INTRO

I am creating this blog at the urging of my cousin, CJ. It is something that I have wanted to do for a while but am just getting around to. I just want to share some of my experiences with anyone interested to hopefully make their traveling easier and more enjoyable.

A little background on myself and qualifications for doing this. I spent 8 months in Europe, from October 2005-June 2006. Most of my time was spent in France, about 5 months total. The other 3 months were spent going from city to city, country to country in an attempt to absorb as much of European culture as I could in the time I had. During this time I kept a diary and held on to as much free stuff as I could get away with. Unfortunately my camera broke in February and I don't have pictures of many of the amazing places I visited.

So please, if you are going to Europe soon, read what I have below. I have tried to organize it as simply as possible. If you have any questions, whether it be on how to find a job, where to eat, or the best way to do Paris in a day, don't hesitate to email me (jcamato@gmail.com).

Update 10.3.06: I just posted all of the info I sent to my cousin before he left. I might update it further as I go through all of my old stuff since Wednesday is the one year anniversary of my arrival in Europe.

GENERAL INFO

use a credit card to take out money. don't take US dollars. pack as light as possible. don't bring stupid stuff. i would take a backpack and one other small bag. i'd mostly pack shirts. i'd wear one pair of jeans, go commando and turn shirts inside out. europeans are dirty so they won't notice. it just makes traveling so much easier.

when you go to a new city, especially in france, go directly to the tourist office. they can set up tours for you, give you maps and tell you what you need to see. i didn't learn this until later in my travels but it makes a huge difference.

i think the best way to travel europe is to travel one country heavily so you really get to know it. i took two roadtrips through france. i went to the country side, small towns and the big places along the way. i really got to know it so much better than the whirlwind tour my brothers took. you'll have time to do this if you want. it makes it more relaxing and in the end you'll appreciate it more. this is much easier if you rent a car. i think renting a car is the way to go if you decided to do this. trains are not the best way to travel europe. i can't emphasize this enough. the worst trip, in terms of time and money management, was the one i took with the brothers. the eurrail pass is a waste of money and you are restricted to the train schedule and the cities they go to. i drove from paris to rome to milan to munich to amsterdam to paris with three other guys. the total cost for gas and rental was $350 each. by train that would have been 1000 or more. that way you can make your own schedule, go at your own pace and see what you want. when driving in france it was amazing to drive, see a vineyard and pull in to taste their wine. the same with the castles. the freedome is what i appreciate. the second best way to travel is ryanair. go to their site: www.ryanair.com. they sometimes have flights for less than a dollar. all you have to pay is the runway tax. i flew from paris to barcelona to milan and back to paris for under $120. a good idea is to plan a month or so out. go to the site and find a cheap flight and go to that city. even if you don't know what is there. for the price it's worth it and i'm sure you'll find something that makes it fun. only go by train if you have to. easyjet.com is another good site for flights. the only bad thing about ryanair is that you have to take a bus ride to the airport which can be an hour long and sometimes you have to leave really early.

i also think it's better to travel with someone. going alone isn't that bad but the companionship is nice. my only warning with travel partners is to beware of chicks. i went on a road trip with some chick who was fun and then after two days i wanted to throw her under the car. they are high maintenance and no fun when you are with them so much.

bread and cheese is good cheap food when traveling. it's so fresh and delicious. i miss it so much. doner kabab is amazing too. it's turkish or greek food. kind of like a gyro. you will learn to love the doner. i am craving one right now.

get maps. small ones that you can fold in your pocket. travel books are good but can just be too much to pack sometimes. go to the websites and you can get most of the stuff you need. take walking tours every chance you get. and just get lost. take more pictures than you think you can handle. buy dvds to save your pictures to. they hold more and buy them in the US cause they are so much cheaper.

befriend americans living abroad. they are good resources to have. if you go to switzerland my dad's college roommate lives there and he'd let you stay even if he isn't around. i know people in paris and a city outside paris called chartres you could stay with too.

best way to contact home is through skype.com. download it on your computer and you can call a landline in the US for 2 cents a minute. if your mom downloads it you can talk for free. my name is jcamato.

