new year's resolution: commit to my travels.
up until i went to ireland in march 2011 to hang out with the best brother ever, i had no idea the world was so awesome. i know that sounds ridiculous and stereotypical American, but it's true - most people who have never had the opportunity to travel don't know what they're missing. and i feel sorry for them. ireland made me fall in love with other cultures and want more. going to europe was the best two months of my life because i got to see so much, meet so many amazing people, and have incredible adventures. had i not booked a flight on a whim 24 days out with no planning whatsoever, i doubt i would have actually gone. but now that i've done it, i can't stop. every day i dream about the places i haven't been, wonder what they'll be like, and planning out the next few years around them. i wish my job required me to do international travel, but for right now it requires me to stay put in a very unexciting town. so i will have to make the most of weekends and the tiny amount of vacation time i have compared to other countries, where at least a month of vacation is usually required by law.
so i am committing to saving money, saving vacation time, so i can do trips for a few weeks out of every year. they will usually be around christmas, since that's when i already have days off. but smaller weekend trips will be good for closer traveling, such as canada or within the country. goals for 2012:
weekend in april/may: either vancouver or toronto, depending on where the people i was going to see will be
summer: san diego, to see christine and kris. this is if i have money saved up at the time and hopefully one of my favorite germans will be able to come in too.....
october: auburn, to watch the aggie btho those tigers (sorry jason)
christmas/new year's: australia/new zealand. to my aussies and kiwis, get ready, and let me know where you'll be!!
this means i will have to definitely work on budgeting and sticking to it, but this is definitely motivation to get it all in order. 2012, here i come.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
let's play a game
now that i have non-US friends, i get to play this super fun game. whenever i see a friend's facebook status in another language or get a notification that someone else commented in another language, i get to guess what it is! as far as translating, i don't go that far (unless it's german, then usually i try to figure it out) but still it's fun to see something like 3 different languages commenting on someone's status.
yay world!
yay world!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
miss you
dear traveling,
i miss you like crazy. i dream about you every day and all the fun we had together in those great two months. i wish we could be together forever.
love and kisses,
sarah
i miss you like crazy. i dream about you every day and all the fun we had together in those great two months. i wish we could be together forever.
love and kisses,
sarah
Thursday, October 27, 2011
lessons learned
in traveling for two months around europe, i gained some wisdom that i would like to pass on.
well those are the main lessons learned from eurotrip 2011. i hope that i didn't scare anyone too much gallovanting off on my own across the ocean. but now i'm back and working....so i can save up the money for the next trip!!
- make sure you know which airport you are actually flying to. frankfurt is not the same as frankfurt hahn. and then you have to take an hour smelly bus ride to get to where you were supposed to be.
- if you must get cash to leave the airport, get only as much as you need for the bus to town and then use a different atm once you are in the city. airport atms have an awful conversion rate.
- if a turkish "cellular phone store" tells you they don't have what you're looking for before you even ask, it's best to keep moving.
- street performers are people too. stop and have a chat with them. on a lonely day where the only language spoken is german, you might find some indian dance performers that only speak spanish and it's worth it to stop and talk to hear their story.
- don't have set in stone plans. if you fall in love with a place or meet people you want to spend more time with, be flexible enough to stay another day or two. or however long you want really.
- train stations are actually pretty safe...because there are always police walking around. especially in paris, they're paranoid there.
- if you see a pretty picture of a bike on the ground, do not walk towards it. in fact, stay as far away as possible from it. or a dutch person will start yelling at you while simultaneously attempting to run you over with their bike.
- no city in holland is pleasant to walk. rent a bike. and don't go injured making this impossible.
- sometimes strangers are nicer than the people you thought you knew.
- if you must stay in a hotel, pick a small one so you can bargain down the price. otherwise, stick to couchsurfing and hostels.
- go with your gut. if a situation is bad, you know. and have a backup.
- on that note, don't be afraid of the night. just be aware of your surroundings.
- don't ask for anything extra in paris. for instance, if you order a quiche, don't expect a fork too. that would just be ridiculous. (this is sarcasm)
- be able to read maps well before your trip. or learn fast. you'll get a new one in every city and subway.
- if a local offers you a tour of their city, take it. they know the major things and the little local spots you wouldn't get to see on a guided tour.
- take chances. a road trip with strangers who may or may not speak your language well could turn out to be one of the best experiences of your trip.
- live like a gypsy for at least a few days. you'll meet cool people and it's way more fun in numbers. it'll also make you appreciate those crappy hostel beds and showers.
- the beaches in barcelona at night are good for meeting drug dealers (whether you want to or not) and watching drunk people come out of the clubs at 04:30.
- talk to people on the trains if you can. you might meet someone who will give you a tour of google zurich, people from your own city, or you might meet your new favorite travel friend from australia.
- on that note, in case you don't meet anyone, always have a book handy.
- the beaches in the french riviera are made of rocks, not sand. be prepared.
- monaco is a good day trip. no, you cannot talk your way onto a big yacht.
- go on pub crawls. seriously.
- try local food. especially escargot in paris and gelati anywhere in italia.
- if you're injured on your trip, at least make the most of it. the sympathy card can be played well and get you past lines and into first class seats.
- don't take a bus in rome, ever. it's a complete waste of time and not a pleasant experience. also, the metro doesn't actually take you where it says it will in rome, you'll still have to walk.
- see the fontana de trevi during the day and at night. it's worth it to go twice.
- detouring a day just to chill at the beach is a great way to take a break.
- if someone invites you to come hang out for the weekend, do it. especially if it's a pair of ridiculously fun army boys from texas and new york.
- spend more time in switzerland. it's beautiful. and even more fun when you have a super awesome host like i did.
- go early to oktoberfest if you don't have reservations. and take it slow.
- keep any valuables you bring to big, crowded places (like oktoberfest) inside your clothes. don't even bring a bag if you can help it. they will get stolen.
- eat the food at oktoberfest. it's not like normal fair food that sucks, this fair food is delicious.
- if multiple people can vouch for them, take a ride with someone you just met. riding in a sweet new audi from berlin to prague is way more fun than a train.
- be friends with the people who work at the hostel. they know the city, they're incredibly fun, and they're great people.
- if an italian is cooking your food, order italian. even if it's in prague.
- do walking tours of the city. it usually knocks out everything you want to see.
- buy food from shady shacks. you know it's legit.
- again, if someone offers you a place to stay to hang out, take it! they're probably awesome and super fun. and helpful and kind. and a good translator. and if they're extra nice they might take care of you when you wind up in a cast and crutches in a foreign country and bring you nutella.
- wheelchair service through the airport rocks. you get to skip all the lines and take all the shortcuts.
- bring a swiss army knife, it will come in handy almost every day. don't put it in your carry on.
- if you ever feel uncomfortable telling someone you're american, then just say you're canadian. only canadians will be able to tell the difference.
- you will meet a load of australians and kiwis if you backpack anywhere. is anyone even there to run the places?
- brisbane is superior to sydney and melbourne.
well those are the main lessons learned from eurotrip 2011. i hope that i didn't scare anyone too much gallovanting off on my own across the ocean. but now i'm back and working....so i can save up the money for the next trip!!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
unexpected twists
i was very unmotivated to blog at the end of the trip due to my streak of bad luck so bear with me while i try to finish the stories. left berlin with alberto from plus prague and we drove the 5 hours (that was supposed to be 3 but thanks to the gps we got lost). but that let me have 2 extra hours hanging out with alberto in his beautiful audi so that was fine by me! first day in prague i went and bought a third camera, a cheaper one this time. the store was so confusing because you had to use three different machines to place your order, no people, and it's all in czech. which makes no sense whatsoever to me. after that i went on a shopping spree to get a bunch of stuff i needed, including a bag from the market, a bigger bag from h&m, and an awesome leather jacket from pimkie. and maybe a few more little things :) the rest of my time in prague i saw the castle, did the walking tour of the city, saw the astronomical clock (which is wrong by the way, it was built based on the idea that earth is the center of the universe), saw a fashion show due to it being prague fashion weekend, went out with my favorite italians, and went on a pub crawl with some people from the hostel. all in all, not a bad time in prague. it was pretty laidback and filled with great new friends.
