Snippet of the Western Europe

• Browsing the Women Special Europe Tours of May 2019
• Finalizing and booking the Women Special Europe Tour of 11days from 7^th May to 17^th May
• Document preparation for the VISA, Asking for Parent permission, and Leave sanction from office
• Applying for the UK visa, visiting the VFS Global, Biometric test, receiving the stamped UK visa on passport
• Applying for the Schengen visa, visiting the VFS Global, Biometric test, receiving the stamped Schengen visa on passport
• Getting ready for the tour and shopping for all the essentials and keeping the bag as light as possible
• Receiving all the details on mail: flights and hotels reservations
• Receiving a WhatsApp message from the Tour manager (Akhilesh Shinde) detailing out the journey and things to be handed over at the airport

6^th May: Meeting at the CSMIA near the flag post; picking the snacks hamper and entering the Departure Gate 2; queuing up for the boarding pass and check in of luggage; passport departure stamp at the Immigration Counter; waiting for the aircraft at the Gate no 74; boarding the Etihad EY203 and flying off from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi

7^th May: Landing at Abu Dhabi; passing through Security Check and waiting at Gate no 33; boarding the Etihad EY11 and flying off from Abu Dhabi to London; Landing at the Heathrow Airport, London, UK; passport stamped at the Immigration Counter; pulling out the luggage from the luggage belt counter; freshening up at the airport and heading towards the first sightseeing.

London Eye, Lambeth, South London: enjoying the 4D Cinema Experience, Watching the city through its Eye for 30 minutes sitting in the capsule; Lunch in Bangalore Express; Night stay and dinner in Hotel Atrium; Getting acquainted with fellow passengers and getting used to the 6-7-8 magic numbers.

8^th May: Breakfast in Hotel Atrium followed by a city tour including Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge;  Lunch at Mumtaz restaurant.

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Marylebone Road, London: statue of Marilyn Monroe at the entrance; Party zone, Alien Escape zone, Film zone, Sports zone, Youtube zone, Royal zone, Culture zone, Music zone, World Leaders zone, Fashion week zone, The Sherlock Holmes Experience, Behind the scenes zone, Star Wars zone, The Spirit of London ride, Marvel 4D Movie Experience; Night stay and dinner in Hotel Atrium.

9^th May: Early morning check out from Hotel Atrium with packed breakfast; reaching St. Pancras’ Station, Central London; passport stamped for UK Departure and France Arrival; boarding the Eurostar; long wait at the Paris Garu de Nord station; experiencing the pathetic traffic of Paris; walking towards the lunch restaurant Welcome India, boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris; going to the underground Duroc metro station and back to the streets of Paris.

Eiffel Tower: ascending obliquely through the first lift to level 1 and level 2; ascending straight to the top; watching the city through its tallest tower; Night stay in Holiday Inn Paris, Noisy-le-Grand with a packed dinner.

Night Experience: mesmerizing view of the golden glittering and illuminated Eiffel Tower at the stroke of Midnight; followed by the Place de la Concorde, Musee du Louvre, Arc de Triomphe.

10^th May: Breakfast in Paris – Lunch in Brussels – Dinner in Rotterdam

Checking out and breakfast in Paris; Get-to-Know session in the bus; photo stop at Atomium, Belgium; Lunch in restaurant Indian Royal Palace, Strombeeklinde with a chocolate cornetto; followed by Grand Place, Town Hall, King’s House, Everand t’Serclaes, Manneken Pis Statue, Belgian Chocolate shopping; singing in the bus, dinner in restaurant Lights of India; Night stay in Hotel Novotel, Schiedam

11^th May: Getting lost into the world of tulips in Keukenhof Tulip Garden, Lisse, South Holland, Netherland; Lunch in McDonalds, Arnoudstraat, Hillegom; Cruising in the Lovers Canal Cruise in the waters of the Amsterdam city; enjoying the chocolate caramel juice in the bus with the “Love Story ki Kande Pohe” topic in the bus; visit to the twin spired, Catholic Cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine – Westphalia; Paid Toilets; Night Stay in Hotel NH, Heidelberg with packed dinner.

