London - Arabstoday
For a trip that was actually touch-and-go, actor Tejaswini Kolhapure can't be happy enough that she actually embarked on it. So when her European sojourn to Milan, Paris and Rome with husband Pankaj Saraswat came through, she was thrilled. "We were planning to go there for two months now but things didn't materialise, so it got a little crazy. I didn't feel we would make it; but when we did, it turned out to be a welcome break," she says. 24 hours in Milan Their trip was to Paris and Milan, Rome and Florence. Says Tejaswini, "We had an impression of Italy not being safe but it's such hogwash. The people there were not only nice but went out of their way to help us." The first stop was Milan. "We went there for a day from Rome. The first sight was the beautiful Duomo that made it all worth it! Had the best pasta and risotto here, made up for it," she laughs. Wishing fountain They then took a train to Rome. "One of the must-sees was the Trevi fountain and it was awesome. We saw it at night and it was breathtaking. The story is that it is a ritual to throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish, and I did that," she smiles. At the Eiffel tower One of the most interesting moments was spent in the City of Lights. "It was my fourth trip to Paris and I love it each time. I even went atop the Eiffel and had a glass of champagne...lovely! And one day we went to the base of Eiffel Tower with a picnic basket and just sat for there for two hours, eating and chatting and looked at the gorgeous monument. It lights up every one hour, so that view was breathtaking," she says. Food and shopping Tejaswini tried all the local food - pasta and pizza, risotto. "Of course we were also constantly on the lookout for Indian restaurants," she admits. They also went to a flea market near Trastevere. "It had all kinds of stuff. I wanted something interesting and quirky and it had little knick-knacks," she adds. She plans to visit again soon. "Maybe by the new year," she hopes.