left prague to go to vienna and found johanna on the platform. really easy since a) she saw me first and b) she was wearing an aggie shirt! met up with her friend arnold after dark and went out for cocktails at some fancy place. it was really really nice, nothing like i've ever been to before. the next two days i went to schoenbrunn palace and arnold gave me a walking tour of the first district. i've got to say, vienna is a huge city. we only walked around the first district to look at stuff like the university, city hall, the theatre and opera house, and different museums, and it took most of the day. that being said, vienna is really pretty. all the buildings are somewhat unique but all elegant. schoenbrunn was a beauty all on its own, including tons of rooms trimmed in gold paint, wonderful chandeliers in every room, an enormous garden, neptune's fountain, and the glorietta, which we climbed to the top of to get a view of the whole city right around sunset. not to mention i had two great people as my tour guides!! later that night we went out to volksgarten, this club full of businessy people and lawyers. they had awesome lighting on the walls and ceilings that kept changing colors, video screens everywhere that either played the music video for the current song or some other medley of figures that went with the beat. sadly drinks were ridiculously expensive and i wasn't really feeling up to the price. but all in all things were going fairly well up until bad luck decided to strike me one last time.
going inside from the patio area, there is a step. someone had left a fully intact glass bottle on this step. i had the misfortune of finding it, and consequently fell face first onto the cement. trying to regain composure and dignity (impossible at this point), i tried to jump up and rush inside. tried being the key word here, but once i attempted to put any pressure on my left leg, a wave of terror ran through me. it was the same feeling, if not worse, than when i injured the right leg, the one i've been recovering from since before the trip even started. so i hobbled into the inside corridor and stood for a minute. obviously looking bad because some girl came up to me and asked if i needed help. she helped me get back to the table where joey was sitting and at this point i looked pretty bad. my knee was bleeding and tights were torn on the knee, my face was streaked with makeup from crying i'm sure, and i just looked rough. after taking off the left shoe, we could see how swollen the ankle already was after just a few minutes. got some ice to hold on it and after about ten minutes i decided the hospital was needed, the pain was too bad and i knew something was wrong. so joey and arnold helped me out and us girls took a cab to the hospital closer to her apartment. after doing some x-rays they determined i would have to go to the other hospital, the one closer to where the club was in the first place. so we get another cab to UKB and joey wheels me up to the doctors. thank goodness she was with me and she's such a good person, because without her taking care of me and translating and putting mean reception ladies in their place i don't know how i would have survived! the second place did more x-rays and tests and determined i had partially ruptured ligaments in my ankle. great. so they put a cast on it. my first cast, so i guess something to kind of brag about. i got lame european crutches that require a ton of upper body strength, of which i have none, so i guess i will be building it up in the next few weeks. also got the bad news that i would have to do medication injections in my leg for a week...those of you who know me well know that i am terrified of needles, but after a few times it gets easy. you'd be surprised at what you can force yourself to do when it's the lesser of two evils. anyway, we both go home, extremely tired, and i was blessed to get lots of sweet treats from johanna the next day for brunch (cinnamon buns, sweet bread, nutella, etc). arnold was nice enough to host me the next day at his apartment since joey had family coming in. he was sick so we both mainly just sat around until he drove me to a hotel near the airport the next day.
luckily i got traveler's insurance right before i left. i almost didn't purchase any because i figured well i'm already injured, what more could happen? well, apparently anything can happen. they were nice enough to take care of me and approve getting me an earlier flight home. it was depressing to have to miss closing weekend of oktoberfest with charlotte and chris, but i wouldn't have been any fun anyway with my inability to climb stairs well or even get anywhere. since i had my cast and i'm at risk for blood clots, i got to fly back business class on KLM (you know you're jealous), so at least i had that going for me. when i got back my mom was waiting for me with flowers from my mamaw, and for the last few days i've gotten to lay around on a big couch with my leg propped up. i'm sad that my trip didn't end how i planned, but that's life and at least i got to spend more time with johanna, because she is such an amazing friend. i've learned that things don't always go as planned but if you make the most of it and keep smiling, things will always be ok. and that's the end of the trip, people!!
look out for the next post, which will be funny and real tips on traveling everywhere i've been :) this is not the last entry! off to my check up on the ankle, wish me luck!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
bad luck
the last week hasn't quite been working out in my favor. munich was good for the most part up until the end. got my dirndl (it's blue in case you were wondering), got some good bavarian food with my host Bekir, and got to sleep semi early the first night. saturday was opening day of oktoberfest and we got there super early to get inside schottenhamel tent, the opening tent. it rained while we waited and it was cold, and i had no umbrella or jacket. after 2 hours of waiting in line we were told that was a reservation only line, so we ended up in the tent next door's bier garten instead, which was still awesome because by that time it had warmed up, gotten sunny, and we met some awesome germans. after a few maß there we went to löwenbrau for the rest of the day. had a lot of fun, the tents are huge and insane, and the party really gets going in the afternoons/evenings. sunday i opted to stay away from the huge weekend crowd at wiesn and went to the free walking tour instead, which was actually super informative and fun. met some cool canadians and met them up at höfbrauhaus later. monday i went solo to the oktoberfest and this time is was even colder and rainy. found a big group of aggies and hung with them at hippodrom, and we had the coolest waitress. my camera stopped working at hippodrom so i didn't bother getting it out the rest of the day or even checking on it because i had worked on fixing it for about an hour. tuesday morning when i wake up and start packing to head out, i realize it's not anywhere. that's right, it was stolen out of my purse at oktoberfest at some point. we didn't stay at hippodrom and i ended up losing them in the next tent so who knows when it walked away. needless to say i was incredibly pissed and upset. spent the day riding the train to berlin, got in around 4, and went shopping for a new one. got one that was decent but not as awesome as my old one. spent the night at the hostel hanging out with some more cool canadians who i wish i could have hung out with more, but alas they went to munich this morning. same day my purse strap breaks, so adios purse. didn't have time to get a new one so yesterday i just used my makeup bag to carry the essentials. did the sandeman walking tour (about 3.5 hours of walking) around berlin and got to see most of the sights. met a fun guy from san francisco and we hung out after the tour and drank berliner weisse, this really sweet beer either in red or green that doesn't taste like a beer at all. met up with him at the hostel bar later and us, the canadians, and a bunch of guys that work at the hostel went out to some club that i forget the name of. had a great time until i realized camera number 2 had gone missing. so that blows. we searched all over the club for like an hour. while people were dancing. it was not a fruitful search. so we went home and i was crying because seriously who has this bad of luck?? it could be worse, i could lose my passport or something else valuable. like my sd cards. but thankfully this time i only lost a day of pictures and on the first one i lost half a day because i had just put in a new card. i guess you just run into a stream of bad luck sometimes.
today i haven't left the hostel because honestly sometimes you just need a break. i'll leave to go talk to the club later and check to see if my camera magically turned up, but i doubt it. tomorrow i leave for prague, then vienna which should be fun because i'll get to hang out with my new friend johanna!!
two weeks left and then home sweet home.
today i haven't left the hostel because honestly sometimes you just need a break. i'll leave to go talk to the club later and check to see if my camera magically turned up, but i doubt it. tomorrow i leave for prague, then vienna which should be fun because i'll get to hang out with my new friend johanna!!
two weeks left and then home sweet home.
Friday, September 16, 2011
vicenza, verona, zürich
ok so rimini is where we left off... let's see, free pasta was delicous. and free, the best part. didn't go out in rimini but i did hang out with people in the hostel playing pool and speaking spanish, which is always fun because it's challenging and i learn. come to find out they actually worked there so they were fine just hanging out all night. super nice and fun people, and somehow i got lucky and was running the pool table haha! next morning was free breakfast (europeans live on bread, i swear) and then after a lazy morning i headed out to the trains. took the long free way to vicenza and when i got there david picked me up at the station. met tank and alice, and tank was kindly letting me stay at his apartment for a few nights. dropped the bag off and then headed out for some steak. i love americans, they will always find the good hidden spots that remind you of home. the first place was closed so we went to another place and had this delicous guiness soaked steak with fresh parmeggiano. so good! the rest of the night was pretty chill, we went to the city to see it at night. david took me to this really high point that had a great view of the city sparkling. it was beautiful and just reminded me of how lucky i am to be able to do this trip and see so many things.
full day 1 was a lazy day. i had wanted to go to venice but i was just so tired that i couldn't make it. i slept in past noon and then got up to see the city. tried to catch a bus to city centre (or città centro) and still got lost. after walking around for two hours, getting stuck in a park full of roosters, and ending up right back at the first spot, i finally figured it out. it was a monday so almost everything was closed sadly, but it was nice not having so many people around. found this delicous gelati place and ate my limone while i looked at some wonderful buildings. then i left to go to base and hung out with theo for a bit. us and some other people we met at the arena, the bar on base, played pool and went bowling. fun night, and good to be around so many americans for once. it's a nice break from the traveling.
