough miles from previous international flights to get us a free flight from Athens to Paris. (Flights within Europe - at least back then - required very little miles and by then I had earned enough to get us free flights via KLM). I then used the European budget airline Ryanair for our flights from Brussels to Rome and from Rome to Athens.

St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

It was in this trip that I did the boldest thing I've ever done (and something I had never done again): I didn't book hotels prior to arriving and only relied on booking hotel rooms at the airport! I'm not sure what made me decide to do this. Maybe it was because I was still not an expert on organizing international trips or maybe it's because I had heard from other people that they just book hotels once they arrive at the airport. I wrote about being assisted by a friendly customer service person at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. This was because we arrived late in the evening and the hotel kiosks at the airport were closed. We ended up staying at an airport hotel (Novotel, I believe). Thankfully, the train station from Paris to Lourdes was at the airport so it made it easy for us to bring our luggage to the station. All our hotels were also pretty decent.

Trevi Fountain at night in Rome

We took an overnight train from Paris to Lourdes and from Lourdes back to Paris so we could save a bit on accommodations. Since two of our nights in Europe were spent onboard a train, we didn't need to book a hotel room for two nights.

View of Paris at night from the Eiffel Tower

Finally, I had a really strange yet memorable experience in Paris. I asked my mom to take a photo of me at Notre Dame. However, there was a lady standing right next to me. As I didn't want to have other people in the foreground of my picture, I moved a few steps to the left but then the lady moved closer again. I can't recall if I tried moving again but then she and her friends started talking to me in another language (Spanish, I think?) and they all had a photo taken with me. I'm not particularly sure what was happening but for whatever reason, I'm guessing she must've wanted to have her photo taken with me. (Could she have mistaken me for someone else?) I didn't know exactly how to react back then but my mom still took our picture (while another one of the lady's friends too our photo as well). You can clearly see the look of confusion on my face haha. If this thing happened now, I would probably be a lot more willing and open to have my photo taken with strangers. And I would definitely have a much more sincere smile in that picture.

An unexpected photo with strangers in Notre Dame

It was really enjoyable walking down memory lane and remembering my first ever international trip with my mom. I'm also really happy and very grateful that it wasn't the last. I also returned to Paris a few months later to see more sights. I will write about that trip soon.