This is what I saw in London-Paris-Amsterdam-Frankfurt-Lucerne-Florence-French Riviera and Madrid

In this post, I'd like to share with you all how I travelled to 11 countries in 21 days, and visited some of the most beautiful world capitals, including Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and Madrid. The 11 countries were UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Vatican City and Spain. I left New Delhi on June 13, 2016 and returned on July 4, after a whistle-stop tour of Western Europe that was over faster than I can say 'whistle-stop tour'. More than one year later, I can hardly wait to be back on the highways of the world, again!

Last year on June 13, I set out for my first real trip abroad. The other one, in September 2015 to Dubai, was not very special. To me, Dubai seemed just like Mumbai, only cleaner and bigger and warmer. I wanted to travel solo and backpack across Europe. But some 'well-wishers' insisted that the world is "big and bad, and although you may also be big and bad but you are 'still' a 'woman'! so it's not safe for you to travel alone, especially in Europe". What I wanted to ask them is once you have lived in Delhi and other cities like Delhi, can ANY PLACE in the world seem dangerous?!

But you err on the side of caution, and so did I, and booked my 21-day trip across all of western Europe with a leading tour operator. The entire tour was meticulously-planned, the food was good, the hotels fine and there was a coach to take us around. There was just one glitch. I was travelling alone but the rest of the tour group was made up of families. No one else was alone. That made things very interesting :P I won't be travelling with families again, that's for sure. :P

The flight from Delhi to London was lonnnng....and the queues at Immigration seemed even longer. It was raining as I left Heathrow Terminal to wait for the tour coach. Outside, there were long steel bridges, men in dark coats and a grey sky packed with rain clouds. The next morning, the tour coach took us to Trafalgar Square, London Eye, Madame Tussaud's Museum and Lord's Cricket Ground. Trafalgar Square bustles with a special energy and the experience stays with you forever, I think. Next stop was Madame Tussaud's Museum of wax statues, where I posed with James Bond, Hrithik Roshan and other hunks. There are former heads of state, filmstars, rock legends and royalty. Princess Diana stands alone in the centre of a room and the rest of the royal family looks on. All wax statues, all of them.

Then it was off to Lord's cricket grounds, with its aura of having been an important witness to cricketing history and an adjoining delightful museum with a dead sparrow preserved in a glass case. That sparrow had somehow been 'killed' by a fast ball...! After spending a couple of days in the UK, and then crossing the English Channel by ferry from Dover, I landed in Calais after leaving London and the UK behind.

At Calais in France, there was another coach waiting for the tour group and that's how I reached Paris. Because I took ill in Paris, I could not see much, except going on a boat cruise on the Seine and walking around the Champs-Elysses. So much has been written about Paris, and I guess it will need another visit from me to make the most of it.

From Paris, we were driven to Eindhoven in Belgium and this place had a very heavy feel to it. I nearly slipped and broke my leg and the entire vibe of the place put me into a depressive state. With nothing to do but grin and bear it, I went along with it and visited the Atomium, Madurodam and Volendam. Atomium is a large stainless steel structure said to represent a single unit of iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Madurodam is 'Holland in miniature', with life-like but tiny models of all things Holland; a treat for kids and for kids who never grew up. Volendam is a beautiful fishing village with many picturesque houses and a pretty marina and a must-visit.

But the best part was going to Amsterdam, with its old-world buildings and trams, lovely canals and youthful vibe. A music festival was on in the centre of town and everyone seemed happy. Happy to be living, happy to be listening to great music, happy to be in Amsterdam!

One week into my first real tour abroad and I was in Germany. After Cologne and its imposing cathedral, it was off to Frankfurt and its unforgettable buildings. The statue of Lady Justice stands in the centre of the old town, complete with her scales a.k.a. insaaf ka taraazu (ahaha!), looking very regal and timeless. I wanted to stay longer in Frankfurt. Some time soon!

Lucerne in Switzerland has the famous Kapellbrücke -- Chapel Bridge -- over River Reuss and its made of really old wood. That gives it a rustic, fairytale feel and what adds to the scene is horse-drawn carriages with their wheels and spokes painted white, on the road across the river. A super photo-op although not so super for the horse drawing the carriage. Lucerne also has the Lion Monument, dedicated to more than 800 Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. As is fitting, the Lion Monument is a place of quiet and repose, and when I was there, although there were around 200 tourists, not one of them was left unaffected by the solemnity of this spot.