full day 2 i got up and went to verona. i met vanessa, a girl from germany, on the bus to the city centre and we decided to hang out for the day. found this little fair going on just inside of a building close to our bus stop and turns out it was full of free food. score. hello, lunch! so that was fun getting to eat lots of local meats, cheeses, and homemade pastries. walked by the arena, a sort of mini colosseum, and then went to the casa di giulietta, or in english, house of juliet from romeo and juliet. didn't go inside the building but did go to the garden with the statue. and yes, i touched juliet's boob so i will find love. don't believe me? look up what you're supposed to do there, i promise it's what you do! we spent the rest of the day just walking around town and taking little side streets just to see the beauty. hung out with tank, theo for a bit, and david the rest of the night and had a great time. love those guys.
sad to say i misjudged my time and thought i would be able to hit up venice in the morning before heading out of italy. i was wrong, and didn't have time. so i boarded the next train to get to zurich. no one warned me how breathtaking the ride would be. the ride from italy to zurich takes you through the swiss alps, which has by far been the best train ride so far. so many majestic mountains, so much green everywhere, wildlife running around, random waterfalls rolling down the mountains. it was incredible. i wanted to sleep but this was too good to ignore. found my host dariush at the train station, dropped off my stuff, and then went to a CS get together. pretty chill night, we were going to explore the city but i was too tired to do anything else! yesterday was my one day in zurich and it was incredible. i never want to leave switzerland it's so gorgeous. basically i walked down the river, went to the google zurich office (a-ma-zing), paradeplatz, bought some sprüngli chocolate, walked down bahnhofstrasse, and then back to the apt. all in all a great day. at night we rode to a CS friend's house and had a little get together there with some food and a little going away/birthday party. the best part though was the drive. we drove, by motorcycle, along the lake so i could see the crystal water reflecting the city lights for many kilometers. the city is as nice at night as it is during the day! after getting back me and dariush just chatted for a while, and he has been such a great host. i wish i was staying longer so we could hang out more because he has been so good and welcoming. but it is time for me to get back to germany, to start the preparations for die oktoberfest!!!
which means i have to pack. this could take a while lol...
full day 1 was a lazy day. i had wanted to go to venice but i was just so tired that i couldn't make it. i slept in past noon and then got up to see the city. tried to catch a bus to city centre (or città centro) and still got lost. after walking around for two hours, getting stuck in a park full of roosters, and ending up right back at the first spot, i finally figured it out. it was a monday so almost everything was closed sadly, but it was nice not having so many people around. found this delicous gelati place and ate my limone while i looked at some wonderful buildings. then i left to go to base and hung out with theo for a bit. us and some other people we met at the arena, the bar on base, played pool and went bowling. fun night, and good to be around so many americans for once. it's a nice break from the traveling.
full day 2 i got up and went to verona. i met vanessa, a girl from germany, on the bus to the city centre and we decided to hang out for the day. found this little fair going on just inside of a building close to our bus stop and turns out it was full of free food. score. hello, lunch! so that was fun getting to eat lots of local meats, cheeses, and homemade pastries. walked by the arena, a sort of mini colosseum, and then went to the casa di giulietta, or in english, house of juliet from romeo and juliet. didn't go inside the building but did go to the garden with the statue. and yes, i touched juliet's boob so i will find love. don't believe me? look up what you're supposed to do there, i promise it's what you do! we spent the rest of the day just walking around town and taking little side streets just to see the beauty. hung out with tank, theo for a bit, and david the rest of the night and had a great time. love those guys.
sad to say i misjudged my time and thought i would be able to hit up venice in the morning before heading out of italy. i was wrong, and didn't have time. so i boarded the next train to get to zurich. no one warned me how breathtaking the ride would be. the ride from italy to zurich takes you through the swiss alps, which has by far been the best train ride so far. so many majestic mountains, so much green everywhere, wildlife running around, random waterfalls rolling down the mountains. it was incredible. i wanted to sleep but this was too good to ignore. found my host dariush at the train station, dropped off my stuff, and then went to a CS get together. pretty chill night, we were going to explore the city but i was too tired to do anything else! yesterday was my one day in zurich and it was incredible. i never want to leave switzerland it's so gorgeous. basically i walked down the river, went to the google zurich office (a-ma-zing), paradeplatz, bought some sprüngli chocolate, walked down bahnhofstrasse, and then back to the apt. all in all a great day. at night we rode to a CS friend's house and had a little get together there with some food and a little going away/birthday party. the best part though was the drive. we drove, by motorcycle, along the lake so i could see the crystal water reflecting the city lights for many kilometers. the city is as nice at night as it is during the day! after getting back me and dariush just chatted for a while, and he has been such a great host. i wish i was staying longer so we could hang out more because he has been so good and welcoming. but it is time for me to get back to germany, to start the preparations for die oktoberfest!!!
which means i have to pack. this could take a while lol...
Saturday, September 10, 2011
roma
a whole post dedicated to roma! we'll recap the first part of it though just for funsies.
first night - took forever to get to the campground hostel. literally, forever, had to get the metro all the way to the end of line a and then wait 45 minutes for a bus to take me 25 minutes down the road. meanwhile i found some people going to the same hostel but they didn't speak much english so that didn't do me any good. finally got there and had a tent to myself so i passed out and woke up early the next day. didn't know there was breakfast so i just starved and left for the journey back into town. started at piazza di spagna, better known as the spanish steps, because my map told me it was the city center. i guess in a way it could be, but that didn't mean anything was really there other than the steps. so i went towards the fontana di trevi. found it and it was super packed. i guess it's always like this but it didn't detract from how beautiful it was. the water was flowing perfectly, so many statues so realistically sculpted, it was wonderful and pure. i threw some coins in for good luck. kept walking and found the pantheon just to the west. it's slightly hidden but once you find it it's pretty clear where you are. it's actually not super huge, just really nice and with lots of meaning. there are crosses in there now but it used to be a pagan temple to worship the different roman gods. i think it has the largest oculus (hole in the top of the dome) in the world. saw some other stuff that day like piazza di venezzia, which is huge, and the capitol building. around that time my camera died, which was also around the time i accidentally found the roman forum. which meant it was about time to go find chris since he had just gotten in. found him at the spanish steps and then found some martini commercial event thing. it was pretty cool even though we had no idea what was going on for the longest time, we just kept watching all these models and dancers and people in fancy clothes. we got to hang out for a bit and then i headed back to my hostel a world away. got there and my tent was wide open with a party outside. my roommate had zero interest in socializing....only with me. everyone else right outside the door was apparently cool but i didn't even get the courtesy of getting his name after asking, just an ignoring. whatevs. then throughout the night he kept throwing things around, another guy came in, basically got no sleep. the next morning i checked out even tho i had booked 3 nights and they only made me pay for one night because i had such a bad experience. score.
took the metro to chris's hostel which was right next to a stop on line b of the metro, super convenient. got two nights booked there, and then we headed out to the colosseum. the colosseum is as it states, colossal. it's massive, and just completely unreal to stand next to or stand in. you can't believe you're actually there. it's magnificent and beastly at the same time, beautiful, and would have been an amazing place to watch a football game. i know, that's so american, but i can't help it. it's a nice stadium. a really really nice arena. then we headed over to the roman forum and palatino and walked around the park there. it's pretty sweet to think about the ruins and try to imagine what it would have looked like when it was in full swing. all the massive pillars, all the words inscribed into the stones, the huge grounds, the pathways, the architecture. would be cool to just experience it for a few minutes how it used to be. also saw the fontana di trevi at night, which was pretty nice.
