So, This Is Europe: Rome, Italy (Day 1)

* Note: I'm breaking this one up into 3 parts for the last 2 places we visited in Italy (2 days in Rome and one in Florence) because otherwise? Picture overload, my friends. Italy was also my favorite country, so I'm milking it for all it's worth. And believe me, it's worth a lot.

9.12.10 @ 11:09 pm

Rome was unfuckingbelievable. Highlights (of the first day):

-COLISEUM (I was literally speechless upon first seeing this massive piece of history; I also know I spelled this word wrong)

[I'm trying to be a gladiator, you see...]

-Gelaterias as far as the eye can see (I later made it a point to photograph every gelateria I came across)

[Hazelnut and chocolate chip]

[The Trevi Fountain]

-Italian dinners where wine is poured like water (the waiter asked each of us if we preferred red or white, then presented each of us with an entire bottle; when in Rome...)

[Lovin' on Benji, our bus driver, at a Roman sports bar]

Next up: Roma, day due.

So, This Is Europe: A Little Austria and Bonjourno, Italia!

9.9.10 @ 11:51 am

Don't think anyone in the Austrian city village we stayed in is under the age of 65. So cute! Pedro (have I mentioned our amazing tour guide before?) dressed up and gave us a small walking tour of the area, then we had dinner and "schnappy hour" at the hotel. Schnapps are big here. Headed to a wine bar for a bit. Mellow night.

[Pretty Pedro]

[Haha, bad gas...I'm so mature...]

[Wine bar (pre-Italian vino, we were so naive back then!)]

Jay and I slept past my alarm the following morning, and I freaked the fuck out (FYI? I never curse on this blog, that felt weird). Then it was onto ITALY. We arrived at the seaport and had a guided tour. It is so lovely and charming. The buildings! The shops! The gondolas! But thanks to the flooding waters, it can really stink.

[Know what that is? Gum! Classy Italians...]

[Arriving in Venice]

[Pink glass is so pretty]

[See that giant puddle?]

Had my first slice of Italian pizza, had champagne in a gondola (perfection) and learned that Italians can be kind of bitchy (as our gondola man so perfectly demonstrated).

[Delicioso!]

[Our not-so-nice gondola man]

Ate a Venetian dinner (so. much. food.) and had a dance party on the boat back to the bus.

[Vino, vino, vino]

[Hey, sailors!]

Had another mellow evening at the hotel (Never Have I Ever never gets old). Currently en route to Rome. Just writing that sentence out makes me giddy.

So, This Is Europe: Goodbye Amsterdam, Hello Germany

9.7.10 @ ? (no idea and don't care)

Let's catch up.

The sex show = live porn. Whoa. (I mean it, and I'll juust leave it at that.)

We woke up the next morning and drove the 6 hours to St. Goar in Germany, on the Rhine Valley. Long drive, but of course, worth it.

[En route to St. Goar, Germany]

(Left out in this entry and backtracking a bit, blaming it on lack of sleep: tour of Anne Frank's house -- an incredible experience, falafel and walking around beautiful Amsterdam the day after said sex show.)

[Anne Frank's house]

[Satisfying my Jewish tooth with falafel]

[Just one of the many beautiful buildings in Amsterdam]

Exchanged roommates with J so we could room together. Hotel was quaint. Writing in incomplete sentences is much easier right now. Wine tasted down the street from our hotel, then partied like crazy out at the bar at the hotel. Had fun.

[J, moi and wine]

[Making the hotel bar our own for the night]

Walked around the shops the next morning (saw a whole lotta beersteins!), then headed to Munich. OBSESSED. Bike ride tour around town. (After not riding a bike for nearly a decade, I was nervous I wouldn't remember how. Luckily? I was wrong. Close call.)


HOFBRAHAUS, aka massive beers and amazing food. Wrong bar, then right bar. (Karaoke! Germans are quite friendly!)

[The biggest beer I'll ever consume (yes, I proudly drank it all)]

[L to R: Michelle, Nathan, Eric, Ami, Tom, myself, Bec, J]

Interruption for a quick breakdown of the above:

• Michelle: Aussie, came with Bec
• Nathan: Canadian, soldier currently serving in Afghanistan
• Eric: Chi-towner, married to Ami
• Ami: Chi-towner, married to Eric
• Tom: Aussie, hilarious
  
• Bec: Aussie, came with Michelle
• J: Brit, tiny in size but large in personality

Are you following? Cool.

This morning, woke up (after 2 hours of sleep) and headed to Austria for white water rafting. So much fun, so cold, only a little bit scary. (No photos from my camera of this crazy experience since we were completely drenched, but just know that wetsuits, life jackets, water shoes and helmets were involved.) Recouped, drove an hour to the Swarovski museum. Verdict = kinda odd/not worth it. (I noticed that someone there wrote that it is the eighth wonder of the world; this person is clearly deluded.)


Currently on the bus on our way to the hotel. Tired beyond belief, having the time of my life.

Tomorrow?

ITALY.

So, This Is Europe: A Moment In London and Amsterdam

9.4.10 @ 1:15 pm

Barely survived my first day in Europe. After landing, grabbing my luggage and calling my parents, was told the fastest way to the Royal Nat'l Hotel was the tube. It. Took. Forever. But it didn't matter, since the pre-departure meeting was a quick "hello and see you at 6:45 am." Met Aaron and Pat, 2 great Aussies, on a different trip but we're all traveling more or less together (I was mistaken, their trip was 21 days as opposed to our 14, so we parted ways after Amsterdam). Had way too much phone drama. Have to wait for Monday before I even have a chance of it working. Have a cold, and started freaking out (we'll leave it at that). Met Nathan, a Canadian soldier and Mark, a San Diego-an (?) who pounded one too many and passed out after making one too many stupid jokes.

[Way too many fries and beer with the boys at the London Pub (please ignore Nathan's hand)]

Hung out with all these boys last night and (surprise!) was the only girl in the group. Crashed in my triple (turned double) room after dropping Nathan and Mark off at their room and Ben + Jerry's with Aaron.

[Cliche English telephone booth photo]

Today...woke up @ 6 am, chugged coffee and got on the bus to the white cliffs of Dover, and ferry over to France (not France, I don't know where I got this from; we went through Belgium). A massive ferry.

[Beautiful White Cliffs of Dover]

Ate a pastie. (It had meat in it.) Our guide, Pedro, is great. Looks like a hybrid of between Richard Simmons and Carrot Top.

In Belgium? You have to pay to pee. Like a real life Urinetown. (I later learned that this is the case in most of the countries we visited, which bugged the hell out of me and made me appreciate hotel bathrooms more than I thought I ever could!)

Bus just drove into the Netherlands. On tap for tonight: a canal cruise and (get this) a sex show. Stay tuned.

And now for some side notes:

• Amsterdam is amazing. The gable houses are just lovely, especially at night.

[Amsterdam]

• After seeing all of the houseboats, I decided I would like one. But not enough to pay the $600,000 price tag.
• A canal cruise with unlimited beer and wine is a great way for a tour group to get to know one another.

[Michelle (from Australia), Jaspal (from England) and I on the canal cruise]

• Nobody can prepare a normal human being for the sex show we saw. Also note that we had all just met each other, and were watching people do it (in every way, shape and form) on stage. Forgive me for the lack of pictures with this one; it is against the law to take photos of the (legal!) prostitutes in the Red Light District. I might be the only one in the world who didn't know prostitution is completely legal in the Netherlands before my eye-opening experience (Pedro called it the "Dutch cultural experience").