Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Dear family,
I am so prepared for Thanksgiving... Are you?
Xoxo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The last of France
Today is our last day in this beautiful country. Tomorrow we are taking an early train to Germany in effort to book seats on a night train to Prague - our last new adventure!
Paris was amazing, just as everyone told us it would. Unfortunately, the Catacombs were closed while we were there so we were unable to visit and we also skipped out on seeing the real Moulin Rouge. (We will just watch the movie when we get back.) We spent mass amounts of time in the Louvre, visited Notre Dame, the Pantheon (super cool - highly recommend), saw the Eiffel Tower twice - once during the day and once at night - and walked around the Jardins di Luxembourg. It is definitely autumn in France; the leaved were changing and the city was beautiful. We are feeling the weather change and are bundling up more and more each day.
Yesterday we took the train to Reims, France where my sorority sister, Claire, is teaching English to elementary students. Luckily for us, she is on her fall break and is our excellent tour guide for two days! It has been so much fun catching up with her; last night we drank champagne simply because we are currently located in the "champagne region" and gossiped about life in general. It feels so good this late in the trip to spend time with people from home.
And I am spending the last portion of this trip sick with something. Yesterday Claire took me to the pharmacy and introduced me to a French drug similar to Sudafed; I hope it works its magic in the next few days :) Kirst hasn't caught it yet, we'll see how that works out. I will try to not cough on her.
Can't wait for Prague :) it's snowing there and should be gorgeous!
Xo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Paris was amazing, just as everyone told us it would. Unfortunately, the Catacombs were closed while we were there so we were unable to visit and we also skipped out on seeing the real Moulin Rouge. (We will just watch the movie when we get back.) We spent mass amounts of time in the Louvre, visited Notre Dame, the Pantheon (super cool - highly recommend), saw the Eiffel Tower twice - once during the day and once at night - and walked around the Jardins di Luxembourg. It is definitely autumn in France; the leaved were changing and the city was beautiful. We are feeling the weather change and are bundling up more and more each day.
Yesterday we took the train to Reims, France where my sorority sister, Claire, is teaching English to elementary students. Luckily for us, she is on her fall break and is our excellent tour guide for two days! It has been so much fun catching up with her; last night we drank champagne simply because we are currently located in the "champagne region" and gossiped about life in general. It feels so good this late in the trip to spend time with people from home.
And I am spending the last portion of this trip sick with something. Yesterday Claire took me to the pharmacy and introduced me to a French drug similar to Sudafed; I hope it works its magic in the next few days :) Kirst hasn't caught it yet, we'll see how that works out. I will try to not cough on her.
Can't wait for Prague :) it's snowing there and should be gorgeous!
Xo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Night train to Paris...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Lugano
Miss and love everyone,
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, October 23, 2009
My second flood experience
Who knew I would relive the third grade in Venice? Not quite the same, but it was definitely flooding!
When we first exited the train station, we were shocked to not see a busy road in front of us... Instead it was a busy canal! The taxis in Venice are boats; we didn't even see a car when we were walking in the alleys throughout the day. We decided to go straight to Piazzo San Marco and work our way back. We loved all the little canals and walking over tiny bridges into adorable alleyways. Venice is truly a city like no other; I am so glad we decided to visit! It is literally like a fairy tale. A floating city doesn't make any sense but it is enchanting nonetheless. I kept expecting to run into Marky-Mark stealing gold from some wealthy Venetian (from The Italian Job - best movie ever! If you have never seen it, watch it now and you will see where I just was).
Anyway, the closer we got to San Marco, the more water we were seeing and more streets were closed because of flooding. When we were right around the corner from our destination, we had to walk on temporary raised sidewalks since the water on the cobblestone was roughly one feet deep. Then we saw it: Piazzo San Marco. And it was definitely completely under water. Instead of all the pigeons we've heard so much about, there were seagulls floating around. Once I upload my pictures, go straight the Venice and seriously check this out! Despite the excess of water, Venice was still a fun city to get lost in. I definitely have plans to go back when it hasn't been raining so much so I can experience the warm, dry side of Venice :)
We are making our way to Lugano, Switzerland to spend the night with Kathryn Wessinger, another friend from Sauvie Island. We can't wait to take a break before taking the night train to Paris!