12^th May: Driving into the Black Forest, Baden-Wurttemburg, southwest Germany; visiting the Cuckoo Clock Factory in Drubba, Titisee and having lunch with black forest cake; hot vada pav snack near the waterfall; sitting in the Rhyfall Maendli and having two closed handshakes with the Rhine falls, Neuhausen, Northen Switzerland; dinner cruise with swiss folklore music and DJ on Lake Lucerne, Central Switzerland; Night stay in Holiday Inn Express Neuenkirch.

13^th May: Breakfast in hotel; heading towards Mount Titlis, Engelberg.

Mount Titlis: Base station to Trubsee to Stand in cable car; Stand to Titlis Top in Rotair Titlis cable car. The Top building tour: Glacier Cave, Ice cream Parlour (relishing a Moven Pick Ice cream Scoop), photo studio, open mountain. Hard luck on Cliff Walking and Ice Flyer! Burger bhaji for lunch in Trubsee.

Back to Lucerne to visit Lion Monument and shopping; Dinner and Fashion Show with Gala Night.

14^th May: Breakfast in Lucerne – Lunch in Vaduz – Dinner in Innsbruck

Breakfast in Lucerne and saying goodbye to the Swiss land; Tram ride in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, flowed by lunch in restaurant Schlossle Mahal, Furst-Franz-Josef-Strasse with an ice cream cup; driving to Wattens, Tyrol, Austria.

Swarovski Crystal Museum, Kristallwelten: The Giant, The Blue Hall, Mechanical Theatre, Crystal Dome, Silent Light, Into the Lattice Sun, Ready to Love, Ice Passage, Transparent Opacity, Emotional Formation, Chandelier of Grief, Studio Job Wunderkammer, La Primadonna Assoluta, Eden, Famos, 55 million crystals, Heroes of Peace, El Sol, Timeless, Swarovski Crystal Store; coffee and drive to Innsbruck to watch the Golden Dachl, followed by a Frozen Experience (the best part of the tour) to the Hotel Olympia 76 with dinner and night stay.

15^th May: Amazing morning and breakfast in the Frozen land; long journey in the countryside of Italy; lunch in restaurant Rangoli; Cruising in a Vaporrato (vaporated water bus) to the Floating City Venice; St. Mark’s Square: Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sigh, St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Campanile, Clock tower, Glass Blowing factory, Railto Bridge in Grand Canal, Gondola Ride and Gelato Ice cream. Dinner in Maharani Ristorante Indiano, Mestre and Night stay in Russott Hotel, Padua.

16^th May: Breakfast in hotel; long journey to Pisa, Tuscany, central Italy, lunch in the tent of Ristorante Rajasthan and ice cream cup; followed by the Piazza dei Miracoli, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Baptistry, Cathedral; visiting the Statue of David in Piazzale Michelangelo, Firenze; Dinner and Night Stay in Park Hotel, Arezzo; packing of bags.

17^th May: Breakfast in hotel; to the world’s smallest country Vatican City; St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica, lunch in Ristorante Indiano Maharajah, Via dei Serpenti, Roma; walking tour of Rome, capital of Italy with Roman Colosseum, Forum Romanum, Fontana di Trevi; the final ice cream cone in Europe; To the Fiumicino Airport Departure; queuing up for the boarding pass and check in of luggage; passport departure stamp at the Immigration Counter; waiting for the aircraft at the Gate no 41; boarding the Etihad EY84 and flying off from Rome to Abu Dhabi.

18^th May: Landing at Abu Dhabi; passing through Security Check; freshening up and having breakfast; waiting at Gate no 9; boarding the Etihad EY204 and flying off from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai; Landing at the CSMIA Airport, Mumbai, India; passport arrival stamped at the Immigration Counter; pulling out the luggage from the luggage belt counter; bidding goodbye to tour friends; heading towards home and starting to pen down the journey in my blog.