So, I haven't written a blog post in a while. There's been too much traveling going on in the past two weeks but this is a blog of the events that have occurred in the past 4 weeks.
Belgium with Jordan and Paige was awesome! It was quite the struggle getting there by train because Jordan and I missed our train to Cologne by 30 seconds. We literally saw the Deutschebahn workers close the doors as we were running up to them. A train ride that was supposed to take two hours, ended up taking us about 4. Originally it was supposed to Paige, Jordan and I on the train that took off at 4:45 but only Paige managed to get on it. So, it was just Jordan and I left to figure out the rest of the connecting trains that would get us to Verviers Central Station.
We ended up getting a much slower train than what we paid for but it took us to Aachen. Here we waited for about an hour to catch another train that was supposed to take us to Verviers. I swear the trains kept getting more and more ghetto. Eventually we made it to Verviers around 9:30 pm and met up with Paige and her Belgian friends.
Paige's friends names were Catherine and Tom. With all our luggage in hand, we followed Catherine and Tom to their apartment where we hung out for a bit and they taught us a few french phrases. I totally forgot all they speak in Belgium is French, so I had to adjust to this. We hung out for a while in the apartment and the entire time we were there, I would say 4 or 5 different people came and went. It was quite the crowd for the small room we were in. After this, the plan was to go out to a bar and have a few drinks but we only made it to one bar and stayed there for an hour. I was so exhausted from traveling that it was time for bed.
The next day started very early and we got a free tour from our new friends of the city of Verviers. They took us to the local market (which seemed to go on forever) and then we caught a train to Brussels.
The difference from one city to the next was pretty crazy. Verviers is a small city with not too much going on while Brussels is a big tourist spot with large, intricate buildings. Once in Brussels, we of course were on the hunt for Belgian waffles and their famous dark beer. After getting awesome pictures of the city (seen below) we walked through town to go to a famous bar called Delirium.
We heard this place had over 2500 different beers to choose from and so we got directions from quite a few people before finding it. It was hard to find because there was a whole section of a street with different signs that said "Delirium". But eventually we found the cafe with this sign:
So we figure it was legit. Once inside we each ordered two or three beers which were all delicious. After hanging out here for an hour or two, we walked through the city and were tempted by some street vendors selling light up glasses. Naturally, we all got some and then proceeded to take 34234 pictures with them.
Yep, we were those people. Oh how could I forget, they had the best chocolate there and I definitely got at least 20-30 euros worth. After the photoshoot ended, we caught our train back to Verviers and went back to the hotel because we were pooped.
All in all, Belgium was a lot of fun. Next time we won't miss our train and maybe we'll get there on time. :)
My spring consisted of an unforgettable adventure through
Germany with my mother. We started out in Bonn and then slowly made our way
south and back to Frankfurt. Our transportation was a super spiffy Audi, but it
didn’t stand a chance against the sports cars on the autobahn. The autobahn is
something the Germans did right. With a recommended speed limit of 130km/hr (approx.
87 mph), you can get anywhere in decent amount a time, but you can really reach
your destination a lot faster if you just move on over to the fast lane and
cruise at speeds that would definitely get you in big trouble in Texas. A few
of my favorite things from the week were the Top of Germany at Zugspitze, the
Marksburg castle, the alte brücke in Heidelberg, the Dachau memorial site, and
the Residenz in Würzburg. I hope everyone’s break was a good as mine! See you
all at school tomorrow!
Paris was amazing! I think the best part about it though is that I was able to spend time with my parents. It was a nice refreshment after all this time spent in Europe without them. The first day we got there, we went to to Saint Chapel, Notre Dame, and the Sacre Cours. The following day, in the middle of a blizzard, we visited the Musee D'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triumph followed up by a stroll down the Champs D'Elyees. The next day we visited the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre. We were able to see the Mona Lisa and many other famous artworks! Spring Break has definitely been my favorite part of the trip. Partly because of the amazing city of Paris and partly because I got to hang out with my tow favorite people in the world. Tchuss!