Xo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
When we first exited the train station, we were shocked to not see a busy road in front of us... Instead it was a busy canal! The taxis in Venice are boats; we didn't even see a car when we were walking in the alleys throughout the day. We decided to go straight to Piazzo San Marco and work our way back. We loved all the little canals and walking over tiny bridges into adorable alleyways. Venice is truly a city like no other; I am so glad we decided to visit! It is literally like a fairy tale. A floating city doesn't make any sense but it is enchanting nonetheless. I kept expecting to run into Marky-Mark stealing gold from some wealthy Venetian (from The Italian Job - best movie ever! If you have never seen it, watch it now and you will see where I just was).
Anyway, the closer we got to San Marco, the more water we were seeing and more streets were closed because of flooding. When we were right around the corner from our destination, we had to walk on temporary raised sidewalks since the water on the cobblestone was roughly one feet deep. Then we saw it: Piazzo San Marco. And it was definitely completely under water. Instead of all the pigeons we've heard so much about, there were seagulls floating around. Once I upload my pictures, go straight the Venice and seriously check this out! Despite the excess of water, Venice was still a fun city to get lost in. I definitely have plans to go back when it hasn't been raining so much so I can experience the warm, dry side of Venice :)
We are making our way to Lugano, Switzerland to spend the night with Kathryn Wessinger, another friend from Sauvie Island. We can't wait to take a break before taking the night train to Paris!
Xo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Italy so far
I never want to leave Italy. EVER. The food is incredible and all the sights are so ancient and have so much more history than the US. It literally takes your breath away to think about how long these buildings, statues and paintings have been around.
We spent two nights in Florence and fell in love with the city. Our one full day was spent seeing as much as we possibly could: the gorgeous cathedral, street markets, climbing to the top of a hill to see the best view of the city, and the David. For lunch we went on a "gelato crawl" instead of a pub crawl. (Josie, you were right - peach is the best flavor!) We bartered in the street markets and I am officially not allowing myself to buy anymore pairs of earrings for the rest of the trip... I think 7 is enough :)
I am so glad I listened to Jos and Riley and made it to the David. I could not stop staring at him. He doesn't look like stone at all; he completely smooth and soft. I have no idea how Michelangelo carved him so perfectly. He has veins in his hands and arms; his ears are so detailed. The hallway leading to the David have a few unfinished statues also done by Michelangelo where the chisel marks are still visible. Seeing those make the David even more impressive because there is no chisel mark anywhere on his body. This kind of artistic talent can't be learned, this is clearly something that Michelangelo was born with.
We spent two nights in Florence and fell in love with the city. Our one full day was spent seeing as much as we possibly could: the gorgeous cathedral, street markets, climbing to the top of a hill to see the best view of the city, and the David. For lunch we went on a "gelato crawl" instead of a pub crawl. (Josie, you were right - peach is the best flavor!) We bartered in the street markets and I am officially not allowing myself to buy anymore pairs of earrings for the rest of the trip... I think 7 is enough :)
I am so glad I listened to Jos and Riley and made it to the David. I could not stop staring at him. He doesn't look like stone at all; he completely smooth and soft. I have no idea how Michelangelo carved him so perfectly. He has veins in his hands and arms; his ears are so detailed. The hallway leading to the David have a few unfinished statues also done by Michelangelo where the chisel marks are still visible. Seeing those make the David even more impressive because there is no chisel mark anywhere on his body. This kind of artistic talent can't be learned, this is clearly something that Michelangelo was born with.
ROME. OMG. So old. Our first day we went to the Fountain di Trevi and threw two coins in to bring us good luck. The next morning we woke up extra early to stand in line for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. I am so glad we went there; the artwork was SO GORGEOUS and it was exciting to see paintings that we have learned about for years - such as the painting of God touching Adam's finger. I got yelled at by one of the guards (NO PHOTO!) So I was unable to capture this for anyone at home.
