The European Summers: Holidays in Europe and United Kingdom by Mannat Malhotra

 

               I love travelling. I live in India. India is a beautiful country. The best thing about Indian climate is that both summers and winters are available in different regions of the country throughout the year. If you are lucky, you may be able to witness snowfall even in peak summers of June at Gulmarg Kashmir. Similarly, in peak winters of December, visiting southern part of the country especially Goa is a respite. North east especially Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh is a scenic beauty and I feel so lucky that I got opportunity to visit there and see the Indo China border at the height of 14,000 feet. My tryst with visiting various parts of India is continuing and I keep in nudging my parents to make some small trips whenever our schedules align.

 So far, I have visited three foreign countries i.e. Sri Lanka, Thailand, U.A.E. The experience in all these countries was very different. Sri Lanka has a rich flora and green cover, whereas Dubai is marvel of engineering having gigantic buildings like Burj Khalifa. On the other hand Thailand especially Phuket and Karabi offers best tourist sports activities and festivals.  Though I was perturbed by the deplorable state of women in Phuket. I will definitely like to contribute something in future for upliftment of women. I feel education and proficiency in some vocation are the key to liberty &  salvation for women on this planet.

               Hurrah! This year me and my brother Saahir have been finally able to convince my parents for travelling to the most amazing continent in this planet i.e. Europe. Initially our parents wanted to restrict the trip only to United Kingdom i.e. London, Scotland and Ireland. Me and Saahir are die-hard fans of Disney land, Paris and Snow at Mount Jungfrau & Titlis in Switzerland. By grace of almighty our parents have finally agreed to alter the itinerary to Paris, Switzerland and United Kingdom. We will be traveling for two weeks. I am so exited to capture this beautiful memory. I am learning French from Alliance Francaise therefore I am also excited to test my French language skills in France and Switzerland. 

               Some gifts come along with taxes. My father has entrusted me with the job of preparing the itinerary for the tour. My father is a Judge by profession. He has a very busy schedule and I can easily gather that this delegation was with purpose to get the job done easily with family consensus! Indeed its a smart move by him. I plan to study abroad in my Bachelors degree course. My father always reiterates that preparing travel itinerary and understanding the travel & visa process will help me becoming independent, self-sufficient and confident. After doing this research i felt that he was absolutely right, i have come across so many different aspects of travel which needs to be considered prior to travelling abroad. In fact its a sheer education and  if someone likes to dive deep he may choose tourism as a career option also. 

France is a European country which is known for its beautiful scenic views and monuments. It is the largest European country. It is bordered by Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium. In Switzerland varied cultures are witnessed. People their speck French, German, Italian and Romansh.  London is the city of dreamers. Recently, i studied a poem in my school which was based on lighting in London through lamps i.e. Light in the Night by Claire Horsburgh. After reading that poem i am really excited to see the streets of London and visit places which are still lit by lamps. 

As I have sweated hard in preparing this itinerary and understanding this whole process of travel, therefore, I found it prudent to scribe this in my blog to help the people who are planning to travel abroad for vacations. In case you are planning to visit Paris, Switzerland and London this is going to be a ready reckoner for you. 

Process Involved 

Step 1 : Arrange your financial documents like ITR, Salary Certificate, Passport, Bank Balance Certificate etc.

Step 2 Make your hotel bookings and Air Tickets booking. As it needs to be filed along with visa application.  

Step 3 Apply for visa appointment.

(In India the VISA documentation is outsourced by various embassies to VFS. The Schengen visa and United Kingdom Visa is also dealt by VFS only. The Schengen visa will be for France and Switzerland. After Brexit one needs to apply for separate visa for UnitedKingdom.)

Step 4 Appear for your visa appointment and bio-metrics.

Step 5 Once you are granted Visa then make booking for EU Rail, Internal flights, Disney, Eiffel tower, Louvre Museum , Titis, Jungfrau,  Swiss pass etc. online through their official websites.

Steps 6 Watch some informative videos on Do’s and Don’ts for packing baggage and travel instructions.

So finally, the travel plan which I have researched and my parents have endorsed is detailed below:

