Slainte Ireland, One Final Time
My time in Europe has come to an end. Luke and I arrived safely in Ireland, spent one day in Dublin, one full day in Galway and taking a day trip with a delightful old tour guide to see West Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher, and then caught the bus to the Shannon airport early the next morning and flew home. Oregon, how I have missed you. Goodbye Ireland, and goodbye Europe.
First, I just want to say thank you to everybody who read the blog, or sent emails, cards, packages, life updates, Facebook messages, or anything else feigning interest in my life and my travels abroad, and updating me on the life I left behind. I also want to say thanks to all my close friends and family for being patient with my ridiculously slow internet connection in Ireland, and for trying time and again while Skype worked only when it wanted to, probably about 40% of the time. Thanks especially to Mom and Dad, whose weekly/sometimes daily emails, skype chats, and care packages made me feel like 4,500 miles really wasn't that far away, and who supported the six most expensive months of their daughter's life, ever. Thank you to everybody for putting up with the communication barriers and the 8 hour time difference for 6 months.
My study abroad experience has been an incredible one. I would have been lucky to have been able to visit one country, let alone many. After six months, dozens of flights and train rides, and thousands of dollars, I can truthfully say my time in Europe is complete. All in all, I was able to visit 10 countries: Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Greece.
I have had irreplaceable experiences. I have been able to indulge in incredible food, I mean absolutely incredible food. I celebrated my 21st birthday in Ireland. I was in Spain when Barcelona beat Real Madrid to advance. I laid on the beaches of the gorgeous Algarve Coast in Portugal. I swam in the Mediterranean Sea in three different countries. I smoked in Amsterdam. I met family I had never met before in Germany. I drank my first Guinness in Ireland, and tried innumerable beers in Belgium and Germany. I devoured Belgian chocolate. I climbed the Eiffel Tower, twice. I hiked the Burren in Ireland and the trails of Cinque Terre in Italy. I walked so much I wore out my tennis shoes and flip flops. I took a gondola ride through the canals of Venice. I was able to travel with great friends, and with family I have missed dearly. I watched the sun set over the Acropolis in Greece. I have shopped until I have dropped. I have literally laid off the edge of a cliff. And I have met some absolutely lovely people along the way that have made my experience so much more enjoyable.
My homecoming is bittersweet. I have missed my family and friends dearly. I have missed Jake's slobbery kisses and deadly wagging tail more than I thought I did. And seeing the sight of my own front porch again for the first time, my home and all the comforts it brings, literally made me cry. Of course I have also missed my own bed, a shower where I am not required to wear flip flops for hygienic precautions, and a kitchen with a dishwasher. And I don't mean you Dad, I mean a real dishwasher. I have missed clean clothes. I have missed drinking fountains, the fresh air of Oregon, and being able to walk anywhere without inhaling somebody else's huge puff of cigarette smoke. I have missed free public restrooms, and free ketchup in restaurants that serve food that requires ketchup. And of course, I have missed Mexican food, macaroni and cheese, and Cold Stone ice cream. Typical American.
But I know I will miss my time in Ireland and elsewhere. I will miss the cheery Irish hello, the traveling experience, and even the challenges of living out of a backpack for weeks on end. I will miss the people I have met along the way. I will miss the simplistic life of traveling, with no cell phone and limited responsibilities. I will miss learning about and experiencing other cultures and languages. I will miss the life I have created in Ireland and as a backpacker traveling and eating her way through Europe.
Thanks again to everybody who kept up with my travels, wished me well, and kept in contact while I've been away. Your enthusiasm, encouragement, love, and support are sincerely appreciated. And should anybody want to see more pictures or to chat about what I've learned, I have now caught the traveling bug and would love to share it with you!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Ciao Italia
Ciao Italia
This might be almost the last update before I return to my normal life where people aren't interested in reading about all the things I get to do, places I see, and food I eat. But for now...
After Florence, we jumped on yet another train to Rome. Sadly, this was my last train in Europe. My Eurail pass is completely full, which is great since it's falling apart and the envelope it was in literally ripped at the seams. For all the money that pass cost, you'd think they could have sent me a real cover for it. Nonetheless, we spent the next two days in Rome exploring all the sites.
The first day, we went to grab some lunch, did a little shopping, and then took a nap. Then, we took the metro to the Colosseo. We had perfect timing because the sun was setting right when we got there so we got some great pictures. Then we took the metro to the Trevi fountain. By the time we got there, it was dark, so we got to see the Trevi fountain all lit up! We did some more shopping, and then had a really late dinner. By the time we walked back to the metro station around 11.30 it was closed. Oops. But really, what big city closes it's public transportation systems at 9 PM?! Apparently Rome does. So then we had to walk back to our hostel, although luckily it took less than an hour.
The next day, we took a bus tour of Rome. We saw all the major sites from the top of our bus, all the while working on our tans. If you haven't picked up on it already, tanning is a major priority of this vacation, after eating and shopping of course, and I suppose sightseeing, only because we know that when we get back to good old Oregon, we won't have the sun or the time necessary to tan like we can here.
We hopped off our bus at the Vatican, and as we were walking to the square, the Pope was speaking! I mean, could our timing have been any better? I think not. Apparently, the Pope talks every Wednesday, and we showed up on a Wednesday at the perfect time. Even better than seeing the pope, though, was waiting in short lines to get into the Sistine Chapel. Maybe because everybody stayed outside to hear the Pope finish speaking, or maybe just because it was a good day, we waited in line for probably a half hour and then we were in. There were lots of people inside, but I think bypassing all the hot, sweaty, slightly annoying tour groups was still worth the museum and having the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. And Omi: Michelle, Luke and I got you a rosary from the Vatican!
After that, we hopped back on our bus and went back to the hostel for some desperately needed showers. Maybe this is a good time to mention that although we love working on our tans over here, it is incredibly hot, all the time, and we sweat incredible amounts, all the time. Most places in Europe don't have air conditioning, so even inside stores, or at night with the windows open, we sweat. I don't think I've used a sheet in days now just because it's that hot in our rooms and I'm sweating just laying still in the middle of the night.
