WE MADE IT HOME!
Kelsey and I made it home safely on Oct. 22nd and have been adjusting back to real life and desperately missing Europe!
We didn't get a chance to post much about our two weeks in Greece, mostly because we didn't have much internet access and partly because we were having so much fun! Greece is AMAZING! Exactly what you see in pictures: White buildings, blue roofs and surrounded by water! So beautiful!
We caught our flight from Rome to Athens (not without dumping a ton of liquids and sleeping in the airport) and took a bus from the Athens airport to the port town of Piraeus. We had some GREAT fish and chips by the water in Piraeus and left for the Port early the next morning. We took the Blue Star Ferry, Naxos to Paros Island, part of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. Upon arrival, we were met by Rafael, the son of the owner of our hotel! He was SO cute, nice and VERY helpful!
We spent our time in Paros enjoying the beautiful scenery, the warm sun and the sandy beach. We ate lots of traditional (and delicious) Greek food including souvlaki, tzatziki, fried zucchini and, of course, GYROS! All in all, our trip to Paros was very serene and relaxing. We were ready to move on and see what Santorini had to offer.
Kelsey and I were both looking forward to Santorini the whole trip and boy did it not disappoint! Santorini is AMAZING! Beautiful rolling hills, beautiful houses and a breathtaking view! Due to the inability to rent scooters (rainy day and no scooter license :-/), we decided to rent a car and discover all the island had to offer. We saw the Black Sand beach of Kamari, the red rocks in Akrotiri and the 360 degree view of Santorini from the top of the mountain of Prophet Elias.
We met more amazing people, ate more delicious food, and spent even more time relaxing! Gyros became our food of choice in Santorini for three reasons; they were easy, delicious and CHEAP (2 Euro each!). We seriously ate at least one a day, usually two!
Leaving Santorini became difficult and even at sometimes, impossible. Strikes and protests continue to occur weekly in Greece, halting ferries, airlines and trash pickup everywhere. We were literally stranded on an island with nothing to do but wait (given, there are definitely worse places to be stranded! :-)) We were scheduled to leave on a Tuesday and didn't end up leaving until Thursday, catching a ferry from Santorini to Athens, sleeping in the Athens airport, and catching a new flight from Athens to Frankfurt, Germany (with a brief layover in HUNGARY!). In the end, we were able to catch our international flight back to the US on Saturday, but not before visiting 5 different countries in 48 hours. Needless to say, we were exhausted and relieved to be home, safe and sound.
Kelsey's parents, Jon and Lisa, met us at the airport with lots of smiles and hugs! It was SO nice to see some familiar faces we both love so much! The last 2.5 weeks have been spent adjusting back to life in the real world, catching up with our families, celebrating birthdays, going back to work, and talking about planning our next trip! :-) Jamie, Kelsey and I were able to get together for dinner this week, exchange pictures and reminisce about all our AMAZING memories! It is hard to believe that the trip we have been planning for so long has come and gone but I am so thankful to Kelsey and Jamie for sharing in this experience with me: I cannot think of two people I would have rather shared it with!
Kelsey and Jamie, I love you both so much and will forever cherish the moments we spent, laughing, crying, frustrated, overjoyed, scared, and amazed! You two are the epitome of what it means to be best friends and I cant wait to see where life takes us next! :-)
Thank you to all of those who shared in our successes and failures and were praying for our safety. We had the time of our lives, some of which we owe to YOU!
Until next time, Ciao Bella!
Emily
Friday, November 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Photo Update!! (We found a computer with a USB port, yeah buddy!)
Beautiful clear water along the shores of Monterosso. We took the ferry from Monterosso after a play day at the beach (we rented a paddle boat!) back to Vernazza.
Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy.
In our adorable room we rented out from a sweet Vernazza local, Enrica.
A view of the Duomo from Michelangelo Plaza in Florence
A day trip outside Florence to the little town of Fiesole.
Jamie and Emily on the Rialto Bridge in Venice
Piazza San Marco, Venice
Jamie and our Italian roommates in Munich trying to communicate via Rick Steves Italian phrase book!
Englischer Garten, Munich Germany
Em and I at the Colosseum.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Dachau: October 8, 2011
Greetings from Deutschland! Itś a chilly 42 degrees here, which feels shockingly cold compared to the weather we grew accustomed to while adventuring across Italy last week. We stepped off our overnight train yesterday morning at the Hauptbahnhof train station in Munich and we had a breif "Toto, weŕe not in Kansas anymore" (and by Kansas I mean Italy) moment as we layered on the few cool weather clothes and jackets we packed. Luckily we all had our rain coats, so we dug them out of the very bottom of our packs and hit the streets of Munich!
We traveled about 25 minutes northwest from Munich to the town of Dachau today for a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. Opened in 1933 shortly after Adolf Hitler came to power, Dachau was the first concentration camp in occupied Europe, and served as the model for subequent camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Nearly 32,000 people were murdered at Dachau. The weather was quite symbolic as cold wind burned our noses and ears and whipped through our hair. We toured the entire camp, and walked through the bunkers and gas chambers. It was sobering, educational and uncomfortable all at the same time. An eery stillness filled the gas chambers as we walked through them. For me personally, phyiscally being on the property put all the things I have learned about the Holocaust into perspective. I looked down at my feet as we walked across the massive open square where daily roll calls were made, and I kept thinking of who had been standing where I was 73 years ago... what was their name, what happened to them, what must they have been feeling on a miserably cold day like this in 1938?
Being face to face with such autrocity, albeit some 70 years later, was surreal. Having spent the last three weeks traveling to beautiful places, my priviledged position in this world was put in perspective. Itś not easy living out of a backpack and sleeping in a different bed each night, and yes, it is annoying to pay to use public bathrooms, and have random roommates who snore, but standing infront of the watch towers at Dachau suddenly opened my eyes to where I am, both physically and historically in the world. I have learned that traveling makes you feel very, very small in the world. In the grand scheme of things, my humble and simple life in sweet little Bellingham, Washington is not the epicenter of the world, though it feels that way sometimes. Our lives at home become trivial as you watch people walk down the sidewalks in cities like Paris, Florence and Munich, and you think about what their lives are like in comparision to your own. My existance in the world is tiny. I felt this way as I stood infront of the massive "maintenance" building at Dachau where prisioners were registered, their heads shaved, their rights and identities dissolved.
Touring Dachau made us feel blessed. There have been several times along our journey where we feel blessed, or lucky. Those emotions have generally been stirred by the amazing people we have met, or when we looked out across the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, or when we tasted really delicious, and buttery pastries in Paris. We are lucky to travel, we are lucky to see the world, we are lucky to be here, we are lucky to have each other. You cannot help but feel a great deal of sympathy and compassion, and for me personally, remorse, when you think about the victims of the Holocaust. I cannot fathom what life must have been like. My brain does not process that degree of suffering. And, for that reason I feel blessed. Our tour guide was adamant in communicating that Dachau victims do not want us to feel sorry for them, though it seems impossible not to. However, the other side to that coin is that we are also blessed to take part in and experience the educational component of such an evil period in history. There are lessons to be learned and we were lucky enough to stand face to face with such a lesson today.
