On June 11th I took off on an unforgettable trip to Europe. I saw beautiful places and met some amazing people. Needless to say, I made memories that will last a lifetime. Maybe that sounds like a complete cliché, but it's the honest truth. From swimming off the coast of Northern France, getting mooned by drunk Parisians to seeing the British Royal family and walking into a "coffee shop" in Amsterdam, it was definitely a vacation that I will always remember. I would apologize for how long this post is, but here are all the adventures I hold so close to my heart...
Day 1: We leave America, with a few hour layover in the JFK airport. It's the closest I've been to New York. Then, we catch a red-eye to London. When I wake up, we are near landing at Heathrow airport. It's about 8.. the
next morning. From the little plane window I see the green expanse of England and old buildings that resemble castles. I feel like I am in a dream and/or have just traveled through time. After we go through customs we wait for our buses and we are off. I exchange some US currency for pounds and buy a sandwich at a British eatery known, cleverly, as "EAT." We have a "short" walking tour that lasts what feels like an eternity. I'm so exhausted I want to fall over and sleep in the middle of Trafalgar Square. I eat macaroons and visit Picadilly Square, which resembles a Times Square.
 |
| Trafalgar Square |
 |
| Piccadilly |
Day 2: Another day in London. We go on a bus tour and see all the corners of London. Then, we pay a visit to the gates of Buckingham Palace and await the royal family. It's the Queens birthday parade, and in a whimsical moment I see Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, Prince William, Prince Charles, and The Queen herself. I take a tour of Windsor Castle and see the royal guard. At dusk we go on a tour of the infamous Jack the Ripper's killing spots and had a super odd guide for it that dressed in all black and carried a lantern around. That night at the hotel I sit in the sauna with friends and take a dive in the modern infinity pool.
 |
| St. Paul's |
 |
| Waiting for The Queen (I got that on video) |
 |
| Windsor |
Day 3: The next morning we eat the decadent hotel breakfast and say goodbye to London. It's a sad farewell. We stop in Canterbury, which is sleepy on a Sunday morning. I buy a coffee at a quaint shop and watch a talented street performer. It's a relaxing morning, and from there we head off to Dover to catch a ferry to France. The cliffs of Dover are impressive and majestic in a way. The ferry was big and comfortable. I stood up on deck to watch the cliffs melt away into the clouds. I got a Starbucks and a few friends and I played cards on a couch. In about an hour, we were in France. In Bretagne (Brittany) we go order our own dinner and get ice cream. We eat "pizza margarite" and walk around the water. The buildings are beautiful and remind me of something from an old romance movie. We head off to our hotel, which is a tragically old building that has been remodeled on the inside to look like Ikea. The shower has no door and the toilet is in a separate rooms. It was funny in an uncomfortable, "are you kidding me," sort of way.
 |
| Leaving Dover |
Day 4: The breakfast in the morning was decent, and from there we went to the "bitches of Normandy" as our French tour guide called them. He tried his best to pronounce "beaches" but it came out as "bitches, bitches, bitches." We visited a beautiful D-Day museum and explored the American gardens. The American Cemetery was a touching tribute and beautifully executed. We left the beaches of Normandy ("au revoir bitches of Normandy") and headed for Saint Malo. We got to St. Malo in the afternoon and went to a crepe dinner. We had a couple hours of free time in the afternoon and, since the sun sets around 10:30-11 there, friends and I walked along the wall and out on the rocks to watch the sun set over the sea. It was a perfect evening, and Ainsley and I then retreated to our room back at the hotel, which was on the very top floor. It was probably my favorite hotel, the Anne de Bretagne, given it was in the heart of the already small St. Malo. We could come in and out as we pleased and go shopping and for drinks whenever we had free time. Our hotel room was smaller but had a homey feel to it.