Anyway, enough about how gross the sweating situation is here. After showers, we met Luke's good friend Jack and his sister for some snacks. It worked out perfectly that our last night in Rome was the day Jack and his family arrived, and their hotel was within walking distance from our hostel! Luke went to dinner with their family, and then Jack and his sister came back, and we took Luke out to his first bar experience, ever. His first as far as I know, at least.
Some friends Michelle and I had met in France also happened to be in Rome that night, so we met up with them, and then went for a drink. We all enjoyed our last night together before we would go our separate ways in the morning.
Luke and I had to be up at 3.30 AM to catch our flight to Greece at 6.40, so we said goodbye to Michelle and Kevin, and tried to sleep for a couple hours. Michelle, safe and fun travels for the next few weeks, and good luck in your big tournament Kevin! Luke and I had a fantastic time traveling with you both!
The next morning, Luke and I arrived in Athens! This is our last stop before Ireland, and then home. We did a little shopping, ate our first Greek gyros, which were incredible, and then headed up to the Acropolis. We walked around, saw the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Hephaestus.
We stopped to have our second gyro of the day for dinner on our way back to he hostel, then headed up to the rooftop bar for happy hour. Because our hostel is so close to the city centre, we had an amazing view of the Acropolis as it lit up at night, and we enjoyed the sunset with some new friends from the rooftop bar.
The next day, we took a day trip to the closest island to Athens, called Aegina. We spent the day exploring the island, swimming in the beautiful, clear blue water, and tanning. I mean, what else are we supposed to do in the country with gorgeous island beaches and not a cloud in the sky?
On our way back, we picked up yet another gyro, our best yet, and headed back for showers and more happy hour rooftop bar time. The gyro we had this night really was divine...hot pork, perfect tomatoes, yummy red onions, and the most delicious tzatziki sauce with real cucumber chunks I have ever had. If anybody knows of anywhere in Portland, or possibly even in the state of Oregon if they're authentic, that I can get a proper Greek gyro, please let me know as soon as possible.
The next day, our last day in Greece, we tried to go to the old Olympic stadium, but since Athens is hosting the world Special Olympics, we were not allowed inside. The more recent Olympic stadium was also being used for the Special Olympic games and ceremonies so we couldn't see that one either.
But don't worry, we just used the rest of our day to work on our tans of course. We took a bus to the beach, and took our last swim in the Mediterranean ocean!
Tonight we'll probably grab some more gyros, we've only had one our of our two a day quota so far, and then enjoy our last Greek sunset before our full day of traveling from Greece to Italy to Ireland tomorrow.
See you soon America!
This might be almost the last update before I return to my normal life where people aren't interested in reading about all the things I get to do, places I see, and food I eat. But for now...
After Florence, we jumped on yet another train to Rome. Sadly, this was my last train in Europe. My Eurail pass is completely full, which is great since it's falling apart and the envelope it was in literally ripped at the seams. For all the money that pass cost, you'd think they could have sent me a real cover for it. Nonetheless, we spent the next two days in Rome exploring all the sites.
The first day, we went to grab some lunch, did a little shopping, and then took a nap. Then, we took the metro to the Colosseo. We had perfect timing because the sun was setting right when we got there so we got some great pictures. Then we took the metro to the Trevi fountain. By the time we got there, it was dark, so we got to see the Trevi fountain all lit up! We did some more shopping, and then had a really late dinner. By the time we walked back to the metro station around 11.30 it was closed. Oops. But really, what big city closes it's public transportation systems at 9 PM?! Apparently Rome does. So then we had to walk back to our hostel, although luckily it took less than an hour.
The next day, we took a bus tour of Rome. We saw all the major sites from the top of our bus, all the while working on our tans. If you haven't picked up on it already, tanning is a major priority of this vacation, after eating and shopping of course, and I suppose sightseeing, only because we know that when we get back to good old Oregon, we won't have the sun or the time necessary to tan like we can here.
We hopped off our bus at the Vatican, and as we were walking to the square, the Pope was speaking! I mean, could our timing have been any better? I think not. Apparently, the Pope talks every Wednesday, and we showed up on a Wednesday at the perfect time. Even better than seeing the pope, though, was waiting in short lines to get into the Sistine Chapel. Maybe because everybody stayed outside to hear the Pope finish speaking, or maybe just because it was a good day, we waited in line for probably a half hour and then we were in. There were lots of people inside, but I think bypassing all the hot, sweaty, slightly annoying tour groups was still worth the museum and having the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. And Omi: Michelle, Luke and I got you a rosary from the Vatican!
After that, we hopped back on our bus and went back to the hostel for some desperately needed showers. Maybe this is a good time to mention that although we love working on our tans over here, it is incredibly hot, all the time, and we sweat incredible amounts, all the time. Most places in Europe don't have air conditioning, so even inside stores, or at night with the windows open, we sweat. I don't think I've used a sheet in days now just because it's that hot in our rooms and I'm sweating just laying still in the middle of the night.
Anyway, enough about how gross the sweating situation is here. After showers, we met Luke's good friend Jack and his sister for some snacks. It worked out perfectly that our last night in Rome was the day Jack and his family arrived, and their hotel was within walking distance from our hostel! Luke went to dinner with their family, and then Jack and his sister came back, and we took Luke out to his first bar experience, ever. His first as far as I know, at least.
Some friends Michelle and I had met in France also happened to be in Rome that night, so we met up with them, and then went for a drink. We all enjoyed our last night together before we would go our separate ways in the morning.
Luke and I had to be up at 3.30 AM to catch our flight to Greece at 6.40, so we said goodbye to Michelle and Kevin, and tried to sleep for a couple hours. Michelle, safe and fun travels for the next few weeks, and good luck in your big tournament Kevin! Luke and I had a fantastic time traveling with you both!
The next morning, Luke and I arrived in Athens! This is our last stop before Ireland, and then home. We did a little shopping, ate our first Greek gyros, which were incredible, and then headed up to the Acropolis. We walked around, saw the Parthenon, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Hephaestus.
We stopped to have our second gyro of the day for dinner on our way back to he hostel, then headed up to the rooftop bar for happy hour. Because our hostel is so close to the city centre, we had an amazing view of the Acropolis as it lit up at night, and we enjoyed the sunset with some new friends from the rooftop bar.
