The EuroLadies’ Tour 2019

By: Maria Girlie Pascual

 

The last time I was in Paris was six years ago with my son Kristoffer, and my best friend Sonny Madera, his Godfather. It was only for a few days as a side trip from Germany, but vivid memories of this bustling, beautiful city made me think that I needed to come back, and so I did. In the Spring of 2019 last year, “Madame Mylab” (a pet name we now use fondly) Elizabeth “Lisa” Regacho invited me to join an all ladies ten day tour of three European cities -London, Paris and Edinburgh. Her main goal was to entice a couple of widows in her circle to join the trip, a way of re-introducing them to a social activity. and what better way than a European adventure? The other women were from her close knit circle of friends, and a family member, so I felt honored to have been asked to join them. From Chicago, it was Evelyn Natividad and Salvy Marino who both lost their husbands fairly recently, along with fellow nurses and home health scions Mabel Turtogo-Sacay and her sister Darlene Benito, Rose Cordero, Sue Buniao, Alma Viudez, Glenda Ramos and Lisa’s sister Alicia Lisowski. Evelyn was joined by her sister Bolet (Violet) from Florida, and Lisa’s California classmates Norgene Dela Erfe and Carmita Guiang met us in London. Another California native and nurse, Nayda Cuaresma, Glenda’s friend, met us in O’Hare for the flight to Europe. I was lucky number 15 of this band of independent, fashionable women, and on November 14, 2019, the official “Euroladies Tour of 2019” embarked on their journey.

Thanks to Lisa’s patience, research, foresight and yes, her credit card, we had great places to stay and learn more about each other on an individual basis.The famous travel writer Peter Hoag once said, “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions”, and in those ten days, emotions did run high, along with excitement, anxiety, joy, and the anticipation of the new and wonderful made us all children again.

In London, we stayed at a three floor row house in the tony district of Notting Hill (yes, from the Julia Roberts movie), only a mere four miles from Buckingham Palace, enjoyed walking around the Second Arrondissement from our perfect Parisian pied-a-terre situated just five miles from the Louvre, and checked into a roomy, city center hotel in Glasgow to take the one hour train ride to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. For the day trips which included Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford University in England, the Palace of Versailles and its glorious gardens in France and the massive fortress castle in Scotland, Viator was our go-to website for these tours, and Uber our short ride solution when our aching feet needed a break.

The “Hop On Hop Off” busses in all the major cities gave us all the option of taking in the sights without the lines, because they came with audio headsets that narrated history, fun facts and other useful information about the landmarks—the London Bridge, Tower of London and The Eye were beautiful sights from the open rooftop in London. In Paris, we saw the Eiffel Tower again from a different perspective, enjoying foie gras on toast points, steamed mussels in garlic broth, sipping champagne from the cafe nearby, while shopping along the Champs Elysee became more of a marathon event than a stroll down the famous avenue. My favorite was the town of Edinburgh with its castle, guided tour and Scottish shops. Visions of Mel Gibson as Braveheart in his sexy kilt brandishing a heavy sword did cross my mind as we toured the fabled fortress atop a stone mountain, and the cold wind made me wonder how these ancient warriors withstood the harsh elements while defending their country.

Ten days went by fast, and not one second was wasted, nor were we forced into activities we did not care for. Lisa was great in giving all of us choices within the frame of our daily itinerary, and some did break into smaller groups to tour, shop or eat more, chase after their gastronomic delights, or try find the perfect bags and shoes, while some immersed themselves in history and culture. I was happy to be in the company of these women and although minor setbacks did happen, everyone was game enough to step in and help out. All in all, we were there to see, to taste, to be… mission accomplished!

Thank you to my fellow travelers, these lovely ladies who know how to live. Again, as one anonymous writer said “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” And to our travel mom Lisa Regacho, thank you truly and deeply, and I’m smiling when I say this, when is the next one?

EuroLadies 2019 (L-R) standing Rose Cordero, Darlene Benito, Sue Buniao, Mita Guiang, Bolet, Glenda Ramos, Nayda Cuaresma, Mabel Sacay and Alma Viudez(L-R) Sitting are Evelyn Natividad, Norgene Dela Erfe, Elizabeth
Regacho, Salvy Marino and Alice Lisowski.

Welcome to London ! (L-R) Chicago ladies Salvy Marino, Nayda from California, Alice Lisowski, Glenda Ramos, Darlene Benito, Mabel Sacay, Tour Guru Elizabeth Regacho and Sue Buniao.

All Aboard! EuroLadies on the move in the UK.

The EuroLadies Kicking it up at the Eiffel Tower

The Musee Du Louvre

Huddled at Stonehenge

The medieval 900 year old Edinburgh Castle sits atop the peak of a 300 million year old volcano called Castle Rock
(no kidding ) and the Euroladies definitely enjoyed their day here.

Th e Christmas spirit in Europe was as bright as their fantastic decor (L-R) Girlie, Alma, Alice, Elizabeth, Sue and
Norgene.

At the iconic Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

Dining in one of the oldest restaurants in Paris – Bouillon Chartier opened in 1896.

Rose Cordero with Girlie at the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland

Contributing to the British Economy at Harrods w (L-R) Bolet, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Glenda, Alma, Girlie and Sue.

At the corner of “Chic” and “Belle Femmes” the EuroLadies know how to dress stylishly!

Bagging the Bagpipe Player for a picture (L-R) Girlie, Sue Buniao, Salvy Marino, Madame Mylab Elizabeth Regacho, handsome and very tall Scott, Alicia Lisowski, Rose Cordero and Alma Viudez.

Our lovely fl at in Paris at the Second Arrondissement