 |
D- Day Museum |
 |
| Omaha Beach |
Day 5: In the morning, Ainsley and I woke to the screaming of seagulls out our open window. We had left the window open and the room was freezing with that ocean breeze. The birds were so loud they sounded like freaking monkeys had been cut loose in the city. We all had a croissant breakfast and then left for the Mont Saint Michel. It was a breathtaking old monastery. We got to explore it on our own and afterwards we got some ice cream on the walk back down. The view surrounding Mont Saint Michel is unreal, and if the tide had been higher we would have been completely isolated from land. After leaving the monastery, we returned to St. Malo, grabbed a quick fromage (cheese) sandwich and then waited for a one hour walking tour. The tour guide had a thick French accent, and I strained to hear him most of the time. Unfortunately, I was a little too distracted by the blue ocean view and old rooftop skyline. After the walking tour, we had about six or seven hours of free time before dinner. Ainsley and I joined some friends from the other bus and we climbed up to the top of this little island. It had breathtaking views of the sea and walled, ancient city. My group of friends were the only people up there, and while we were there we decided to climb over to a little castle that was most likely used to protect the city from pirates. It required scaling lots of rocks and clams, but once I was sitting up on the rocks beside the little castle it was definitely worth it. The group broke up from there, and Ainsley, Alyssa, and I decided to swim in an isolated part of the ocean. The water was still so it had the swimming pool vibe. The water was freezing, but we all ran in and after awhile it didn't feel so cold. The sunlight kept us warm. Michael joined us and we all sat in the water for some time together. Then, since the other bus ate at a different time then us, Alyssa and Michael had to go get dressed for dinner. So, Ainsley and I waded around for a little bit more. After a bit, we toweled off and said "let's go get a beer." We got two from a little cart and drank the Chat-Malo's on the way back to the hotel. We showered the sea off of us and dressed for an evening of dinner and shopping. Ainsley and I got an ice cream and window shopped around town before joining a few friends in a pub. From there, we headed off to dinner and enjoyed a wonderful salmon salad. We weren't back to the hotel until around 10:30, but of course the sky was still light. We hung out in a friend's hotel room before curfew and this time, we shut our window before falling asleep.
 |
| We reached the top of the hill |
Day 6: Of course, in the morning, the seagulls still roared. We left Saint Malo, which was a true tragedy. But it was okay, given our next stop was Paris. It was about a four hour drive from St. Malo to Paris, but the views were wonderful. We had about an hour to relax in the Paris hotel before having to catch the light rail system to the city. We took the metro from there and headed straight to a delicious dinner. Afterward, we had a bit of free time before our river cruise along the Seine. Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was out of this world. The river cruise was particularly fun because it was very peaceful and we got to see all the Parisians sit along the river with wine bottles, music, and food. Some would wave to us, and one very drunk guy mooned us. The river cruise was a little over an hour, and afterwards our tour guide, Romain, made us wait to see the tower twinkle for five minutes. It was a magical experience and everyone became best friends that night.
 |
| Tour de Eiffel |
Day 7: We had a tour of Paris on a rainy day and then got to go to Versailles. It was such a beautiful place and the gardens were incredible. I mostly loved the flowers and how green everything was. It was amazing to say the least. Having great tour guides made it all the better because I learned a lot and was able to see a lot. We had options that afternoon to either go shopping or go to the top of skyscraper that had amazing views of the city. I opted for the latter and am so grateful I did. I got to see the entire city, including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
 |
| The best view |
 |
| Hall of Mirrors |
 |
| Versailles |
 |
| Arc de Triomphe |
Day 8: The next day we went to Notre Dame and everyone immediately goes, "Where's Quasimodo?" After we went inside Notre Dame, we walked to the Louvre and spent a couple hours there. I got to see Mona Lisa in real life, and some really beautifully intricate statues. After our time at the Louvre, we ventured to the Opera House, where we were able to break off and explore for a few hours before we had to meet for dinner back at the cathedral. I shopped mostly for my family and got some more ice cream. We did a lot of walking that day, but Mackinzie and I made it back to Notre Dame promptly. We had our last dinner in Paris and bid a bittersweet farewell to the city.
