Upon Return...

Well, I've been home for over 10 days now. Adjusting back to life in America wasn't nearly as hard as I predicted. I've gone back to old habits I often wish I was able to leave behind (like my texting addiction). My body has finally started to function according to the American clock, I now wake up between 10 and 11, instead of between 7 and 8 (which is brutally early for me...). I've also started to work on my scrapbook for the semester, which I'm doing through Shutterfly. I figure it'll cost me more time and money to actually print out the pictures and do it myself than to do it all on Shutterfly.

Anyways, I've wanted to cap off my trip for a while now. There were two cities left on my tour that I haven't yet blogged about. We ended up staying in Budapest for 4 days instead of two (skipping Vienna). After that, we headed to Prague. After the six hour trek to Prague, we went straight out to dinner and met up with some friends that were studying abroad there. It was nice to have (a) some familiar faces and (b) built in tour guides who were able to show us around the Czech night life. Prague is a beautiful city, both by day and by night.

During the daytime while we were there, we toured around, went paddle-boating, walked up the hill to the castle and visited the Torture Museum, among other things. On Saturday night, our friend Emily flew in from the States and met us in Prague. On Sunday, Pete took off to head back to the States. It was fun to get a new traveler with us, but sad to send Pete off! 

On Monday, we all had to get up early and catch a train to Munich. The train ride was 6 hours, but it was smooth ride. We got to the train station in time, got some breakfast, caught the train, took a nap, and woke up in Germany. The first thing we did (after checking into our hostel) was go to the Hofbrauhaus. After that, we headed back to the hostel. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, there was a bar at the hostel, so we were able to hang out there for the rest of the night. Ironically, we ran into an old friend of ours. He happened to work at the bar. More ironically, we thought he was in Australia (not Germany). It worked out well though, and was very fun to see him.

The next day, we toured the city of Munich and then headed to Nymphembourg Palace to do some more touring there. After a nice traditional German dinner, we went out for a bit, then headed back to the hostel. The next morning, I headed out. 

All in all, my European experience was just about the most fun I could have, and the best experience I could wish for. I am so glad that I was able to experience Europe on my own and with my friends. In fact, I want to go back :).

Buda and Pest

We've recently moved on to the next city on our list: Budapest. And so far, it's been absolutely amazing. In fact, we've enjoyed it so much, were staying an extra day, so instead of heading to Vienna tonight, were heading there tomorrow. I think it also has to do with the fact that our hostel is absolutely amazing. For anyone ever traveling to Budapest, I recommend staying at The Loft. It's great.

Anyways, to get on to my trip...we didn't arrive in Budapest until late evening. We took a train from Split to Zagreb, had a couple of hours to wander aimlessly around and eat, then hoped on another train from Zagreb to Budapest. The total length of the trip was about 12 hours. LONG. TIME. But it was fun, we made the best of it!

Upon arrival in Budapest we went straight to our hostel, checked in, and a couple of hours later, were in bed. We woke up the next morning and figured out what to do all day. Our first adventure was to walk through the downtown area on the Pest side. We saw some monuments, walked through the largest pedestrian street in the city and then headed to the Baths. They were so great. I don't think I have ever been more relaxed. We sat in the outside bath for quite some time. The great thing about the baths (which are like public pools) is that they're thermally heated. So, even though the outside air was slightly chilly (a brisk 68 degrees), the water was warm enough for us to sit in all day. It was wonderful.

Afterwards, we headed down the shopping street. I bought a couple items of clothing, the best being a dress that I'm planning on wearing to Caroline's college graduation. It's a gorgeous yellow dress, and I'm obsessed with it. Don't worry though...that's not my favorite part of this trip. Today, were heading to the Buda side of the city to see the old castle and hike up to the top. It should be a big day...!

Let the good times roll...

So my travels started hectically. After landing in Pisa, I had to catch a train to Florence and another from Florence to Perugia. It was worth it. Once I got to Florence, I realized I had 2 full hours before my next train. I was able to walk around and take some great pictures (yes, suitcase in hand). I first walked out of the train station not knowing where I was, how far things were or where to even go to see things. Luckily for me, I stumbled upon a tourist information center. I got a map and short directions to the Duomo. It was only about a 5 minute walk from the train station, so I headed over. Looking at the map once again, I realized that the Uffizi Gallery was close by, and from there, the Ponte Vecchio. Hit up all three in less than an hour and a half. I´ve got skills.

After catching my train to Perugia, I met Rachael at the train station and we took the mini metro to her apartment. The mini metro was hilarious. It looks like a small gondola only on tracks instead of swinging through the air. I would expect something like this in Disney World, not in a small town in Italy! Regardless, it was only a couple of minutes to her apartment where I was staying. She. Lives. In. Luxury. Lucky, ugh.

The first night, we went out to dinner with a couple of her friends and the headed out on the town. It was the second to last night of their program, so it was really fun. I got to meet a lot of the people that she hung out with during her time in Italy. I was also able to meet up with Leah, a friend of mine from elementary school who I haven´t seen in quite some time. It was fun!

The next day, Pete came. I had a wonderful pizza lunch and we went to a reception later that day. It was at a brewery in Perugia, and very cool. It had a real authentic atmosphere. So Italian :). The next day, the three of us (me, Rachael and Pete) hoped on a train to Rome and three and a half hours later, were checked into our hostel and gearing up to see the town. We went to the Colloseum, Campo dei Fiori, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. It was some great siteseeing in just a couple of hours!

