Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To See or To Be

It's always a tough choice when going on vacations, especially when visiting places with so much to see.  When we were planning our trip, there were certainly things we wanted to see...like the Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, The Vatican, etc.   That being said, we did not want to run around at 100mph seeing everything and not really experiencing the places we visit.   Our original plan was to schedule our mornings seeing the sites and spend the afternoons/evenings out in the neighborhoods...with an afternoon siesta in between.  We also left the last day in each city as a blank slate so that we could do whatever we wanted, whether it be seeing something new or going back to visit places we enjoyed the most.

We stuck to this plan pretty religiously in Rome.  Day one we visited the Colosseum and Forum in the morning, stopped for gelato and pizza on the way back to the hotel, took a nap, and then headed out to Piazza Navonna in the evening.  We continued this pattern throughout our first 4 days and then had our choice on day 5 on what to do.  We decided to go back to Piazza Popolo and do the walk down Via Del Corso.  We spent much of the day just walking, shopping, eating and generally just being.  It was my favorite day in Rome.

We learned a lot those first 5 days that affected our time the rest of the trip.  In Florence, we did not stick to our schedule at all.  We still saw all the things we wanted to see, but we spent more time just being.  Florence was a wonderful city for being.  It is pretty small and very walkable.  In fact we walked everywhere and only took a taxi once.  We loved our time just wandering around, finding a wonderful place to eat, talking and just watching the city go by.  It allowed us to experience life a bit more and relax a lot more...and I can tell you, boy did our feet need that relaxing time.  This down time also allowed us to be more in the moment when we actually saw the amazing sites like Michelangelo's David or the wonderful art at The Uffezi.

We continued this practice through Paris, spending more time in The Latin Quarter, St. Germain and Montmartre neighborhoods than we originally had planned.  We loved seeing the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, but we absolutely loved our last day relaxing, having a great lunch at a sidewalk cafe on St. Germain Blvd, reading in the Luxembourg Gardens and dinner out in The Latin Quarter.   

I know there is not right way and wrong way to see a city...just make sure you take the time to be.  I bet it will make your whole trip more enjoyable and memorable.  Remember, you can always go back and see more sites next time.