On a more positive note, we are planning to snuggle up at the hostel tonight with big mugs of hot chocolate. The cold weather is actually quite enjoyable through the windows of our room :) It is great to have a change of pace. Jamie departs tomorrow morning so we are looking forward to a quiet night just the three of us, reminicing about all the great times we have had over the past three weeks. Lots of laughs, and so many memories in such a short period of time. This has been a really unique and incredibly lovely journey so far, and today was just another page in our book of experiences.
Sending love home to the states! Emily and I are off to Rome tomorrow night, so we will keep you posted on our adventures. Love, Kels
We traveled about 25 minutes northwest from Munich to the town of Dachau today for a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. Opened in 1933 shortly after Adolf Hitler came to power, Dachau was the first concentration camp in occupied Europe, and served as the model for subequent camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Nearly 32,000 people were murdered at Dachau. The weather was quite symbolic as cold wind burned our noses and ears and whipped through our hair. We toured the entire camp, and walked through the bunkers and gas chambers. It was sobering, educational and uncomfortable all at the same time. An eery stillness filled the gas chambers as we walked through them. For me personally, phyiscally being on the property put all the things I have learned about the Holocaust into perspective. I looked down at my feet as we walked across the massive open square where daily roll calls were made, and I kept thinking of who had been standing where I was 73 years ago... what was their name, what happened to them, what must they have been feeling on a miserably cold day like this in 1938?
Being face to face with such autrocity, albeit some 70 years later, was surreal. Having spent the last three weeks traveling to beautiful places, my priviledged position in this world was put in perspective. Itś not easy living out of a backpack and sleeping in a different bed each night, and yes, it is annoying to pay to use public bathrooms, and have random roommates who snore, but standing infront of the watch towers at Dachau suddenly opened my eyes to where I am, both physically and historically in the world. I have learned that traveling makes you feel very, very small in the world. In the grand scheme of things, my humble and simple life in sweet little Bellingham, Washington is not the epicenter of the world, though it feels that way sometimes. Our lives at home become trivial as you watch people walk down the sidewalks in cities like Paris, Florence and Munich, and you think about what their lives are like in comparision to your own. My existance in the world is tiny. I felt this way as I stood infront of the massive "maintenance" building at Dachau where prisioners were registered, their heads shaved, their rights and identities dissolved.
Touring Dachau made us feel blessed. There have been several times along our journey where we feel blessed, or lucky. Those emotions have generally been stirred by the amazing people we have met, or when we looked out across the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, or when we tasted really delicious, and buttery pastries in Paris. We are lucky to travel, we are lucky to see the world, we are lucky to be here, we are lucky to have each other. You cannot help but feel a great deal of sympathy and compassion, and for me personally, remorse, when you think about the victims of the Holocaust. I cannot fathom what life must have been like. My brain does not process that degree of suffering. And, for that reason I feel blessed. Our tour guide was adamant in communicating that Dachau victims do not want us to feel sorry for them, though it seems impossible not to. However, the other side to that coin is that we are also blessed to take part in and experience the educational component of such an evil period in history. There are lessons to be learned and we were lucky enough to stand face to face with such a lesson today.
On a more positive note, we are planning to snuggle up at the hostel tonight with big mugs of hot chocolate. The cold weather is actually quite enjoyable through the windows of our room :) It is great to have a change of pace. Jamie departs tomorrow morning so we are looking forward to a quiet night just the three of us, reminicing about all the great times we have had over the past three weeks. Lots of laughs, and so many memories in such a short period of time. This has been a really unique and incredibly lovely journey so far, and today was just another page in our book of experiences.
Sending love home to the states! Emily and I are off to Rome tomorrow night, so we will keep you posted on our adventures. Love, Kels
Friday, October 7, 2011
Florence and Venice in a Nutshell
We have spent this week traveling around Italy with stops first in Florence and then Venice. This week has gone by so fast and we are preparing to lose one of our teammates (Jamie) on Sunday! :-( This meant we had to make the most of the time we had left!
We have been so lucky in Italy (and really throughout our trip) to catch some great weather! It has been mid 70's to mid 80's making for a couple hot days of walking around! Florence was no different! Forcast called for 87 and 89 the two days we were there! Stay hydrated!!
We spent Saturday through Monday making our way through Florence and soaking up as much culture as possible! Having just come from a small town like Vernazza, it was difficult to be thrown back into a big city with lots of cars, sirens and zooming mopeds! We spent the first day readjusting, getting settled into our hostel and relaxing a bit! We got up Sunday morning and we were ready to see the city!
We quickly realized that Florence is a church town and Sunday is the busiest day of the week! So many people out and about attending mass or admiring the beautiful arcitecture! We spent the day taking pictures, eating gelato, finding the jersey shore house/workplace and getting lost in the big city! We spent the night time at a restraunt/bar listening to a great live band and trying to catch a little football (Kelsey and Jamie were sweet enough to make the long trek!)
On Monday, we decided to take one of the double decker bus tours! We had walked around the day before but were interested in knowing more about the history and background of the city! The bus was great and we all enjoyed getting to see the city from a different angle! We all enjoyed Florence but we were felt two days was plenty and we were ready to move onto Venice!
We arrived in Venice on Tuesday afternoon and took the 30 minute walk to our hostel through the city! Venice is AMAZING! We stayed close to the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal in a hostel named Sweet Dreams! We arrived, dropped off our packs and headed out to do some shopping and wander around! We bought some great gifts and took some amazing pictures! We had dinner and decided to call it an early night!
On Wednesday we decided to visit San Marco Square and wander around the city of Venice! We ended up walking down side streets and residential areas filled with hanging laundry and the sounds of the locals. It was so fun to get out of the hussle and bussle of the tourist areas and wander through the streets, no idea where we would end up! We spent the night having dinner and wandering some more with one of the girls from our hostel. We left Venice on Thursday and made our way to Germany where we are now! It is very cold today and we spent the day bundled up and wandering around! We will see what tomorrow brings! :-)
Liebe,
K.J.E.
We have been so lucky in Italy (and really throughout our trip) to catch some great weather! It has been mid 70's to mid 80's making for a couple hot days of walking around! Florence was no different! Forcast called for 87 and 89 the two days we were there! Stay hydrated!!
We spent Saturday through Monday making our way through Florence and soaking up as much culture as possible! Having just come from a small town like Vernazza, it was difficult to be thrown back into a big city with lots of cars, sirens and zooming mopeds! We spent the first day readjusting, getting settled into our hostel and relaxing a bit! We got up Sunday morning and we were ready to see the city!
We quickly realized that Florence is a church town and Sunday is the busiest day of the week! So many people out and about attending mass or admiring the beautiful arcitecture! We spent the day taking pictures, eating gelato, finding the jersey shore house/workplace and getting lost in the big city! We spent the night time at a restraunt/bar listening to a great live band and trying to catch a little football (Kelsey and Jamie were sweet enough to make the long trek!)
On Monday, we decided to take one of the double decker bus tours! We had walked around the day before but were interested in knowing more about the history and background of the city! The bus was great and we all enjoyed getting to see the city from a different angle! We all enjoyed Florence but we were felt two days was plenty and we were ready to move onto Venice!