The Colosseum literally took my breath away. We bought the Roma pass (good advice, Jaime!) and went in front of the line and were in awe for HOURS. I can't believe how lucky I am to have this opportunity to visit something that I have only seen in photographs my entire life. Both Kirsten and I couldn't stop taking pictures. It is absolutely MASSIVE and I can only imagine how difficult it was to build. We also visited it at night to take pictures of it lit up; it is strange to think I might never see this monument ever again.
A quick sidenote about my lack of posting photographs: I am still taking pictures, I promise! I have been unable to upload them since we haven't sat at a regular computer in several days. I brought an extra memory card so I won't run out of space and I assure you, that I will upload my pictures the moment I get a chance.
All this constant traveling and sightseeing is wearing on us. We literally have not stopped to catch our breath since we left Lagos, Portugal and our shoulders, backs, and feet are feeling it. We are making our way to Venice right now via train (of course) and on Friday we will be in Switzerland to visit Kathryn Wessinger. I can't wait to visit with another islander and relax for the first time in a while. Saturday night we are taking a night train to Paris - one of our last big cities before heading back home. 3 weeks from today, I will be on a plane from Frankfurt back to the states. So far this trip has exceeded my expectations and I truly believe that taking time off to travel was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I can't emphasize enough how great this has been for me.
Much love,
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
And...
We definitely hid the naughty book behind the toilet for "someone special."
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Too much wine
Cheers!
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
A story about ice cream saving our lives
Kirsten and I have been living by a simple mantra while we are here: "An ice cream a day, keeps the traveling suave!" I know it sounds so silly, but it's actually true! Please allow the following story to convince you of our theory.
Yesterday we arrived at the Barcelona train station before 8am to catch our train by 8:16 to Nice, France. This train was only supposed to take 7.5 hours to reach our final destination - including the two changes we had somewhere in France. When we looked at the Departure board in BCN, our train was not there. Weird. We had to stand in line at the information center to figure out where our train was. Since this train did not require reservations, our Eurail Passes worked as tickets. However, to get to the specific platform we had to have a special pass to open the gate. We had to flag down a security guard to let us through. Of course we knew this was because we hadn't had ice cream yet, but we figured that was the end of our odd train experiences. Wrong.
Our train was late. REALLY late. When we finally got to the correct stop, we bolted from the train to find the platform for our next train to France. We found it, and thank goodness, it was running late as well. When the train pulled into our last station before Nice, we were supposed to reserve our seats because Spain can't reserve seats that are out of their country. They were sold out. Therefore we had to take the later train which included one more changeover. Meanwhile, I also fall down the stairs at the train station while wearing my backpack which only continues to gain weight.
We finally get on our train and make it to the next changeover. Strangely enough, we can't find our train on the departure board - AGAIN. We go to the information center and discover that our train has been canceled. GREAT. They make us stand in line for free tickets to Nice that doesn't allow us to arrive until 10:30. At this point I am ready to stress-eat so Kirst and I both buy some of the largest meals I have ever seen at McDonalds.... and it includes ice cream. Thank goodness!
After we eat the ice cream, the rest of the day changes. We decide to book our train from Nice to Florence since we have so much extra time and the French man who helps us was SO NICE and HELPFUL. He managed to reserve seats for us even though they were almost sold out; he had to pull a few strings and try a few different trains, but in the end we got the train we wanted. The chances of getting a person working in France who speaks ENGLISH and is KIND and so HELPFUL was a miracle in itself and I am certain that it is because we finally ate ice cream.
Tomorrow we are heading to Italy... It is cold in Nice and I hope it's warmer in Florence! We also heard from some people at our hostel that it is snowing in Prague so we allowed ourselves a few purchases at H&M. Warm clothes, of course!
xoxo
Meg
Yesterday we arrived at the Barcelona train station before 8am to catch our train by 8:16 to Nice, France. This train was only supposed to take 7.5 hours to reach our final destination - including the two changes we had somewhere in France. When we looked at the Departure board in BCN, our train was not there. Weird. We had to stand in line at the information center to figure out where our train was. Since this train did not require reservations, our Eurail Passes worked as tickets. However, to get to the specific platform we had to have a special pass to open the gate. We had to flag down a security guard to let us through. Of course we knew this was because we hadn't had ice cream yet, but we figured that was the end of our odd train experiences. Wrong.
