Here it is… the post you’ve been waiting for… A SUMMARY OF MY TREK ACROSS THE
EUROPEAN CONTINENT!
We began with a 10 hour plane ride on Lufthansa airlines to
Frankfurt, Germany. A 10 hour plane ride in coach is not exactly an ideal
situation, however it was eased by the best airplane food I’ve ever had.
Lufthansa served us a wonderful snack mix titled “happy mix” that was quite
tasty. Also, dinner was delectable. As a vegetarian I was served spinach pasta
filled with ricotta cheese and a brownie. Both were most excellent.
We then hopped off the flight into Germany and onto the
flight to Rome. After a 2 hour flight into Rome, passed quickly with many hands
of go fish between Annalisa and I, we got onto a 4 hour bus ride bound for
Florence.
Florence passed swiftly, in a flash of early mornings and
games of “Never Have I Ever” with my room mates, Annalisa, Hallie, and Miranda in which I lost for the first time. I would like
to say in my defense, I was targeted (never have I ever been a red head was a direct threat from the blonde and two brunettes). I am not, nor have I ever been a wild
child. Florence is also home to one of my favorite shopping areas in the world, the leather markets. As a vegetarian you would think that I'm morally against it, but for some odd reason a coat does not turn me off as much as a steak. I am happy to report that I came home state side with a teal(ish) leather coat for myself and nice belts for both parents (cheetah print and plain black, guess who got which).
We then transitioned to Nice, France. A bustling city on the
Mediterranean Sea right next to Monaco. The hotel we stayed at was by far the
coolest place we stayed. It was a converted late 1800’s mansion, complete with
refurbished elevator and a lovely common room. The wifi only worked in the
common room so it was actually a great bonding experience. We enjoyed a
splendid day in the pebble beaches of Nice and I proceeded to bond with the
kids who turned out to be my best friends on the trip. Nice was a great central
location! We took a really cool day trip to Grasse , a town about an hour away
that’s famous for perfume. We even went to a perfume factory and made our own
perfume. It sort of smells like fruit loops and oranges had a love child. I’m
giving it to my friend Amanda as a joke. (She hates all my perfume, more on this at some
point in the future.) But we all
had a ball making it! One of the girls there practically succeeded in creating
the exact scent of fruit loops. It’s quite impressive.
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| Sunflower fields on the bus ride to Avignon |
After Nice, we headed inland to Avignon, France. Avignon is a quieter town off the beaten path for most
tourists. But it does have a great carousel. (Side note: I was the only one in
my group who wanted to ride the carousel, so I rode alone. While dismounting
the horse I hit my leg which resulted in a massive bruise that I still have.)
Anywhoo, Avignon was wonderful and a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the two big cities we had already stayed in. There was plenty to do, at a cafe one night during free time the "family" met a french girl named Pauline. Basically we talked for hours and we're facebook friends now. It was such a cool cultural experience to get to know a French teenager not made up in my text book. She is 16, but has grown up so much faster than anyone I know in The United States. I'm almost jealous of the freedom the culture seems to allow. Then again everything happens for the French at 18, driver's licence, drinking, and voting. It seems so much more logical.
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| This is the Pont Du Gard, an old Roman aqueduct still standing in France. |
After Avignon we took the 8 hour bus ride along the coast to Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona was by far my favorite. It was a fast paced city with an active night life and glistening, clear, yellow sand beach. While still riding the high from the 1994 Summer Olympics, tourism has never been better in Barcelona. All the history in Barcelona is palpable. Gaudi's masterpieces and the massive fresh food and flower market. Everything in Barcelona feels so alive, so young. Basically, I can't wait to go back someday. One of my favorite parts of the entire trip happened in Barcelona, that would be the day trip to a small town about an hour and a half from the city itself to the Salvador Dali Museum. He is by far my favorite impressionist. The picture of Gala (his wife) looking naked out the window that turns into Abraham Lincoln from far away is just indescribably cool. My favorite part of Barcelona was a bike tour we took through the entire city. Experiencing the city from a locals perspective and getting to see the WHOLE city was unlike anything that I could have seen on foot. If you ever go to Europe and plan on staying centrally located, attempt to locate some bikes for your group. Becoming part of the city and the culture is an experience worth having.
From Barcelona we took a 2 hour train trip inland to Madrid. Madrid was... well... less than Barcelona. It was hot and busy and there was not a lot to do but shop, and as much as I love shopping, I had already splurged on a leather coat (eek!) in Florence, so shopping was out of the question. Also, at this point we had been away from home for awhile, so crabbiness was to be expected. However, The Prado Museum was truly spectacular. One of the highlights of Barcelona for me.
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| Leaving our mark on Madrid. |
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| Fountain in the gardens of Barcelona. |
The last night was truly one of the best we had. The wake up call was scheduled for 2:30 in the morning, so the vast majority of the group decided to pull an all nighter, my first all nighter. We stayed up, aided by coke and Cookie Monster blue coconut Doughnuts. Everyone just kept their doors open and wandered around, hanging out with everyone. After that night it was particularly difficult to say my good byes. We had all become really close. After the trip, I feel like I have a brand new set of friends who know me on a whole new level, even better than my family in some ways.
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| The Family in Les Baux, France. |
So remember kids, friends come in all shapes and sizes. Don't judge a book by it's cover and all that jazz. But seriously, I have a brand new group of friends that I see at least 3 times a week now and I couldn't imagine my life without them.
Keep it classy,
~E
