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Euro holidays
four days on the fly
Story and photos by Nancy J. Parisi
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An Italian street food market.
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Ring. Ring. “Hey, Dorota, it’s me. What do you think about going to Paris in the next couple of weeks to see the Joel-Peter Witkin show?”
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A still life at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
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Dorota in front of the work of Niki de Saint Phalle
at the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris.
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Another Italian street market view.
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The author petting Italian cats.
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The Remscheid Museum.
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Electric candles in Italy.
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A bad haircut in Paris.
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And therein is the impetus for the first of an ongoing series of ultra-efficient, four- or five-day jaunts to Europe. Whether these trips are motivated by art, shopping, visiting friends, or basking in European city energy, they are always worth the time and expense. Long a booster and practitioner of the carpe diem way of living (rising to occasions, seizing days, and plucking opportunities), I’ve carried this philosophy over to world travel: carpe navigatio. There has even been, along the travel way, a one-week trip to Japan (my second there; the first was for seven weeks, a rarity these days), to Buffalo’s Sister City, Kanazawa. Why not travel to Europe for four or five days if a smattering of days is all one has? Each day roaming and dining with heightened traveler’s senses feels like two, according to an inexact scientific study fueled by adrenaline and a pungent demitasse. A concise trip takes some quick and careful planning to not waste precious time once one’s feet touch terra firma Europa. Picking up a Lonely Planet guide or a few hours jotting down notes while perusing frommers.com is an excellent beginning to a micro-journey.
That Parisian Witkin exhibition, The Mystery of Presence, was in the city’s Marais district at Baudoin-Lebon; it combined new and older pieces, figurative and finished with his signature burnished beeswax surfaces. Dorota and I met up at JFK (me from Buffalo, her taking the subway in from SoHo) and opted for an overnight flight to arrive the next morning after some celebratory champagne–and plane naps.
The next afternoon we went to the exhibition and then explored that neighborhood and its environs, after a little reading about its history in a guide that we brought from home. Try to do most of your research beforehand, as internet cafés abroad are famously expensive; you’ll also want to be able to tap into the moment and follow your instinct in the days ahead. Homework for best flight prices, hotels in desirable neighborhoods or districts, and familiarity with maps of the chosen urban destination are mandatory. A hotel perfectly situated for me may not suit your needs: whereas I opt for quieter neighborhoods near public transportation and walking distance from restaurants and a few cultural destinations, others may wish to stay amid higher urban intensity. In Manhattan, for example, I’d much rather stay at Gramercy Park Hotel near the green line, at the placid beginnings of Lexington Avenue yet within a short walk of Union Square, than amid the bustle of midtown.
Besides the passport and airfare, the hotel is one of the most critical factors for a successful trip. The place should of course be clean and feel safe, as well as offer some type of amenities, whether it’s the traditional continental breakfast or an in-room refrigerator stocked daily with Peroni beer—as at one hotel in Rome. I’ll usually return to an establishment that I liked rather than attempt to discover a new one, so precious hours aren’t wasted searching. If I spot a hotel that seems better than the one I reserved, I’ll gladly change hotels—or note it for the next visit.
On our first Parisian foray, Dorota and I decided on Hotel du Dragon on Rue du Dragon in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, a recommendation via someone in Manhattan. On each subsequent visit, I’ve tried different hotels in the same neighborhood, the last being the functional and well-situated Hotel D’Orsay near the Musée of the same name. It’s not considered rude to ask to see a room before staying, even if the online images look fabulously inviting. After taking a rickety, groaning elevator up to a Roman hotel’s top floor and swinging open the door to reveal two lumpy beds and ultra-modest furnishings, I informed Dorota that we could do better. And we did. Just around the corner we serendipitously landed in the lobby of the four-star Artemide Hotel on Via Nazionale. After some friendly negotiating, the front desk clerk discounted our room, which turned out to feature a view overlooking the posh avenue.
Whether there is an official concierge or just front desk staff, feel free to call upon them as you might the local U.S. embassy. Bars—like one Dorota and I once frequented in Rome—can also serve this function. Question about the restaurant down the street, or about a local happening? Ask your bartender or front desk clerk.
General travel rule: people the world over are pleased to share information with polite and interested individuals. Always travel with a notebook to jot down directions, helpful phone numbers, exchange rates, or other helpful hints. Learn a few words to help navigate the streets, and always learn at least how to say hello and goodbye. On a micro-trip to Germany and Amsterdam, I realized upon arrival that I didn’t know how to greet anyone in either language and quickly fixed that via a travel guide.
On that particular trip, my companion David and I stayed in Wuppertal, Germany, at a combination hotel/arts space that caught my eye online. Art Fabrik Hotel, a former factory, was glorious, with huge rooms, helpful staff, and artwork everywhere. In Amsterdam we changed hotels, from one in the city center to the College Hotel, a teaching hotel in a former school that we discovered while walking the city. The latter was close to restaurants and shops, and not far from museums—much more my style.
I’ve had people both coo and marvel at my four- or five-day jaunts. Rather than waiting for a huge block of time to open up in a busy life, why not try a pocket trip that is hugely more manageable? Again, four days abroad will not only feel like eight, but you’ll end up with wonderful memories and a conversation-stopper or two: “Oh, this scarf? From Amsterdam!” Seizing the travel day compounds one’s joie-de-vivre. Viva le bon voyage vite!
Nancy J. Parisi has been a journalist and photojournalist in Buffalo for two decades and in 2005 completed an MFA at Parsons School of Design. She is a proud urban pioneer and has lived in the city’s Old First Ward for fifteen years.
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