Our train was late. REALLY late. When we finally got to the correct stop, we bolted from the train to find the platform for our next train to France. We found it, and thank goodness, it was running late as well. When the train pulled into our last station before Nice, we were supposed to reserve our seats because Spain can't reserve seats that are out of their country. They were sold out. Therefore we had to take the later train which included one more changeover. Meanwhile, I also fall down the stairs at the train station while wearing my backpack which only continues to gain weight.
We finally get on our train and make it to the next changeover. Strangely enough, we can't find our train on the departure board - AGAIN. We go to the information center and discover that our train has been canceled. GREAT. They make us stand in line for free tickets to Nice that doesn't allow us to arrive until 10:30. At this point I am ready to stress-eat so Kirst and I both buy some of the largest meals I have ever seen at McDonalds.... and it includes ice cream. Thank goodness!
After we eat the ice cream, the rest of the day changes. We decide to book our train from Nice to Florence since we have so much extra time and the French man who helps us was SO NICE and HELPFUL. He managed to reserve seats for us even though they were almost sold out; he had to pull a few strings and try a few different trains, but in the end we got the train we wanted. The chances of getting a person working in France who speaks ENGLISH and is KIND and so HELPFUL was a miracle in itself and I am certain that it is because we finally ate ice cream.
Tomorrow we are heading to Italy... It is cold in Nice and I hope it's warmer in Florence! We also heard from some people at our hostel that it is snowing in Prague so we allowed ourselves a few purchases at H&M. Warm clothes, of course!
xoxo
Meg
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Spain in general...
is amazing! The culture is entirely different than the northern part of Europe. Kirsten and I chose to totally immerse ourselves into Spain and have taken siestas almost every day; we love it!
Sevilla: Very, very Spanish! The streets were extremely confusing and our internal compasses never managed to figure out the city. The first day we went to another Cathedral (after sleeping in... really late!) and climbed a massive bell tower to see a beautiful view of the city. Since we spent the beginning of the day in bed and at the train station trying to get tickets to Barcelona, by the time we left the church, it was time for our first siesta! All the shops were closed anyway and we didn't have much to do if everything was closed. When we woke up and got ready for the evening, I understood why the Spanish take naps... It's so they can stay up late that night! I have never seen a city so ALIVE at nighttime as I have in Spain. It's so different than Berlin where we had to plan what we were eating for dinner before 5 just in case the grocery store closed at that time - which most of them do. Not in Spain, though! We also LOVE the tapas. We felt like it was happy hour, except all the time.
I have never been more happy than now that I took a few years of Spanish in high school. What we learned in high school came back to us very quickly and we even managed to interact with the teller in the train station completely in Spanish. I know we weren't very "correct" in how we formed our sentences, but the ability to communicate was relieving. I also felt that not many locals spoke English; in France several people spoke English - which only further proves my previous point that Spanish is the more logical language to learn.
The second day we went to a huge park with a cool fountain in the middle. All the big cities in Europe have these great "green spaces" that we love taking advantage of. Of course, the parks in Spain are (again) very different than those in Northern Europe. In Spain there are palm trees everywhere and I felt like I was somewhere tropical.
Towards the end of our stay in Sevilla, we heard the news that, sadly, Kirsten's grandma wasn't doing well. We immediately thought about returning home and, after a few days of consideration, we made the difficult decision to stay in Europe. Ellie, Kirst's grandma, would have wanted us to stay and continue our adventure and we're both happy that we've continued onward. We both miss Ellie and my heart goes out to Kirsten and her wonderful family during this difficult time.