TOP 6 PLACES TO VISIT

1. paris
2. rome
3. london
4. prague
5. spain
6. germany

amsterdam

i really don't need to tell you much about this city. my advice is that if you are there for two nights get baked out of your mind every chance you get. if you have more time check the city out. it actually has a lot of cool things: heineken factory, van gogh museum. but you have to try the hash brownies. i also heard they have hash milkshakes which sound amazing. crazy place though and the chicks in the windows seem fake. just not right. apparently they have a sex show where a dude in a banana suit and gorilla jump out at you. let me know if you find that.

france:

here is my advice in france other than paris. go to bordeaux. this is the famous wine region. it's a very yound student city. they have pedestrian streets and trams and it's more modern than most cities in france. the best thing to do is go to the tourist office and sign up for wine tours. they have bus tours and if you rent a car you can go on your own. if you drive make sure they know you have very little money and it'd be better to go to vineyards with cheaper wine. but wine tours kick ass. if you know anyone from ND in anger go there. that is in the loire valley. the loire valley is packed with castles and vineyards. you can't go wrong there. chenonceau is the coolest non-versailles chateau ever. wine tours rule too. take as many as you can and drink all the cheap wine you can. normandy is also really cool. they love americans in the north of france. probably wouldn't be on the top of my list if i were you though.

italy

i did a lot of traveling in italy. my number 1 italy travel tip: don't drive there. i hate italians now because i had to drive with them. bad way to be introduced to the country. milan was a great city. they have this thing called aperitivo where you go from like 5-8 and if you buy a drink you get this free buffet. it's more of appetizers for italians, but we're american students so it's a meal. it's only in milan though. milan has a duomo which is like the third largest cathedral in the world. definitely worth it. it was under construction when i was there though. they also have a castle and the fashion district which are worthwhile. cinque terre is a series of five coastal towns in italy. it's a great experience. they have this hike along the coast which is cool. the towns are all really colorful and although it's become fairly touristy over the last couple years, it's more old school italian than the other places you'll go. venice is an interesting place if just for the whole on the water thing. we found some irish bar with absinthe and spent most of our time there. they have some flea market type area which is cool too. florence (in italy it's called firenze) was decent. they have a cathedral which is mostly empty but you can pay to go to the top which is supposed to be cool. they are known for their big flea market. fun just like the bazaar in istanbul. rome is a must. i've attached some notes from a former architecture student. that'll be better than what i can tell you. my advice is just to find an arkie and have them give you a tour. that's what they do for class anyway so they know everything.

greece

great place to go for the islands. if you can go do it early. the late summer is supposed to be the best time to go. greece is very difficult to get to and rather expensive. i went to corfu and mykonos. fun times but i was with kt and all her friends. athens i liked a lot. much better than what i expected. kt knows more about greece though so ask her on this if you plan to go.

istanbul

fun city. different than the rest of the european cities you'll go to because of the muslim influence. you can even hop on a boat and go to asia. the grand and spice bazaar's are cool too. lots of good shopping and the vendors bug you a lot. they have the blue mosque and the hagia sophia. the hagia is cool because it was a church and a mosque at different times in history. so you can see images of mary and muslim stuff. nice contrast. the blue mosque really isn't that blue. free to go though. and go to a turkish bath too. just fun to try it. one of those experiences that you should have. when i did it i had no clue what to do. just sat around trying to copy what other people were doing then all these turkish guys started yelling at me. very confusing. but funny. i think i can't give blood now that i've been to turkey. i ate chicken there during the avian flu scare. i'm invincible.