The next day, we took a day trip to the closest island to Athens, called Aegina. We spent the day exploring the island, swimming in the beautiful, clear blue water, and tanning. I mean, what else are we supposed to do in the country with gorgeous island beaches and not a cloud in the sky?
On our way back, we picked up yet another gyro, our best yet, and headed back for showers and more happy hour rooftop bar time. The gyro we had this night really was divine...hot pork, perfect tomatoes, yummy red onions, and the most delicious tzatziki sauce with real cucumber chunks I have ever had. If anybody knows of anywhere in Portland, or possibly even in the state of Oregon if they're authentic, that I can get a proper Greek gyro, please let me know as soon as possible.
The next day, our last day in Greece, we tried to go to the old Olympic stadium, but since Athens is hosting the world Special Olympics, we were not allowed inside. The more recent Olympic stadium was also being used for the Special Olympic games and ceremonies so we couldn't see that one either.
But don't worry, we just used the rest of our day to work on our tans of course. We took a bus to the beach, and took our last swim in the Mediterranean ocean!
Tonight we'll probably grab some more gyros, we've only had one our of our two a day quota so far, and then enjoy our last Greek sunset before our full day of traveling from Greece to Italy to Ireland tomorrow.
See you soon America!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I mean...
I mean...this guy.
Time for another update I suppose...
Michelle and I enjoyed the rest of or time in Paris. We spent lots of time walking around sightseeing the city and meeting more great people at our hostels. And then finally we picked Luke up at the airport on the 14th.
Luke arrived late after more than a 4 hour delay in Toronto. But luckily he wasn't too tired when he got to Paris, so we dropped our stuff at the hostel, and set off for the Eiffel tower.
We took the stairs up the first two floors, because it's good exercise an it's cheaper, and we're all about exercising and saving money around here since we enjoy far too much European desserts. Then we took the elevator up to the top, got the birds eye view of Paris, and went down.
We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, saw Notre Dame and the outside of the Louvre, then headed back to our hostel. By that time it was around 10 and Luke had been up for over 24 hours straight, so he went to bed. But, that day was Michelle's birthday, so we went down and had a few bottles, I mean glasses, of wine with a couple guys we had met the night before.
The next day we saw a little more of Paris, then caught our plane to Venice. Au revoir for the last time Paris!
Kevin picked us up at the airport, and we headed to his house to settle in for the next three nights. The next day, he took us on base and signed us on so we could do laundry. Let me just say that I have never, in my entire life, been more excited to do laundry. Ever. After laundry, we went grocery shopping, and since it's an American base, they have an American style grocery store with American foods, so I stocked up on all the essentials: sun chips, BBQ potato chips, reese's peanut butter cups, and premade cookie dough.
We came back to Kevin's and prepared our Mexican fiesta. I still had Taco Bell meat seasoning in my backpack from the package mom sent me, so we had tacos with good meat, refried beans, and homemade salsa courtesy of Kevin. And some margaritas. Then Kevin had some friends over, and we finally celebrated Michelle's birthday and Luke's graduation properly. Quite the party. I think that's about all we need to say about that night.
The next day, we caught an early train to Venice and spent the day in Venice. Unfortunately, it poured while we were there, so we came back to Kevin's for dinner, which was, in my opinion, the best part of the day because...
We had Taco Bell for dinner! I know you might all think that's ridiculous. I mean, I'm in Italy and I'm eating Taco Bell?? Yes. I am. I haven't had Taco Bell since I left the States, there are just none anywhere in Europe. But, Kevin's base had a Taco Bell, and I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.
After dinner, we all packed and fell asleep early to try and catch up on some sleep from the night before. The next morning, we headed off to Cinque Terre.
We caught another early train from Venice to Cinque Terre. We stayed in the second village, Manarola. We had to walk up a significant hill to get to our hostel, but luckily it wasn't as bad as the epic trek mom and I had to climb to get to our place. We checked in, then set off to find some dinner. We enjoyed our dinner, then picked up some wine on the way home, and went back to the hostel.
Let me just say...this group lovesssss playing cards. I'd consider it a minor obsession. Our favourite games are 13, lucky, and garbage.
We spent the rest of that night enjoying the wine, our cards, the Italian sunset, and each other's jokes.
The next day was our hiking day. We got up early, took the train to Corniglia, walked up the hundreds of stairs, then hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, and then from Vernazza to Monterosso. Later in the day we also hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We hiked soooo many stairs and had a nice morning workout, but really enjoyed the exercise and the beautiful views.
Luke ran up some of the stairs because he said he wanted a better workout, and on my way up behind him, he ran past a lady who turned around to watch him run behind her, and then asked her friend what the word was for 'crazy' or 'nuts' in Italian.
After our hikes, we laid on the beach for a couple hours, swam in the ocean, ate some paninis, and worked on our tans. This is such a hard life.
After that, we went back to Corniglia to eat at the restaurant that mom and I ate at so many times. I, of course, got pesto lasagne once again, and bruschetta. Luke and Kevin go pesto lasagne too. Michelle was feeling adventurous so she ordered the pruschitto and melon. It was a cantelope cut into slices and just topped with tons of pruschitto. Not bad.
Then, we headed back to take showers, drink wine, and play cards...again. Our hostel was nice, but had lots of restrictions...one being a five minute shower per day limit. Every day, we got one token for a five minute shower. But we all decided to save our token the first night and use both the second night to have 10 minute showers. This plan worked for everybody - except me. You couldn't put both tokens in at the same time, so you had to shower for 5 minutes, then get out and put in the other 5 minute token - slightly annoying but would have been fine except the machine ate my second token. So I'm standing there in my swimsuit, soaking wet, conditioner still in my hair, wondering how I'm going to run down to the front desk to tell the nice man that the shower machine ate my token. But luckily another girl in he bathroom witnessed my plight,and went down and got another token for me.
The next morning we got up early, again, to take the train to Florence. Since Michelle and I have rail passes, our ticket was free. The rail passes have saved me quite a bit of money I think. We spent the rest of the day shopping around Florence an bartering with the sellers. With Michelle and I both bartering, we got some killer deals!
Think that's about all for the logistics of our lives. Otherwise, we have just been having a great time all hanging out. And eating. Here's a couple quick highlights of our lives:
Lucas is really enjoying the food. He has been trying all the different foods, and has officially decided that the Italians have the best food. He is also enjoying being legally able to drink over here.
