One Epic European Finale! | 24 Flights, 7 Eurail Days!

MY EUROPEAN ADVENTURE: THE FINAL CHAPTER!

VENICE TO PARIS, LONDON & HOME TO PHOENIX | 24 FLIGHTS, 7 EURAIL DAYS & 3 EUROPEAN TRIPS

SIX IN THE MORNING!

Venice, Italy!

I had TWO travel days left on my seven-day Eurail pass, THREE days to catch my flight home from London, and ONE ambitious plan!

GET TO PARIS THAT DAY!

Welcome back to the NorthAmericanDarrell Podcast!

Episode 53 takes us back to 2025, for the FINAL chapter of my incredible European adventure!

AND THIS ONE’S SPECIAL!

We’ve got approximately TWENTY MINUTES of travel stories, divided into FOUR CHAPTERS, each just a few minutes long!

So grab a coffee, get comfortable, and come along for the ride! Every chapter brings us closer to the finish line—and finally getting home to PHOENIX!

CHAPTER ONE: THE FOURTEEN-HOUR TRAIN MARATHON!

And WHAT A FINISH IT WAS!

I’d already used five of my seven Eurail travel days exploring Europe. London was still a long way away, and I needed to cover some SERIOUS distance!

At approximately six in the morning, I boarded one of the first trains heading west out of Venice. My destination? PARIS!

But this wasn’t going to be one relaxing train ride. I had several transfers ahead of me, and EVERY connection needed to work!

One train arrived. The doors opened. I checked the departure board and located the next platform. And then I RAN!

I’M SIX-FOOT-TWO, AND THERE I WAS, CARRYING MY TRAVEL GEAR AND RUNNING THROUGH EUROPEAN RAILWAY STATIONS!

A couple of times, I literally had to race between platforms! One missed connection could have ruined the entire plan. But somehow, I kept making them!

And along the way, I got another incredible bonus! ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SECTION OF THE SWISS ALPS!

I’d already experienced spectacular Alpine scenery earlier in my European travels, but this journey gave me another amazing perspective. Mountains, valleys, little villages, and incredible scenery passed outside the train windows.

That was one of my favorite things about exploring Europe by rail. Sometimes the journey itself was just as memorable as the destination!

But I couldn’t relax for long! ANOTHER CONNECTION WAS WAITING!

Through northern Italy, across Switzerland, and eventually into France, I kept heading west. Finally, I reached STRASBOURG!

I’D MADE EVERY CONNECTION! Paris was almost within reach!

And then…

I MISSED MY LAST PLANNED TRAIN! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

After traveling all day and racing between platforms, I was stuck in Strasbourg!

So I walked into the railway reservation office and explained my situation. I’d been traveling since six in the morning, using my Eurail pass, and I’d missed my final connection.

And guess what happened?

THEY PUT ME IN FIRST CLASS! On a French high-speed train bound for PARIS!

The TGV trains on that route were capable of reaching 320 kilometers per hour!

ALMOST TWO HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR!

I’d spent the entire day running to catch trains. And now I was sitting comfortably in first class while the train did the running for me!

What a way to finish that journey!

By the time I finally reached Paris, I’d spent MORE THAN FOURTEEN HOURS traveling by train from VENICE to PARIS, including all those transfers!

I was absolutely exhausted! All I wanted was my hostel and a bed.

So I headed to St Christopher’s Inn near the train stations. Except…

PARIS HAD TWO ST CHRISTOPHER’S INNS! And I was at the WRONG ONE!

My reservation was at the hostel beside the canal. NEARLY TWO MILES AWAY!

After more than fourteen hours on the rails, I still had to WALK across part of Paris!

But hold on! The first hostel offered a complimentary welcome drink. And I wasn’t leaving empty-handed!

WELCOME DRINK NUMBER ONE!

Then I grabbed my belongings and walked almost three kilometers to the correct hostel. Finally, I arrived at St Christopher’s Inn by the canal. The right hostel! The right reservation! And…

WELCOME DRINK NUMBER TWO!

TWO HOSTELS! ONE RESERVATION! TWO FREE DRINKS!

After a day like that, I figured I’d earned both of them!

And after enjoying my second welcome drink? LIGHTS OUT! I WAS DONE!

CHAPTER TWO: TWO COUNTRIES, TWO DAYS, AND A WHOLE LOT OF TOURIST TRAPS!

The next morning, I woke up ready for my SEVENTH AND FINAL EURAIL TRAVEL DAY! PARIS TO LONDON!

But my train to London wasn’t leaving until late afternoon.

WHICH MEANT I HAD TIME FOR ONE MORE ADVENTURE!

And since I was in Paris… I FIGURED I’D BETTER CHECK OUT THE TOURIST TRAPS!

FIRST UP! THE LOUVRE! One of the most famous museums in the world!