day 3 of exploring roma we dedicated to the vatican city, or città del vaticani. you really need like a month to explore the vatican, there is sooooo much history and beauty there. it's absolutely insane. we took a guided tour and learned a ton from our hilarious tour guide, who was sometimes hard to spot because she was so short and got lost in the crowd easily. first was entering the city walls, then straight into the museo vaticani. you walk through all these different corridors and see endless amounts of art - paintings, frescos, tapestries, sculptures, everything. history from hundreds and thousands of years. it's incredible and almost unbelievable, as many things in rome are. walked through the sistine chapel, which is more of a rectangular shape - i had always thought it was round. you can't take pictures and the guards in there aren't messing around with the no pictures no talking rules. but it was intense. all the paintings and images you've seen in books you see on the ceiling and walls, the real ones that michelangelo did himself over the course of 4 years. and then you get to see it in person. so cool. but then there are two exits - one that is more exclusive and sometimes only nuns can go through, and another that the general public goes through. the first time we took the public one because it was all that was open. we got to a hallway with cabinets and i tried to peak inside. bad idea, or so i thought, because a guard started yelling at me. i explained i was just curious as to what it was. if you have seen angels and demons you might remember the super locked up library in the basement - well these cabinets are what originally held all those books. so i asked the guard if there was anything else cool he could tell us about or show us that most people don't see. he led us to a blocked off corridor and opened the blockade for us so we could see it and take pics. yep, we got to see something no one else has. or at least in a long time. then we asked about a painting chris had specifically wanted to see, so he put us on a secret elevator back up to way prior in the tour. turns out we took one turn that led us away from the particular corridor with the painting so we finally found it, and then got to see the sistine chapel again. aaaand then took the special exit, which leads to this awesome almost spooky staircase and entrance into st peter's basilica. the massive amount of art in here and the size of the chapel is too big and beautiful and amazing i can't even attempt to explain it. any attempt would belittle it and wouldn't do it close to justice, so you will just have to experience it yourself. the square is also pretty impressive in it's size and beauty. the pope actually happened to be there at the time but we didn't see him.
then last night i went out with some awesome people from the hostel to a "disco tech" because one of our friends was the dj for the night. turns out he's really good at what he does and we had a blast dancing all night. barely got any sleep but it was worth it to have one night out and then see all the monuments at night on the taxi ride. had to say bye to chris this morning, very sad because he has been a totally great travel buddy, but i know we'll hang out again. even if i have to harass him on skype (i know you're reading this and you know it's true lol). plans took a slight turn so now i am in rimini on the beach for the night and tomorrow morning. not doing much but chilling, but that's really all i wanted to do. just took a swim in the adriatic sea and now gonna get ready for some free pasta in the hostel. free is always nice as a backpacker.
one week til oktoberfest opening day!!!
first night - took forever to get to the campground hostel. literally, forever, had to get the metro all the way to the end of line a and then wait 45 minutes for a bus to take me 25 minutes down the road. meanwhile i found some people going to the same hostel but they didn't speak much english so that didn't do me any good. finally got there and had a tent to myself so i passed out and woke up early the next day. didn't know there was breakfast so i just starved and left for the journey back into town. started at piazza di spagna, better known as the spanish steps, because my map told me it was the city center. i guess in a way it could be, but that didn't mean anything was really there other than the steps. so i went towards the fontana di trevi. found it and it was super packed. i guess it's always like this but it didn't detract from how beautiful it was. the water was flowing perfectly, so many statues so realistically sculpted, it was wonderful and pure. i threw some coins in for good luck. kept walking and found the pantheon just to the west. it's slightly hidden but once you find it it's pretty clear where you are. it's actually not super huge, just really nice and with lots of meaning. there are crosses in there now but it used to be a pagan temple to worship the different roman gods. i think it has the largest oculus (hole in the top of the dome) in the world. saw some other stuff that day like piazza di venezzia, which is huge, and the capitol building. around that time my camera died, which was also around the time i accidentally found the roman forum. which meant it was about time to go find chris since he had just gotten in. found him at the spanish steps and then found some martini commercial event thing. it was pretty cool even though we had no idea what was going on for the longest time, we just kept watching all these models and dancers and people in fancy clothes. we got to hang out for a bit and then i headed back to my hostel a world away. got there and my tent was wide open with a party outside. my roommate had zero interest in socializing....only with me. everyone else right outside the door was apparently cool but i didn't even get the courtesy of getting his name after asking, just an ignoring. whatevs. then throughout the night he kept throwing things around, another guy came in, basically got no sleep. the next morning i checked out even tho i had booked 3 nights and they only made me pay for one night because i had such a bad experience. score.
took the metro to chris's hostel which was right next to a stop on line b of the metro, super convenient. got two nights booked there, and then we headed out to the colosseum. the colosseum is as it states, colossal. it's massive, and just completely unreal to stand next to or stand in. you can't believe you're actually there. it's magnificent and beastly at the same time, beautiful, and would have been an amazing place to watch a football game. i know, that's so american, but i can't help it. it's a nice stadium. a really really nice arena. then we headed over to the roman forum and palatino and walked around the park there. it's pretty sweet to think about the ruins and try to imagine what it would have looked like when it was in full swing. all the massive pillars, all the words inscribed into the stones, the huge grounds, the pathways, the architecture. would be cool to just experience it for a few minutes how it used to be. also saw the fontana di trevi at night, which was pretty nice.
day 3 of exploring roma we dedicated to the vatican city, or città del vaticani. you really need like a month to explore the vatican, there is sooooo much history and beauty there. it's absolutely insane. we took a guided tour and learned a ton from our hilarious tour guide, who was sometimes hard to spot because she was so short and got lost in the crowd easily. first was entering the city walls, then straight into the museo vaticani. you walk through all these different corridors and see endless amounts of art - paintings, frescos, tapestries, sculptures, everything. history from hundreds and thousands of years. it's incredible and almost unbelievable, as many things in rome are. walked through the sistine chapel, which is more of a rectangular shape - i had always thought it was round. you can't take pictures and the guards in there aren't messing around with the no pictures no talking rules. but it was intense. all the paintings and images you've seen in books you see on the ceiling and walls, the real ones that michelangelo did himself over the course of 4 years. and then you get to see it in person. so cool. but then there are two exits - one that is more exclusive and sometimes only nuns can go through, and another that the general public goes through. the first time we took the public one because it was all that was open. we got to a hallway with cabinets and i tried to peak inside. bad idea, or so i thought, because a guard started yelling at me. i explained i was just curious as to what it was. if you have seen angels and demons you might remember the super locked up library in the basement - well these cabinets are what originally held all those books. so i asked the guard if there was anything else cool he could tell us about or show us that most people don't see. he led us to a blocked off corridor and opened the blockade for us so we could see it and take pics. yep, we got to see something no one else has. or at least in a long time. then we asked about a painting chris had specifically wanted to see, so he put us on a secret elevator back up to way prior in the tour. turns out we took one turn that led us away from the particular corridor with the painting so we finally found it, and then got to see the sistine chapel again. aaaand then took the special exit, which leads to this awesome almost spooky staircase and entrance into st peter's basilica. the massive amount of art in here and the size of the chapel is too big and beautiful and amazing i can't even attempt to explain it. any attempt would belittle it and wouldn't do it close to justice, so you will just have to experience it yourself. the square is also pretty impressive in it's size and beauty. the pope actually happened to be there at the time but we didn't see him.
then last night i went out with some awesome people from the hostel to a "disco tech" because one of our friends was the dj for the night. turns out he's really good at what he does and we had a blast dancing all night. barely got any sleep but it was worth it to have one night out and then see all the monuments at night on the taxi ride. had to say bye to chris this morning, very sad because he has been a totally great travel buddy, but i know we'll hang out again. even if i have to harass him on skype (i know you're reading this and you know it's true lol). plans took a slight turn so now i am in rimini on the beach for the night and tomorrow morning. not doing much but chilling, but that's really all i wanted to do. just took a swim in the adriatic sea and now gonna get ready for some free pasta in the hostel. free is always nice as a backpacker.
one week til oktoberfest opening day!!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
nice, florence, pisa, rome
oh how much i appreciate having internet all the time back home. this is the first real computer i have been able to access, and it is behind the desk of some really awful italian guy. soooo much to catch up on so it will be long but i will try to skip the little details....
nice
after dinner with some canadians and chris we all went out to town and had a grand time. drinks were sooo expensive but we found two pretty cool places, one with people dancing on the tables to a live band. i did not get on a table, sorry to disappoint. the second day i couldn't find chris so i had to leave without him and headed to monaco. found 4 other people going so i tagged along with two super nice german girls, a guy from california, and another aggie!!! monaco was so pretty, we went up to the palace, walked along the harbor and gawked at the yachts, and went to the monte carlo casino where i won 15 euro in roulette!! that night we all just hung out at the hostel and had yet another fun night. it was a cozy hostel so everyone kinda knew everyone. then to florence...
florence
got off the train after way too long of riding. started walking (in the dark at this point) down a street with lots of hotels til i found a hostel. checked in, passed out. day one in florence i just walked around, saw a ton of churches, the duomo (got to skip the line because of the boot, oh yeah!), the leather markets, and a few other things. that night i went on a pub crawl with some awesome people from the hostel, mainly my roomies david and theo, both army rangers. day two i was really sick from lack of air and too much heat i guess, so i laid around all day. day three i met up with chris and two aussies from my new room, jamie and james, and we went sightseeing some more. mainly up to michelangelo garden which had an awesome view.