I am enjoying hanging out with the fam, but am starting to get really anxious to get back home! I cannot believe it's been almost six months already!
Michelle and Luke really enjoyed Cinque Terre. They both said it was their favourite place so far.
Michelle is enjoying Italy, and the bartering and street vendors. She is also enjoying Kevin. I mean, really enjoying Kevin. I'd say the feeling is mutual, at least according to Luke and I's observations.
In all honesty though, Kevin has been a great addition to this crazy family vacation. We have all really enjoyed his company.
We named Luke's backpack Giovanni.
We have lots of artwork now, since the street vendor liked my eyes, and gave us some serious deals on the paintings. He would have given me a free one for a kiss, but I thought was a little too desperate, even for my style, so I refused.
We are all starting to sound the same. We have started a quote board on a placemat we got. But, since we have been spending so much time together, we are starting to say the same phrases.
Okay, enough typing for now. Ciao
PS - sorry for all the typos, it's sort of hard to type this much on a little tiny iPod keyboard, so just substitute your best guess for a word if it's completely wrong.
Time for another update I suppose...
Michelle and I enjoyed the rest of or time in Paris. We spent lots of time walking around sightseeing the city and meeting more great people at our hostels. And then finally we picked Luke up at the airport on the 14th.
Luke arrived late after more than a 4 hour delay in Toronto. But luckily he wasn't too tired when he got to Paris, so we dropped our stuff at the hostel, and set off for the Eiffel tower.
We took the stairs up the first two floors, because it's good exercise an it's cheaper, and we're all about exercising and saving money around here since we enjoy far too much European desserts. Then we took the elevator up to the top, got the birds eye view of Paris, and went down.
We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, saw Notre Dame and the outside of the Louvre, then headed back to our hostel. By that time it was around 10 and Luke had been up for over 24 hours straight, so he went to bed. But, that day was Michelle's birthday, so we went down and had a few bottles, I mean glasses, of wine with a couple guys we had met the night before.
The next day we saw a little more of Paris, then caught our plane to Venice. Au revoir for the last time Paris!
Kevin picked us up at the airport, and we headed to his house to settle in for the next three nights. The next day, he took us on base and signed us on so we could do laundry. Let me just say that I have never, in my entire life, been more excited to do laundry. Ever. After laundry, we went grocery shopping, and since it's an American base, they have an American style grocery store with American foods, so I stocked up on all the essentials: sun chips, BBQ potato chips, reese's peanut butter cups, and premade cookie dough.
We came back to Kevin's and prepared our Mexican fiesta. I still had Taco Bell meat seasoning in my backpack from the package mom sent me, so we had tacos with good meat, refried beans, and homemade salsa courtesy of Kevin. And some margaritas. Then Kevin had some friends over, and we finally celebrated Michelle's birthday and Luke's graduation properly. Quite the party. I think that's about all we need to say about that night.
The next day, we caught an early train to Venice and spent the day in Venice. Unfortunately, it poured while we were there, so we came back to Kevin's for dinner, which was, in my opinion, the best part of the day because...
We had Taco Bell for dinner! I know you might all think that's ridiculous. I mean, I'm in Italy and I'm eating Taco Bell?? Yes. I am. I haven't had Taco Bell since I left the States, there are just none anywhere in Europe. But, Kevin's base had a Taco Bell, and I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.
After dinner, we all packed and fell asleep early to try and catch up on some sleep from the night before. The next morning, we headed off to Cinque Terre.
We caught another early train from Venice to Cinque Terre. We stayed in the second village, Manarola. We had to walk up a significant hill to get to our hostel, but luckily it wasn't as bad as the epic trek mom and I had to climb to get to our place. We checked in, then set off to find some dinner. We enjoyed our dinner, then picked up some wine on the way home, and went back to the hostel.
Let me just say...this group lovesssss playing cards. I'd consider it a minor obsession. Our favourite games are 13, lucky, and garbage.
We spent the rest of that night enjoying the wine, our cards, the Italian sunset, and each other's jokes.
The next day was our hiking day. We got up early, took the train to Corniglia, walked up the hundreds of stairs, then hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, and then from Vernazza to Monterosso. Later in the day we also hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We hiked soooo many stairs and had a nice morning workout, but really enjoyed the exercise and the beautiful views.
Luke ran up some of the stairs because he said he wanted a better workout, and on my way up behind him, he ran past a lady who turned around to watch him run behind her, and then asked her friend what the word was for 'crazy' or 'nuts' in Italian.
After our hikes, we laid on the beach for a couple hours, swam in the ocean, ate some paninis, and worked on our tans. This is such a hard life.
After that, we went back to Corniglia to eat at the restaurant that mom and I ate at so many times. I, of course, got pesto lasagne once again, and bruschetta. Luke and Kevin go pesto lasagne too. Michelle was feeling adventurous so she ordered the pruschitto and melon. It was a cantelope cut into slices and just topped with tons of pruschitto. Not bad.
Then, we headed back to take showers, drink wine, and play cards...again. Our hostel was nice, but had lots of restrictions...one being a five minute shower per day limit. Every day, we got one token for a five minute shower. But we all decided to save our token the first night and use both the second night to have 10 minute showers. This plan worked for everybody - except me. You couldn't put both tokens in at the same time, so you had to shower for 5 minutes, then get out and put in the other 5 minute token - slightly annoying but would have been fine except the machine ate my second token. So I'm standing there in my swimsuit, soaking wet, conditioner still in my hair, wondering how I'm going to run down to the front desk to tell the nice man that the shower machine ate my token. But luckily another girl in he bathroom witnessed my plight,and went down and got another token for me.
The next morning we got up early, again, to take the train to Florence. Since Michelle and I have rail passes, our ticket was free. The rail passes have saved me quite a bit of money I think. We spent the rest of the day shopping around Florence an bartering with the sellers. With Michelle and I both bartering, we got some killer deals!
Think that's about all for the logistics of our lives. Otherwise, we have just been having a great time all hanging out. And eating. Here's a couple quick highlights of our lives:
Lucas is really enjoying the food. He has been trying all the different foods, and has officially decided that the Italians have the best food. He is also enjoying being legally able to drink over here.