We arrived in Venice on Tuesday afternoon and took the 30 minute walk to our hostel through the city! Venice is AMAZING! We stayed close to the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal in a hostel named Sweet Dreams! We arrived, dropped off our packs and headed out to do some shopping and wander around! We bought some great gifts and took some amazing pictures! We had dinner and decided to call it an early night!
On Wednesday we decided to visit San Marco Square and wander around the city of Venice! We ended up walking down side streets and residential areas filled with hanging laundry and the sounds of the locals. It was so fun to get out of the hussle and bussle of the tourist areas and wander through the streets, no idea where we would end up! We spent the night having dinner and wandering some more with one of the girls from our hostel. We left Venice on Thursday and made our way to Germany where we are now! It is very cold today and we spent the day bundled up and wandering around! We will see what tomorrow brings! :-)
Liebe,
K.J.E.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Pictures From Vernazza
We met two fabulous women from the Seattle area while we were in Vernazza. They were so sweet to us. It was very comforting to feel like we had two Moms looking after us while in Cinque Terre. WE MISS YOU LINDA AND CHRIS!! No monkey business!
Monday, October 3, 2011
"Nice place" -Antonio
Before we left the states, we had every hostel booked and had paid deposits at each destination. We were expecting to have a couple bumps in the road since none of us had traveled in Europe previously. We knew the ball would drop eventually we just didn't know when... Until we got to Riomaggoire, Italy.
After a very long travel day, we arrived in Riomaggoire and headed to our hostel (Mar Mar) with cash and confirmation papers in hand. We checked in and paid the remaining balance, and Tony (the owner) showed us up to our room.
Everything seemed fine as he showed us around, until Tony introduced us to one of our hostel room mates (who also lives there) Oliver and informed us that one of us would be sleeping in the spare bed in Oliver's room-that was separate from the main sleeping room with multiple beds.
We all looked at each other in disbelief and sat down on one of the empty beds in the main room to have a pow-wow. Kelsey overheard one of the other guests out on the balcony talking to Oliver about how she had bites on her legs that itched. The word bed bugs all came to our minds instantaneously. Em noticed that she was starting to get some bites. We all realized pretty quickly that we didn't know how we would make it through one night (let alone the 4 nights we just paid for).
The hostel office was about to close for the night at 5pm...and our bed bug discovery was made at 4:45. With no Internet, no map of the towns (Cinque Terre is made up of 5 small coastal towns) and only 2 hours of daylight left, we unanimously decided to get the heck outta there in hopes we could find somewhere to sleep for at least the night. We thought we might have more luck finding a camere(room) in a different town so we left Riomaggiore without so much as a good bye... Went to the train station (which had breathtaking views) and bought a one way ticket to Vernazza (another one if the 5 towns). Kelsey went to take out her camera to take a picture of the great view and realized it was no where to be found. She frantically ran (with em and I speed walking behind her-oh and all our packs on) back into town in hopes it would be back at the bed bug hostel or the bar we had just bought bottled water at.
Luckily Kels found it at the hostel and she was so relieved as we headed on the train to Vernazza in hopes of a place to sleep (but not without getting some gelato to sooth our little hearts).
Vernazza is so small that buildings advertise rooms for rent and you ring a persons bell and ask if they have any space. We were fortunate enough to come across Enrica who was kind enough to rent us out one of her available rooms right in the heart of town.
We ended up finding rooms in vernazza for all 4 nights at a couple different places. Canceling Mar Mar ended up being one of the best decisions of this trip.
Cinque terre is one of the most beautiful places we have seen... We've spent our days sunning on the rocks in the harbor, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea and making friends. We met the most delightful ladies from the Bellevue area. They were lifelong friends on vacation with their husbands. They both have kids our age and it was really comforting to have two moms in Vernazza!
We also befriended Antonio, a lifelong Vernazza resident, one evening after dinner in the plaza. Antonio offered to take us on his boat the next day at 3pm, and sure enough the next afternoon at 3:00 sharp there was sweet little Antonio in the harbor getting his boat ready. He took us for a tour of the other towns and we threw the anchor in the water near Corniglia and jumped into the beautiful blue water. We all agreed that boating with Antonio was a once in a lifetime experience as we watched each hilltop town pass and listened to Antonio tell us stories about living in Cinque Terre. It was an unbelievable experience.
Vernazza is an adorable, sleepy little Italian town. We befriended many of the locals and after about a day everyone knew us by name and would wave across the plaza. We are already talking about booking a trip there in the future!
Ciao!
After a very long travel day, we arrived in Riomaggoire and headed to our hostel (Mar Mar) with cash and confirmation papers in hand. We checked in and paid the remaining balance, and Tony (the owner) showed us up to our room.
Everything seemed fine as he showed us around, until Tony introduced us to one of our hostel room mates (who also lives there) Oliver and informed us that one of us would be sleeping in the spare bed in Oliver's room-that was separate from the main sleeping room with multiple beds.
We all looked at each other in disbelief and sat down on one of the empty beds in the main room to have a pow-wow. Kelsey overheard one of the other guests out on the balcony talking to Oliver about how she had bites on her legs that itched. The word bed bugs all came to our minds instantaneously. Em noticed that she was starting to get some bites. We all realized pretty quickly that we didn't know how we would make it through one night (let alone the 4 nights we just paid for).
The hostel office was about to close for the night at 5pm...and our bed bug discovery was made at 4:45. With no Internet, no map of the towns (Cinque Terre is made up of 5 small coastal towns) and only 2 hours of daylight left, we unanimously decided to get the heck outta there in hopes we could find somewhere to sleep for at least the night. We thought we might have more luck finding a camere(room) in a different town so we left Riomaggiore without so much as a good bye... Went to the train station (which had breathtaking views) and bought a one way ticket to Vernazza (another one if the 5 towns). Kelsey went to take out her camera to take a picture of the great view and realized it was no where to be found. She frantically ran (with em and I speed walking behind her-oh and all our packs on) back into town in hopes it would be back at the bed bug hostel or the bar we had just bought bottled water at.
Luckily Kels found it at the hostel and she was so relieved as we headed on the train to Vernazza in hopes of a place to sleep (but not without getting some gelato to sooth our little hearts).
Vernazza is so small that buildings advertise rooms for rent and you ring a persons bell and ask if they have any space. We were fortunate enough to come across Enrica who was kind enough to rent us out one of her available rooms right in the heart of town.
We ended up finding rooms in vernazza for all 4 nights at a couple different places. Canceling Mar Mar ended up being one of the best decisions of this trip.
Cinque terre is one of the most beautiful places we have seen... We've spent our days sunning on the rocks in the harbor, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea and making friends. We met the most delightful ladies from the Bellevue area. They were lifelong friends on vacation with their husbands. They both have kids our age and it was really comforting to have two moms in Vernazza!