Then I made my way to the incredible EIFFEL TOWER! It didn’t matter how many pictures I’d seen. Standing there looking up at that enormous landmark was something special!

And I wasn’t finished! NEXT STOP! THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE!

Three of Paris’s most recognizable landmarks squeezed into one day!

THE LOUVRE! THE EIFFEL TOWER! THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE! AND I STILL HAD A TRAIN TO CATCH!

By late afternoon, I was heading to the station for my final Eurail journey! PARIS TO LONDON!

That meant another ride through the famous CHANNEL TUNNEL! This was actually my SECOND time taking the Chunnel. And it was still an incredible experience!

The Eurostar covered roughly 307 miles between Paris and London in just over two hours. Outside the tunnel, the train could reach 186 miles per hour!

And the Channel Tunnel itself? MORE THAN THIRTY-ONE MILES LONG! Almost twenty-four miles ran beneath the English Channel!

Inside the tunnel, the train traveled at approximately ONE HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR!

I’d been sitting aboard a train, traveling beneath the seabed, and then emerged in ANOTHER COUNTRY!

And just like that, I was back in LONDON! My final Eurail journey was complete! SEVEN TRAVEL DAYS USED!

But I still had ONE LAST NIGHT IN EUROPE! And I was determined to make it count!

BUCKINGHAM PALACE! BIG BEN! THE LONDON EYE! And a ride on one of London’s famous RED DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES!

That’s right! I went straight for the TOURIST TRAPS! I spent the evening exploring London and enjoying those iconic sights one more time.

And then it hit me! Just look at what I’d managed to squeeze into those final two days!

IN PARIS! THE LOUVRE! THE EIFFEL TOWER! THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE!

Then I jumped aboard the Eurostar, traveled beneath the English Channel, and popped up in LONDON!

BUCKINGHAM PALACE! BIG BEN! THE LONDON EYE! AND A RED DOUBLE-DECKER BUS!

TWO COUNTRIES! TWO DAYS! AND A WHOLE LOT OF TOURIST TRAPS!

I WAS COLLECTING TOURIST TRAPS FASTER THAN MOST PEOPLE COLLECT SOUVENIRS!

And here’s the beautiful part. I DIDN’T HAVE TO SPEND A FORTUNE DOING IT!

A little walking, some sightseeing, my Eurail pass, and a whole lot of determination!

I might not have been spending money like a wealthy tourist… BUT I WAS SURE GETTING MY MONEY’S WORTH OUT OF EUROPE!

By the time I returned to my hostel? MIDNIGHT! And my bus to GATWICK AIRPORT was leaving at SIX IN THE MORNING!

Apparently, I hadn’t made sleeping much of a priority!

A few hours later, I was heading to the airport. But my flight home was something special.

I traveled on a BUDDY PASS, thanks to an old friend from FORT WORTH, TEXAS!

Years earlier, when I lived in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, we’d dated. Our romantic relationship eventually ended, but our friendship continued. We’d remained friends over the years.

And thanks to that friendship, I had a wonderful opportunity to fly home using a buddy pass. It was a special reminder of how some friendships lasted long after life had taken us in different directions.

I flew from LONDON to LOS ANGELES! And from there?

ONE LAST FLIGHT! I used my Frontier GoWild ALL-YOU-CAN-FLY PASS to catch a quick flight home to ARIZONA!

And just like that… I WAS HOME!

CHAPTER THREE: TWENTY-FOUR FLIGHTS, SEVEN EURAIL DAYS, AND THE VALUE OF ADVENTURE!

What an AMAZING European adventure that had been! But before I wrapped up this series, there was something important I wanted to share.

THIS WAS MY THIRD TRIP TO LONDON IN JUST TWELVE MONTHS!

And all three adventures had something in common. MY WIZZ AIR ALL-YOU-CAN-FLY PASS!

That pass had opened up an incredible number of travel opportunities across Europe. Instead of planning every trip around expensive airline tickets, I’d been able to explore different destinations and take advantage of opportunities as they came along.

ONE CITY LED TO ANOTHER! ONE COUNTRY LED TO ANOTHER! AND ONE ADVENTURE LED TO THE NEXT!

By the time I planned this third European trip in 2025, I knew something. It was probably going to be my last trip to Europe for a while. And I wanted to make it COUNT!

There were two experiences I absolutely wanted to squeeze into this final adventure.

OKTOBERFEST IN MUNICH! AND THE MAGNIFICENT SWISS ALPS!

I’d already gotten tremendous value out of my Wizz Air pass. But for this adventure, I decided to add something new.

A SEVEN-DAY EURAIL PASS! And that combination changed EVERYTHING!

I had the flexibility of unlimited-flight travel with Wizz Air, combined with the incredible European railway network. I could fly between cities, jump aboard trains, travel through countries, and explore places that would have been much more complicated to reach using flights alone.