Barcelona: Easily one of my favorite cities in Europe so far. Nothing has been a let-down about this city; everything is worth it. Our first day we walked up and down La Rambla. We also took an elevator to the top of the towering statue of Christopher Columbus. (Random fact: Did you know that in 1992, a symbolic wedding took place between the Statue of Liberty and the statue of Christopher Columbus? Cool!) I love being able to share some of my country's history with Spain. It makes me feel as if the USA isn't as young as we are often perceived to be and it made me feel instantly at home. Later that night we journaled in our awesome hostel (Hello BCN) and we came across a book with Top Ten Things to do in Barcelona. This is when we had an "Oh shit" moment when we realized THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO IN BARCELONA. This meant no siesta today :)
This morning we woke up early in effort to see EVERYTHING in Barcelona. And we were successful! First we went to Parc Güell which was designed by Gaudi and built between 1900 and 1914. It is like a park built by Dr. Seuss and it was really fun to wander around and see magical architecture. Next we took the tram back to the center of town to (another!) the Cathedral. This Cathedral was different than the others because it had a really cool courtyard in the middle with palm trees and dozens of ducks. (Sidenote: Kirsten loves ducks. And pigeons, horses, dogs, and any other living animal. She also loves to take pictures of them - which is funny because she takes a long time waiting for the animal to be in the "right position;" this can take several minutes. In turn, I love taking pictures of Kirsten taking pictures of animals. So when you are looking through my albums and see dozens of pictures of Kirst with the camera, it's because I am bored while she is waiting for the perfect shot of a pigeon. Lol, she gives me a hard time because I will like them when they are framed in our house and I will wish I had taken pictures of dogs too. Lol, she is so funny!) We also walked to a palace built by Gaudi but the line was really long so we didn't go in. The most colorful part of today was the MASSIVE market that we spent a ton of time in. They had so many fresh fruits, meats, candies, fish, and spices on display it was like artwork. We saw fruit that we had never even heard of. When I upload pictures from Barcelona make sure you look for the pictures from the market; they are my favorite! Next we hiked past the end of La Rambla to a few more buildings by Gaudi which we didn't go in, but did take pictures of from the outside. Eventually we headed back down towards the water and stopped in a bar that we had read about in our new book from the hostel that is themed like a fairy tale. Seriously, this was one of the coolest bars I have ever been in! There were trees, lamps, fountains, fairies, and mirrors all over the place. The lighting was really low also, so it took a while for our eyes to adjust to the room and see everything. The sangria was also VERY strong; Kirst only drank half of hers, but being the lush that I am, I drank my entire glass and definitely felt the effects walking to our next sight. Our last stop of the day included the city park during the sunset. (I hear it's raining in Portland... It's been sunny and warm here; it makes it difficult to go home in only a few weeks!) This park has one of the prettiest fountains I have ever seen! Don't worry, I took TONS of pictures so I will get to share it with everyone!
WOW, I'm sorry it took me so long to blog about Spain. As you can see, we've been keeping busy. I also can't upload my pictures onto this computer so my photo albums will need to remain unupdated until I get to the next hostel. Tomorrow morning we are on our way to Nice, France for two nights before heading to ITALY! (It still feels like this is a dream.)
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have this opportunity to be UNEMPLOYED and traveling with my BEST friend. The last few days of backpacking have gone by so fast and I know Italy will fly by as well. It is only 3 weeks from tomorrow until we will be back in Denmark with Kirst's family. Paris and Prague are just on the horizon... Life really doesn't get any better than this :)
I love you and miss you all!
xo
Meg
Sevilla: Very, very Spanish! The streets were extremely confusing and our internal compasses never managed to figure out the city. The first day we went to another Cathedral (after sleeping in... really late!) and climbed a massive bell tower to see a beautiful view of the city. Since we spent the beginning of the day in bed and at the train station trying to get tickets to Barcelona, by the time we left the church, it was time for our first siesta! All the shops were closed anyway and we didn't have much to do if everything was closed. When we woke up and got ready for the evening, I understood why the Spanish take naps... It's so they can stay up late that night! I have never seen a city so ALIVE at nighttime as I have in Spain. It's so different than Berlin where we had to plan what we were eating for dinner before 5 just in case the grocery store closed at that time - which most of them do. Not in Spain, though! We also LOVE the tapas. We felt like it was happy hour, except all the time.
I have never been more happy than now that I took a few years of Spanish in high school. What we learned in high school came back to us very quickly and we even managed to interact with the teller in the train station completely in Spanish. I know we weren't very "correct" in how we formed our sentences, but the ability to communicate was relieving. I also felt that not many locals spoke English; in France several people spoke English - which only further proves my previous point that Spanish is the more logical language to learn.