As my eustachian tube adapts to the varying altitudes along this mountainous and scenic-filled train ride back to Venice, my emotions also suffer a series of highs and lows. From sadness to happiness. Excitement to relaxation. And stress to subtleness. I fear the work-load that awaits the week to come. But I'd rather suppress the thoughts for at least six more hours (when this peaceful train ride comes to an end). Gosh, I wish I could bottle up the immense happiness I feel and share its vibrance with everyone else. This past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. To think that I would travel as much as I did and see as much as I saw had always been forever unthinkable. There were moments when I wished my eyes had a larger visual field so that I could encompass a panoramic memory to last a lifetime. (or until I am struck with Alzheimer's…hardy-har-har)
Onward, as we are spending today, exactly a week ago, we boarded a plane to bring us into the beautiful country of Italia. I remember sitting in our hotel room during our excursion to Vienna, searching for the cheapest city to fly into (40 Euro roundtrip to Venice was the winner!). Once that was taken care of, we purchased and Italy Interrail pass to cover for our city-hopping and other transportation needs. With many beautiful cities to choose from, Florence and Rome/Vatican City came out on top. We felt as if Florence had the Tuscan enchantment we hoped to experience, while Rome would serve as the glorious tourist capital (we also had a short-lived stop in Pisa on our way to Rome). Our hopes were not met. They were exceeded. And I speak in plural because I am 987,723,024% sure that my amazing girlfriends share similar thoughts and opinions. I would like to describe one day from each city visited. It's a tough selection, but knowing my wordy self, it is the safer option.
Settling into Hostel Archi Rossi was a joy in itself. The environment was chic and hip. And the comfort level was also great. It was there that we came across a brochure titled Fun In Tuscany. It offered a horse-back adventure through the country side, wine tasting and lunch, and a tour through the medieval town of San Gimigniano. We apologized to our bank accounts in advance and booked the day away. It's silly to think of it as an expense now, for we received so much more that putting a price tag on it now would not do it justice. Cristian, our tour guide for the day, welcomed us into his sketchy white mini-van the next morning. I remember securing my pink pepper spray in my hand…just in case (four girls, one big guy…you'd be weary too). Cristian turned out to be an enthusiastic, driven individual. His eyes glowed with passion and his mouth said the words: you have to do what you love, because if your heart is in it, it no longer feels like work. I came to the conclusion that many Italians had that same mentality-a great way of thinking that I can relate to. The first adventure came to me as a totally new experience. I had never been on a horse, and I hadn't a clue what to do. As I hoped on, I was proud to do so with a hint of grace. Our "instructor" gave me a nod and said "perfect." The rest….was not so perfect. He handed me the reigns, hopped on his horse after the rest of the girls were situated in their own horses, and he led the way. Caramelo was a diva. That was the name I gave him after the creamy, beige complexion of his hair and sweet heart. He wasn't made to be tamed. He took joy in escaping into bushy little paths and quickened trots. Me, being the chicken sh** that I am (excuse the vulgarity of that last phrase), panicked a bit, but I quickly learned that spontaneity was his nature. He was nature. And he embraced it elegantly. I may have been scared at his sudden spurs a few times, but well, that made it all the more memorable.
