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Europe 2025
  • Diana O
  • Diana O

Europe 2025

A 16-day adventure by Diana Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 6, 2025
  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler

    LHR

    July 7 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Layover but at least we got into the (very crowded) British Airways lounge.

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    Our basic room got upgraded to the rooftop terrace room. 😤
    In the Luxembourg gardens.Note Dame.1Inside.Many pieces of art in Notre Dame, but this one had so much going on.Notre Dame entrance details.The metro entrances were all very fun.Louvre pyramid.Just a random bridge. They were often beautiful.Not in Las Vegas.Arc de Triomphe.DeliciousMy feet feel surprisingly good considering I walked 36k steps in these shoes.Most of the Paris we saw looked like this.Going into the Catacombs."Stop! Here is the empire of the dead."Awww.Not all of them were as well-organized as this section.Immediately after this it poured for 10 minutes.More random bridge decor.

    Paris

    July 8 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A whirlwind tour of Paris, since it was cheaper to fly into Paris and take a regional plane into Italy than it was to fly straight into Italy. My first time in France and my second time getting to use the latent French I’ve been working on refreshing for over a year. The only tourist attractions we went into was the Catacombs (very cool!) and Notre Dame (beautiful), due to time constraints, so we visited the outside of the rest.Read more

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    Their downtown as Americans think of it.
    I love this building. Residential tower.A church built in the fourth century atop a pagan cemetery.Sforza Castle, my favorite castle.Ryan got to enjoy visiting Eataly and the Inter Milan store back to back.Spritzes in the US suck compared to the ones they make here.Inside the 4th century church, behind the scenes of my camera.See caption.The Last Supper.The snake eating the man is the historic symbol of Milan. This one is coming out of a sun.My favorite church, the Duomo of Milan.Galleria aka their mall.The door of the Duomo.Outside of the Galleria behind me. The Duomo ticketing website was very slow.My mid-thigh shorts were too short for entry into the Duomo, so I had to use this chic cover up.Inside the Duomo.Now that's what I call a pipe organ.Navigli is known for its canal.

    Milano

    Jul 9–12 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Milano! Just as gorgeous and thrilling as last time. We revisited some of our favorites from our previous trip, wandered around more freely than last time, and hit up Navigli, which we had been interested in visiting last time but ran out of time.Read more

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    The view from the train station steps.
    A statue of William Tell, who I did not realize was from Switzerland??At the top of one of their many beautiful mountains.Not the funicular we took.We ordered a calzone and it was enormous.

    Lugano

    July 11 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Less than two hours from Milan by train, Lugano was a beautiful little lakeside town with several funiculars and amazing views.

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    The whole town had this color scheme.
    The two towers, both of which are leaning.Random detail in a random church we went into, built in 1263.First place that has given me pasta as a straw for my spritz.The 7 churches, which is one large church built out multiple times between the 1st and 17th centuryBetween year 80 and 100, it was a temple to Isis. This pillar is from that period.The smaller leaning tower. It's blocked off because it's at risk of collapse. They're repairing it.Tagliatelle al ragù, a classic Bolognese dish. It was amazing.Porticoes going up to the church on the hill.This church let us go up to the front. Gorgeous.Heading back down. The whole path is covered.Mortadella was invented in Bologna. This was also delicious.The path running vertically is from the 1st century. The well on the right is from the 13th.Another Bolognese dish, which we got from a very touristy place.More interesting than Neptune up top imo.The view from the top of the hill.

    Bologna

    Jul 12–15 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We couldn’t fit Bologna in our last trip to Italy, so we made sure to add it this time. We made the hike from old town to the top of the hill lined by porticoes, which was extra fun since we saw that same hill while watching the Tour de France last year. We also visited the University of Bologna, which was founded in 1088 and is the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Otherwise, we went in with no itinerary and wandered around this very lovely college town.Read more

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    What's left of 12th century gates.Just a random part of a sidewalk.The ducal palace door knocker.The foyer to a med spa, in what used to be a very rich person's home.Braised rabbit and trofie with pesto, both Ligurian specialties.We walked 45 minutes uphill to go to a funicular that ended up being closed.The prison where Marco Polo was allegedly held prisoner.If you missed the cafe in the train station, the train platform had an espresso vending machine.

    Genova

    Jul 15–17 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I didn’t have very high expectations for Genoa, as even Italians (and Genovese) seem to have a low opinion of the old port city. It reminded me of Naples, but on easy mode - gritty, lively, but full of old history that the years simply can’t wash away. The food was also universally excellent.Read more

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    Roman ruins that are part of a dog park.
    Ryan, reunited with the best vegan pistachio gelato of his life.In the market, old ice storage facilities from the 18th century.Alps looming in the background.We did the Lavazza museum tour.The sunsets were amazing every night from our rooftop terrace.Basilica from the funicular station.In 1949, the entire Torino football team died in a plane crash here.

    Torino

    Jul 17–20 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Last time we were in Italy, we did a day trip to Torino and really enjoyed it, so we decided to stay here for a longer stretch, this trip. This city is relaxed but not chaotic, and full of 18th century charm. We also visited my white whale, the Basilica of Superga.Read more

  • Diana OEurope 2025Traveler
    Vesuvius.
    Fried pizza.Napoli won the championship this year, just like the last time we visited.

    Napoli

    July 20 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After British Airways mucked with our Milan return flight too many times, I cancelled the flight and found another one out of Napoli to return home. This had the advantage of giving us a little time in a place we had enjoyed last trip, and got Ryan back to the alley filled with used €1 comic books. Plus, fried pizza.Read more

    Trip end
    July 21, 2025
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