Paris

December 30^th 2011

We arrived in Paris on the overnight train from Barcelona around 8:30 am and began trying to figure out the metro system and how to get to our hotel. Paris is huge and its system is too. It was a little overwhelming at first but we got to the hotel alright and left our stuff there as we went out to explore. We went to Notre Dame which was cool then we got back on the metro and headed to the Louver. The line was very long so we decided to go back later. We walked from there to the Champs Elissies which is a famous road where they end the tour de France. From there we walked to the Eiffel tower and enjoyed that for a bit. As we were walking under it I heard someone calling my name and turned around to see Sasha Thompson! We made plans with her and her friend to meet up the next night for New Years Eve and Jeremy and I left to find food and check into the hotel. We had a delicious dinner and went to the grocery store and liquor store to get things for NYE. We went back to the hotel from there (we had a private room here) and did laundry until midnight and went to sleep!

New Years Eve Paris

Woke up late and got ready. We planned to go to the catacombs but the line was too long. We spend 2-3 hours looking for tiffany + co to get will cuff links. When we finally found it they had closed 15 minutes before we arrived. We went back to the hotel to change and get ready for NYE. We had made plans to meet Sasha and Tara at a metro stop at 9. We got there early and waited and waited. At 9:45 we decided to leave. When we were walking into the metro we saw Sasha. They had gotten lost. We made our way from there to the Eiffel tower. Some friends of Sasha and Tara met up with us and we had fun under the tower popping bottles and talking. We could tell from our watches it was getting close to midnight but didn’t know exactly what time it was. But Sasha’s friend Bob yelled to our whole group (which had gotten bigger and bigger) “hey I don’t see an official count down… do you guys want to start our own?” so we did. We counted down from 10 and exactly when we got to 1 the Eiffel tower began sparkling. It was amazing. Jeremy got a video. It was perfect. It was my favorite moment of the trip. Quite a while after midnight we went to get food and the plan was to catch a cab to a club. But we could not find a cab. So we decided to take the metro. Which was a terrible idea. It was free for NYE and it was insane. We got in a physical altercation with a terrible French man and left the metro. We tried for over 30 minutes to find a cab with no luck. Finally we found a really shady dude who tried to take us. But had no idea what he was doing. We made it back to our hotel after over an hour. Sasha and tara called a cab from there. Even with the terrible ending it was a wonderful night.

January 1^st 2012

I set my alarm for 7 because we had to check out at 9. Apparently I turned it off in my sleep. But Jeremy had a alarm set for 8:40 and that woke us up. After we checked out we headed to the louver in hopes of doing that before our 5:10 flight to Zurich but they were closed. We ate breakfast at a wonderful café and had the best omlets ever. From there we went to some shops and finished our Paris souvenir shopping and headed for hotel Deville. It was cool. Then we went back to the hotel and gathered our things to go to the airport for our flight to Zurich. 

Barcelona

December 28^th 2011

Woke up around 9 and went straight to the sagrada la familia by metro. It was amazing. So ornate and HUGE. Such detail. Just amazing. We marveled at it for a bit and decided to come back to it later because the line to get in was quite long. We went from there to park Guell which was quite a hike. It was also a Gaudi work and was amazing as well. We walked to the top and took pictures then walked to the buildings at the bottom. I fell in love with Gaudi’s work. From there we went to one of Gaudi’s casa buildings then back to the segrada familia. We waited in line for 30 minutes or so and bought audio guides and tickets. I am glad we did the audio guide. We learned so much about the building and Gaudi. It was incredible how he did it, so precise and purposeful. We walked through for a long while and then explored the museum. After we were finished we went across the street and sat on a park bench to watch the sun set behind the segrada familia. It was beautiful. From there we took the metro to the water to find somewhere to eat. Our feet were so tired from all the walking that we settled for a place that was too expensive and decent. I had my first sangria. It was lovely. We went back to our hostel and changed to go out for dinks. We could only find irish pubs. First I had a jameson. It was serious. Then I switched to sangrias. We talked for a bit before going back to the hostel for sleeps.