We also befriended Antonio, a lifelong Vernazza resident, one evening after dinner in the plaza. Antonio offered to take us on his boat the next day at 3pm, and sure enough the next afternoon at 3:00 sharp there was sweet little Antonio in the harbor getting his boat ready. He took us for a tour of the other towns and we threw the anchor in the water near Corniglia and jumped into the beautiful blue water. We all agreed that boating with Antonio was a once in a lifetime experience as we watched each hilltop town pass and listened to Antonio tell us stories about living in Cinque Terre. It was an unbelievable experience.
Vernazza is an adorable, sleepy little Italian town. We befriended many of the locals and after about a day everyone knew us by name and would wave across the plaza. We are already talking about booking a trip there in the future!
Ciao!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Last Week at a Glance
To all our followers... we're sorry we haven't been keeping up. We've spent the last four days in Vernazza Italy, and wifi was hard to come by. To update you:
We left Switzerland on Tuesday the 27th with heavy hearts. We absolutely loved our hostel (Backpackers Villa was like an all inclusive resort!! Clean, modern, spacious lockers, free breakfast, cheap internet, laundry!!!), and the small town of Interlaken was a much needed escape from the bustling cities we'd previously visited. We met so many amazing people in Switzerland and had a lot of fun learning about other people's travel experiences. Before we departed, we made sure to make the very best of our time.... Jamie, the daredevil of the group, went paragliding from 4,100 feet, and sailed over all of Interlaken. She had her guide Anders (from Norway) do lots of loops and dips and crazy tricks... she loved every minute of it and was giddy when she met Em and I on the ground. She took some amazing pictures... we'll have to upload some to show you!
We were a little disappointed to discover how expensive Switzerland was. We intended on seeing more of the Swiss Alps, but felt it was like charging an arm and a leg (140 CHF) to see the top of the Jungfrau.... so we decided to opt for the more economical option (plus, our hostel provided us with a discount!) to ride the Harderbahn to the very top of the Hard Kulm. We jumped onto the tram and rode along the nearly vertical rail (super scary!) to the top where we had lunch and enjoyed the views. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy that day so we weren't able to capture the best photos, but it was unbelievably beautiful in person.
We made sure to stock up on chocolate bars before we departed... they didn't last long, so we hope you're not expecting to taste any when we get home. We had chocolate for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. We had a fabulous time lounging around and soaking up the Swiss sunshine. There was a cow pasture across the street from our hostel. Each cow wears an iron bell around his neck, and the clinking of each bell became a comforting noise. We rested, relaxed, laughed and throughly enjoyed our time in Interlaken :)
We left Switzerland on Tuesday the 27th with heavy hearts. We absolutely loved our hostel (Backpackers Villa was like an all inclusive resort!! Clean, modern, spacious lockers, free breakfast, cheap internet, laundry!!!), and the small town of Interlaken was a much needed escape from the bustling cities we'd previously visited. We met so many amazing people in Switzerland and had a lot of fun learning about other people's travel experiences. Before we departed, we made sure to make the very best of our time.... Jamie, the daredevil of the group, went paragliding from 4,100 feet, and sailed over all of Interlaken. She had her guide Anders (from Norway) do lots of loops and dips and crazy tricks... she loved every minute of it and was giddy when she met Em and I on the ground. She took some amazing pictures... we'll have to upload some to show you!
We were a little disappointed to discover how expensive Switzerland was. We intended on seeing more of the Swiss Alps, but felt it was like charging an arm and a leg (140 CHF) to see the top of the Jungfrau.... so we decided to opt for the more economical option (plus, our hostel provided us with a discount!) to ride the Harderbahn to the very top of the Hard Kulm. We jumped onto the tram and rode along the nearly vertical rail (super scary!) to the top where we had lunch and enjoyed the views. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy that day so we weren't able to capture the best photos, but it was unbelievably beautiful in person.
We made sure to stock up on chocolate bars before we departed... they didn't last long, so we hope you're not expecting to taste any when we get home. We had chocolate for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. We had a fabulous time lounging around and soaking up the Swiss sunshine. There was a cow pasture across the street from our hostel. Each cow wears an iron bell around his neck, and the clinking of each bell became a comforting noise. We rested, relaxed, laughed and throughly enjoyed our time in Interlaken :)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Switzerland: Day 1
We all woke up anxious and excited to get out and explore! We have been going non stop since we arrived in Europe and we are all ready for a little downtime! The hostel that we are staying at is GREAT! Very clean, helpful, and close to town! We ate breakfast, showered and set out on our adventure!
We spent our day wandering around town, discovering cute little shops and taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings! It is gorgeous here and we all feel so fortunate to be here!
We had cheese fondue for lunch, people watched at the park, and took naps in the sun! It was just what we needed after a long week in the city!
We are planning to make our way up a mountain tomorrow! Cant wait to see this beautiful town from above!
Ciao!
K.J.E
We spent our day wandering around town, discovering cute little shops and taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings! It is gorgeous here and we all feel so fortunate to be here!
We had cheese fondue for lunch, people watched at the park, and took naps in the sun! It was just what we needed after a long week in the city!
We are planning to make our way up a mountain tomorrow! Cant wait to see this beautiful town from above!
Ciao!
K.J.E
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Photo Update
Our first glimpse of the Eiffle Tower!
Em and I at the Louvre
Em and Jam in our hostel in Paris
Gerlan, Jamie and I jumping infront of the Arc de Triomphe
Gerlan and I at a patisserie on Victor Hugo Boulevard on our way to the Eiffel Tower
Em and Jam enjoying the light show
Our wonderful roommate Julia from Scotland
Em and Jam on the train to Switzerland
Beautiful Interlaken!
Jam giving me a piggy back ride across the park in Interlaken
Hanging out in Switzerland :)
Travel Day - Paris to Switzerland
We woke up Friday morning in a panic: We had all overslept and it was now 11:00. We had missed breakfast and were supposed to check out at 11:00 and non of us had showered or packed our stuff! Gerlan to the rescue...again! We ripped the sheets off our beds, ran downstairs to check out and met Gerlan in the kitchen! He had left over bread and cheese that he let us eat for breakfast and gave us his room key so we could go back up, shower and pack our stuff! We headed out around 1:00 with sad hearts that we were leaving our new friends behind! Paris wasnt nearly what we expected but we all had a blast and we are leaving with two new friends!
We headed to the train station, got through security, and decided to get some food! We were waiting for our train platform to come onto the screen when we realized it was there (our stop was hidden in small letters because it was only a connection) and we only had 15 minutes! Not only was our platform a ways away but our train car was all the way at the end! We began walking fast and realized we needed to begin to run! Picture this, 3 little american chickens in a large Paris train station, carrying backpacks almost as big as themselves, running down the platform to catch their train... we looked/felt ridiculous! We finally boarded the train and sat down to catch our breaths!
The train ride was beautiful! It was fun to see all of the rolling hills and gorgeous scenery! We had a lot of fun listening to music, catching up in our journals and laughing about all the fun times we had had. The train ride flew by and we were in Basel in no time! We had to catch our connecting train, and after a little confusion, were sitting in our seats, ready for our short train ride to Interlaken!
We arrived around 8pm, found our hostel (we are getting better, only took us 20 minutes or so), ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant (Jamie claims it was the best dinner she had ever had: Hawaii Durum), and went to sleep!
