Tis Me Michelle

Hi Wanderloves!

It’s been a long time since I’ve made a post. If there is one thing I’m consistent about, it’s being inconsistent. But I’m here for today!

I thought I’d give a review of my recent Europe trip with EF Ultimate Break. Over Christmas and New Years, I joined in on the trip to London, Paris and Rome. We stayed in London over Christmas, moved over to Paris for a few days and rang in the New Year in Rome. The three cities were a good pairing together as they weren’t too far apart and basically a highlight of some of the most popular cities in Europe.

We lucked out with the weather in London, it surprisingly didn’t rain or snow at all. There was some overcast, but I’d say that’s a win! A few of the meals were included, including the welcome dinner and Christmas lunch, which was necessary since almost everything was closed while we were there. The tour group also provided a walking tour on our last day, which was nice to at least see the major sites of the city, even if we couldn’t go in. I have to admit, I was very disappointed with EF that they would select dates in a city where almost the whole city was shut down. Although it was nice to see the city without a huge crowd, I can’t help but feel like I’d have to go back to really see the city.

Favorite Spot in London: Borough Market, I’d definitely go there on the weekends if I lived there. I also went to this funky/90’s themed bar with a friend, but I have no idea what it was called. Just wander right in to a cool looking bar ya’ll, can’t go wrong!

Favorite Eats in London: Yes, the spots I loved above were food/drink related. But we had a Christmas lunch included with our EF trip at the Marquis Cornwallis. I opted for the ‘traditional turkey lunch’ and it was fantastic.

I had been to Paris, years before… Oh hadn’t I mentioned that here before? I am just a tad bit obsessed, and this trip only added fuel to that fire. I spent most of my time in Paris on my own. Mainly because the excursions were the same spots from my previous trip. Instead of the usual touristy spots, I spent most of my time wandering around the city, which was a complete dream. I ate, drank and just took in the sights. On of the EF excursions was Versailles, which I recommend if you have never been. And the Burlesque show, the folks from my group who went, absolutely loved it!

Favorite Spot in Paris: Monmartre – ya’ll if i could afford it, or ever learned fluent French. This would be where I would live. The views and the art, come on. Doesn’t get better than that!

Favorite Eats in Paris: Cute little cafe in Galerie Vivienne called Le Valentin. I snagged a delicious pastry and latte and just people watched.

And finally we found our way to Rome. Our lovely tour director is from Italy and lives in Rome, so she knew her way around. There was a lot to see and just not enough time. In a city with so much history, it seemed like we sped through the tours and being the end of the trip, I was just exhausted. I joined the excursion to the Vatican, because i was going to go anyways. The Vatican is impressive and gorgeous, but our tour was just too rushed. I would have enjoyed it at my own pace much more. I’d go back to Italy, and just do Italy. See some other cities and take a couple more days in Rome. There is just too much to do in barely 3 days.

Favorite Spot in Rome: Our hostel was in Trastevere and it was a great place to start wandering and see where you end up. On the first day, one of my roommates and I just started climbing stairs (there were A LOT), and found our way up to some amazing views of the city. Then on the last day I ventured out and started on a mission to go Cathedral hopping. Let me tell you, I could have spent days doing that. Each Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous in their own right. What a way to see the city!

Favorite Eats in Rome: So much food ya’ll and somehow I didn’t even try all the things on my list. I got to try a suppli, actually a few, they were fabulous! After a whole lot of walking I found a little pizzeria and demolished it, followed it up with some Gelato. Perfecto!

EF Pros: Going with a group definitely gave me a sense of ease opposed to a complete Solo trip. So I find group trips are a good way to get your feet wet if you want to travel, but don’t have folks to go with. I chose EF because the package included the stay, flights as well as some meals. Having all that ready to go definitely made the planning process much easier.

I also had a great group. Our tour director was super sweet and spunky. She knew the cities super well or knew how to figure things out. The folks on my trip were awesome too! There were people from all over, but they were super nice and made the experience even better.

EF Cons: The company itself could have done a better job assisting with a number of problems we had. I am extremely surprised they would plan a trip to London, knowing most of it’s most popular attractions would be closed. That was a huge inconvenience for folks who were going to really explore the city.

In Paris, we happened to go in the middle of the Strike, which understandably no one is prepared for. However, EF refused to help us by providing a form of transportation since the public transit was so unpredictable. We lost a lot of time just trying to figure out how to navigate. Our tour director was awesome trying to figure things out, but when she reached out to the HQ for help, they did not give her much assistance. Given transportation is included in our price, we essentially lost money here. My roommate ended up getting bug bites in our hostel in Paris. I am not sure if she got any kind of refund, but just unacceptable to put us up somewhere this could happen.

Overall Rating: 3/5 – I’ve never done a group trip before and it was a good decision for me. I enjoyed the people I was with and I love to travel so I was happy to explore the cities we went to. I would say I’d do a group travel trip again, but I would give another company a try.

Have you ever done a group travel trip? Where did you go and how did you enjoy your experience? Let me know in the comments!!