Rome is home. Today I awoke with a tightened feeling in my chest, knowing that I was to leave Rome and all of its glory. Its grandeur derives from its historic features planted within the city, its rich character, and diverse persona. It had so much to offer-complexity and excitement that a lifetime of exploration would not suffice. On that note, it was Tuesday evening that we arrived to the magnificent city. It's funny to think that our original plan was to visit Rome first and save Florence for the end. A sold-out Mumford and Sons show in Florence flipped our plans back to a more geographical strategy. Anywho, we decided that Wednesday was to be the warmest of the days and would be spent visiting the Colosseum, Palantino, Roman Forum, and leisure outdoor exploration. However, the morning was gloomy and rainy. We decided to be flexible and visit the Vatican Museums and spend the day in Vatican City instead. In all honesty, as a Catholic, it filled me with great joy to see my strongest beliefs represented in a historic city. But….even I felt drained towards the end. Everything was beautiful, a little unreal. And it makes sense. It was Godly, something humans can not fully understand but eventually will. Back to the excursion, we entered St. Peter's Basilica and admired its beauty. A little after five, we exited and found a sea of umbrellas covering the entire square for "smoke watch." Consumed by the excitement, we waited around and made friends in the wet and cold weather. An hour passed and our bodies begged for food; we convinced ourselves to come back and watch the black smoke later that evening and walked over to Hard Rock Cafe. As we waited for our food to be served, we heard the news of the deeply anticipated white smoke! My world shut down. I could not believe what was happening. I still can't. Out of all places, any time, and everything else, I was there. We gobbled down our food and sprinted through the crowded streets. We had an hour before the new Pope would be announced, and we hoped we'd arrive in time. To our slight disappointment, the rest of the world was doing the same thing. We didn't get past the tall columns with the metal detector stations. We also lost sight of Stephanie for a good ten minutes. Lauren opened her unique Texas A&M umbrella, and luckily, Stephanie was able to find us. As we went against the exiting, immense crowd, not only were we suffocated, we also couldn't catch a glance of the presentation of the new Pope. We finally got into the square through the South end, at which time the peak of the hype had disminuated. Crowds of people snaked through the square chanting "Viva, Viva El Papa Francesco!" Flags from every country colored the night. The rain had stopped completely. It was a feast for my eyes, ears, and heart. Even though we missed sight of El Papa Francesco, we were blessed to be sharing the glorious moment and the thriving love of the environment and people all around. It was a love connection that can't be matched. After the long, rough day we had had, I knew something great had to wrap it up. Maybe it's my overly confident optimism, but I refuse to believe in bad days. It reminded my planner/control freak ways that there are many, many things I can not and will never have control over, like weather. And that God's plan, will always be greater than anything I have in mind for myself.
I dread the expected 3 a.m. arrival to "Hogwarts" (we are traveling in our very own cabin, I anticipate an abrupt dementor visit at any moment haha). From rain, to shine, to the fluffy snow that awaits in good ol' Deutschland, I chew on this milky almond and appreciate my spontaneous Spring Break. I thank God, my family, my friends, my awesome school, and endless blessings. Oof.
Well
spring breaks over unfortunately. Sitting here in Nice's airport
waiting for our flight back to Germany. It was a great week in Nice,
France. Even he flight here was good. We flew over the Alps and took a
few pictures from the plane window. We had great weather just about
everyday and made the most of it out on the beach. Nice has a great
pebble beach with beautiful blue water. One of the coolest things about
Nice is its old town. There is a big antique market on Mondays, lots of
places to eat, Finioccios, and my favorite Colline du Château. Château
is a mountain/cliff along the coast that overlooks the city and the
beach on one side and the harbor on the other.The view is amazing. There
is even a waterfall up top. Finioccios is the famous gelato place of
Nice. They have a crazy amount of flavors and their strawberry was
unbelievably good. I would suggest if you are ever in Nice to go to
both of those. We also walked out to the light house in the harbor which
was nice and Wayne's bar is a tourist hotspot. From Nice we took
trains and buses to the different surrounding city's. Our first venture
out of Nice was a 45 minute train ride to Cannes, France. I had never
heard of it before but its sandy beach overlooking the ocean of
different shades of blue was superb. One of the days we took a bus to
Antibes for the Musêe Picasso. Another day we headed to Saint Raphael
but with sub 50 degree temperatures you couldn't pay me to get in the
water. My favorite though might be Monaco. The Monte Carlo lived up to
its name and was even better than pictures of it show. I see why it's
so famous. Everything about it was super decorative and very well up
kept. We tried our luck at the black jack tables but it didn't pay off.
