2025 · 10 STORIES

France & Italy 🇫🇷 🇮🇹

Back in Europe, I made my way through France and Italy by train, by bus, and even with BlaBlaCar.

Frankfurt → Paris → Lyon → Milan → Venice → Florence → Pisa → Rome

Start at the beginning. The stories are in the order they happened.

27/09/2025·4 min read

I put together another Schengen visa application and booked my flight as soon as it came through. This time I was heading for France and Italy.

27/09/2025·3 min read

I was still finishing work the afternoon I left. Then it was off to the airport and on to Frankfurt with a stop in Guangzhou.

27/09/2025·3 min read

I took the bus from Frankfurt, dropped my bag at the hostel in Paris and went out again. I’d come all this way to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle.

27/09/2025·3 min read

Two priests showed me around Paris after Mass. We saw the city from a bus and went all the way up the Eiffel Tower.

27/09/2025·3 min read

I’d imagined Lyon’s streets lit up in gold. I went looking for them, from the hill at Fourvière to the restaurants opening for dinner.

28/09/2025·3 min read

The bus from Lyon took seven hours. In Milan I stopped outside the Duomo to listen to a violinist play.

28/09/2025·3 min read

I got to Venice, took a nap, had two gelatos for dinner and got turned around looking for the ferry pier after dark.

29/09/2025·3 min read

I fit Florence and Pisa into the journey from Venice to Rome. Even after arriving late, I headed out to see the Vatican after dark.

29/09/2025·2 min read

I walked across Rome, stopping at the Trevi Fountain and churches along the way. I reached the Vatican just as Mass was taking place.

30/09/2025·3 min read

I broke up the trip home with a night in Chengdu. After a nap and a long ride into town, I was too late for the five o’clock Mass.