I am enjoying hanging out with the fam, but am starting to get really anxious to get back home! I cannot believe it's been almost six months already!
Michelle and Luke really enjoyed Cinque Terre. They both said it was their favourite place so far.
Michelle is enjoying Italy, and the bartering and street vendors. She is also enjoying Kevin. I mean, really enjoying Kevin. I'd say the feeling is mutual, at least according to Luke and I's observations.
In all honesty though, Kevin has been a great addition to this crazy family vacation. We have all really enjoyed his company.
We named Luke's backpack Giovanni.
We have lots of artwork now, since the street vendor liked my eyes, and gave us some serious deals on the paintings. He would have given me a free one for a kiss, but I thought was a little too desperate, even for my style, so I refused.
We are all starting to sound the same. We have started a quote board on a placemat we got. But, since we have been spending so much time together, we are starting to say the same phrases.
Okay, enough typing for now. Ciao
PS - sorry for all the typos, it's sort of hard to type this much on a little tiny iPod keyboard, so just substitute your best guess for a word if it's completely wrong.
Friday, June 10, 2011
When in Bruges...
My mother has left the continent and my cousin Michelle has arrived. Let the second part of this vacation begin.
Michelle arrived in Paris on Tuesday. I picked her up at the airport, and then we explored a little bit of Paris the first day. When we got off the Metro, we met a group of guys with their backpacks on the front and back and their map spread out - we can spot fellow travelers anywhere, even if they don't have their backpacks on, and it turns out they were trying to find the same hostel we were, so we just all went together. We ended up hanging out with them for part of the day. Mom, so far our trip has been what you thought ours would be - meeting fellow travelers in every city.
Update 1: Gertrude and Hans now have twinsies! Michelle also has the lovely traveler look going with one backpack on the front and one on the back. Gertrude's counterpart is Martha, and Hans' new best friend is Hubert, affectionately knows as Huey. Perfect.
Back to our life. Paris was rainy, so we just bought a bottle of wine, enjoyed the views of Paris from indoors, and caught up on some family drama. The next morning, we set off for Belgium.
We took the train from Paris to Bruges, and spent the next two nights in Bruges. We sampled plenty of local Belgian beer, and enjoyed way too many waffles, chocolates and fries. Seriously. Our hostel had a bar on the first floor, and we met lots of great people in our hostel on both nights.
On the full day we were in Bruges, we spent the day sightseeing, taking a canal tour, touring the local brewery, taking a walking tour, enjoying more food and beer, and meeting more people at our hostel. The dorm rooms were pretty big at this hostel, and some of our roommates were down hanging out with us. Before we even told them which beds we were in, one guy guessed simply by the magazines and enormous toiletry bag Michelle had hung up from the bottom of my top bunk.
Update 2: Michelle has a huge toiletry bag. And, every time we get to a new city or new hostel, she unloads her whole backpack, hangs up her toiletry bag from my bunk, and gets organized. After the accurate identification of Michelle based on her toiletry bag alone, she is now referred to as the one girl with the magazines and huge make-up bag. The guy we met in our room who noticed her bag - Stan - is also coincidentally going to be at the same hostel we are staying in when we get to Paris tomorrow, and he told us that he'll be sure to recognize us by the magazines and toiletry bag. Stan - we'll hold you to this.
Anyway, after our great day in Bruges, we settled back in at our hostel, met some more great people, and introduced our new friends to Kings Cup. We met some Australian boys who played it a little different than we did, but we all played for hours, tested more Belgian beer, and had a great night laughing until we couldn't breathe.
The next day, we caught a train to Brussels, and today we saw the atomium, which was built for the World's Fair, and the famous statue of the little boy peeing. We even got to hold the Heineken cup - the real Heineken cup.
Update 3: The Heineken cup is much heavier than it looks. It's the highest trophy for rugby you can win in Europe.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris again, where we will stay for the next three nights, then go pick up Luke at the airport, spend one more night in Paris with all three of us, then jet off to Italy! Luke, we can't wait for you to get here! We have big plans already for your graduation celebration/Michelle's birthday!
Just a few other updates in my life...
4: I have slowly been shedding items from the backpack. People of Europe - be on the lookout for other presents from me. So far, I have left a sweatshirt, a hat, a pillow, and some other random clothing items, but my backpack is starting to get heavier and heavier, despite my shopping drought, so there may be many more surprises coming soon.
5: I have never had a more desperate laudry situation. I am trying very hard to hold out until we get to Kevin's house on Wednesday night, but it's getting a bit gross. I officially am out of socks and underwear. I have worn the same pair of jeans four days in a row. My towel is starting to smell. I am wearing every item a minimum of three times before I deposit it into my laundry bag. And, today was a new low. I had to rummage through my dirty clothes bag to find my least smelly pair of socks, spray them with Michelle's odor eliminator spray, and then put them on for today's adventure.
Think that's about it for the moment. We are off to shower, catch up on some sleep, and then make our way to Paris tomorrow.
And Luke - congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I'm so proud of you, and can't wait for you to get here and update me on your life for the last 6 months.
Michelle arrived in Paris on Tuesday. I picked her up at the airport, and then we explored a little bit of Paris the first day. When we got off the Metro, we met a group of guys with their backpacks on the front and back and their map spread out - we can spot fellow travelers anywhere, even if they don't have their backpacks on, and it turns out they were trying to find the same hostel we were, so we just all went together. We ended up hanging out with them for part of the day. Mom, so far our trip has been what you thought ours would be - meeting fellow travelers in every city.
Update 1: Gertrude and Hans now have twinsies! Michelle also has the lovely traveler look going with one backpack on the front and one on the back. Gertrude's counterpart is Martha, and Hans' new best friend is Hubert, affectionately knows as Huey. Perfect.
Back to our life. Paris was rainy, so we just bought a bottle of wine, enjoyed the views of Paris from indoors, and caught up on some family drama. The next morning, we set off for Belgium.
We took the train from Paris to Bruges, and spent the next two nights in Bruges. We sampled plenty of local Belgian beer, and enjoyed way too many waffles, chocolates and fries. Seriously. Our hostel had a bar on the first floor, and we met lots of great people in our hostel on both nights.
