Bringing Europe Home

Since I have returned home from my trip, I feel myself trying to hold on to the feeling I had when I was there. The reason I have such a passion for travel is because I always get a sense of independence and adventure whenever I am somewhere new.

I Hate That Feeling

Can you believe it? I couldn’t, but I guess I should because it happened, I am such an idiot. I can’t believe it, I am so lucky that I’m lucky…

My Gaudi Day

There is this famous architect from Barcelona, his name is Gaudi, and I was told by a few different people before coming here that I just had to check out his stuff. In the city there are two houses that he did and a cathedral that is still being completed, plus a huge park.

Ahh, Much Better

Finally, a real first day in Barcelona. The city looks surprisingly well, I am actually shocked at how quickly and well everything got cleaned up. Plus, I finally made some new friends! After I woke up, had breakfast, and got ready, my roommate was up. I had met an Australian couple the day before, but they were wandering on towards Octoberfest today so I didn’t really get to know them very well. But I had just met Ray, an Irishman, and he was very friendly so we got to chatting.

I Picked the Wrong Day to go to Barcelona

So apparently Spain picked September 29th to protest and go on strike. I found this out as we landed. When we got to the airport at a little after midnight there was absolutely no transportation to leave, no trains, no buses, no taxis. So I, along with everyone else that landed that night, we stuck to sleep on the floor of the airport and wait.

Traveling Solo

Jake left today Originally this trip was my graduation present to myself via sponsorship of my late grandfather, and I even intended on traveling by myself to see the world… this was before Jake.

A Day Out in Dublin

We got into Dublin really late, so instead of taking our chances with the cheaper form of transportation, we took a cab. It wasn’t bad though, actually our driver was rather entertaining, he quizzed us on the way over there. He was and older gentleman, with the thick Irish accent we were longing to hear, and he was pointing out a couple interest points along the way.

Final Day in Rome

We had to checkout of our hotel at 10:00, but the tour we wanted to go on didn’t start until 3:00, so we had some time to kill. We went and dropped off our bags at the station and grabbed brunch somewhere. Then we went over to the Roma Capitol, we thought we’d sit on the big steps so Jake could write and I could take pictures.

The Colosseum and Ancient Ruins

We picked a great day to go to the Colosseum and the Ancient Roman Ruins, it was free! Apparently the last weekend of the month there is no entry charge.

Sick in Rome

The only good thing about not staying in an actual hotel, but rather a random room in a building, was that the complimentary breakfast was brought to us. So that was kinda cool, two cappuccinos and croissants brought to our door at 9:00am.

Last day in Florence, off to Rome

We didn’t plan our time in Florence accordingly. We really wanted to do a Tuscan wine tour, but we should have done that yesterday because no half-day tours are offered on Thursdays within a reasonable price range (but there were on Wednesday).

Under the Tuscan Sun

Yes, I titled my blog that just because I could, haha. But we really did spend lot of time in the sun. The weather is so much nicer down in Italy than in northern Europe. The sun is actually rather hot.

Best Travel Day Ever

I was mistaken on the time that our train left Venice. I thought it was 3:30 but it was actually 6:30. I was upset at my error at first, but it definitely worked out.

Oh, Venezia, Why are you so beautiful?

Before this trip began, I was most excited to see Venice (or Venezia as said in Italian), but I didn’t really know why. I’ve seen many pictures and have felt a sensation of natural beauty and romance. But many cities are beautiful and romantic, so why Venice?

Pit-stop in Belgium

Saturday & Sunday, September 18 & 19, 2010

We added Belgium to our list because our good friend Kevin recently moved there for school. We didn’t have any real plans except to hang out with him and relax a bit. It was a nice grounding to see someone other than each other for once in a while, also to speak with someone that natively speaks English.

Vondelpark and the Heineken Experience

Since our first hotel was only booked for two nights, we had to change hotels on Friday. We slept through breakfast before checkout since we needed all the rest we could get. But we thought that was a great opportunity to go out for a Dutch breakfast.

High on Life in Amsterdam

We had purchased a 3 day pass for the city tram but didn’t even really use it. We must have walked that entire city because we wanted to see everything. It really is one of the most beautiful cities. The canals, the trees, the sidewalks, the buildings, everything was so unique. All of the buildings are attached yet poses their own characteristics and style.

Travel Day to The Netherlands

Wednesday wasn’t too exciting. We left our hostel in Paris and headed for the train station. Riding the trains in Europe is nice, they are really convenient. It took a few hours to get up to Amsterdam but the countryside was a beautiful distraction. The land here is very flat and green, a lot of farm country.

Wandering around Paris

The main agenda for Tuesday was to visit Jim Morrison’s grave because I really didn’t want to miss it. So that was the first thing we did. We also took that opportunity to sit and write.

A Day at The Louvre

For our first full day in Paris, we were fortunate enough to hang out with our new friend Dave from South African (who even knows some French, yay!) and Matiase from Argentina, and his girlfriend Lotta from Finland.