All in all, a very relaxing day! We were all excited to explore the quaint little town in the morning!
Goodnight!
K.J.E.
We headed to the train station, got through security, and decided to get some food! We were waiting for our train platform to come onto the screen when we realized it was there (our stop was hidden in small letters because it was only a connection) and we only had 15 minutes! Not only was our platform a ways away but our train car was all the way at the end! We began walking fast and realized we needed to begin to run! Picture this, 3 little american chickens in a large Paris train station, carrying backpacks almost as big as themselves, running down the platform to catch their train... we looked/felt ridiculous! We finally boarded the train and sat down to catch our breaths!
The train ride was beautiful! It was fun to see all of the rolling hills and gorgeous scenery! We had a lot of fun listening to music, catching up in our journals and laughing about all the fun times we had had. The train ride flew by and we were in Basel in no time! We had to catch our connecting train, and after a little confusion, were sitting in our seats, ready for our short train ride to Interlaken!
We arrived around 8pm, found our hostel (we are getting better, only took us 20 minutes or so), ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant (Jamie claims it was the best dinner she had ever had: Hawaii Durum), and went to sleep!
All in all, a very relaxing day! We were all excited to explore the quaint little town in the morning!
Goodnight!
K.J.E.
Paris: Day 2
What a day! We spent all day walking around the city of Paris with our new friend Gerlan. We started off our day with a couple errands including hitting the grocery store for some picnic supplies and the post office to mail some post cards! We then jumped on the metro and headed to the Champs Elysee. We were a little early to meet Gerlan so we decided to have an impromptu picnic in the park nearby with cheese, bread and grapes!
While walking the Champs Elysee, and explaining to Gerlan all about the United States, we came across the biggest Abercrombie and Fitch store we have ever seen! Naturally, Gerlan had no idea what A&F was so we decided we HAD to show him! The store front was a huge wrought iron gate guarded by two male models. We then walked a long pathway that led to the actual store, where we were met by another attractive male model... with his shirt off! We took pictures and laughed about how ridiculous it all was and then decided we had tortured Gerlan enough!
We continued walking on, stopping at Haagen-Dazs for some ice cream and Laduree for some window shopping! Everything was so beautiful and elegant. At the end of the Champs Elysee stands the Arc De Triumph! We all stood there taken aback at how beautiful and massive it was! We took lots of pictures, both from afar and right underneath and stopped to watch some street dancing!
We finally began making our way to the Eiffel Tower, slowly but surely. It was fun to just wander the streets of Paris, discovering funny shops, delicious deserts and getting in a TON of people watching! We were getting so close when we here "im tiiirreedd" coming out of Gerlan's mouth! We decided to torture the young man no more and stopped to eat the rest of our picnic at a park nearby! We laughed and ate and laughed some more, all with the Eiffel Tower as our backdrop! It was so surreal!
We wandered down to the Eiffel, walked underneath, wandered around the Champs De Mars park, took more pictures and decided to post up and wait for it to get dark! Watching the Eiffel switch from day time to night time is the most incredible thing I have ever seen! It was even more gorgeous at night then it was during the day!
We made our way back to Montmarte, hit the supermarket for some Magnums (Ice Cream bars the Jamie was told we MUST try) and headed back to the hostel feeling so much glee! We all agreed this was the best day so far!
We left the next afternoon for Switzerland and were all excited for a change of pace! Ready to have some down time and enjoy the beautiful sites Switzerland had to offer!
Goodbye France! Hello Switzerland!
K.J.E.
While walking the Champs Elysee, and explaining to Gerlan all about the United States, we came across the biggest Abercrombie and Fitch store we have ever seen! Naturally, Gerlan had no idea what A&F was so we decided we HAD to show him! The store front was a huge wrought iron gate guarded by two male models. We then walked a long pathway that led to the actual store, where we were met by another attractive male model... with his shirt off! We took pictures and laughed about how ridiculous it all was and then decided we had tortured Gerlan enough!
We continued walking on, stopping at Haagen-Dazs for some ice cream and Laduree for some window shopping! Everything was so beautiful and elegant. At the end of the Champs Elysee stands the Arc De Triumph! We all stood there taken aback at how beautiful and massive it was! We took lots of pictures, both from afar and right underneath and stopped to watch some street dancing!
We finally began making our way to the Eiffel Tower, slowly but surely. It was fun to just wander the streets of Paris, discovering funny shops, delicious deserts and getting in a TON of people watching! We were getting so close when we here "im tiiirreedd" coming out of Gerlan's mouth! We decided to torture the young man no more and stopped to eat the rest of our picnic at a park nearby! We laughed and ate and laughed some more, all with the Eiffel Tower as our backdrop! It was so surreal!
We wandered down to the Eiffel, walked underneath, wandered around the Champs De Mars park, took more pictures and decided to post up and wait for it to get dark! Watching the Eiffel switch from day time to night time is the most incredible thing I have ever seen! It was even more gorgeous at night then it was during the day!
We made our way back to Montmarte, hit the supermarket for some Magnums (Ice Cream bars the Jamie was told we MUST try) and headed back to the hostel feeling so much glee! We all agreed this was the best day so far!
We left the next afternoon for Switzerland and were all excited for a change of pace! Ready to have some down time and enjoy the beautiful sites Switzerland had to offer!
Goodbye France! Hello Switzerland!
K.J.E.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
San Paolo
Last night we decided to stick around the hostel so we stopped by a nearby pastry shop and ate our treats at the nearby McDonalds (because the pastry shop was closing). Kelsey's french is improving and she has become our designated speaker. We were walking home feeling a little defeated because it is unsafe venturing out at night on our own, in this neighborhood. We came across some live music and Jamie really enjoyed it!
Remember our brazilian friend?...he is now our best friend! Since we dont know anyone in Paris, and we didnt know his name, his name became "San Paolo" because that is where he is from! He left in the morning and was gone ALL day! Natually, we couldnt stop wondering where he was or what he was doing. We were desperate for a new friend! Around 11, we were getting ready for bed, and San Paolo still wasnt home! This is where it gets interesting...
The door opens, and little San Paolo peeks his head in and says "Haaalllooooo" carrying a half empty bottle of wine. We asked him about his day and he told us he got "lost in this f'ing city" and the eiffel tower was a "piece of crap." Since San Paolo was a little tipsy, and normally quite shy, we decided to forge our friendship, by asking him about his life in San Paolo, what kind of music he likes, what he does in his spare time, and if he has ever heard of Lil Wayne or the Kardashians (to which he answered "oi? who is that?"). He showed us his pictues, played some irish music but unfortunately refused to dance upon request. It was quite an entertaining night for the three of us chickens and our newest roommate, Julia, from Scotland. We came to find out his name was Gerlan (pronounced JERLA) and he has been traveling europe for the last couple of weeks.
We just ate breakfast and are planning on seeing the eiffel tower, the champs elysee, the arc de triumph, and the rest of the main city today.
Au Revoir!