On the full day we were in Bruges, we spent the day sightseeing, taking a canal tour, touring the local brewery, taking a walking tour, enjoying more food and beer, and meeting more people at our hostel. The dorm rooms were pretty big at this hostel, and some of our roommates were down hanging out with us. Before we even told them which beds we were in, one guy guessed simply by the magazines and enormous toiletry bag Michelle had hung up from the bottom of my top bunk.
Update 2: Michelle has a huge toiletry bag. And, every time we get to a new city or new hostel, she unloads her whole backpack, hangs up her toiletry bag from my bunk, and gets organized. After the accurate identification of Michelle based on her toiletry bag alone, she is now referred to as the one girl with the magazines and huge make-up bag. The guy we met in our room who noticed her bag - Stan - is also coincidentally going to be at the same hostel we are staying in when we get to Paris tomorrow, and he told us that he'll be sure to recognize us by the magazines and toiletry bag. Stan - we'll hold you to this.
Anyway, after our great day in Bruges, we settled back in at our hostel, met some more great people, and introduced our new friends to Kings Cup. We met some Australian boys who played it a little different than we did, but we all played for hours, tested more Belgian beer, and had a great night laughing until we couldn't breathe.
The next day, we caught a train to Brussels, and today we saw the atomium, which was built for the World's Fair, and the famous statue of the little boy peeing. We even got to hold the Heineken cup - the real Heineken cup.
Update 3: The Heineken cup is much heavier than it looks. It's the highest trophy for rugby you can win in Europe.
Tomorrow we are off to Paris again, where we will stay for the next three nights, then go pick up Luke at the airport, spend one more night in Paris with all three of us, then jet off to Italy! Luke, we can't wait for you to get here! We have big plans already for your graduation celebration/Michelle's birthday!
Just a few other updates in my life...
4: I have slowly been shedding items from the backpack. People of Europe - be on the lookout for other presents from me. So far, I have left a sweatshirt, a hat, a pillow, and some other random clothing items, but my backpack is starting to get heavier and heavier, despite my shopping drought, so there may be many more surprises coming soon.
5: I have never had a more desperate laudry situation. I am trying very hard to hold out until we get to Kevin's house on Wednesday night, but it's getting a bit gross. I officially am out of socks and underwear. I have worn the same pair of jeans four days in a row. My towel is starting to smell. I am wearing every item a minimum of three times before I deposit it into my laundry bag. And, today was a new low. I had to rummage through my dirty clothes bag to find my least smelly pair of socks, spray them with Michelle's odor eliminator spray, and then put them on for today's adventure.
Think that's about it for the moment. We are off to shower, catch up on some sleep, and then make our way to Paris tomorrow.
And Luke - congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I'm so proud of you, and can't wait for you to get here and update me on your life for the last 6 months.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Austria and Italy
Let's just continue on from last time...
After Germany, we took a train to Wien, and spent the next two days there. We loved Vienna! We had very hot weather, and we enjoyed lots of sightseeing, attending an opera at the famous Viennese opera house, and taste-testing many new combinations of gelato. This might be sacreligious, but I think the gelato in Vieanna was better than any gelato I've had in Italy. My best combination so far has been nutella and banana. I think in my next life, or maybe later in this life if teaching doesn't work out, I'll open up an ice cream shop and spend the rest of my life coming up with new ice cream flavors.
After two days in Vienna, we took a night train to Venice, Italy. Let me just mention that the night train was quite the experience. Maybe we were just a little shocked since we only had a vague idea of what we were in for, or maybe we just aren't used to this vagabond lifestyle. But nonetheless, we get to Vienna with plenty of time to spare. We find our train, find our car, and set out to find our bunks, and then...
We find the room, if you can even consider it a room. It's six beds (two bunks, each three beds high) with little space between bunk beds. I had the top bunk on one side, and mom had the middle bunk on the other side. We had quite an ecclectic collection of couchettemates, including one middle aged woman from Turkey who was studying computers in Austria, one younger man from Asia who spoke a little English, two American tourists trying their best to prepare themselves for their upcoming 12 hour couchette adventure (mom and I), a younger woman, and her sort of boyfriend (from what we gathered) whose bag smelled like smoke. I only know it reeked of smoke because he stored it two inches from may face for the duration of the train ride - except when he periodically got it down to whip out his wine bottle, plastic cups, extra stash of cigarettes, or hair gel for his morning after reapplication. And yes, that wasn't a typo, he did indeed bring two bottles of wine and plastic cups which he happily passed around to his maybe girlfriend, his other friend who came in our room, and the bunkmates in our couchette. Yes, that's also correct, Mom accepted his offer and shared in the wine celebration.
Somehow, nobody fell off the bunks all night - probably because everybody had the same strategy: sleep as close as possible to the wall and don't move for 12 hours - and we all managed to get a few hours of sleep. We ate our breakfast on our beds, and stepped off the train in the morning at the Venice train station. Tcheuss Wein, and buon giorno Italia!
We spent the next two days in Venice, where we literally walked for dayssss. We walked so much in Venice. Luckily, we didn't have to walk too far to get to our hotel with our backpacks. Did I mention my backpack is the size of a small child? Literally, it's the size of a small child, and weighs probably about the same. Because it is so big, we have given it a name: Gertrude - Gertty for short. I also have to carry around my computer in another backpack, which we have deemed Hans. Mom and I must look absolutely ridiculous carrying all our stuff around from place to place. Here's just a little snapshot:
I carry Gertty like a normal backpack and Hans on the front. Mom rolls her suitcase along, and then carries a backpack as well, along with a smaller, over the shoulder bag with food and my neck pillow. As we've gone from place to place, we've also accumulated a few more things. We've had to make room for these new additions in our packs - so now we tie our tennis shoes to the outside of our backpacks. It's quite the sight, really. The two of us wading through the crowds of other tourists with our combined three backpacks, one suitcase, one bag, one neck pillow, and two pairs of shoes swinging behind us.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed Venice. Particularly, we enjoyed the canals and the shopping in Venice. There are no cars allowed anywhere on the actual islands of Venice, only canals, boats, and lots of confusing streets for walking.
We met four other people on our first day randomly (two moms and two daughters) who wanted to share a gondola ride with us. Our gondola driver was named Allesandro, and we had a great time on our small tour through the canals of Venice. We also saw St. Mark's Basilica, and toured the Doge's Palace. We sampled plenty of gelato, and ate some pasta, although we weren't too sure about everybody's ravings about Italian food until...