The second day we went to a huge park with a cool fountain in the middle. All the big cities in Europe have these great "green spaces" that we love taking advantage of. Of course, the parks in Spain are (again) very different than those in Northern Europe. In Spain there are palm trees everywhere and I felt like I was somewhere tropical.
Towards the end of our stay in Sevilla, we heard the news that, sadly, Kirsten's grandma wasn't doing well. We immediately thought about returning home and, after a few days of consideration, we made the difficult decision to stay in Europe. Ellie, Kirst's grandma, would have wanted us to stay and continue our adventure and we're both happy that we've continued onward. We both miss Ellie and my heart goes out to Kirsten and her wonderful family during this difficult time.
Barcelona: Easily one of my favorite cities in Europe so far. Nothing has been a let-down about this city; everything is worth it. Our first day we walked up and down La Rambla. We also took an elevator to the top of the towering statue of Christopher Columbus. (Random fact: Did you know that in 1992, a symbolic wedding took place between the Statue of Liberty and the statue of Christopher Columbus? Cool!) I love being able to share some of my country's history with Spain. It makes me feel as if the USA isn't as young as we are often perceived to be and it made me feel instantly at home. Later that night we journaled in our awesome hostel (Hello BCN) and we came across a book with Top Ten Things to do in Barcelona. This is when we had an "Oh shit" moment when we realized THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO IN BARCELONA. This meant no siesta today :)
This morning we woke up early in effort to see EVERYTHING in Barcelona. And we were successful! First we went to Parc Güell which was designed by Gaudi and built between 1900 and 1914. It is like a park built by Dr. Seuss and it was really fun to wander around and see magical architecture. Next we took the tram back to the center of town to (another!) the Cathedral. This Cathedral was different than the others because it had a really cool courtyard in the middle with palm trees and dozens of ducks. (Sidenote: Kirsten loves ducks. And pigeons, horses, dogs, and any other living animal. She also loves to take pictures of them - which is funny because she takes a long time waiting for the animal to be in the "right position;" this can take several minutes. In turn, I love taking pictures of Kirsten taking pictures of animals. So when you are looking through my albums and see dozens of pictures of Kirst with the camera, it's because I am bored while she is waiting for the perfect shot of a pigeon. Lol, she gives me a hard time because I will like them when they are framed in our house and I will wish I had taken pictures of dogs too. Lol, she is so funny!) We also walked to a palace built by Gaudi but the line was really long so we didn't go in. The most colorful part of today was the MASSIVE market that we spent a ton of time in. They had so many fresh fruits, meats, candies, fish, and spices on display it was like artwork. We saw fruit that we had never even heard of. When I upload pictures from Barcelona make sure you look for the pictures from the market; they are my favorite! Next we hiked past the end of La Rambla to a few more buildings by Gaudi which we didn't go in, but did take pictures of from the outside. Eventually we headed back down towards the water and stopped in a bar that we had read about in our new book from the hostel that is themed like a fairy tale. Seriously, this was one of the coolest bars I have ever been in! There were trees, lamps, fountains, fairies, and mirrors all over the place. The lighting was really low also, so it took a while for our eyes to adjust to the room and see everything. The sangria was also VERY strong; Kirst only drank half of hers, but being the lush that I am, I drank my entire glass and definitely felt the effects walking to our next sight. Our last stop of the day included the city park during the sunset. (I hear it's raining in Portland... It's been sunny and warm here; it makes it difficult to go home in only a few weeks!) This park has one of the prettiest fountains I have ever seen! Don't worry, I took TONS of pictures so I will get to share it with everyone!
WOW, I'm sorry it took me so long to blog about Spain. As you can see, we've been keeping busy. I also can't upload my pictures onto this computer so my photo albums will need to remain unupdated until I get to the next hostel. Tomorrow morning we are on our way to Nice, France for two nights before heading to ITALY! (It still feels like this is a dream.)
