TRAVEL: 'It was a life-changing trip': My Trafalgar tour through France & Italy PART 1

Wendy Squires savours the delights of hassle free travel through France and Italy …

Ah, Europe. There is so much to see and do, it’s easy to feel like a tourist more than a traveller trying to get around to it all.

Queuing up endlessly to take in must-see sights, falling prey to bad food in tourist trap rest aurants, braving maps that omit to mention main streets can be the size of the average garden path, or negotiating a tricky public transport system in another language can be taxing mind and spirit – especially if you are on limited time.

The alternative is to have a guided experience, something that used to be known as a bus tour, a form of travel often thought of as one-up from backpacker booze fests or stigmatised by the sights of Japanese tourist groups lining up like hapless sheep on strange street corners.

The fact is that these impressions are as antiquated as they are unfair. Trafalgar is probably the best and most experienced guided tour organisation in a huge market, and as such has had to constantly evolve to keep up with a changing market demands. The result is a range of programs aimed at people like me, who want to feel like a voyager and not a vacationer.

To get a notion of its guided tours on offer, Trafalgar asked Mamamia to sample a elements of its new At Leisure [no travel time before 9am plus multiple night stays in each location] Paris & Provence, and First Class [five star hotels) Flavours of Italy itineraries, as well as Be My Guest intimate dining experiences (I will explain those in more delicious detail later).

The trip started in the indescribably beautiful city of Paris, where I landed on a balmy Sunday autumn afternoon, checking in to the centrally located Marriott Courtyard Paris Neuilly.

Jetlagged but too excited to sleep, I took myself off on a walk through the diplomatic area through to the city centre (about 15 minutes), past the grand apartment buildings with their azalea festooned balconies, magnificent palatial edifices such as the Louis Pasteur Institute and sculpture adorned gardens where stylish locals sit with their equally chic dogs; elegance seemingly etched into their very DNA. .

As someone who enjoys wandering a new city alone, I relished the opportunity to melt in to the Parisian cityscape, stopping for vin rouge at a striped awninged café, popping in to shops to attempt wrapping cashmere around my neck with the casual confidence of the local women, to order from a rainbow of delicate macaroons in a fragrant patisserie.

Back at the hotel, I met my fellow travellers and was delighted to note a collection of people of all ages and backgrounds joined in one determined aim, to appreciate every moment of their trip.

After a welcoming vino or two, the bus took us through Paris at night, something that must be experienced to be truly appreciated, so humbling is its beauty.

There are no tacky billposters in Paris or graffiti. There are no towering skyscrapers dominating the landscape and no gaudily painted buildings fighting for attention. Instead, the city is as it has been for hundreds if not thousands of years – a piece of living breathing art.

After a stop to take in Notre Dame, we headed to the Latin quarter to what is regarded as Paris’ oldest restaurant. La Petite Chaise is located in a building that traces back to 1610. Redolent with history, the charming and oh-so French eatery has been frequented by politicians, writers, comedians and artists, with Toulouse Lautrec even sketching the local courtesans there in the early 20^th century.

After a three-course meal of French Onion soup (so cheesy you could carve it), duck breast a-la orange and iced nougat for dessert, we were back on the coach expertly navigating through the traffic madness of the Arc de Triomphe.

The next morning it was action stations as we headed to the Art Nouveau architectural masterpiece, Gare de Lyon, which also happens to be the city’s main train station (only Paris can have a train station as beautiful as any museum).

After a coffee in its magnificent dining room (consider the expensive café ole the price of admission), we were on the TGV high speed train to Provence, a trip of some three hours (8-9 if travelling by car) taking in the French countryside in first-class comfort …  To read part 2, click here.

Wendy Squires travelled as a guest of Trafalgar Tours.