pisa
after leaving florence i stopped in pisa to see the tower. it's a lot smaller than you think, but it sure does lean. too much money to climb it so i didn't but it would have been nice. that day there was a public service strike so the luggage place was closed and i had to carry my pack all around town. but two nice canadians helped me carry it that i hung out with in pisa. trying to get back to firenze smn station was tough though, also because of the strike. trains didn't come for a long time, and then we stopped on the tracks for a long time. finally made it to rome last night and got my own tent at this awful campground hostel. which leads us to today...
rome
also known as roma in italy. today i got up and just walked around all over. i have seen piazza di spagna, fontana di trevi at day and at night, the pantheon, piazza navona, piazza venezia, parlamento, and glanced at the roman forum. that is about when my camera died. around 3 i met up with chris because he came earlier than expected and we got to hang out, get gelati, see the fountain at night, get lost again trying to find the metro, etc. tomorrow we are going to actually go to the roman forum and the colosseum, then the next day is the vatican. in a few days i will give more details on rome, but for now i desperately want a shower and to make sure my stuff is still in my tent. ciao!!
nice
after dinner with some canadians and chris we all went out to town and had a grand time. drinks were sooo expensive but we found two pretty cool places, one with people dancing on the tables to a live band. i did not get on a table, sorry to disappoint. the second day i couldn't find chris so i had to leave without him and headed to monaco. found 4 other people going so i tagged along with two super nice german girls, a guy from california, and another aggie!!! monaco was so pretty, we went up to the palace, walked along the harbor and gawked at the yachts, and went to the monte carlo casino where i won 15 euro in roulette!! that night we all just hung out at the hostel and had yet another fun night. it was a cozy hostel so everyone kinda knew everyone. then to florence...
florence
got off the train after way too long of riding. started walking (in the dark at this point) down a street with lots of hotels til i found a hostel. checked in, passed out. day one in florence i just walked around, saw a ton of churches, the duomo (got to skip the line because of the boot, oh yeah!), the leather markets, and a few other things. that night i went on a pub crawl with some awesome people from the hostel, mainly my roomies david and theo, both army rangers. day two i was really sick from lack of air and too much heat i guess, so i laid around all day. day three i met up with chris and two aussies from my new room, jamie and james, and we went sightseeing some more. mainly up to michelangelo garden which had an awesome view.
pisa
after leaving florence i stopped in pisa to see the tower. it's a lot smaller than you think, but it sure does lean. too much money to climb it so i didn't but it would have been nice. that day there was a public service strike so the luggage place was closed and i had to carry my pack all around town. but two nice canadians helped me carry it that i hung out with in pisa. trying to get back to firenze smn station was tough though, also because of the strike. trains didn't come for a long time, and then we stopped on the tracks for a long time. finally made it to rome last night and got my own tent at this awful campground hostel. which leads us to today...
rome
also known as roma in italy. today i got up and just walked around all over. i have seen piazza di spagna, fontana di trevi at day and at night, the pantheon, piazza navona, piazza venezia, parlamento, and glanced at the roman forum. that is about when my camera died. around 3 i met up with chris because he came earlier than expected and we got to hang out, get gelati, see the fountain at night, get lost again trying to find the metro, etc. tomorrow we are going to actually go to the roman forum and the colosseum, then the next day is the vatican. in a few days i will give more details on rome, but for now i desperately want a shower and to make sure my stuff is still in my tent. ciao!!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
bordeaux, barcelona, nice
the rest of my time in bordeaux was great. freakin amazing host and host family really, everyone is always hanging out, sharing, chilling, walking around, such a great CS family. my first full day in bordeaux i got to walk around the city, pretty french streets with old 18th century buildings, walked along the river, went to a fancy wine tasting place in the city that only sold bordeaux wines, and went to a CS party with a lot of other hosts and surfers. then friday i went around town with thierry, simon, and two polish guys martin and dominic who were super nice - we went to this botanical garden and it had everything, tons of fruits, vegetables, herbs, tons of stuff, and we kept eating all the fruits haha!
that night a group of us left for the road trip to barcelona - me, bastien, kevin, simon, doris, and katy. arrived at 3 am and went to a park to meet up with some awesome guys that walked from amsterdam to san sebastian (almost barcelona) for homelessness awareness. the next day we went to the beach most of the day which was awesome, my first time in the mediterranean!! that night we went back to the park for a party with the guys again and danced at a nearby concert. and then sunday we went to park guell which was this super high point in barcelona with a beautiful view of the city and some great architecture built into the mountain by gaudi. after the group left, it was just me, katy, and annika, a girl from germany who joined up with us and was a ton of fun to hang out with. we went to the beach the rest of the day and into the night just to relax, and it was so great. met some interesting characters at night, but the only one we loved was jonas, a guy from germany who sat down near us alone so we told him to join our circle and he ended up traveling with us for the rest of the time. super funny kid, always up for anything. monday we just shopped around the city and then hit up the beach again once it got dark, and met more interesting characters. sucked to say bye to them, but such is traveling, and i hope they both find great hitchhiking pickups (that's what both of them were doing).
now i'm in nice after a full day of travelling yesterday on the trains and met another awesome australian, chris. today we went to the city to do a walking tour which was actually really cool and then just chilled on the beach most of the day. there's no sand, just rocks, which is a little strange but the water was great!! now for dinner with some people in the hostel :)
that night a group of us left for the road trip to barcelona - me, bastien, kevin, simon, doris, and katy. arrived at 3 am and went to a park to meet up with some awesome guys that walked from amsterdam to san sebastian (almost barcelona) for homelessness awareness. the next day we went to the beach most of the day which was awesome, my first time in the mediterranean!! that night we went back to the park for a party with the guys again and danced at a nearby concert. and then sunday we went to park guell which was this super high point in barcelona with a beautiful view of the city and some great architecture built into the mountain by gaudi. after the group left, it was just me, katy, and annika, a girl from germany who joined up with us and was a ton of fun to hang out with. we went to the beach the rest of the day and into the night just to relax, and it was so great. met some interesting characters at night, but the only one we loved was jonas, a guy from germany who sat down near us alone so we told him to join our circle and he ended up traveling with us for the rest of the time. super funny kid, always up for anything. monday we just shopped around the city and then hit up the beach again once it got dark, and met more interesting characters. sucked to say bye to them, but such is traveling, and i hope they both find great hitchhiking pickups (that's what both of them were doing).
now i'm in nice after a full day of travelling yesterday on the trains and met another awesome australian, chris. today we went to the city to do a walking tour which was actually really cool and then just chilled on the beach most of the day. there's no sand, just rocks, which is a little strange but the water was great!! now for dinner with some people in the hostel :)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
netherlands, paris, bordeaux
shortened post because of foreign keyboard... after dusseldorf i went to the netherlands and arrived in delft. typical rainy weather, half hour walk to the apt. went out that night and met some of kyle's friends. the next dayi just walked around delft all day and loved the leaning church. at this cafe i found they have a leaning cup which was pretty funny. went out to amsterdam that night with kyle and his friends, saw the red light district, saw a reverend sing in a club, and a guy with dreads from ghana followed me around all night. all in all i'd say i got the typical night down. next day i explored amsterdam with my new friend gonçalo from portugal, and saw the ice bar, heineken, the smallest apt in the world, and took a canal cruise. stayed out in amsterdam because kyle stranded me (so two nights in a row without sleep) but had a decent time dancing and talking to some dutch people.
then caught the train to brussels, belgium, and this was my breaking point. i was tired, i hadnt showered since kyle basically locked me out, and i hurt all over. walked around for over an hour looking for a hostel (didnt have internet either) and just sat down on the sidewalk because there was nothing else to do. got back on the train and went to paris after giving up. did however get my belgian waffle, i was not leaving without it!
got to paris north station and bargained for a hotel room for 30€ for the night, all i wanted to do was shower and sleep so it worked out. woke up and went to gare de lyon station to meet up with alexis and jerome. we went to montmarte on the hill, went down champs d'elysses, and saw the eiffel tower sparkle at night, which was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. also had an amazing dinner with a waiter who looked just like alfred molina. got to eat french onion soup, escargot (soooooo good!!!), beef bourgingon, chocolate crepe, and a bite of alexis's creme brulee. amazing. said goodnight and they left in the morning.