This is what Mark Twain had written about the monument in 1880: "The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff — for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France. Vines hang down the cliff and wave in the wind, and a clear stream trickles from above and empties into a pond at the base, and in the smooth surface of the pond the lion is mirrored, among the water-lilies. Around about are green trees and grass. The place is a sheltered, reposeful woodland nook, remote from noise and stir and confusion — and all this is fitting, for lions do die in such places, and not on granite pedestals in public squares fenced with fancy iron railings. The Lion of Lucerne would be impressive anywhere, but nowhere so impressive as where he is."

Driving away from the cool breeze and green hills of northern Europe, I headed down towards Italy, stopping at Rome, Venice, Pisa and Florence. Italy is as old as time, with its buildings reflecting this time-heaviness. The people have the same resignation towards life and its various trials that comes from living too long, individually and as a 'civilization'. Rome was scorching, almost like Delhi, when I was there. Venice was slightly better, but the canals and the gondola ride were a letdown. And no, I didn't even find "just one cornetto, give it to me". But it was fun all the same. In Pisa, I ate a soggy margherita pizza and saw a Bangladeshi 'sadhu' suspended in mid-air, balanced on a thick iron rod...!! This is what we travel for... :D :D

But Florence, now Florence is another story, and a very engaging one. I saw statues made of stone but that seemed like they would start moving about and begin talking in a loud Tuscan dialect any moment. One of these statues was that of Leonardo da Vinci, and yes I'm a fan but was not high on anything, I swear. The entire Piazza della Signoria is a dream come true for artist-types, for there are statues of David, Neptune, Medusa and others, there is the Palazzo Vecchio and its many mysteries, and of course, there are those muted yellow-orange colours in the sky and in the buildings that can only be sensed in Italy and not properly captured. Florence is magical, and I can't wait to go back.

Moving north-west from Italy, in the trusted coach, now occupied by a Spanish driver after the Polish one went back to Poland, I reached Genoa. A super-old port city with a long tradition of international trade, merchant-explorers and all-round impression of old-money (whatever that means), Genoa was home to Christopher Columbus, who was born here in 1451 and whose birthplace is now a tourist attraction.

From Genoa, the French Riviera is a short, well not that short, but that not long either, drive away. And because the roads are sooooper-smooth and the drive awesomely-picturesque, you want to just keep on driving and looking out at the most beautiful man-made cluster of buildings set next to an azure sea. No wonder it's called Cote d'azur. The French Riviera is made up of Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Monte Carlo. Each of these is a gem and full of glamourous people and famous landmarks. After more than a year, what has stayed with me is the pastel buildings and luxuriant villas standing in the shadow of imposing cliffs; lots of flowers everywhere -- with a profusion of purple bougainvillea; glitter (yes, glitter) on the roads, which you can see even during the day, in underbridges; the colour of the water -- dark-blue-green-turquoise; the marina with its pretty white pleasure boats moored neatly side-by-side and the delicate fragrance of exquisite French perfumes, which is, like, Everywhere. If money could buy happiness anywhere in the world, it would be here, in the French Riviera. How long that happiness lasts is another matter altogether.

On the final stretch of my journey, I visited Marseille, France's second city. It is said to have been founded in 600 B.C. and went through several historical troughs and peaks before finding its feet after the French Revolution. With a mild climate throughout the year and a coastline as old as time, for me Marseilles will forever be associated with the image of the 'temple on the hill', the Basilica of Our Lady of the Guard or Notre-Dame de la Garde.

The journey from Provence in France, where Marseille is located, to Barcelona and Madrid in Spain is exhausting. The countryside is often barren and you can feel the heat of the sun inside the coach. When I finally reached my hotel in Spain, it was with a sigh of relief. On to sightseeing, in Barcelona and Madrid, with the usual circuit of historical monuments and modern monstrosities. The people of Barcelona are young at heart and dress to impress, leaving you wishing you were young-er again. Madrid is all history and palaces and street artists, quite intriguing and special.

With a whirlwind tour, sometimes visiting 3 countries in a single day, this was an incredible journey. Incredible is a cliche, yes, but it's the only adjective that fits the bill.

I hope to return to Europe soon, and this time explore it more leisurely, in my own special way, taking my own sweet time. It was a good package tour. But life is not a package tour. Oh really, then, what is it, Ms Know-It-All? That's what I want to find out. Raring to go !