the trip to end all trips
Well... the last week of my life seems to have lasted years and years -- in a good way. I've walked more, seen more, and spent more than I ever though possible, and even though I am still recovering from sensory overload, I'm going to try to give you guys the gist of it, the highlights, and everything the pictures (soon to be posted) don't tell.
Rome: Saturday afternoon Erin, Kait, and I flew into Rome, where we met up with Nick. When we arrived at our hostel, we found that Nick was in a separate room, and the three of us were in an 8 bed dorm -- with a room full of sleepers. Night, day, mid-afternoon, separately, sometimes together, our 5 roommates were always asleep. Anyway, this inspired us to get up and out and we managed to see everything Rome has to offer. Highlights include the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Sistine Chapel, and the five servings of gelato we each managed to eat in two days. Oh! We also met up with Jill, and for the first time EVER, her and Kait got along! Apparently absense does make the heart grow fonder.
Florence: After two nights in Rome we made our way by train to the city of Florence, best known to many as the place where Tim and Wendy studied abroad. Oh yeah, and for being the home of Michaelangelo's David. Florence was beautiful, affordable, and really just perfect. I want to live there. For real, I'm seriously considering living there for a year after college. Anyway, I don't know what else to say about Florence, except that it was about the most fun we had on the trip.
Venice: So when you travel to five cities in 8 days, you expect to hit a snag. In Venice, we hit a snag. We arrived in Venice around 11:30 pm, again by train, and then by water taxi we made our way to the somewhat residential island of Lido, where our hostel was located. After much confusion and walking, we arrived at the lovely Villa Parco around midnight -- to find it closed. Now, we didn't book any hostels with curfews or lockouts, so this concerned us just a little. On the large iron gate we found a hand-written sign telling us to call two numbers for information. With Erin's dying phone, we called the first number, who helpfully suggested we call the second number. The second number had no idea what we were talking about and hung up. Thus, we were left to wander the streets of Lido at midnight, looking for lodgings, which we found, but not without a scary incident inolving a shady Italian and our passports -- heightened by our complete exhaustion and inability to speak Italian. In conclusion, we got our passports back, Venice was beautiful, and Kait, Erin and I took a gondola ride that would have been romantic if Kait and Erin were one person, and a guy.
Paris: Ahh Paris, the city of lights.... So the one thing you expect from Paris is that the people will be total assholes. Well let me tell you something: Parisians don't let you down. Assholes, all of them. However, taxi rides there are dirt cheap, and the French make excellent pastries, which was all we ate, so the city wasn't a total loss. I'm kidding, Paris was beautiful, especially at night. We saw the sunset from the top of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and we climbed all 720 steps and then took an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We also saw the Mona Lisa, which was truly amazing. Pictures of it do not do it justice. I was not expecting to be impressed, but if you ever get a chance to see it in person, do it. You'll see why it's 'the one.' Also, the Louvre was massive and spectacular, and I may or may not have solved the real Da Vinci Code. Turns out Jesus had a kid, whose great great grandson is... Jerry Seinfeld. How's that for brilliant writing and an unbelievable plot twist, Dan Brown?
London: London was the last stop on our week long tour d'insanity. Despite the over-tiredness, we still managed to get in a 14 mile round trip walk, during which we strolled through Hyde Park, St. James Park, and saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and a bunch of other things that I can't remember right now. The downside to London: their airports are NUTS. Through every airport you are allowed a carry-on and a personal item, like a purse. In London, forget about that purse. Well there was no way that snooty check-in woman was going to make me check a bag, so right in the middle of the airport, Kait, Erin, and I took the Physical Challenge, please. We packed every single item we had into our backpacks, our pockets, and anywhere else you can imagine. This involved taking out and wearing a few extra layers of clothing. Erin even managed to fit a bath towel in her coat pocket. Anyway, we put on quite an amusing show for the other passengers, and it all paid off. And then our flight was delayed several hours. You win some, you lose some.
Well, now we're back in Galway for two weeks of finals and drinking. Traveling made me realize two things: Irish people are WAY nicer than anyone else in Europe, and Irish tap water is way worse than anywhere else in Europe. Again, you win some, you lose some. Oh, and between the US, Ireland, the rest of Europe, and the UK, I now have no idea which side of the road cars should be on and I don't think I should drive for a while.