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have this opportunity to be UNEMPLOYED and traveling with my BEST friend. The last few days of backpacking have gone by so fast and I know Italy will fly by as well. It is only 3 weeks from tomorrow until we will be back in Denmark with Kirst's family. Paris and Prague are just on the horizon... Life really doesn't get any better than this :)
I love you and miss you all!
xo
Meg
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Barcelona!
We made it! I promise I will write all about Sevilla as soon as I get a chance... Right now we are exhausted and need to eat and shower. Just letting you know we didn't get mugged in the dark!
Xo
Meg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sevilla!
We made it to Sevilla, Spain safely... No bus-bombers! (Ask me about that later.) Finding our hostel was an awful experience; the directions were very confusing and when we arrived it was already dark outside. The hostel made up for it though by giving us free drinks upon our check-in! I can't wait to spend time here after all the wonderful things I have heard about this place. We'll be here for 3 nights before heading to Barcelona!
Adios!
Meg
PS: we totally got to practice our español on the bus with an 8-year-old girl.... She impressed us by counting to 5 and saying "hello" in English; so cute!
Adios!
Meg
PS: we totally got to practice our español on the bus with an 8-year-old girl.... She impressed us by counting to 5 and saying "hello" in English; so cute!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Back to backpacking...
Today is our last in Lagos, Portugal. Tomorrow we are taking a bus (not a train!) to Sevilla, Spain. It's so funny because every time we try to "plan" where we are going next, something happens so that it never works out the way we think it will. We were originally going to be in Madrid tomorrow, but it would have involved taking another night train (BOO) and we couldn't reserve seats from the train station in Lagos; we would have needed to go to Lisboa to reserve our seats. Then we couldn't find any hostels that had two beds for two nights.... Hmmm; it was beginning to look like Madrid wasn't in the cards.
Everyone we've met here, has told us SO MUCH about Sevilla. According to everyone who has been there, it is absolutely amazing and way better than Madrid. The bus tickets to get there are only 17 euros so we figured, why not? As of last night, we changed our plans completely and are skipping Madrid and going straight to Barcelona from Sevilla. I am super excited because switching plans has (usually) worked out so well for us! (Minus Berlin, of course.)
We are so sad to leave Lagos; it has felt like a home away from home for us. The people, the hostel and the city are all amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was the best decision so far to take a few days off of our constant traveling and moving around to just stop and slow down. I feel totally relaxed and ready to take on the next 4 weeks of backpacking before heading up to Denmark for our last week in Europe.
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE REST OF EUROPE! I can't wait to see Italy and eat the food. I can't wait to visit my friends Kathryn and Claire. I can't wait to see the Eiffel Tower and check so many more sights off my "life list."
See you all in 5 weeks!
xo, Meg
PS: When I get back, don't forget to ask me about the "wanker" in Lagos and our run-in with the police - such a great story but not really appropriate for the blog. Also, don't forget to ask me about the "surprise" I am bringing back with me!
Everyone we've met here, has told us SO MUCH about Sevilla. According to everyone who has been there, it is absolutely amazing and way better than Madrid. The bus tickets to get there are only 17 euros so we figured, why not? As of last night, we changed our plans completely and are skipping Madrid and going straight to Barcelona from Sevilla. I am super excited because switching plans has (usually) worked out so well for us! (Minus Berlin, of course.)
We are so sad to leave Lagos; it has felt like a home away from home for us. The people, the hostel and the city are all amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. It was the best decision so far to take a few days off of our constant traveling and moving around to just stop and slow down. I feel totally relaxed and ready to take on the next 4 weeks of backpacking before heading up to Denmark for our last week in Europe.
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE REST OF EUROPE! I can't wait to see Italy and eat the food. I can't wait to visit my friends Kathryn and Claire. I can't wait to see the Eiffel Tower and check so many more sights off my "life list."
See you all in 5 weeks!
xo, Meg
PS: When I get back, don't forget to ask me about the "wanker" in Lagos and our run-in with the police - such a great story but not really appropriate for the blog. Also, don't forget to ask me about the "surprise" I am bringing back with me!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Breakfast
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Halfway point
Today marks our 38th day of travelling! We only have 38 more days to squeeze in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the rest of France, Prague and Denmark (again). I would like to take a moment to highlight a few things.