We arrive in Cinque Terre! Time for another food diary entry:
Food diary of the Germer fam entry #1 for Italy: The pesto lasagne is probably the most delicious thing I have tasted, maybe ever. It's made from homemade pasta, homemade pesto (Cinque Terre is famous for their pesto), and cheese. It's incredible. We ordered some the first night we were in Cinque Terre from a restaurant just down the street, and loved it so much we went back the second night to the same restaurant - at least we tried different things on the menu the second night.
Entry #2: The bruschetta is incredible as well. The one I ordered yesterday even had pesto on part of it - such a great idea!
Entry #3: Unfortunately, I don't think the gelato is that great in Italy - it's more icy than creamy, and as a diehard fan of the creamiest ice cream, I haven't been converted. Although, Mom has liked every flavor she's tried in Italy.
Entry #4: The focaccia bread here is really great as well! You can get slices from lots of little vendors on the street, almost anywhere. You can eat it plain, with cheese or any other variety of toppings, or like a pizza with sauce, cheese and whatever else you might want baked on top.
Besides the food here, Cinque Terre is really great. We did two of the four hikes - the other two are closed indefinitely, and we have enjoyed soaking up some Italian sun and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very slow, relaxed pace of life. Time just seems to pass slower here.
We leave Italy tomorrow to fly to France, where we will spend one night before Mom flies back to real life and Michelle arrives.
Grazie Italia for the delicious food and great weather, I'll see you in a week again with new traveling companions by my side!
After Germany, we took a train to Wien, and spent the next two days there. We loved Vienna! We had very hot weather, and we enjoyed lots of sightseeing, attending an opera at the famous Viennese opera house, and taste-testing many new combinations of gelato. This might be sacreligious, but I think the gelato in Vieanna was better than any gelato I've had in Italy. My best combination so far has been nutella and banana. I think in my next life, or maybe later in this life if teaching doesn't work out, I'll open up an ice cream shop and spend the rest of my life coming up with new ice cream flavors.
After two days in Vienna, we took a night train to Venice, Italy. Let me just mention that the night train was quite the experience. Maybe we were just a little shocked since we only had a vague idea of what we were in for, or maybe we just aren't used to this vagabond lifestyle. But nonetheless, we get to Vienna with plenty of time to spare. We find our train, find our car, and set out to find our bunks, and then...
We find the room, if you can even consider it a room. It's six beds (two bunks, each three beds high) with little space between bunk beds. I had the top bunk on one side, and mom had the middle bunk on the other side. We had quite an ecclectic collection of couchettemates, including one middle aged woman from Turkey who was studying computers in Austria, one younger man from Asia who spoke a little English, two American tourists trying their best to prepare themselves for their upcoming 12 hour couchette adventure (mom and I), a younger woman, and her sort of boyfriend (from what we gathered) whose bag smelled like smoke. I only know it reeked of smoke because he stored it two inches from may face for the duration of the train ride - except when he periodically got it down to whip out his wine bottle, plastic cups, extra stash of cigarettes, or hair gel for his morning after reapplication. And yes, that wasn't a typo, he did indeed bring two bottles of wine and plastic cups which he happily passed around to his maybe girlfriend, his other friend who came in our room, and the bunkmates in our couchette. Yes, that's also correct, Mom accepted his offer and shared in the wine celebration.
Somehow, nobody fell off the bunks all night - probably because everybody had the same strategy: sleep as close as possible to the wall and don't move for 12 hours - and we all managed to get a few hours of sleep. We ate our breakfast on our beds, and stepped off the train in the morning at the Venice train station. Tcheuss Wein, and buon giorno Italia!
We spent the next two days in Venice, where we literally walked for dayssss. We walked so much in Venice. Luckily, we didn't have to walk too far to get to our hotel with our backpacks. Did I mention my backpack is the size of a small child? Literally, it's the size of a small child, and weighs probably about the same. Because it is so big, we have given it a name: Gertrude - Gertty for short. I also have to carry around my computer in another backpack, which we have deemed Hans. Mom and I must look absolutely ridiculous carrying all our stuff around from place to place. Here's just a little snapshot:
I carry Gertty like a normal backpack and Hans on the front. Mom rolls her suitcase along, and then carries a backpack as well, along with a smaller, over the shoulder bag with food and my neck pillow. As we've gone from place to place, we've also accumulated a few more things. We've had to make room for these new additions in our packs - so now we tie our tennis shoes to the outside of our backpacks. It's quite the sight, really. The two of us wading through the crowds of other tourists with our combined three backpacks, one suitcase, one bag, one neck pillow, and two pairs of shoes swinging behind us.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed Venice. Particularly, we enjoyed the canals and the shopping in Venice. There are no cars allowed anywhere on the actual islands of Venice, only canals, boats, and lots of confusing streets for walking.
We met four other people on our first day randomly (two moms and two daughters) who wanted to share a gondola ride with us. Our gondola driver was named Allesandro, and we had a great time on our small tour through the canals of Venice. We also saw St. Mark's Basilica, and toured the Doge's Palace. We sampled plenty of gelato, and ate some pasta, although we weren't too sure about everybody's ravings about Italian food until...
We arrive in Cinque Terre! Time for another food diary entry:
Food diary of the Germer fam entry #1 for Italy: The pesto lasagne is probably the most delicious thing I have tasted, maybe ever. It's made from homemade pasta, homemade pesto (Cinque Terre is famous for their pesto), and cheese. It's incredible. We ordered some the first night we were in Cinque Terre from a restaurant just down the street, and loved it so much we went back the second night to the same restaurant - at least we tried different things on the menu the second night.
Entry #2: The bruschetta is incredible as well. The one I ordered yesterday even had pesto on part of it - such a great idea!
Entry #3: Unfortunately, I don't think the gelato is that great in Italy - it's more icy than creamy, and as a diehard fan of the creamiest ice cream, I haven't been converted. Although, Mom has liked every flavor she's tried in Italy.
Entry #4: The focaccia bread here is really great as well! You can get slices from lots of little vendors on the street, almost anywhere. You can eat it plain, with cheese or any other variety of toppings, or like a pizza with sauce, cheese and whatever else you might want baked on top.