shortly after waking up i got kicked out of the apt i was staying in, no shower, and no clean clothes except for the dress i had bought the day before, foreseeing this happening. found an emergency host and dropped my stuff off at his place. hit the road for sightseeing despite his wanting to hang out all day, i only had one day to get in all the stuff i came for. saw place de voages (sp?), notre dame, eiffel tower again, and the outside of the louvre. best part of the day? getting to see where lagrange is buried at the pantheon. i cried i was so happy to be that close to him. total nerd out. also famous people i was excited to see on the eiffel tower were lagrange, coulomb, ampere, laplace, and navier. like, completely excited out of my mind. also met some cool guys from new zealand (more importantly from canterbury!!) ryan and kurt, and hopefully we will be meeting up a few times on our journeys. had dinner with my host and crashed for the night. left in the morning and had the worst time getting to bordeaux but finally made it. last night had group dinner with at least 10 people and then went to hang out by the river. super cool group, tonight should be fun too.
sorry for the shortness of this post, it's already a late start to the day and i need to get going!
then caught the train to brussels, belgium, and this was my breaking point. i was tired, i hadnt showered since kyle basically locked me out, and i hurt all over. walked around for over an hour looking for a hostel (didnt have internet either) and just sat down on the sidewalk because there was nothing else to do. got back on the train and went to paris after giving up. did however get my belgian waffle, i was not leaving without it!
got to paris north station and bargained for a hotel room for 30€ for the night, all i wanted to do was shower and sleep so it worked out. woke up and went to gare de lyon station to meet up with alexis and jerome. we went to montmarte on the hill, went down champs d'elysses, and saw the eiffel tower sparkle at night, which was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. also had an amazing dinner with a waiter who looked just like alfred molina. got to eat french onion soup, escargot (soooooo good!!!), beef bourgingon, chocolate crepe, and a bite of alexis's creme brulee. amazing. said goodnight and they left in the morning.
shortly after waking up i got kicked out of the apt i was staying in, no shower, and no clean clothes except for the dress i had bought the day before, foreseeing this happening. found an emergency host and dropped my stuff off at his place. hit the road for sightseeing despite his wanting to hang out all day, i only had one day to get in all the stuff i came for. saw place de voages (sp?), notre dame, eiffel tower again, and the outside of the louvre. best part of the day? getting to see where lagrange is buried at the pantheon. i cried i was so happy to be that close to him. total nerd out. also famous people i was excited to see on the eiffel tower were lagrange, coulomb, ampere, laplace, and navier. like, completely excited out of my mind. also met some cool guys from new zealand (more importantly from canterbury!!) ryan and kurt, and hopefully we will be meeting up a few times on our journeys. had dinner with my host and crashed for the night. left in the morning and had the worst time getting to bordeaux but finally made it. last night had group dinner with at least 10 people and then went to hang out by the river. super cool group, tonight should be fun too.
sorry for the shortness of this post, it's already a late start to the day and i need to get going!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
cologne, bonn, and dusseldorf
now for the rest of germany! sorry i can't post more often, it's just hard to find a computer and internet sometimes! after my self tour the first day in cologne, i met ivana, a super nice australian girl in my hostel from melbourne. we went out to dinner and had a great time chatting about everything! she was leaving the next day for brussels and then to london to try to find a job, so if she's reading this, good luck ivana!! the second day in cologne i slept in a bit, then walked across the rhein river and looked at all the love locks. can't post pictures because i don't really have a way to but at the end of my journey you'll see what i'm asking about. i people watched for a bit at DOM, the massive church, then met up with charlotte when she got off work. it was so exciting to get to see her again!!! we had kolsch beer (there should be two dots above the o but idk how to do it on this computer, so just pretend they are there... same goes for the u in dusseldorf and probably a lot of words) and then went to bonn where i got to see the university. while she ran home to change out of her work clothes, i walked around for a bit and saw where beethoven was born - the composer, not the dog haha. we went out that night and had a great time with some of her friends that we ran into, chris and hendrik. on the train ride home i got stuck on a car with all guys coming back from the dusseldorf v frankfurt soccer game, and let's just say they were ecstatic an american girl was on the train. that was an interesting trip but super funny.
day three in cologne i got up and headed to koln (cologne, and the two dots should be there) south to meet up with charlotte where she works. i got to hang out at her school with her friends mike and nick who were very welcoming. i had a great time chatting with both of them and also got to eat lunch at the school cafe for super cheap. that night we headed to bonn and i got my first schnitzel covered with onions and bacon....soooo good!!! i can't wait to eat more when i get back to germany. chris and hendrik joined us later and we got free cake for chris's birthday! (and if you're reading, again, happy birthday!!) later we just chilled on the dock by the rhein, which was really nice. considering i'm not from anywhere near water and have never lived near water, it was really special for me.
yesterday i spent the day mostly in the hills around bonn with chris and he showed me some really awesome places. we went driving around through some older towns with traditional old german buildings and we went to nurburgring, a race track for super expensive luxury cars to get tested on and to race. at different times of the year they race other things too but we got to see some audi R8's, twenty to be exact, training around the course. he also got me my first curry wurst which was incredibly delicious. we had dinner with his parents since they graciously let me stay the night at their house the night before and they were extremely welcoming. i loved getting to meet them and although it was a little difficult with the language barrier, they were great and chris helped translate. also, his parents are amazing cooks!!
after dinner, took the train to dusseldorf and met up with mark! very funny and friendly irishman. we went out to the alstadt to see the local scene and had some alt, the local beer. it was nice walking around the city at night, especially along the rhein which was basically glittering. weird thing was, along the alstadt (kinda like northgate) it was really crowded and packed but everywhere else it was completely silent and still. then we chatted back at the apartment and had a ridiculously fun bubble blowing competition haha. this morning i woke up and walked around town, heading towards the rhein tower. at the top i could see all around for miles - it was beautiful. then i hopped on the train after walking around a bit more and now i'm in the netherlands!
tip - if you see a picture of a bicycle on the ground, do not walk there. someone will undoubtedly yell at you in dutch. (that means that area is for bikes, not injured people who can only walk)
day three in cologne i got up and headed to koln (cologne, and the two dots should be there) south to meet up with charlotte where she works. i got to hang out at her school with her friends mike and nick who were very welcoming. i had a great time chatting with both of them and also got to eat lunch at the school cafe for super cheap. that night we headed to bonn and i got my first schnitzel covered with onions and bacon....soooo good!!! i can't wait to eat more when i get back to germany. chris and hendrik joined us later and we got free cake for chris's birthday! (and if you're reading, again, happy birthday!!) later we just chilled on the dock by the rhein, which was really nice. considering i'm not from anywhere near water and have never lived near water, it was really special for me.
yesterday i spent the day mostly in the hills around bonn with chris and he showed me some really awesome places. we went driving around through some older towns with traditional old german buildings and we went to nurburgring, a race track for super expensive luxury cars to get tested on and to race. at different times of the year they race other things too but we got to see some audi R8's, twenty to be exact, training around the course. he also got me my first curry wurst which was incredibly delicious. we had dinner with his parents since they graciously let me stay the night at their house the night before and they were extremely welcoming. i loved getting to meet them and although it was a little difficult with the language barrier, they were great and chris helped translate. also, his parents are amazing cooks!!
after dinner, took the train to dusseldorf and met up with mark! very funny and friendly irishman. we went out to the alstadt to see the local scene and had some alt, the local beer. it was nice walking around the city at night, especially along the rhein which was basically glittering. weird thing was, along the alstadt (kinda like northgate) it was really crowded and packed but everywhere else it was completely silent and still. then we chatted back at the apartment and had a ridiculously fun bubble blowing competition haha. this morning i woke up and walked around town, heading towards the rhein tower. at the top i could see all around for miles - it was beautiful. then i hopped on the train after walking around a bit more and now i'm in the netherlands!
tip - if you see a picture of a bicycle on the ground, do not walk there. someone will undoubtedly yell at you in dutch. (that means that area is for bikes, not injured people who can only walk)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
frankfurt to cologne
long post here, gotta cover the last few days! the second day in dublin was fun, i slept in a bit then walked around the city a lot. i love dublin so just walking around is fine by me. ended up going the direction of Jameson so since i didn't go to it last time i decided to check it out. it was actually a really good tour, a got to be an official whiskey taster (note to those who don't know - scotch made with peat fire is disgusting) and met four really fun german guys. i ended up walking around with them the rest of the day and grabbing lunch/dinner and drinks at....can any of the ID kids guess?....the bull and castle!! robert gets a gold star for sarcastically suggesting it and then i decided i would take it on. we had a blast, most of them spoke good english so that was nice, and they taught me how to cheers in german. thursday night i went out with hunter and his friends and we walk into a pub called donaghue's - to my surprise it was the pub that mary and i watched rugby at our last day in ireland! i had forgotten the name so it was crazy we ended up there! after that closed we went to some other place and had a good time singing random pop songs and watching people dance. and ryan was so nice and carried me back to the apt because of my ankle :) fast forward to the next day, hunter gave me a tour of trinity college since i didn't do that either in march and we went and saw the old library and book of kells. easily caught the bus to the airport and had a boring flight to germany and boring bus ride from one airport to the actual frankfurt.