prague

prague is a must see. an expensive beer is only $1.25 at the bars. and they're good too. food is cheap as well. the history and culture of prague is worthwhile as well. there town square is great. they have this huge cuckoo clock that is sweet. the story is that after the dude built it they cut out his eyes so that he couldn't make another. they also have this bridge with a bunch of painters and vendors and on the other side is the castle. there is a huge spire that you can climb up. gives a great view of the city. there is also a medieval tourture museum that was decent if you're looking to kill some time. but really just walking the city and going out to eat is the thing to do. it's so interesting. a buddy and i had dinner and drinks for 30 bucks and we couldn't even eat all the food.

germany

germany kicks ass. you'll be able to handle this better than me. munich must do: the hofbrahaus. if you go when it's not october fest (which is actually more in september than october) you can get 1 liter beers for 6 euros. one of the best deals i ever found. i bought a stine. pretty cool. that's about all we did there. i heard the best time for octoberfest, if you do go, is during the week. the weekends is packed with tourists and can be difficult. good times though. berlin is pretty depressing if you do all of the holocaust stuff. i would avoid the jewish museum. i wanted to kill myself after and almost did. it was a great city to walk through. i didn't really have a good idea of where to go.

spain

i visited three cities in spain. if you go to spain you have to go to either madrid or barcelona. i also went to zaragoza where a friend was studying. if you have a contact there go. chicks are hot, love americans, plenty of mullets, so many bars, and 1 euro tequilla shots. if you go to spain in the summer do barcelona and some of the coastal towns (i hear they're nice. topless beaches are a plus too). barcelona was great for the beach. ohio boys like that you know. there were also some beautiful chicks wearing just g-strings. swear to god. most amazing thing ever. i want to move there yesterday. the famous cathedral is la sagrada familia. it is under construction and expensive to go inside. i did not go in but was told by pat that scaffolding covers most of it. the outside is really cool though. there is an all you can eat buffet across the street. all you can drink too - watch out for the non alcoholic beer though. dr's friend bulfin fell for that one. madrid would be better in the winter. more to do as a tourist. there is the prado museum and reina sofia. the sofia has some badass picasso which i didn't see but was told it was badass. anyway there is a free day for the museums. sunday or monday i think. look it up before you go. you must go to one of them. the best way to see madrid is by taking one of the walking tours. one of them goes right in front of the prado and you just follow the signs. also go to the park retiro. sunday is apparently the best day to go. they have street performers and stuff. good times. they also have two big areas in madrid: gran via and puerto de sol. there is one busy street there where prostitutes hang out during the day. crazy man. don't mess with them at night. again a lesson learned via bulfin. they stole dr's camera out of his pocket. sweet dude. eh. so must do in madrid: one museum, walking tours, retiro, gran via and puerto del sol, and buy john a large black shirt with red bull with huge balls on it. they are 10 euro outside of the prado. if you don't do this i'll be so pieced at you. seriously. i highlighted it so you would remember. i bought two and the dryer i used ruined one and another shrank too much. i still wear them though. just don't want to look like a carny doing it anymore. must do in barca: the beach. the aquarium isn't as cool as the one in chicago apparently.

london

you'll like london and dublin because you can actually express yourself fluently in these cities. london is a must see. like rome and paris you can't miss london. it's big city, more american, and fun. i did all the toursity stuff. you can probably figure most of it out on your own. just watch your money here. everything is more expensive and when you exchange to pounds here you kind of forget how much you are actually spending. westminster abbey is not worth it. you'll see so many other churches for free in europe that i was pissed when i actually paid to go into westminster. the changing of the guards at buckingham takes forever. cool for a bit. it'll be good for you too since you'll be about a foot taller than the japanese tourists there. the one thing i really like that i think most people miss out on was the winston churchill museum. here's the link on wikipedia. you might want to buy some books here if you're running out of things to read on your travels.