Travel Plan by Mannat Malhotra
Day	Schedule	Stay	Daily program
Day 1	- Arrival in Paris   - Transfer by Taxi to Hotel near Disney Land   - Check in at Hotel Disney Land	Stay at Hotel near Disney Land
Day 2	Disney Land, Paris	- Stay at Hotel near Disneyland	Visit to Disney Land
Day 3	Disney Land, Paris	- Stay at Hotel near Disney land	Visit to Disney Land
Day 4	Check out from Hotel at Disney Land	Check out
DISNEYLAND to PARIS (BY Train or TAXI)
Day 4	- Arrival and Check in Paris - Site Seeing in Paris	Stay at Hotel in Paris Book tickets for Eiffel tower from official website.  Book tickets for Louvre Museum from official website.	●       Arrival in Paris 11AM (Early check in has been requested to Hotel) ●       Lunch ●       Lovre Museum ●       Orsay Museum ●       Arc De Triumph or Seine River Cruise ●       Eiffel Tower ●       (Booking already done at 8 PM) ●       Galleries Lafayette Mall   (Check possibility to cover Scare Cover Church)
Day 5	- Site Seeing in Paris	Stay at Hotel in Paris	●       Palace of Versailles ●       Montmartre church ●       Norte dam ●       I-Fly (10 Am to 11 PM) ●       Big Wheel (Optional) ●       Berly Village Tour Westfield forum des hales mall
Day 6	- Check out from Paris in morning	Check out
PARIS TO ZURICH (EURO RAIL)
Day 6	- Arrival in Zurich - Site Seeing in Zurich	Stay at Hotel in Zurich	Cruise in lake limmat (8 Am to 530 PM) Grossmunster church Lindenhof (Aerial view of Zurich) Old Town visit ETH- Federal institute of Technology)  Bahnhofstrasse ( High end stores) Via dukt shopping market Uetliberg (Use Swiss pass for Travel through all modes of transport in Switzerland)
Day 7	- Visit to Mount Titilis - Site Seeing in Zurich after returning from Titlis	Book tickets of Mount Titlis separately from their official website. Stay at Hotel in  Zurich
Day 8	- Visit to Lucerne	Stay at Hotel in Zurich	Chapel Bridge Old Town Cruise in lake Visit Mount Pilatus (Bus No 1 to Krienz and take gondola Frakmuntegg station)  Toboggan Ride at Frakmuntegg station Take Gondola to reach Pilatus Kulm (Top of hill)  Cogwheel train to Alpnachstad Alpnachstad to Lucrene by train Clock Tower City View (Optional) Lion Monument (optional)   (Use Swiss pass for Travel through all modes of transport in Switzerland)
Day 9	Check out from Zurich	Check out
Move to Interlaken by Train (Swiss pass)
Day 9	- Check in at Hotel in Interlaken - Adventure sports at  Interlaken - Site Seeing at Interlaken	Stay at Hotel in Interlaken	●       Adventure Sports i.e sky diving, hang gliding and bungee jumping at Interlaken ●       Harderklum ●       Staubbach & Trummelbach waterfalls ●       Cruise on lake Thun & Lake Brienz ●       Unspunnen & oberhofen castle ●       St Beatus caves and waterfalls ●       Hoheweg street local shops & para gliding ●       Brienzer Rothron Railway   (Use Swiss pass for Travel through all modes of transport in Switzerland)
Day 10	Adventure sports	Stay at Hotel n Interlaken Book Adventure sports in advance through authentic websites.
Day 11	- Visit to Mount Jungfrau	Book the Tickets for Mount Jungfrau separately from their official website.	- Train from Interlaken OST to Grindelwald - Transfer to Eigerletsher (By Cable car) - Eigerletsher to Top of Jungfrau (By Train) - Activities At Jungfrau 1. Jungfrau Panorama 2. Sphinix Observation Deck 3. Alpine Sensation 4. Ice Palace 5. Glacier plateau 6. Snow Park 7. Chocolate factory Return Journey Jungfrau Top to Grindelwald
Day 12	Check out from Interlaken
Interlaken to London (By Euro Rail or flight)
Day 12	- Late evening Check in at London - Evening Stroll and dinner	Stay at London
Day 12	Stay at Hotel in London		●       View from The Shard ●       London eye ●       Natural History Museum ●       Cruise The Lights at Piccadilly Circus ●       Visit to Mall or nearby Market
Day 13	Stay at Hotel in London		●       Big Ben ●       Houses of Parliament in Parliament Square ●       Westminster Abbey ●       Nelson’s Column in buzzing Trafalgar Square ●       Buckingham Palace ●       London pub in Trafalgar Square ●       lunch ●       Bank of England and St. Paul’s Cathedral ●       Guided tour of St. Paul's Cathedral ●       Tower of London ●       medieval prison-fortress that stands on the north banks of the Thames River ●       complimentary ticket for a sightseeing cruise on the Thames River, from the Tower of London to Westminster Pier ●       Visit to any Local nearby market or shopping mall (optional)
Day 14	Stay at Hotel in London		●       London Hamleys ●       M & M World ●       Hyde Park Boating  ●       Emirates Cable Car at IFC Cloud Royal Docks ●       Malls in London are Westfield mall, harrods mall ●       London ZOO (optional) ●       London Harry Potter (Optional)  ●       Ealing road (Mini Gujrat) for Dinner ●       M & M world ●       Sherk Adventure ●       Sea life aquarium ●       Hyde park ●       KidZania (optional) ●       Bicester Village Shopping (Optional) ●
Day 16	- Check out from hotel - Reach Airport at least three hours prior to flight departure time.		- Keep a print out of your ticket handy. Sometimes phone battery drains.

 

        I am  hopeful that my researched itinerary and humble initiative will help you in planning your vacations. Do share your ideas with me in comments to guide and enrich my knowledge. I have made this humble effort as per my own understanding. Please take professional advice before finalizing your travel plans. I wish all you wonderful vacations and happy journey. Keep collecting beautiful memories in this journey of life!

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A humble initiative