got to frankfurt a little early so i just went to a convenience store til i was supposed to get there, then my host jan and his brother found me. wasn't too hard since i was the only backpacker around at 2 am. basically we just went back to their apt and talked for a bit before crashing. the next day he let me sleep in (i think he was also scared to try and wake me up, haha!) and then we ran some errands. their mom runs a shop in a smaller town and so they went to these chinese wholesalers to get some clothes for the shop. it was interesting, got to see a different part of frankfurt. then we walked around the city, he showed me a popular park, the nice financial district, old town, the main river, and the red light district where he lives. for those who don't know, the red light district, where he is living only because it's cheap and close to work, is where all the sketchy people and drug addicts hang around. it's full of scary people, casinos, adult clubs, and houses that are illegal in the states...you can figure it out. luckily i was always flanked by two guys so it wasn't a problem. last night we went out to this party area and went two places - a small bar where a crazy old man tried to chat me up in german and told me he was an alien (can't even make that stuff up), and then a dance club called voice. voice had karaoke til 12 and they mostly sang american songs so i knew all of them, and then more american music with a few german songs to dance to. it was a lot of fun, very different tho from american dance clubs, in a good way because strangers keep their distance here haha!
this morning i woke up late and quickly gathered my stuff together to run to the train station. i missed the early one but the second one worked fine. having never been to a train station like these i didn't know how it worked so jan worked the machine to get my ticket and then i just got on. when the lady came by to check tickets she at first started yelling at me for sitting in first class, which i had no idea, and then quickly switched over to being super nice and saying oh no stay here, you're good here....because of the ankle!! first time i've had good luck because of it! got off on my switch stop and found my second train, then got off in cologne and surprisingly found my hostel really fast. checked in, put my bag in the luggage room, then went off to walk around as i usually do. the DOM church is a block away, which is the tallest cathedral in the world i think. it's beautiful. i took a lot of pictures which will probably be posted after the trip since i have no way of transferring. then i walked down the rhine river thru the promenade to the cologne chokolat (chocolate) museum. it's a fun little place, cheap to get in, and i got some super nice chocolate at the end. then i walked around and had a conversation in spanish with some indians that were performing in feather costumes and war paint on the promenade. really random tho, they called out to me in spanish and i responded...in spanish, so they were really taken aback and we had about a ten minute conversation. it's the most i've talked to anyone here in cologne since i don't speak german. big thank you to my fave teacher sra. irias for being an amazing spanish teacher and all around awesome person. after that i got slightly turned around trying to get back to my hostel and some random old dude walked with me. he didn't speak more than about 2 words of english so why he thought hanging out with me was a good idea i have no idea. once we got back to the church i told him thank you and now here i am back at the hostel! tonight i'll probably stay in and do laundry, then tomorrow more sight seeing and people watching. i'm also meeting up with charlotte, a friend of kris's that came to college station in the fall, after she gets off work so i'm really looking forward to that. anyway, til next time!
ps - it really sucks when your straightener won't even work with the voltage converter. i'm rocking the au natural hair, which makes me look absolutely insane.
pss - when talking to someone who isn't a native english speaker, you cannot use sarcasm or fun phrases, because they will take it literally haha
got to frankfurt a little early so i just went to a convenience store til i was supposed to get there, then my host jan and his brother found me. wasn't too hard since i was the only backpacker around at 2 am. basically we just went back to their apt and talked for a bit before crashing. the next day he let me sleep in (i think he was also scared to try and wake me up, haha!) and then we ran some errands. their mom runs a shop in a smaller town and so they went to these chinese wholesalers to get some clothes for the shop. it was interesting, got to see a different part of frankfurt. then we walked around the city, he showed me a popular park, the nice financial district, old town, the main river, and the red light district where he lives. for those who don't know, the red light district, where he is living only because it's cheap and close to work, is where all the sketchy people and drug addicts hang around. it's full of scary people, casinos, adult clubs, and houses that are illegal in the states...you can figure it out. luckily i was always flanked by two guys so it wasn't a problem. last night we went out to this party area and went two places - a small bar where a crazy old man tried to chat me up in german and told me he was an alien (can't even make that stuff up), and then a dance club called voice. voice had karaoke til 12 and they mostly sang american songs so i knew all of them, and then more american music with a few german songs to dance to. it was a lot of fun, very different tho from american dance clubs, in a good way because strangers keep their distance here haha!
this morning i woke up late and quickly gathered my stuff together to run to the train station. i missed the early one but the second one worked fine. having never been to a train station like these i didn't know how it worked so jan worked the machine to get my ticket and then i just got on. when the lady came by to check tickets she at first started yelling at me for sitting in first class, which i had no idea, and then quickly switched over to being super nice and saying oh no stay here, you're good here....because of the ankle!! first time i've had good luck because of it! got off on my switch stop and found my second train, then got off in cologne and surprisingly found my hostel really fast. checked in, put my bag in the luggage room, then went off to walk around as i usually do. the DOM church is a block away, which is the tallest cathedral in the world i think. it's beautiful. i took a lot of pictures which will probably be posted after the trip since i have no way of transferring. then i walked down the rhine river thru the promenade to the cologne chokolat (chocolate) museum. it's a fun little place, cheap to get in, and i got some super nice chocolate at the end. then i walked around and had a conversation in spanish with some indians that were performing in feather costumes and war paint on the promenade. really random tho, they called out to me in spanish and i responded...in spanish, so they were really taken aback and we had about a ten minute conversation. it's the most i've talked to anyone here in cologne since i don't speak german. big thank you to my fave teacher sra. irias for being an amazing spanish teacher and all around awesome person. after that i got slightly turned around trying to get back to my hostel and some random old dude walked with me. he didn't speak more than about 2 words of english so why he thought hanging out with me was a good idea i have no idea. once we got back to the church i told him thank you and now here i am back at the hostel! tonight i'll probably stay in and do laundry, then tomorrow more sight seeing and people watching. i'm also meeting up with charlotte, a friend of kris's that came to college station in the fall, after she gets off work so i'm really looking forward to that. anyway, til next time!
ps - it really sucks when your straightener won't even work with the voltage converter. i'm rocking the au natural hair, which makes me look absolutely insane.
pss - when talking to someone who isn't a native english speaker, you cannot use sarcasm or fun phrases, because they will take it literally haha
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Dublin
I made it! The flights were long and boring but I got here, didn't have to wait for the airport bus at all, got off on exactly the right stop, and showed up at Hunter's office! Boy was he surprised I made it all the way without any help! Yesterday was pretty chill (it's Thursday morn here) and after we all grabbed lunch - burritos Chipotle style haha - I took about a five hour nap to get adjusted. After that we went to the local pub with a bunch of Hunter's classmates for a bit and then went home and crashed. Today I'm not sure what I'll do but I'll think of something!
Wish Hunter and his friends good luck, they have their big end of program presentations today and tomorrow!
Wish Hunter and his friends good luck, they have their big end of program presentations today and tomorrow!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
tomorrow
well i have good and bad news.
good news is, i leave tomorrow!!! i'm working on packing today and getting everything today. sadly christine, who was going to help me today, got picked for jury duty, sooo she won't be able to make it. but that's not the bad news. the bad news is that my ankle is still not healed so i will be going to europe with the boot. yes, my awesome accessory will be making the trip too. luckily, this isn't all bad as it will allow me to board planes first (we hope) and i'll get the sympathy vote from many people :)
also, while i'm over there, please please do not call or text my phone number. instead, email me, facebook me, skype me (scanterbury10), or call 214-699-6343 which will redirect to skype.
wish me luck in finishing packing! next post will be from dublin in two days!!
good news is, i leave tomorrow!!! i'm working on packing today and getting everything today. sadly christine, who was going to help me today, got picked for jury duty, sooo she won't be able to make it. but that's not the bad news. the bad news is that my ankle is still not healed so i will be going to europe with the boot. yes, my awesome accessory will be making the trip too. luckily, this isn't all bad as it will allow me to board planes first (we hope) and i'll get the sympathy vote from many people :)
also, while i'm over there, please please do not call or text my phone number. instead, email me, facebook me, skype me (scanterbury10), or call 214-699-6343 which will redirect to skype.
wish me luck in finishing packing! next post will be from dublin in two days!!