 |
| Notre Dame |
 |
| The Love Lock Bridge that is currently lock-less |
 |
| Louvre |
 |
| Mona |
 |
| Sitting on the Seine |
Day 9: The next morning it was up bright and early to get to the train station. I slept on the freezing cement floor of the station for over an hour, waiting for our train to Amsterdam. The train ride was about three hours, and when we reached the Netherlands and got off the train, I was immediately frozen. A cool breeze made my teeth chatter while we waited for our bus. A bunch of Scottish men celebrating a bachelor party waved at our entire group and talked to some of our teachers. We went to Dam Square where we broke off to get lunch. Friends and I got fries in a cone and a dessert waffle before shopping at a boutique. My friend Mikayla and I really needed a bathroom, so the lady working the boutique suggested the "coffee shop" right around the block. Well, it wasn't the cute cafe I was expecting, but some eccentric weed lounge. I nearly passed out from the thick air engulfing us. We were kicked out and ultimately Mikayla and I both had to pay a Euro to use the restroom. After we all met up at Dam Square, we took a boat tour around all of Amsterdam. All the buildings are something else there. We ate an Asian meal for dinner and then waited in line at the Anne Frank house for over an hour. The bench from TFIOS was replaced by a marble bench drilled into the sidewalk, which was funny to see. The Anne Frank house itself was very touching and they did an excellent job keeping it maintained. The tribute to the Frank family left me speechless. It was very sad, but there was also an underlying current of hope. Back at the hotel that night, my roommates and I were down in the lobby playing chess when we made friends with some boys from Florida on a school trip, too. They talked about how they were going to Copenhagen, and for some reason I was very grateful for the places I had traveled to. Though I want to visit Copenhagen after seeing pictures, I loved getting to see London and Paris and, of course, St. Malo.
 |
| Dam Square |
Day 10: We took a bus tour of Amsterdam and went to a cheese and clog factory. It was this small little place and was weird yet interesting. We all got to pet a calf which was beyond adorable. After the tour we went to the I AMSTERDAM sign and got to shop around this market that was going on. I bought some gifts for my family there, and after our free time in the centre, we went to a cool art museum and saw some incredible paintings and sculptures. After dinner that night we had to get all packed to leave the next morning at yes, 4. I was rooming with Annalysa and Makayla, so we had our other friends come to our room while we packed. Our hotel room was nice and spacious, but the bathroom looked like something from a horror movie. The shower had no curtain, no glass wall, nothing. It just opened up into the rest of the bathroom and the lighting was really creepy and overall I showered as quickly as possible. We all said goodbye to Romain in the hotel lobby and then headed off to bed.
 |
| A cute calf |
 |
| Bikes everywhere |
Day 11: I slept for about three hours before we were up again, saying goodbye to Europe. The sky was dark when we woke up, but by the time we were on the bus, the sun was already rising. I slept on the flight back to America, where we had a five hour layover in Detroit. The airport was super nice, and I spent my name sitting and eating American food. The plane trip to Denver was not long at all, and when we saw all our family waiting I thought we would all pass out right there on the airport floor from exhaustion. I gave my family their souvenirs and fell asleep around 8 o'clock, waking up early the next morning. I was back.
 |
| Beautiful traveling faces |
When I was in Amsterdam, I could not wait to go home and sleep in my own bed. Now that I am back, I want nothing more than to catch the soonest flight to London and do it all over again. I want to go back to all the places I visited, and then venture off to Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, and wherever else the wind takes me.
My summer of 2015 is something I will never forget for as long as I live, all because of my time spent in Europe. I'm so grateful for adventures I went on and memories I made there. I had the time of my life. I hope everyone gets an adventure like that at least once. Until next time xxx.