K.J.E
Remember our brazilian friend?...he is now our best friend! Since we dont know anyone in Paris, and we didnt know his name, his name became "San Paolo" because that is where he is from! He left in the morning and was gone ALL day! Natually, we couldnt stop wondering where he was or what he was doing. We were desperate for a new friend! Around 11, we were getting ready for bed, and San Paolo still wasnt home! This is where it gets interesting...
The door opens, and little San Paolo peeks his head in and says "Haaalllooooo" carrying a half empty bottle of wine. We asked him about his day and he told us he got "lost in this f'ing city" and the eiffel tower was a "piece of crap." Since San Paolo was a little tipsy, and normally quite shy, we decided to forge our friendship, by asking him about his life in San Paolo, what kind of music he likes, what he does in his spare time, and if he has ever heard of Lil Wayne or the Kardashians (to which he answered "oi? who is that?"). He showed us his pictues, played some irish music but unfortunately refused to dance upon request. It was quite an entertaining night for the three of us chickens and our newest roommate, Julia, from Scotland. We came to find out his name was Gerlan (pronounced JERLA) and he has been traveling europe for the last couple of weeks.
We just ate breakfast and are planning on seeing the eiffel tower, the champs elysee, the arc de triumph, and the rest of the main city today.
Au Revoir!
K.J.E
Paris: Day 1
After a good night of sleep (in comparison to the first place we stayed) we woke up, ate some breakfast (Kels LOVED the croissants!!), and headed out on the town (way less scary during the daylight hours
).
We didn't have a game plan for the day but thought we would walk wherever we were going because we wanted to see the city. We made our way to Sacre Coeur (domed church on hill in Montemarte). We had been warned by our brazilian friend to watch out for men with strings...as they try to tie them onto your finger or wrist and later ask you for money. They were quite pushy and even called one of us 'big boobed baby' and another one
of us Lady Gaga (which I don't think they realize us American's don't strive to be like Lady Gaga). We pushed our way past them with our arms crossed and made it up to the church. We then actually saw all those guys i just mentioned running because the police were coming (quite commical).
Kels loved the church, as she had really wanted to see it while we were in Paris. We hung out in the surrounding garden as we planned the rest of our day. We started our long trek into the city of Paris (walking) and realized it wasn't as close as it seemed to be on the map. We quickly went into the metro station and bought a day pass train ticket to head to see the Louve (which we found courtesy of a Hungarian walking tour), Notre Dame, and the surrounding area. We had lunch at a little cafe (yummy lemon and chocolate tarts), and met some talkers from New York.
After sitting around the Louve eating chocolate, we decided to head home on the Metro (MFM). We were almost back to our hostel when we spotted the McDonalds a block away...we all looked at each other and figured it was a good idea. We went in and watched Kels order in French (2 diet cokes, 1 sprite and small fry!) Their McDonals is like a small night club upstairs (we got to listen to some Wiz Kahlifa and Chris Brown!)
We are looking forward to another day in Paris tomorrow....we will be going to the Eiffel Tower!
K,J,E
).We didn't have a game plan for the day but thought we would walk wherever we were going because we wanted to see the city. We made our way to Sacre Coeur (domed church on hill in Montemarte). We had been warned by our brazilian friend to watch out for men with strings...as they try to tie them onto your finger or wrist and later ask you for money. They were quite pushy and even called one of us 'big boobed baby' and another one
of us Lady Gaga (which I don't think they realize us American's don't strive to be like Lady Gaga). We pushed our way past them with our arms crossed and made it up to the church. We then actually saw all those guys i just mentioned running because the police were coming (quite commical).Kels loved the church, as she had really wanted to see it while we were in Paris. We hung out in the surrounding garden as we planned the rest of our day. We started our long trek into the city of Paris (walking) and realized it wasn't as close as it seemed to be on the map. We quickly went into the metro station and bought a day pass train ticket to head to see the Louve (which we found courtesy of a Hungarian walking tour), Notre Dame, and the surrounding area. We had lunch at a little cafe (yummy lemon and chocolate tarts), and met some talkers from New York.
After sitting around the Louve eating chocolate, we decided to head home on the Metro (MFM). We were almost back to our hostel when we spotted the McDonalds a block away...we all looked at each other and figured it was a good idea. We went in and watched Kels order in French (2 diet cokes, 1 sprite and small fry!) Their McDonals is like a small night club upstairs (we got to listen to some Wiz Kahlifa and Chris Brown!)
We are looking forward to another day in Paris tomorrow....we will be going to the Eiffel Tower!
au revoir,
Arriving in Paris....
Our Paris trip has been interesting so far. We did great on the train and actually met a lovely local and her 7 month old girl name Margo. She was very open about letting ppl hold her baby. We found this out because she had to get up and change Margos diaper and had to ask Em to move so she could get through... And in coming back just handed the baby to Em while she put the rest of her wipes away in the overhead compartment. She spoke decent English while trying to teach us some French (unsuccessfully). We talked about tv shows, she showed us on our map things we must see and do around Europe! The baby was adorable and I even got my turn to hold her!
We slowly noticed as we became further and further from London that less and less people spoke English. The two hour train ride went by pretty quickly and we soon came to arrive in Paris around 9pm. This is when it go real... And fast! I was about to pee my pants so we quickly looked for a bathroom. Thankfully in French it's just toilet, so this went over fine (although it cost me .70 euro to use the bathroom which at this point was worth it!)
After all that, came the real confusion. Our friend on the train told us the best way to get to where our hostel was...however it wasnt that simple! Everything was of course in French and we already weren't sure what train we needed to be going on! Very little people spoke English, but we went up to the cash exchange desk and asked in French if he spoke English. He spoke some and told us we needed to take the #2 rail. Ok piece of cake we thought as we thanked him and went on our way...Not the case.
We then couldn't figure out how to get to #2! So we decided to go to the ticket counter and ask that guy. He spoke a little English and gave us a map that he drew on and from there we bought tickets from him. Freaky encounter 1 came after that...I noticed this lady come up close behind me as I was getting closer to the gate where I input my ticket. I went ahead and put my ticket in realizing she was most likely attempting to get through the ticket gate with me so she wouldn't have to pay...well that was exactly what she was doing and so I slowed down as she gently pushed me forward as to hurry me up so the little door didn't close on her. Well she was successful and hurried past us.
We then got to our gate, got on the train and rode it to our stop. Imagine 3 girls confused, slightly lost, and a little freaked out realizing again we were in another country, at dark, and we were among the only ones to speak English. Then god himself (according to us) walked around the corner at that very moment and asked if we needed help...In ENGLISH! We said yes in unison and very thankfully. He gave us better directions and we started again. We Finally made it to our hostel, Le Regent Montmart. We got a chance to meet our new buddy from brazil and headed to bed a little past midnight.
We slowly noticed as we became further and further from London that less and less people spoke English. The two hour train ride went by pretty quickly and we soon came to arrive in Paris around 9pm. This is when it go real... And fast! I was about to pee my pants so we quickly looked for a bathroom. Thankfully in French it's just toilet, so this went over fine (although it cost me .70 euro to use the bathroom which at this point was worth it!)