What I miss most from home:
- My mom's cooking; including but not limited to: lasagna, anything barbecued, tortelini soup, sausage roll-ups, salmon, puff pancakes, waffles, egg salad sandwiches, ice cream, PIE, old folks sausage (just seeing if you are paying attention, Mom, lol), and grilled salad.
- The farm and all the guys who like to take care of me and keep me out of trouble during the summer.
- Sticking my tongue out at my sister when Mom isn't looking.
- The ability to text or call anyone without it costing a fortune.
- My vocabulary. (Talking to people who don't speak a lot of English makes it difficult to use big words. I feel like I've forgotten them!)
- Driving.
- Having money.
- The animals.
- Ketchup! Oh my gosh, I miss it so much!
- Cousin nights and drinking on the beach.
- And of course, the island.
What I have learned about myself and others while being away:
- Snoring still sucks and is still considered a deal-breaker in my book. Sleeping in hostels with boys has only made me hate snoring more.
- Men are sleezy even on this side of the world. Do they really think that they'll get a date by yelling out cat-calls and whistling when females walk by? This gender still never ceases to amaze me.
- I've learned that life doesn't happen if you sit around and wait for it. From now on I am going to make things happen for myself. I am tired of waiting around.
- I've learned how to navigate public transportation systems in 4 different languages. (Danish, German, Dutch, and French.)
- The world is SO BIG and there are so many people living on it! I realize that this is an obvious statement, but the hugeness of the world population was difficult for me to grasp until I left the US. I have met a countless amount of people so far on this trip and I am only halfway done.
- I am so much more appreciative of nice people.
- I have a better understanding of what it looks like to be appreciated. It makes me mad that I haven't been appreciated in the past and that I put up with it.
- I am more inspired to learn another language. It is important to put forth an effort to be bilingual.
- I am more patriotic.
- And due to my extended stay in Portugal, I am more tan :)
I can't wait to come home and play house while applying for graduate school and preparing to teach pre-school for the first time. See you all in 38 days!
xoxo, Meg
What I miss most from home:
- My mom's cooking; including but not limited to: lasagna, anything barbecued, tortelini soup, sausage roll-ups, salmon, puff pancakes, waffles, egg salad sandwiches, ice cream, PIE, old folks sausage (just seeing if you are paying attention, Mom, lol), and grilled salad.
- The farm and all the guys who like to take care of me and keep me out of trouble during the summer.
- Sticking my tongue out at my sister when Mom isn't looking.
- The ability to text or call anyone without it costing a fortune.
- My vocabulary. (Talking to people who don't speak a lot of English makes it difficult to use big words. I feel like I've forgotten them!)
- Driving.
- Having money.
- The animals.
- Ketchup! Oh my gosh, I miss it so much!
- Cousin nights and drinking on the beach.
- And of course, the island.
What I have learned about myself and others while being away:
- Snoring still sucks and is still considered a deal-breaker in my book. Sleeping in hostels with boys has only made me hate snoring more.
- Men are sleezy even on this side of the world. Do they really think that they'll get a date by yelling out cat-calls and whistling when females walk by? This gender still never ceases to amaze me.
- I've learned that life doesn't happen if you sit around and wait for it. From now on I am going to make things happen for myself. I am tired of waiting around.
- I've learned how to navigate public transportation systems in 4 different languages. (Danish, German, Dutch, and French.)
- The world is SO BIG and there are so many people living on it! I realize that this is an obvious statement, but the hugeness of the world population was difficult for me to grasp until I left the US. I have met a countless amount of people so far on this trip and I am only halfway done.
- I am so much more appreciative of nice people.
- I have a better understanding of what it looks like to be appreciated. It makes me mad that I haven't been appreciated in the past and that I put up with it.
- I am more inspired to learn another language. It is important to put forth an effort to be bilingual.
- I am more patriotic.
- And due to my extended stay in Portugal, I am more tan :)
I can't wait to come home and play house while applying for graduate school and preparing to teach pre-school for the first time. See you all in 38 days!
xoxo, Meg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)