It wasn’t just about saving money. IT WAS ABOUT HAVING OPTIONS!

AND LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE VALUE OF THAT EURAIL PASS!

I paid approximately THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS for seven travel days!

THAT WORKED OUT TO JUST FIFTY DOLLARS PER TRAVEL DAY, PLUS ANY REQUIRED SEAT RESERVATION FEES!

And believe me… I ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED THAT VALUE! EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Some of those train journeys could have cost me HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS if I’d purchased individual tickets!

SEVEN TRAVEL DAYS! THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS FOR THE PASS, PLUS RESERVATION FEES! MONEY WELL SPENT!

Now, anyone who’s followed my travels knows I’m usually a SLOW TRAVELER! I love settling into a destination, exploring the neighborhoods, finding my favorite coffee shop, and living somewhere long enough to get a real feel for the place.

WELL, NOT ON THESE THREE EUROPEAN TRIPS! I LEFT SLOW TRAVEL AT HOME!

Between the Wizz Air All You Can Fly pass and my Eurail pass, I was constantly on the move! And honestly? I LOVED THE EXCITEMENT OF IT!

There was something incredibly entertaining about waking up in a European city without knowing exactly where I’d end up next!

I’d grab my coffee, check the available standby flights, look at the train schedules, and start exploring my options for the following day.

Where could I fly? Where could I go by train? What new country could I explore? What unexpected adventure was waiting?

AND THEN I’D MAKE A LAST-MINUTE DECISION!

Sometimes the available flights pointed me in one direction. Sometimes a train opened up an entirely different opportunity. And sometimes the best adventure was somewhere I hadn’t even considered the day before!

THAT WAS THE BEAUTY OF IT! THE DESTINATION WASN’T ALWAYS THE PLAN! THE ADVENTURE WAS!

Sure, there was uncertainty with standby travel. There were schedules to check, connections to make, and occasional surprises to work around. But that uncertainty was part of the excitement.

For those three European trips, I’d traded my usual slow-travel routine for something completely different.

SPONTANEITY! FLEXIBILITY! AND THE FREEDOM TO GO WHERE THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLIGHT OR TRAIN COULD TAKE ME!

I wouldn’t want to travel that way all the time. But for those twelve months? WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WAY TO EXPLORE EUROPE!

From Oktoberfest and the Swiss Alps to racing through railway stations, missing that last connection, getting rescued with a first-class high-speed train, and collecting TWO welcome drinks at TWO different Paris hostels!

Then came the Channel Tunnel, two countries’ worth of tourist traps, one final whirlwind night in London, and the flights that finally brought me home to Phoenix.

CHAPTER FOUR: HOME SWEET HOME—AND THE MAP THAT COULDN’T KEEP UP!

THREE EUROPEAN TRIPS! TWENTY-FOUR FLIGHTS USING MY WIZZ AIR ALL-YOU-CAN-FLY PASS! AND SEVEN EURAIL TRAVEL DAYS!

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RUN!

And here’s the thing. There were so many more stories from those twelve months that I hadn’t even begun to tell. Unexpected adventures. Interesting people. Amazing destinations. And those little travel surprises that somehow became the stories I remembered most.

I’d be circling back to share more of those experiences in future episodes.

BUT THIS SERIES? THIS WAS THE BEST OF THOSE THREE EUROPEAN TRIPS!

It brought together everything I’d learned about using my unlimited-flight pass with the freedom of European rail travel. And what a combination it turned out to be!

Looking back, the remarkable thing wasn’t simply how many places I’d visited. It was how much I’d managed to experience by combining those two travel passes and making the most of the opportunities they provided.

TWENTY-FOUR FLIGHTS! SEVEN EURAIL DAYS! THREE EUROPEAN TRIPS IN TWELVE MONTHS!

AND I MADE IT HOME!

What an incredible twelve months of European travel. And what an AMAZING final adventure!

But wait! THERE WAS STILL ONE VERY IMPORTANT JOB LEFT TO DO!

You see, I had a map hanging on my wall at home. And after all those adventures across Europe, I had some serious catching up to do!

I NEEDED TO ADD ALL THOSE PINS TO MY MAP!

Every pin represented another place I’d explored, another destination, and another memory from those three incredible trips!

But after looking at how many places I’d visited, I realized I had ONE MORE PROBLEM!

I NEEDED TO BUY MORE PINS!

NOW THAT’S A TRAVEL PROBLEM I DIDN’T MIND HAVING!

THREE EUROPEAN TRIPS! TWENTY-FOUR FLIGHTS! SEVEN EURAIL TRAVEL DAYS! AND A WALL MAP THAT COULDN’T KEEP UP!

WHAT AN AMAZING EUROPEAN ADVENTURE!

This has been NorthAmericanDarrell, wrapping up my 2025 European adventure series!

AND WHAT A RIDE IT WAS!

THAT’S A WRAP!