However, I did win a few bucks on slots while waiting for the tables to
open. How many people can say they have gambled at the Monte Carlo? We
traveled quite a bit but it was a great week relaxing on the beaches of
France. It felt like spring break sitting there doing nothing, drinking
a beer of two, and watching the sun shine on the beautiful blue coast.
Spring Break! This is the week I was waiting for since I arrived to Germany and I would of never suspected what it had prepared for me. It started excellent, but ended horrible.
Barcelona, Spain: Our first stop this past week was Barcelona, the city I had always dreamed to visit. The view from the plain as we were arriving to Barcelona was beautiful, an anticipation to what was waiting for us. As soon as we arrived, our first mission started: to find the hostel in which we were staying. It took us approximately about an hour to find it because we were not used to the way the streets were labeled. The street name is in a plaque high on the wall only on one side of the street. Apparently, we past the street where the hostel was but we did not know because we never turned around. Also, after asking for directions, people kept telling us to go down the road a certain amount of streets. The problem was we would of never considered alleys to be streets, just like the spaniards do. After finally finding our hostel, Valerio (one of the staff) gave us a delicious welcome with some paella and patatas (spanish rice with potatoes). He didn't even charge us first, but rather told us to just put our belongings in the floor and to join them for dinner. I have tried paella before, but I have to say this was the best paella I have ever had. During dinner, we met many new people from all over the world. This is exactly what I enjoyed the most from this hostel. The environment it had allowed everyone to communicate and be friendly with everyone else. There in the hostel, I met Philip. Philip is actually from Bonn, Germany and was there for a night before going on a hike for his geology class. He is awesome and promised we would have some beers here in Bonn whenever he gets back. I also met Csaba, who is from Hungary and lived in London for a while. Since we were going to London later that week, I was asking him what he recommended us to do there. Then, there was Steven who is American but is currently studying abroad in London. He joined the conversation I was having with Csaba. That first night, we all decided to go to a bar tour in order to get to know the night life in Barcelona. The first bar was pretty chill and I loved it, specially since I had what is so far the best drink ever, a Barcelloneta. If you want to have a hint of what it is, imagine a vanilla milkshake with a little bit of alcohol. It was the best! We also got a free lime vodka shot and I finished my friend's rasberry drink. The bar was small, but that allowed us to have conversations with other people. The next bar was the complete opposite. First of all, it was almost dead with only some few old people drinking quietly. I decided to try a sangria from Spain. I can say it was pretty good, but nothing beats the Barcelloneta I had before. While drinking the sangria, Csaba, me and some girl whose name I forgot decided to leave the bar because it was boring. We walked our way back to the hostel, but not without first stopping for a hot dog. The next day was our first get to know Barcelona day. We walked everywhere in the city and got to see a famous cat everyone takes pictures with, the cathedral, some stores, and the beach! The weather over in Barcelona was perfect for the beach. We took our shoes off, walked around for a while, and then layed down and just chill. At the stores, I found out Spaniards love Mexicans. When I walked into one of the stores, I said "Buenas tardes"trying to be pollite. As I was looking at shirts, the owner of the store approached me and asked me if I was Mexican. Her question took me by surprise. I said yes and she immediately gave me a warm welcome. Then she told me that she would give me discounts because she really likes Mexicans. I did not have money at that time, so I asked her if I could come back. She said definately! But the highlight of the day was not the beach or the warm welcome to the stores. It was definately the game: Barcelona vs Deportivo La Coruna. The trains to go to the game were packed, which only emphasizes the fact that soccer for Spaniards is like a religion. As soon as we arrived to Camp Nou, I could not believe what I was seeing: the biggest stadium in the world and home to the best soccer team in the world, my favorite since Mexican Rafael Marquez played for them back in early 2000s. We walked quiet a distance to find our gate but I did not care. I would do anything to see my favorite soccer team in action. The game ended 2-0 favoring Barcelona of course, but the best part was that I saw Lionel Messi, ranked number 1 by FIFA, score