After all that, came the real confusion. Our friend on the train told us the best way to get to where our hostel was...however it wasnt that simple! Everything was of course in French and we already weren't sure what train we needed to be going on! Very little people spoke English, but we went up to the cash exchange desk and asked in French if he spoke English. He spoke some and told us we needed to take the #2 rail. Ok piece of cake we thought as we thanked him and went on our way...Not the case.
We then couldn't figure out how to get to #2! So we decided to go to the ticket counter and ask that guy. He spoke a little English and gave us a map that he drew on and from there we bought tickets from him. Freaky encounter 1 came after that...I noticed this lady come up close behind me as I was getting closer to the gate where I input my ticket. I went ahead and put my ticket in realizing she was most likely attempting to get through the ticket gate with me so she wouldn't have to pay...well that was exactly what she was doing and so I slowed down as she gently pushed me forward as to hurry me up so the little door didn't close on her. Well she was successful and hurried past us.
We then got to our gate, got on the train and rode it to our stop. Imagine 3 girls confused, slightly lost, and a little freaked out realizing again we were in another country, at dark, and we were among the only ones to speak English. Then god himself (according to us) walked around the corner at that very moment and asked if we needed help...In ENGLISH! We said yes in unison and very thankfully. He gave us better directions and we started again. We Finally made it to our hostel, Le Regent Montmart. We got a chance to meet our new buddy from brazil and headed to bed a little past midnight.
London
For those of you we haven't emailed yet... WE'RE SAFE! We made it to London just fine. Our stop over in Iceland was short but sweet... and cold! The Reykjavik airport was beautiful.. very modern, sleek and CLEAN!
We arrived at Heathrow and thanks to Em's exceptional navigation skills we hopped on the Tube and headed for the city center. We got off at Westminster Station and as we exited we were in complete awe of what stood before us: Big Ben, Parliment and Westminster Bridge... our journey was suddenly REAL! I think we all stood there a little dumbfounded for a few minutes. And then, we got lost.
Total travel time between train arrival and checking in at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel: umm.. about 1 hour... total distance: 1 block. A seemingly nice 'chap' smoking (like everyone else in London) outside his double decker bus, pointed us in the wrong direction. Not to blame him entirely, we certainly weren't exactly on top of things either... but, needless to say, we did a lot of walking. Jamie spotted a Lavazza coffee sign hanging from a window, and suddenly we realized THAT was our hostel! Right in front of us. Isabella, the Walrus receptionist was very helpful and checked us in, showed us up to our room (dungeon) and quickly got us some MUCH NEEDED water (especially for Em!)
As if we didn't remember we were staying in a hostel... we were quite surprised by the quality and cleanilness of the place... and the amount of PEOPLE we would be sleeping with. Everyone else in the room was traveling alone (mostly guys), and no one wanted to talk to us! Everyone kept to themselves.
We locked up our packs, freshened up and hit the town!...walking, of course. Our evening in brief: We had fish and chips at a pub, Jamie discovered her ATM card didn't work in England (yikes), we had gelato in Covent Gardens (twice... a grand total of $30). To walk from Covent Gardens back to Waterloo was a little scary. It was dark and dirty and we were the only tourists (which made us feel vulnerable). Thankfully two nice bus drivers we talked to at the first gelato shop tipped us off to be careful and watch our bags. So naturally, the headlamp made an appearance.
We made it home safely and hit the hay (which we were later woken up by noisy roommates, and loud trains). The next morning we caught the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walked t
hrough Green Park, saw the London Bridge (which was a little dissappointing in person), ate lunch (excellent Indian food...and Subway), and finally made our way to St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar.
Overall, we had a great time in London. People were very helpful, kind, and it was easy to navigate once we learned the ropes.
More to come soon.. we'll update you on Paris!
Love,
K,J,E!
We arrived at Heathrow and thanks to Em's exceptional navigation skills we hopped on the Tube and headed for the city center. We got off at Westminster Station and as we exited we were in complete awe of what stood before us: Big Ben, Parliment and Westminster Bridge... our journey was suddenly REAL! I think we all stood there a little dumbfounded for a few minutes. And then, we got lost.
Total travel time between train arrival and checking in at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel: umm.. about 1 hour... total distance: 1 block. A seemingly nice 'chap' smoking (like everyone else in London) outside his double decker bus, pointed us in the wrong direction. Not to blame him entirely, we certainly weren't exactly on top of things either... but, needless to say, we did a lot of walking. Jamie spotted a Lavazza coffee sign hanging from a window, and suddenly we realized THAT was our hostel! Right in front of us. Isabella, the Walrus receptionist was very helpful and checked us in, showed us up to our room (dungeon) and quickly got us some MUCH NEEDED water (especially for Em!)
As if we didn't remember we were staying in a hostel... we were quite surprised by the quality and cleanilness of the place... and the amount of PEOPLE we would be sleeping with. Everyone else in the room was traveling alone (mostly guys), and no one wanted to talk to us! Everyone kept to themselves.
We locked up our packs, freshened up and hit the town!...walking, of course. Our evening in brief: We had fish and chips at a pub, Jamie discovered her ATM card didn't work in England (yikes), we had gelato in Covent Gardens (twice... a grand total of $30). To walk from Covent Gardens back to Waterloo was a little scary. It was dark and dirty and we were the only tourists (which made us feel vulnerable). Thankfully two nice bus drivers we talked to at the first gelato shop tipped us off to be careful and watch our bags. So naturally, the headlamp made an appearance.
We made it home safely and hit the hay (which we were later woken up by noisy roommates, and loud trains). The next morning we caught the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walked t
hrough Green Park, saw the London Bridge (which was a little dissappointing in person), ate lunch (excellent Indian food...and Subway), and finally made our way to St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar.Overall, we had a great time in London. People were very helpful, kind, and it was easy to navigate once we learned the ropes.
More to come soon.. we'll update you on Paris!
Love,
K,J,E!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tomorrow is the day...
Well tomorrow is the big travel day! I've spent today cleaning, lounging, getting Tucker ready for mom to be away for 3 weeks and thinking about what I can toss out of my pack to make room for some good souveniers to bring back! I'll finish my packing tomorrow before Kels comes over in the morning. From there Kels and I are going to head to Em's house to watch some of the Seahawk game (possibly struting around the living room with our backpacks on talking in accents so we can be sure to get some practice in before we go!) Then we're off to the airport! We're all excited for our layover in Iceland too-just to say we've been to Iceland (even if it is just the airport!)
We're so ready and excited for our trip to begin :) Here's to 3 great freids ready to hit Europe!
Ciao,
Jamie aka Jam
Friday, September 16, 2011
What it's like for girls to pack:
How many t-shirts are you going to bring?
What about socks? 10 pairs?
Whose bringing the voltage converter?
Do you like this shirt in purple or green better?
Needless to say, it was a long process!
What about socks? 10 pairs?
Whose bringing the voltage converter?
Do you like this shirt in purple or green better?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
2 Days and Counting..
WOW! What a week it has been! The last 5 days have gone by so fast. It is hard to believe that 2 days from now we will be stepping onto a plane, just the beginning of the several travel days we have to come in the next 3 weeks!