dublin

great trip to make with friends. very vibrant city and the nightlife seems great. i was on my own so not quite sure but it seemed like people were always drinking and always up for a good time. the guinness factory is a must. you'll learn that arthur guinness is a god. i love guinness now. they even put a shamrock outline in the foam. it really tastes so much better at the factory. you only get one drink for free and one quarter pint sample half way through the tour. the building is like 6 stories tall and takes a while to get through. i recommend going back to the free sample place after the free drink and even going back to the bar. the cost for a guinness is much cheaper there (and tastier) than any other place. kilmainham jail is very cool. they have a museum type thing there and free tours. the rest of the city is fairly simple. just walk it and hit all of the big streets. the temple bar area is famous for some reason and has a lot of bars (maybe that's why). there's o'connell street and some outdoor mall type areas. trinity college is there and they have some museum stuff there. i went too late for it though. good place to check out. the jameson distillery isn't that good. unless you're a freak and like straight whiskey that much. not my style. just get a street map and walk it. wear ND clothes too. ND students are at trinity and i just ran into some on the street and had company for some of the touristy stuff.
dublin to do list: guinness, kilmainham, temple bar, outdoor mall areas, trinity, and quizno's and subway (seriously you'll be dying for american food).

PARIS, FRANCE

I lived in Paris for the three months. There is so much to say about this city that I'll try and keep it as short and sweet as possible. It is my favorite city and three months wasn't enough time to really get to know it (but I like to pretend).


I lived in the 17th arrondissement. It's basically north of the Arc de Triomphe. It was a nice area. Not near any of the famous monuments but a great area to live.

My office was on the Champs Elysees. The Champs Elysees is the most famous street in Paris and probably the world. It has so many fancy shops (most are too expensive for me). The Louis Vuitton store is ridiculous. There are so many shops and neat things to see that you could easily spend a couple hours window shopping or enjoying a drink at one of the many cafes.

It was quite an experience to walk this street everyday. And it might have been a good thing that my office didn't face the street - I don't think I would have gotten anything done if it had.

When I moved to Paris, I didn't really know anyone who lived there. I had met some Americans at a Notre Dame football game watch earlier in the fall and when I moved into the city I contacted them again. They were a great resource to have. Many of the people I eventually became friends with, I met through them.

The one disadvantage of this is that most of my friends were Americans. This is only unfortunate because, I guess, it diluted the authentic experience of France and hindered any French language proficiency I had gained.

I probably didn't do as much as I should have in terms of seeing the city. For one, I never made it to the Louvre, except to buy some prints for my dad. I did make it to the Rodin museum (amazing in the spring and summer), Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and many other great areas.

I think Rodin and Invalides were two of the coolest places I visited. One of my favorite things to do though, when I had visitors, was to walk from place to place. You stumbled upon some very interesting parts of the city when you're lost. I really think it's the best way to do it if you have the time and flexibility.

CHARTRES, FRANCE

I spent my first two months in Chartres. Chartres is a small town about an hour and fifteen minutes southeast of Paris. I lived there with a French family, the Charpentier's, that my father knew from his college days studying in Grenoble.

Chartres (even after 2 months living there, I'm not sure if it's pronounced shart or shart-ruh) is a very quaint town - still very old fashion and stereotypically French. All of the buildings and houses are probably the same as they were 100 years ago. There is a town square and people walk to the train station with baguettes under there arms. It is very charming.

Chartres is famous for it's gothic cathedral that dominates the skyline. Like every other cathedral in France, it is called Notre Dame. Built from 1194 to 1220, it has been declared a world heritage monument by UNESCO. It's most distinguishable features are the spires of different heights - one 349 feet tall, the other 377 feet.


The Cathedral is special to me since I walked past it everyday on the way to work. I'm not one to really comment on architecture, especially after visiting so many churches in Europe, but I do know that the stained glass and rose windows are very nice. If you are interested in going to Chartres, you must visit the cathedral and walk around surrounding area.

The people of Chartres are so proud of their city and their cathedral. They are great people, very friendly. The tourist office is located next to the cathedral and they have all the info you'll need to get a feel for Chartres.

If you'd like to meet some of the locals, stop by 20 Blvd Foch and say bonjour to the Charpentier's. They are the greatest family ever might even have their American flag on the front of their house to welcome you.