World Traveler Wrap Up Pt. 1

This is the first part of what I am sure will be a long list of impressions I had while on my Europe trip. The details of places, people, and things are in my paper journal and is hard for even me to read since the majority of it was written while on bumpy bus rides across the continent.

General
London was my favorite. There were other cities that I actually ended up liking better, but I felt a special connection with London from the moment we got on the plane from Frankfurt. If we are comparing it to TV shows (which is what I compare everything to) this would be my Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Though other shows came along that I liked better, there will always be that Buffy connection. The people, the Tube, the outlining areas, the Thames, everything. I know it was the most expensive place we went to (dollars to pounds is a total rip off!) but I still can't help but love it. And knowing that there is more to England and Great Britian makes me love it even more.

Amsterdam was a mess in a lot of ways for me. The hotel was great. It was probably in the top two of the hotels we stayed in. They had great food and they gave you a lot of it. And it was the middle of nowhere with this cute little neighborhood around it. It was also on the bay so we had a great view and a great breeze. Anne Frank's House was another highlight. It was sobering and surreal. I had been so involved in that play and the blocking was so accurate that I couldn't believe that I was in the actual house, walking up the actual staircase that I had pretended to walk up all of those times. It was very emotional. The rest of the trip was the hardest of the trip. I felt so out of place for so many reasons. I am not a sheltered person....I know what goes on and have been around a lot of things, but I try not to put myself into those situations, but I sort of didn't feel like I had a choice at that point. I thought I could be cool. I thought I could handle it, but it was all just too much. I felt very homesick and alone. I basically cried the rest of day. TV show comparsion: Passions. Can be a great comforting show, but they really have done everything on that show.

Munich was apathic city. It had just started getting hot and we were all starting to feel the exhaustion of the trip. In less than a week's time we went from "look at the cute British cars, the cute British houses, the cute British roads." to "Nice palace. Who lived here again?" And Munich wasn't special or different enough to hold my attention. TV show comparsion: CSI. Everyone else seemed to like it, but I could care less.

Everything around Munich becomes kind of foggy. We went to several places in Germany and Austria, but all I really remember was the really hot bus rides.

Venice was next and was the best and the worst so far. HOT HOT HOT and sticky. We stayed on the Lido in what can only be described as dorm room at the beach. Small, bare, and hot. I had to take a cold shower (something that must be done in Italy) in order to sleep. As bad as that was, Venice (though just as hot and sticky) was a dream. It was really love at first sight. It was like it was almost not real. It is liking falling in love with George Clooney. So gorgous, but the love can never be real. There is nothing behind Venice. It is not an actual living, breathing city. It is like a Disneyland attraction. But it is so gorgous that you almost can't take it. You see pictures and you would never think it would think it could live up to that image, but it does. It takes your breathe away...mostly because of the heat, but the city was so amazing that I almost didn't care how hot it was. TV show comparision: The OC. Great at first, but later revealed that there was nothing behind it but Micha Barton's bad acting.

Rome was an overwhelming experience. Or maybe it was just the Vatican City. I remember seeing things there...The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, etc, but I don't remember really enjoying it. It was so crowded and many things to see in one small tour that was like sensory overload. Rome, on the other hand, was kind of a slow burning love. It took time to develop. But by the end of the day sitting at the Trevi Fountain, I had fallen head over heals. It was more of a real love. TV show comparision: Veronica Mars. It took a few episodes, but once I fell in love with it I was gone.

Florence was kind of a blur. It was pretty. Some of my best pictures came from Florence. But it was kind of like I was drunk the entire time. I was sooo tired that I couldn't enjoy it. We had possibly the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in and it was centrally located. So it was perfect for a mid-afternoon nap. But that meant I didn't get to enjoy it like I wanted to. TV show comparision: Lost-this is actually more of a comparsion of the whole of Italy. Great at first, but by the end of it you are so tired that you just collapse.

TBC with Switzerland, Paris, Madrid.