a beautiful goal right infront of me. I can't even describe with words how I felt when I saw that ball go in and Messi celebrating with everyone else. That night, I decided to just chill and drink some wine back in the hostel with my new friends as we talked about the game. The next day was also a get to know Barcelona and got to meet a new friend, Larry. We first went to go see a castle which made me dream about how cool it would have been to be a Spaniard back then during the World Wars. The castle was build as a fort and used during those eras. After the castle, we went to the olympique stadium and some fountain in the middle of the city. According to Valerio, there is a beautiful show in this fountain every Friday and Saturday, but we missed it because we decided to go watch the game. After looking at different pictures online, there is no doubt it is a beatiful show and I will definately love to see it live sometime. We also got to see the Sacrada Familia church, which is a gigantic church with beautiful modern architecture. We could go in to see the inside and touch it, but we thought 17 euros was quiet expensive to go in so we decided to just take pictures from the outside. My day that Sunday ended by attending mass in Barcelona's cathedral. I have to say it felt good attending mass in which I understood the language. That night, before going back to the hostel, I treated myself to some white chocolate and mango ice cream, the best ice cream I have ever had. After spending approximately 3 days of my vacation there in Barcelona, I fell in love with the city. I will definately go back sometime, hopefully to stay.
So this blog is coming pretty behind schedule, but I never took the time to talk about Paris. I only really had a day and a half there but I got to see a lot and it was an all around wonderful weekend. Not only did I get a short break from Germany but I got the chance to spend the weekend with my boyfriend, Max, 2 things I was really looking forward to. So far I hadn't gotten to see anyone from back home besides skyping (although my parents are coming in less than 2 weeks, yay!) so this was my first time which made the weekend even better! the weather didn't quite hold up for us, but it was kind of cool to see Paris under snow. I'll try to keep this one short since I now have 2 blogs from London and Scotland that you'll have to read soon too (get excited!)
Day One:
Definitely an early start, like 3:30 in the morning, but I did get to experience my first long distance train ride and I must say I really enjoy trains. Not only do you get to see some awesome views but they're about 5 times more comfortable than the tiny airplane seats I normally have. After getting to Paris, meeting Max, and checking into the hostel (which was actually pretty nice. I have yet to have a bad experience with a hostel) we started going down our list of stuff to see. First up, heading to the islands to see the Arc de Triomphe! Honestly a whole lot bigger than I expected it to be. I was thoroughly impressed!
As usual the picture doesn't do it justice
Okay, so it's been three weeks and i'm not exactly sure if this happened before or after seeing the arch but anyway, here's one of the best stories of the trip. So Max and I are walking down the bridge (probably looking very American and like easy targets) and all of a sudden this women calls us back. She's holding a gold ring that she had "found on the ground" and asked if it was one of ours. We said no and she starts trying to give it to us and keeps making comments about it being gold (which Max called her out on it not being gold) and how its our lucky day and she wants us to keep it. Sweet lady, she seemed sincere, and sadly I half believed her. 2 months in Europe and most of the time I'm still a dumb american! It didn't hit me till she called us back once again after leaving and asked for some money for coffee in return that we had just had our first encounter with a gypsy, and she had fooled me... Never the less we laughed it off and kept on walking. I promise you no more than 150 yards later I look down and saw another fake gold ring sitting on the ground, just waiting for some tourist. This time we knew exactly what was coming. A middle aged man pops out of the crowd, bends down, picks up the ring and calls us over. Here's where it gets good. Max was still holding the last gold ring and without even waiting for the guy to start talking drops it in the guys hand with a look that said, "nice try, but you're not fooling us twice". Probably one of the funniest moments ever. The gypsy just started laughing, shook his head, and walked away and we did the same and continued our journey through Paris!
3. Notre Dame: the lines were backed up ridiculously long so we didn't go inside, but the outside itself was beautiful! Despite the numerous amount of cathedrals that all seem to look the same after awhile, Notre Dame had a charm of its own!