The last week has been spent finalizing last-minute preparations, requiring lots of skyping, texting and phone calls! Kelsey and I finally found two great girls to sublet our apartment (HUGE relief) but that meant that on top of packing for the trip, we had to pack up and move our whole apartment! It was sad to pack our things and close that chapter of our lives, but we both said how excited we are to begin the next!
With the arrival of this week came the realization that I needed to crack down on my packing and begin to lay everything out so I could figure out what I had, and what I still needed to get. While we are all three struggling to figure out what to pack and what to leave out, it has been funny to discover the differences in our concerns. Jamie and I are both very concerned about underwear while Kelsey is more concerned about having enough conditioner or what to wear for pajamas. One thing is for certain, we are ALL worried about weight! Our goal is for each of us to stay right around (or under) 20lbs. I think we can do it!
I am so excited to get this journey started and can not think of two better people to share this experience with! We can't wait to share this experience with all of you and are going to try and blog as much as possible while we are traveling abroad! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Ciao for now!
Amore, Emily
The last week has been spent finalizing last-minute preparations, requiring lots of skyping, texting and phone calls! Kelsey and I finally found two great girls to sublet our apartment (HUGE relief) but that meant that on top of packing for the trip, we had to pack up and move our whole apartment! It was sad to pack our things and close that chapter of our lives, but we both said how excited we are to begin the next!
With the arrival of this week came the realization that I needed to crack down on my packing and begin to lay everything out so I could figure out what I had, and what I still needed to get. While we are all three struggling to figure out what to pack and what to leave out, it has been funny to discover the differences in our concerns. Jamie and I are both very concerned about underwear while Kelsey is more concerned about having enough conditioner or what to wear for pajamas. One thing is for certain, we are ALL worried about weight! Our goal is for each of us to stay right around (or under) 20lbs. I think we can do it!
I am so excited to get this journey started and can not think of two better people to share this experience with! We can't wait to share this experience with all of you and are going to try and blog as much as possible while we are traveling abroad! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Ciao for now!
Amore, Emily
Friday, September 9, 2011
Our Official Itinerary... hot off the press!
Sunday September 18: depart Seattle @ 4:30pm, arrive in London next day
Monday September 19: arrive in London @ 11:45am
Tuesday September 20: day in London, depart for Paris @ 9:00pm
Wednesday September 21-Thursday September 22: Paris
Friday September 23: depart Paris in afternoon, arrive in Interlaken, Switzerland @ 8:30pm
Saturday September 24 - Monday September 26: Interlaken
Tuesday September 27 - Friday September 30: Riomaggiore and Cinque Terre, Italy
Saturday October 1 - Monday October 3: Florence
Tuesday October 4 - Thursday October 6: Venice
Friday October 7 - Sunday October 9: Munich, Germany
***Jamie departs from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Sunday October 9
Monday October 10 - Tuesday October 11: Kelsey and Emily in Rome
Wednesday October 12: Athens
Thursday October 13 - Saturday October 15: Paros, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Saturday October 15 - Tuesday October 18: Santorini, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Wednesday October 19: Athens
Thursday October 20: Rome
Friday October 21: Munich
Saturday October 22: depart from Frankfurt for Vancouver BC... home!
Monday September 19: arrive in London @ 11:45am
Tuesday September 20: day in London, depart for Paris @ 9:00pm
Wednesday September 21-Thursday September 22: Paris
Friday September 23: depart Paris in afternoon, arrive in Interlaken, Switzerland @ 8:30pm
Saturday September 24 - Monday September 26: Interlaken
Tuesday September 27 - Friday September 30: Riomaggiore and Cinque Terre, Italy
Saturday October 1 - Monday October 3: Florence
Tuesday October 4 - Thursday October 6: Venice
Friday October 7 - Sunday October 9: Munich, Germany
***Jamie departs from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Sunday October 9
Monday October 10 - Tuesday October 11: Kelsey and Emily in Rome
Wednesday October 12: Athens
Thursday October 13 - Saturday October 15: Paros, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Saturday October 15 - Tuesday October 18: Santorini, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Wednesday October 19: Athens
Thursday October 20: Rome
Friday October 21: Munich
Saturday October 22: depart from Frankfurt for Vancouver BC... home!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Gearing Up For Departure!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
13 days, 327 hours and 19,624 minutes until Europe, but whose counting?
Jamie, Emily and I take off for Europe in 13 days! It's hard to believe we're getting so close. By the time we're walking down the Champs-Elysees we will have been planning our trip for a full year. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of effort to plan weeks upon weeks of travel. We've been so lucky in getting to discuss our travel plans with many of you... long hours at the gelato shop have yielded hundreds of great destination suggestions and information.
Our plans have undergone quite a bit of editing over time... what started out just being a trip to Italy inflated to something absurd (and impossible) involving 16 countries (for inexperienced travelers such as ourselves, once you start researching, you realize you want to see everything), to our current itinterary that covers six countries. We had to scratch a lot of great cities off our list... it was hard to part with the idea of going to Amsterdam, and we're all a little sad we won't make it as far north as Dublin (I wanted a Guiness!) We will, however, embark upon great adventures in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Greece, including a layover in Iceland!
We hope this will serve as a convenient outlet to keep in touch by. We are all first time international travelers, so I'm sure we'll have some great stories to tell. Our journey will add another chapter to our friendship, to which we owe our gratitude to Sirena for bringing us together. Jamie and I first met in 2007, working together at Sirena. We took the same psychology classes at Western and shared a lot of laughs working late nights together at the shop. Little miss Emily was hired in 2008, and we instantly became a three pack :)
We're getting down to the wire and the idea of packing your life into a backpack is a little overwhelming (more so for some than it is for others... Jamie and Emily!) We've crossed a lot off our to-do list, rail passes have been purchased, hostels have been booked, hand sanitizer has been bought, bandaids and passports have been packed away. Europe, here we come!
We're looking forward to hearing from everyone. Please keep in touch!
Our plans have undergone quite a bit of editing over time... what started out just being a trip to Italy inflated to something absurd (and impossible) involving 16 countries (for inexperienced travelers such as ourselves, once you start researching, you realize you want to see everything), to our current itinterary that covers six countries. We had to scratch a lot of great cities off our list... it was hard to part with the idea of going to Amsterdam, and we're all a little sad we won't make it as far north as Dublin (I wanted a Guiness!) We will, however, embark upon great adventures in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Greece, including a layover in Iceland!
We hope this will serve as a convenient outlet to keep in touch by. We are all first time international travelers, so I'm sure we'll have some great stories to tell. Our journey will add another chapter to our friendship, to which we owe our gratitude to Sirena for bringing us together. Jamie and I first met in 2007, working together at Sirena. We took the same psychology classes at Western and shared a lot of laughs working late nights together at the shop. Little miss Emily was hired in 2008, and we instantly became a three pack :)
We're getting down to the wire and the idea of packing your life into a backpack is a little overwhelming (more so for some than it is for others... Jamie and Emily!) We've crossed a lot off our to-do list, rail passes have been purchased, hostels have been booked, hand sanitizer has been bought, bandaids and passports have been packed away. Europe, here we come!
We're looking forward to hearing from everyone. Please keep in touch!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)