Sorry this has been so long. Can't wait to see you all!!!
Rome: Saturday afternoon Erin, Kait, and I flew into Rome, where we met up with Nick. When we arrived at our hostel, we found that Nick was in a separate room, and the three of us were in an 8 bed dorm -- with a room full of sleepers. Night, day, mid-afternoon, separately, sometimes together, our 5 roommates were always asleep. Anyway, this inspired us to get up and out and we managed to see everything Rome has to offer. Highlights include the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Sistine Chapel, and the five servings of gelato we each managed to eat in two days. Oh! We also met up with Jill, and for the first time EVER, her and Kait got along! Apparently absense does make the heart grow fonder.
Florence: After two nights in Rome we made our way by train to the city of Florence, best known to many as the place where Tim and Wendy studied abroad. Oh yeah, and for being the home of Michaelangelo's David. Florence was beautiful, affordable, and really just perfect. I want to live there. For real, I'm seriously considering living there for a year after college. Anyway, I don't know what else to say about Florence, except that it was about the most fun we had on the trip.
Venice: So when you travel to five cities in 8 days, you expect to hit a snag. In Venice, we hit a snag. We arrived in Venice around 11:30 pm, again by train, and then by water taxi we made our way to the somewhat residential island of Lido, where our hostel was located. After much confusion and walking, we arrived at the lovely Villa Parco around midnight -- to find it closed. Now, we didn't book any hostels with curfews or lockouts, so this concerned us just a little. On the large iron gate we found a hand-written sign telling us to call two numbers for information. With Erin's dying phone, we called the first number, who helpfully suggested we call the second number. The second number had no idea what we were talking about and hung up. Thus, we were left to wander the streets of Lido at midnight, looking for lodgings, which we found, but not without a scary incident inolving a shady Italian and our passports -- heightened by our complete exhaustion and inability to speak Italian. In conclusion, we got our passports back, Venice was beautiful, and Kait, Erin and I took a gondola ride that would have been romantic if Kait and Erin were one person, and a guy.
Paris: Ahh Paris, the city of lights.... So the one thing you expect from Paris is that the people will be total assholes. Well let me tell you something: Parisians don't let you down. Assholes, all of them. However, taxi rides there are dirt cheap, and the French make excellent pastries, which was all we ate, so the city wasn't a total loss. I'm kidding, Paris was beautiful, especially at night. We saw the sunset from the top of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and we climbed all 720 steps and then took an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We also saw the Mona Lisa, which was truly amazing. Pictures of it do not do it justice. I was not expecting to be impressed, but if you ever get a chance to see it in person, do it. You'll see why it's 'the one.' Also, the Louvre was massive and spectacular, and I may or may not have solved the real Da Vinci Code. Turns out Jesus had a kid, whose great great grandson is... Jerry Seinfeld. How's that for brilliant writing and an unbelievable plot twist, Dan Brown?
London: London was the last stop on our week long tour d'insanity. Despite the over-tiredness, we still managed to get in a 14 mile round trip walk, during which we strolled through Hyde Park, St. James Park, and saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and a bunch of other things that I can't remember right now. The downside to London: their airports are NUTS. Through every airport you are allowed a carry-on and a personal item, like a purse. In London, forget about that purse. Well there was no way that snooty check-in woman was going to make me check a bag, so right in the middle of the airport, Kait, Erin, and I took the Physical Challenge, please. We packed every single item we had into our backpacks, our pockets, and anywhere else you can imagine. This involved taking out and wearing a few extra layers of clothing. Erin even managed to fit a bath towel in her coat pocket. Anyway, we put on quite an amusing show for the other passengers, and it all paid off. And then our flight was delayed several hours. You win some, you lose some.
Well, now we're back in Galway for two weeks of finals and drinking. Traveling made me realize two things: Irish people are WAY nicer than anyone else in Europe, and Irish tap water is way worse than anywhere else in Europe. Again, you win some, you lose some. Oh, and between the US, Ireland, the rest of Europe, and the UK, I now have no idea which side of the road cars should be on and I don't think I should drive for a while.
Sorry this has been so long. Can't wait to see you all!!!