Friday, August 5, 2011
unexpected twist
literally. last saturday things took an interesting turn. it was the day after my internship had officially ended and the interns went boating on lake whitney. while everyone else was water skiing, cliff jumping, tubing, and wakeboarding, i chose to stay in the boat because i couldn't risk getting injured right before my trip. about an hour before we were going to leave, i decided it would be safe to ride a jet ski....and it was. (you thought that was going to be the turn, right?) after riding around for about 45 minutes by myself and with others, my friend bryse wanted to drive by herself for a while. so i drove back to the boat, where everyone was floating around in the water. or so i thought. with the water up to their necks and really dirty water (no really, you could only see a few inches down), i assumed they were treading or floating. turns out, they were standing. where i jumped off the stationary jet ski with its engine off was even more shallow. about a foot deep if we were going to guess. so when i hopped, not jumped, off the jet ski expecting to plunge all the way through in deep water, i instead hit the ground floor hard and rolled my leg. it hurt my right hip, knee, and ankle. twisted them (hence the post title) and sprained them very badly. doctor said there was nothing broken, but the sprain is still sticking around.
so now i am in a boot and have a checkup monday with my flight out on tuesday. i have considered calling the airline and seeing if i can bump everything back a week, but that screws up the plans i had for arriving and will leave me without a place to stay when i do arrive. it hurts to walk, but not enough to where i would consider canceling the trip. i've been waiting for this and have already put too much into it now. so please pray that my ankle magically heals between now and tuesday so i don't have to wear the boot, but if it doesn't then pray that the boot works to my advantage and that i will still be able to have an amazing time.
so now i am in a boot and have a checkup monday with my flight out on tuesday. i have considered calling the airline and seeing if i can bump everything back a week, but that screws up the plans i had for arriving and will leave me without a place to stay when i do arrive. it hurts to walk, but not enough to where i would consider canceling the trip. i've been waiting for this and have already put too much into it now. so please pray that my ankle magically heals between now and tuesday so i don't have to wear the boot, but if it doesn't then pray that the boot works to my advantage and that i will still be able to have an amazing time.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
backpack
buying a backpack today!! i've looked at many different sizes, brands, styles, and i will finally be deciding today. not because i am very decisive but because if i don't order now i won't get it in time for the trip! look out for a picture of it when it arrives, whatever i get. i'm looking at...
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___88506#
http://www.o2gearshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_72&products_id=25064
and
http://www.rei.com/product/816806/eagle-creek-truist-vita-65-pack-womens-2010-closeout
all 65L packs, adjustable straps, etc etc. and i love that i can get a backpack in maroon :)
next week when i'm home in dallas i'll be looking for all the little accessories i need like carabineers for my water bottle, locks, little travel bottles for soap, and some really cool storage containers meant for backpacking. i saw them on a backpacking site but can't remember for the life of me where it was, so i think i'll just take a trip to wonderland (the container store) and see what i can find. anyone wanna help me shop next week??
edit: got the eagle creek truist 65L in black! when it gets here i'll post pics!
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___88506#
http://www.o2gearshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_72&products_id=25064
and
http://www.rei.com/product/816806/eagle-creek-truist-vita-65-pack-womens-2010-closeout
all 65L packs, adjustable straps, etc etc. and i love that i can get a backpack in maroon :)
next week when i'm home in dallas i'll be looking for all the little accessories i need like carabineers for my water bottle, locks, little travel bottles for soap, and some really cool storage containers meant for backpacking. i saw them on a backpacking site but can't remember for the life of me where it was, so i think i'll just take a trip to wonderland (the container store) and see what i can find. anyone wanna help me shop next week??
edit: got the eagle creek truist 65L in black! when it gets here i'll post pics!
Friday, July 22, 2011
planning
there is a lot that goes into planning a two month long trip to europe. let's think about this for a second - i booked my ticket 24 days out, have two apartments to move out of, a job to wrap up, and a job application process. that's a lot to do in 24 days alone, and then add on planning this trip? yikes! i don't think i'll be sleeping much before the trip because there is so much to do! seeing as how my only travel experience was to ireland in march (where they speak english and it's all very similar to the united states) i have to say i'm slightly overwhelmed right now.
i still need to figure out what i'm packing, pack my bag, get a bag, get power converters for other countries, figure out how i'm going to take some form of a computer when i don't have a mini one already, buy language learning books/cd's, start learning at least three different languages (the main ones i'm aiming for are french, italian, and german), and so much more! in addition to just tangible things i have to obtain, i also have no real plans of things i want to see or do. so i have to research all the different countries i'm visiting to see what it's like, what tourists go to see, what the locals do, etc. i also have a certain food i want to eat in every country, which i didn't realize until i was telling someone all the things i wanted to make sure i did in each country...and it was all food i wanted to try!
for those who would like to help plan my trip, connect me with your friends in other countries, give me advice on things to do, things to see, and things to eat, please leave a comment!!
the country list:
ireland
scotland
england
the netherlands
belgium
luxembourg
france
spain
portugal
switzerland
italy
germany
austria
czech republic
let the planning commence!
i still need to figure out what i'm packing, pack my bag, get a bag, get power converters for other countries, figure out how i'm going to take some form of a computer when i don't have a mini one already, buy language learning books/cd's, start learning at least three different languages (the main ones i'm aiming for are french, italian, and german), and so much more! in addition to just tangible things i have to obtain, i also have no real plans of things i want to see or do. so i have to research all the different countries i'm visiting to see what it's like, what tourists go to see, what the locals do, etc. i also have a certain food i want to eat in every country, which i didn't realize until i was telling someone all the things i wanted to make sure i did in each country...and it was all food i wanted to try!
for those who would like to help plan my trip, connect me with your friends in other countries, give me advice on things to do, things to see, and things to eat, please leave a comment!!
the country list:
ireland
scotland
england
the netherlands
belgium
luxembourg
france
spain
portugal
switzerland
italy
germany
austria
czech republic
let the planning commence!
Monday, July 18, 2011
new adventures
backstory - this is a transition from my last blog. the short version is: i recently graduated college and have been in a bit of limbo trying to figure out my next move. i have the most amazing internship and am in the process of applying to go full-time. i had previously also thought about grad school in a different field, but i think that is going to have to wait because this job opportunity probably won't wait. and it's too good of a job (and i have so much fun every day) to even think about passing up. and the people there are so fun and amazing. still hoping for the opportunity to go back and get it at some point but we'll see how things go day by day.
now to present day - last week was a bit of a whirlwind! if you read the last post of my last blog, you'll see that i wanted to go to europe. well.....drumroll please.....i booked a flight!! i will get to travel all around (mostly) western europe for two months, and i am so incredibly excited. my flight out leaves august 9, which is in a mere 22 days. totally not even close to being prepared - i'll have about a week to get everything i need and i'll be prepping here and there in the next two weeks. here's my timeline:
july 22/23 - college station to clean out my apartment and turn in keys
july 24 - skydiving with bryse!!
july 29 - last day of internship (and need to have everything out of my apartment in waco)
july 30 - intern fun day
july 31 - aug 8 - pack and find everything i need for the trip
aug 7 - jason's 20th birthday!!! (the best little brother anyone could ever ask for)
aug 9 - i'm leavin on a jet plane (don't know if i'll be back again....depends on if i decide to stay forever!)
so, pretty busy next 21 days. this is my new life, and so far i love every bit of it
now to present day - last week was a bit of a whirlwind! if you read the last post of my last blog, you'll see that i wanted to go to europe. well.....drumroll please.....i booked a flight!! i will get to travel all around (mostly) western europe for two months, and i am so incredibly excited. my flight out leaves august 9, which is in a mere 22 days. totally not even close to being prepared - i'll have about a week to get everything i need and i'll be prepping here and there in the next two weeks. here's my timeline:
july 22/23 - college station to clean out my apartment and turn in keys
july 24 - skydiving with bryse!!
july 29 - last day of internship (and need to have everything out of my apartment in waco)
july 30 - intern fun day
july 31 - aug 8 - pack and find everything i need for the trip
aug 7 - jason's 20th birthday!!! (the best little brother anyone could ever ask for)
aug 9 - i'm leavin on a jet plane (don't know if i'll be back again....depends on if i decide to stay forever!)
so, pretty busy next 21 days. this is my new life, and so far i love every bit of it
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