Wish you were here! June 1, 2009

So much has happened since Venice!

Austria was no big deal, the town we were in smelled SO bad I couldn’t stand to be outside and Backos and I slept pretty much the whole time we were there hahah.

On the way to prague we stopped at a concentration camp. it was so miserable. It was the kind of place that you are so happy to be at because you can literally feel the experience changing you and your views on the world while you are there, but at the same time, every second you spend in it, you have the urge to run out as fast as you can. We had to watch a movie that made me want to cry for 8 years straight and never allow myself to complain about anything ever again. It’s something I will always remember.

Prague was so pretty though! It looks like Disneyworld. All the builidngs are really old and beautiful, but they all look BRAND NEW. They are so clean. In prague we went to the absinthe bars and then to the 5 story night club there, its the biggest one in central europe and its actually the one in the movie Eurotrip (except in the movie its in another city). It was ridiculous. Each floor had its own bar and club with crazy lights and out of control dancing. We spent most of the night on the techno floor. So fun. I loved that city. the castle district is beautiful, and we even caught a random festival in the Old Town Square, great timing! And I bought myself a present for the first time- some cool pictures for my new Chicago apt. . wooo!

Now we are in Berlin and its so surreal to be nearing the end. I was super excited for this city- its so different from most of europe because its pretty much all new. We went on a tour this morning and learned all about ww2 and how basically every building in the city was bombed. Nothing here is really more than 30 years old. Last night we went to a karaoke bar again, obvi my favorite. It wase great fun. And Pedro sang me ‘A whole new world’ in spanish the whole way home haha. I love it. There are some really funny people on this trip with us. Tonight we have a pub crawl and we all have shirts that say I love Berlin with a picture of David Hasselhoff on them hahaha. So exciting.

Then we are off to Amsterdam, London and home! Im having so much fun, but im super excited to get back. I miss not paying for restrooms, having my own bed, cooking my own food, mary, etc. I cant wait to start running again, working at the doah, and to pick out my apt in Chicago! So much to look forward to when I get back. Im much more antsy and excited to get home than backos and kay because they both dont have any plans at home until they start work. But i feel like I have so much to look forward to at home toooooo. yay!

Hard to believe there is only 1 week left!

St Markss Square had a flood, and they moved the gondolas to the center…. May 28, 2009

Ciao from Venice!

Life is lovely. Who could complain about spending the day meandering around Venice and its 150 canals? I feel so lucky. I even got to run into one of my favorite people ever outside of St. Marks Square- Neal Bhagat! So far here, Ive seen Dan Kidle, Mike Spads, Kristin & Olivia, and Neal. Its a small world after all. Didnt get to see Jenny bc she had an allergic reaction and had to stay in bed. booooooooooooo. I stayed at the campsite the whole day that day with some friends just laying by the pool, then went into Rome at night and Backos and I ended up playing our own little game of angels and demons with Chris and Jagan. We traveled to all Romes good sites and had a bottle of wine at each. Then we came back and went to the bar. I had such a blast. My favorite thing about Europe is how cheap the wine is hahah.

Anyway, tonight we are having a toga party and i cannot wait! Its our group plus another group who is on a 7 week camping trip. i could NEVER do that. But Im excited to play with them. We are going to collect leaves in a few to decorate ourselves hahah. Then we have to be up at the crack of dawn again to travel to Austria!!!!!!

Things are good overall. Bachmos, Kay and I are a good trio. Only tough thing is how much i miss my phone, my internet, my mom, and my grandmas dolma. and the fact that i feel like i am contantly dirty. I packed so horribly for this trip lol. I literally brought only tank tops. 1 tshirt, 1 pair of shorts, and 3 dresses. In the first few cities, i was freezing cold and hated what i packed. and now im so hot and hate what i packed lol. every city in Italy has been over 32 degrees. aka, close to 100. im dying. i basically wear the same thing every day, but im scared to do laundry because of the fiasco we caused when we tried to do it in switzerland hah.After spending about $15 worth of swiss francs each, kaylins laundry was still soaked and covered in suds, locked in the dryer, and backos and i had to hang our clothes all over the cabins for the next 3 days because nothing would dry. And now everything kind of smells….. Eurotrips are not hygenic. Oh well, its all in a days fun.