2.Seine river cruise: it was really cold walking and we wanted to get a feel for the seine so we ended up getting tickets for a short cruise (I think it was actually just a really big taxi boat) that had a heated sitting area which was quite a nice break from the weather.
3. Lunch and the Avenue des Champs-Elysees: First off I would just like to clear the air about the reputation of French people. Our waiter (and everyone else we talked) were so nice and helpful and completely opposite from the notions we as Americans (and most of the rest of the world apparently) hold for them. Despite this, the things you heard about Paris being dirty are kind of true and were more apparent on this avenue (and the tubes) than the rest of Paris.
3. Luxor Obelish at the Place de la Concorde: Not entirely sure what it was, a monument to something but it looked really cool. And added bonus, some Paris streets have these grates in the ground that blow hot air through them and there was a massive one right across the street from the Obelish. I think we spent about 10 minutes just standing on it (I'll take the blame for it the wasted time) which felt so good! When we first got to it there were only like 2 other people standing on it but by the time we left the little 10X15 foot area must have had close to 30 people on it.
4. Jardin des Plantes: A pretty cool place. Its probably breathtaking when the it doesn't just look a bunch of sticks in the grounds, but still impressive. I could definitely see the potential!
5.Worlds Best Hot Chocolate at Cafe Angelina: 2 words: LIQUID CHOCOLATE. Seriously though, I thought it was gonna turn solid again once it cooled down! Delicious and rich but too sweet for me and even Max (who probably has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I know) couldn't finish his cup.
6. Sacre-Coeur Basilica: Our hostel was really close to this so after taking a break to warm up we headed over there. 10 minutes and about 20 flights of stairs later we were there. It was all light about an absolutely gorgeous sight to see.
7. Dinner at the Eiffel Tower: Lunch was pretty filling so we decided to just do a picnic in front of teh eiffel tower which was really fun for me despite the cold. Okay, the coolest thing about the eiffel tower: every night on the hour the tower "twinkles" with LED lights for 10 minutes. I thought it was pretty before but that just put it over the top! Once again, I was impressed!
Sorry i look slightly maniacal in this picture, not exactly sure what happened there!
DAY TWO:
1. The Louvre: I really wish we would have had more time to spend here cause it was incredible! There were so many classics and so much history in that building:
The Mona Lisa
Venus de Milo AKA the "perfect" woman
Hammorabi's Code: The first written code of law
And the famous glass pyramid!
2. Hotel de Invalides: This was actually one of my favorites things that we did. Not only was it massive and beautiful (the famous bridge that everyone thinks of with the gold statues on is actually the entrance to it) but it housed napoleons body! Plus it had a cool little military museum!
I'm not sure if you can see it in this pictures but there were also tons of cannons all around the perimeter
3. Crepes: We were in France so it was a must!
4. Worlds Best Ice Cream: Absolutely delicious!!! Completely worth the trip even though it meant standing outside eating ice cream in below freezing weather!
5. Bastille: We tried to fit in one last thing before leaving so we went to the Bastille, or what was left of it. I really liked French history and so I was kind of excited about see the Bastille. The people stormed it as part of the french revolution as freed the prisoners in it. Even though there were only a handful of inmates it was a big deal. Unforuntately, what we had not learned was that after that the people had actually dissassembled the entire structure and used the bricks to make some of the bridges in Paris. So when we went to see it this is what we found:
A little disappointing, but still cool?
After that our time was up and it was back up to the train station for a quick lunch before our trains left. A short time, but very sweet!
After Paris:
1. A trip to the Stockel museum: A guided tour by Stockel himself of his history of anesthesia museum
2. A tour of the Bayer museum (as in Bayer Aspirin). The tour was actually a lot more fun and intereactive than I think any of us were expecting and it made for a good day!
3. SPRING BREAK!!! I'll have to put this in another post, probably two! but just know that it was WONDERFUL! :)