Early the next morning, Rachael and I got up to go to the airport. We had to wake up and lug all of her luggage to the airport. Yes, by all of her luggage I mean ALL of it. She had to store her baggage at the airport for the period of time during which we were traveling. Luckily, it wasn´t too hard to get it there and stored, and it didn´t take that long, either. However, the biggest even was trying to get the bags off the train. Picture this: two American girls sitting on the train with four HUGE bags and purses. We figured it would be easier if we just let everyone else in our car out before us. It was a good idea, except for this: I jumped off the train as I was going to pull bags to the ground after Rachael handed them to me. I get off the train, hear an interesting noise and turn around. The doors closed. Rachael is stuck on the train with our bags. Small panic. We try to open the doors. Nothing happens. We´re pulling and pushing the doors with everything we´ve got, trying to muster up the strength to open them. No such luck. For about 3 minutes, this continues. We go down the line of cars, trying to see if any of them are open. Panic sets in. We are both freaking out and have no clue what´s going on or what to do about it. A minute later, Rachael starts laughing. The doors were open on the other side. Cool. We just looked like fools and all we really needed to do was try the other side. Oh well, you live and you learn!


The flight to Split was uneventful. We got off in paradise and have been here ever since. Our hostel is AMAZING. We´ve met some really cool, interesting people here but the best part is that the three of us have our very own apartment, which is unnattached from the hostel. Baller.

The weather has been beautiful, the people are wonderful, the beach is nice and relaxing. We´ve just been hanging out and relaxing. It´s perfect, just what I need to start off a trip! I´ll be sad to go tomorrow, but it isn´t all bad...I´m headed to Budapest. As for now, we´re going to Fife, a restaurant recommended to us with the BEST CROATIAN FOOD. This will be our third time there...goodness.

Au Revoir, Bruxelles!

It´s been a while since I last updated my blog. In the past week or so (April 24th, to be exact), I ended my program in Belgium. The 24th was a Thursday, and my coworkers at The Bulletin got a cake for the end of the day to celebrate my time there (hopefully not to celebrate the fact that I was leaving...). It was the perfect departure, and I couldn´t have asked for more.

That night, Gareth threw a dinner party for all of us Brussels kids. It was nice wrap-up for the program. He made us a huge Morrocan style meal, with sausages, couscous, delicious food dips, etc. It was GREAT. It was also really nice for all of us kids to get together one last time before we all started jet setting around Europe, or back to America. I thought there was a large chance I was going to cry. I didn´t. Way to go, me!

The next morning, I woke up around nine-thirty to start packing. I had to make sure everything in my room was a least starting to get organized before I met up with my Mom and sister, Martha, when they came in. I was so excited, I buzzed around my room in a frenzy trying to get everything packed. It didn´t work too well, but I at least got a start on it.

Once Mom and Marth were in, checking into their hotel, and a little bit settled, I headed over to their hotel (where I was staying as well). They stayed at Le Dixseptieme Hotel right near Gare Centrale and the Grand Place. I would recommend it to anyone heading to Brussels! It was absolutely beautiful. That day, we stuck around Brussels, doing the Atomium and Mini Europe. It was really fun, and I couldn´t have been happier to do it with Mom and Marth. It felt nice to have family, once again. I also took them to Mamma Roma, my favorite pizza place in Brussels. It was so very satisfying, but sad to part with it for the last time. Oh Mamma Roma, if only you had branches in the States! For dinner, we headed to St. Gery and had some Thai food. YUM.

Over their stay in Brussels, we went to Bruges and Antwerp. Luckily for us, on the day we went to Bruges, the weather was beautiful and we were able to catch a canal cruise, definitely one of my personal Bruges favorites. It was so nice to see everything that I hadn´t before, and to learn a little bit more about the city itself. For lunch, I had moules soupe (my last taste of mussels)...it was bitter sweet. That evening, we met up with family friends, the Browns, who were in Brussels picking Sara up. We went to an Italian restaurant called Bocconi. It was SO good. I haven´t had a meal like that in a while!

When we were in Antwerp, we were no so lucky on the weather (it rained), but we were there on Heritage Day, so all the museums were free. We were also there on a day of a huge marathon...that was... interesting, as well.

The last day of their visit, the three of us headed to the Grand Place in the morning to meet up with our bike tour tour guide. After a few minutes, we headed out on our bikes and, let me tell you, it´s not as easy as I remember. That phrase, get back on the bike...yeah, I´m coming up with a new one. The bike tour was great, we went all over Brussels, through the EU areas, Louise, Les Marolles, and we stopped for lunch at Maison Antoine. Frites and beer don´t exactly sound like what you´d ordinarily eat on a bike tour...but it works.

For my last dinner in Brussels, I had made a reservation at Belga Queen. The atmosphere was very cool and the food was, once again, very, very good. I had salmon and vegetables, and I wish I could eat it everyday, it was THAT good.

It was sad to leave the next day, though I had to to start my next adventure. Mom and I were able to get up and get breakfast, which was the best breakfast I´ll probably have during the remainder of my time here in Europe. Oh well, I´m a college student traveling, how bad can it be, right? Anyways, at 8 am I parted from the two of them and headed to Charleroi to catch my plane to Italy! And so...the adventure begins!