Anywayyyyyyyyyyy, miss you all lots!! see you so soon 12 more days!

love it May 20, 2009

hi everyone! sorry i havent been able to write in a while. i couldnt get internet it paris and now im in switzerland and its just been so pretty i did not want to come inside. paris was beautiful. i was sick so i couldnt smell it this time and i actually liked it! we went to the louvre, walked around and shopped, did the arc de triomf, notre dame, a 4 hour bike tour, had a picnic under the eiffel tower, and did a river cruise of the Seine. it was a lovely time. We are traveling around with a bunch of austrailians and new zealanders. so fun! and im having a great time. i got really sick for a few days though and now backos is sick. boooooooooo.

yesterday we got to Switzerland and its literally the most beautiful place ive ever been. i took 100 pictures, but they could never do the place justice. we are in Luterbrunnen. i love it here! i went skydiving today and it was AMAZING. I fell in love with my guide. he was beautiful. and i got to go in a 15 minute glass helicopter ride over the alps before jumping out at 13,000 feet. i cant even explain how great it was. Except my ears popped horribly and now i cannot hear a thing. its kind of painful. boooooooooooo. but nontheless, im obsessed with it. so glad i manned up. before that i hiked around with backos and kay, and after that i went on a hike alone for a few hours and found a beautiful bench overlooking a gorgeous waterfall and sat there and wrote in my journal ha. im up to 40 pages. so fun.

im having a great time and im so glad this trip worked out. i looooooooooooooooooove everything about it. tomorrow we leave for Nice and Cannes and I think I am going to take a day trip to Monaco. We are here at the perfect time because this week is the famous Canne Film Festival and the Grand Prix is also happening in Monaco. Id love to see the races. woooooooo! The we are off for a week in Italy where I cant wait to meet up with jenny! miss you all lots! sorry i couldnt update with more stories. the computer here is super slow and all in german and my time is about to run out. hopefully ill be able to update again soon!

XOXO

Duo 1: Barcelona 0 May 13, 2009

So! We made it to Barcelona! After 2 hilarious plane rides (12 hours in which I did not sleep a wink despite prescription sleeping pills), we made it. They gave us free wine on the plane. I officially love Delta. It took us about 30 minutes to zip our backpacks back together, and about 10 minutes each to put them on. For reference, they are about 10x the size of every other traveler´s backpack. We broke the hostel closet TWICE trying to force them in hahah. Pretty sure we´re going to get charged for that. lol

So, after being awake for 25 hours, we checked into the hostel and searched the city. We strolled La Rambla, the main street, went to the street market and bought gross exotic things, and had some yummy paellea. And, we got a little lost in the local streets, far from the tourist spots. I saw my first live prostitute! yay! hahah.

We just woke up from a 4 hour nap and now we´re about to grab some food before the sangria party with the hostel and our first shot at Barcelona night life! Pregame starts at midnight, no big deal.

More to come. Miss you all!

 

PS!!! new news. MY BACKOS BOOKED HER TRIP YESTERDAY AND SHES MEETING US IN LONDON ON FRIDAY AND WILL STAY WITH US FOR THE REST OF THE TRIP. YAY!

And so it begins May 7, 2009

Yesterday,. I had lunch with my big/one of my favorite people ever. When we started talking about my upcoming 4-week trip across the pond, she asked me if I was going to keep a blog while I was gone. I of course replied, “No, I just bought a brand new, beautiful journal to keep all my memories and adventures in and I’m SO EXCITED.” And then, it hit me. I’m 75 years old, stuck in the middle ages, etc. I need to get with the 21st century and cave in to a blog. My lovely journal with flowers and designs all over the pages will thus become my private blog, and this, my public.

The planning was a struggle, but we finally got it all together: Barcelona, London, Paris, Lauterbrunnen, French Riviera/Monaco, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Orvieto, Venice, Tyrol, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brugge. Phew. so much to see.

So Monday is the big day, but I am about 2 weeks away from being ready.We’re going to 10 countries- a trip that takes us from Mediterranean beaches to the moutains and valleys in the Alps. From camping in Florence to strolling the casino in the swankiest city in France. From sightseeing churches to bars that peak at 6am. How I will ever be able to pack clothes and supplies to weather all the different climates and situations I’ll be in in the next 4 weeks is actually giving me nightmares. I’ve been collecting packing items for the past week- a 70L backpack, a sleeping bag the size of a tshirt (cost me my savings), camping towel, mini toiletries, guide books, etc. But the hardest parts are next: A) deciding which 5 outfits I want to take (and thus commit to wearing for 28 days straight) and B) making it all fit. Given that I am literally one of the worst packers on the face of the earth, I see trouble on the horizon.

Regardless, I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

So, here it goes. I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update, given that I’ll be in a new city every few days, sans computer, and suffering from constant exhaustion, but I will try my best. Now, I won’t flatter myself that everyone cares what I’m up to, so feel free to save this page to your favorites, or delete it from your history- whatever you like.  I’ll try to keep it interesting. And let’s face it- two little girls let loose across a wild continent makes for pretty good stories. So be prepared. I’m embarrassingly bad at anything having to do with computers (evidence: my laptop just crashed and burned Tuesday and I lost everything), but I will try to post pictures for you so you can see all the amazing things I’m seeing! Enjoy reading! and don’t forget to keep me updated on how you’re all doing at home

Bon Voyage!