Besides the food here, Cinque Terre is really great. We did two of the four hikes - the other two are closed indefinitely, and we have enjoyed soaking up some Italian sun and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very slow, relaxed pace of life. Time just seems to pass slower here.
We leave Italy tomorrow to fly to France, where we will spend one night before Mom flies back to real life and Michelle arrives.
Grazie Italia for the delicious food and great weather, I'll see you in a week again with new traveling companions by my side!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Eins, Zwei, Drei...Deutschland (and Wien)
Hallo from Europe (Germany and Austria)
I am way behind on updating everyone in the life of a backpacker and her mother as they traipse across Europe, slowly accumulating more baggage (and more pounds) from our shopping excursions and gelato tasting extravaganzas, but here's my super quick update:
We started out in Germany. Doris (Mom's cousin) and her husband Dirk picked us up at the Frankfurt airport. With the little German that Mom knows, and the pretty good English that Dirk and Doris speak, we were able to get along well. We spent four nights in Bendorf, Germany with Doris and her family. The first night, we also went for coffee and cake at Claudia and Rolf's house (Claudia is another of Mom's cousins - the sister of Doris).
The next day, Mom and I took the Rhine River cruise. Unfortunately for us, Monday was half-price for senior citizens, so we were by far the youngest and most able people on the ship. The walkers, wheel chairs, and shoes with socks style was overwhelming.Nonetheless, we enjoyed our day relaxing as we soaked up the sun and many castles and schloss' on the Rhine until....
Just one slight mishap - we missed the boat for the return trip. We spent nearly six hours riding the boat down the river, and we got off at the last stop to do a little shopping. Unfortunately for us, Germans leave early, and Mom's watch was two minutes behind the clock of the dock operator. So here we are, two lovely American tourists running, waving and yelling (in a slight panic voice) to just "stop, wait, wait, WAIT" but we didn't have a chance. We arrived at the dock just as they were sailing away. Maybe if we would have been thinking faster we could have run and leaped the space and jumped on the boat, but then maybe that's just a little wishful thinking. After another 20 minutes of running in the sun, many unwanted hot flash episodes, some foul language (not on my part, of course), slight menopausal breakdowns, sweating ridiculous amounts - we can contribute that to the sun, the hot flashes, the menopause, and the increase in stress levels - and some minor panic attacks (after trying unsuccessfully to find any taxi ANYWHERE in the entire town) we walked to the nearby train station, hopped on the train, and found our way back to our starting destination. Crisis averted. Mom reallyyyyyy loves those castles. And hot flashes. She reads too many romantic novels, I think.
The next day Rolf graciously took us (as part of his business outing) to the BUGA (a traveling flower festival in Germany). We enjoyed looking at flowers, sampling some foods, and then taking another boat trip to visit Schloss Stozenfels on the Rhine, but this time we could go inside. And this time we didn't miss the boat. We were able to tour the schloss inside and see beautiful views from the outside. We also saw the Deutsche Eiche up close and personal.
The next day we went to visit Kim and her husband in Marburg (Kim is Doris' daughter). We had a lovely day in Marburg, and I really enjoyed meeting Kim (she is a teacher as well). We came back in the evening, visited with Waltraud, and also met Dirk's mother and her friend. Then, we spent our last night with Doris and her family. Doris, if you read this, thank you very, very much for all of your hospitality and enjoyable coversation for the five days you hosted us. Dirk, thank you for all of your taxi, chef, and computer extraordinaire services. Alexander, danke for allowing us into your home. Rolf, thank you for being so generous and for taking us with your business trip to the BUGA. And thank you all for the many laughs and great conversation. We hope you will come visit us in America someday so we might return the favor.
The next day, we took the train to Rothenburg, a medieval town that is surrounded by a wall. We took the nightwatchman's tour, which we loved. Very funny. We shopped for Christmas goods, and walked the wall. The next day, we headed off to Munich, mostly just to tour Dachau.
Although neither of us were huge fans of Munich, we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience of visiting Dachau. We took a guided tour, and we learned a lot! We enjoyed the modern, educational, informational and reflective attitude of our guide Gordon and the memorials.
Yikes, seems I am not good at condensed versions of updates. I'll save Vienna, Austria for another day.
Auf Wiedersehen
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Mum Has Arrived!
My mum has finally arrived to Ireland!
After a long flight from Portland to Ireland (with many stops in between), Mom arrived in Ireland on Tuesday afternoon. We took the bus from Dublin to Galway, and then just spent the rest of Tuesday in Galway.
On Wednesday, we went to the largest of the Aran Islands called Inishmore. We took a bus from Galway to a little town on the coast, then took a very rough ferry ride over to the island. For anyone who has ever seen that show on the Discovery channel called Deadliest Catch, that's what our ferry ride reminded me of. (I have recently discovered that show on one of our 12 channels over here, and have been learning all about the risks and triumphs of Alaskan crab fishing in my spare time here. I'm convinced that is one of the most difficult jobs ever.) Of course, I'm being a tiny bit dramatic about our particular ferry ride and obviously the water we traveled over was nothing like the Bering Sea, but it was a pretty rough ride over.
Nonetheless, we arrived on Inishmore, and hopped in a van tour with a lovely local guide named Neal. He shuttled us around the island for half the day, telling us interesting facts and quite a few jokes along the way. While on the island, we went to the Cliffs, hung off the side, and looked below. For everybody that Mom has recommended the movie Leap Year to, these cliffs are the ones in the movie! Yes, this was a full circle moment in case anyone was wondering.
After surviving our ferry ride back to the big island, we spent Wednesday night in Galway again before heading off to Dingle. We spent the last two nights sampling the local pubs and music in Dingle, and biking the Dingle peninsula. We have had pretty bad, very wet and windy weather since she got here, but luckily for the time we were biking out around the peninsula we lucked out and it stayed dry. The wind, however, was in full force, which is why we look ridiculous in our hoods and coats in the pictures.
That's about it for Ireland. Tomorrow we are off to Germany. Here's a few pictures from Inishmore and Dingle...
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| Aran Islands |
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| Yes, we have seen cows before. But still... |
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| Dingle - Look Dad, the self-timer works. Our hoods make us look ridiculous, but it was so windy! |
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