December 29^th 2011

We woke up and packed and checked out and then headed out for Gaudi’s casa ballo it was awesome. His architecture is just fascinating. Then we went to the Picasso museum. From there we decided to go to the water again. We walked along the water on the beach collecting shells for a while. There was no one out there it was bizarre. We sat on a pier and watched the sun go down. It was gorgeous. We had a wonderful time. From there we went to a few souvenir shops and got a few things. Then we went back to the hostel to get our things ready to go. We went to the train station early to board our 8pm overnight train to Paris!

Christmas in Rome

Christmas eve in Rome

We took a train to Rome from Bologna where I picked Jeremy (my brother) up from the airport. I was very excited to see him and we were ecstatic about our trip. When we arrived in Rome we first found our hostel and then got right to exploring. We set out looking for the Trevi fountain and from there walked around and stumbled upon the Roman Forum and the collosseum which was lit up and had a Christmas tree outside. It was amazing. We had a wonderful night exploring Rome. One of my favorite nights of the trip. After we arrived back at the hostel we went to the bar and had some drinks and watched everyone. At 12 the bartender gave free shots for Christmas.

Christmas in Rome

We woke up early and headed for the coliseum since it was free for Christmas (notmally 12 euro) After that we found out the metro closed for Christmas. So we waked and walked. We finally sat down exhausted and asked for directions. We found out we were right around the corner from our hostel. We found a lovely little place for dinner and it was delicious. Wonderful Christmas!

December 26^th 2011

We woke up and headed for the Vatican. Very interesting. May or may not have heard the pope. We walked around st. peters and then we went to the Spanish steps. We got to the top right at sunset and had gelato up there. It was beautiful. Perfect.

Travel Journal

Just a few pages of my travel journal. Every new city that i go to gets a page. The idea is that in 50 years when i can't remember a thing about the best years of my life i will be able to crack open this bad boy and smile as i read about my adventures around the world. It is also a fun creative outlet. So far everything i have posted on this blog has come (almost) word for word from my entries in this journal. Now that i have an audience other than my future self i will try to direct my writing in a more interesting direction. Enjoy :)

Ireland

Ireland

November 25^th 2011

Woke up around 5 am to catch my Giant’s Causeway tour bus. We drove along the coast on what is apparently one of the best coastal drives in the world. It was lovely. I had no idea that northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland were different. But they are totally separated and northern Ireland belongs to the UK. When king hentry the 8^th invented the protestant religion the north sided with England and the south decided to stay catholic despite much turmoil. It is still bad between the two religions there. Especially in Belfast. Our first stop on the tour was the carrick a rede rope bridge. This tiny, terrifying rope bridge in the middle of nowhere. They closed the bridge due to wind and hail right after I crossed. Then I had to walk about 15 minutes to the bus in the hail and wind. It hurt so bad. I thought I was bleeding. This guy I met on the bus named jim helped me. After the rope bridge we went to the Giant’s Causeway. We had lunch there. Not as good as the seafood chowder in doolin. I walked with jim to the giants causeway. It was amazing. I was freezing considering that my clothes were totally soaked from the hail. And the wind was harsh. But the causeway was incredible. We left there and went by dunluce castle which is apparently the inspiration for c.s lewis’s chronicals of Narnia castle. Then we went into Belfast for about an hour. Walked around a Christmas market and to the river where the titanic was built. Then we headed back. I got in around 8:30 and went right to sleep. I figured I would go out the next night. But forgot that I had to be at the airport at 5 am for my flight.

November 26^th 2011

Woke up around 9 and got breakfast. Walked around shopping and trying to find h&m for a long time. Went back to the hostel for lunch and went back out to h& m and got some sweaters. I went to the hostel and got ready to go out. I went to a little pub and had some drinks with a sweet older couple.  Then decided to go to jim’s comedy night thing at the banker’s pub. It was pretty funny. After that I got some food with jim and started walking back. On my way in I saw a cool bar and noticed it was 1:30 and I had to wake up at 3 so I might as well stay out. So I did. I went back to the hostel and packed at 3 and headed to the airport. And made it back home!