Category Archives: Europe

Part One: Flight of Death into Friends and Beer and Happy

April 25, 2013 – The day we all have been waiting for.  The day I leave for Europe!!  I had a typical bad day at work, made even worse by it being “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”  Finally the day is over and I am FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!  Europe here I come!!

Well it seems that in addition to being “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”, it is also “Bring Your Kids to Belgium Day”

Whenever I book a flight, I pick my seat.  Last row, window seat on the right side of the plane.  Last row because it gives you the best chance of having a row to yourself.  Window seat because i can not breathe on planes.  Having the window next to me is psychosomatic and makes me feel like I have more oxygen.  Right side because that’s the way I lean when I fall asleep sitting up.

Tonight I get on the plane.  I am still at the door and I can hear the SCREAMING kid.  SCREAMING.  Now let me stop and explain a bit here.  Usually when someone talks about a screaming kid on a plane, it’s about a kid having a meltdown and just scream crying.  That was not what this one was doing.  It seemed to have having the worlds LOUDEST conversation with itself in a language only it spoke.  Lots of “BEEEEEEEEEEE BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP” just nonstop.

I make my way to the last row for my seat and this SCREAMING kid is in my seat.  Not in my row, not next to my seat, but IN MY SEAT.  Screaming away IN MY SEAT.  Not only that, but it looks like it is in for the long haul.  It is standing on my seat, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP-ing away, with all its stuff all over the place.   All over my seat, the floor, the seat back pocket.  It has a bag under the seat in front of it.  I recheck my boarding pass because surely I am at the wrong seat?  I’m not.  So my next logical thought is that this thing is in the wrong seat.  I try telling it that it’s in my seat and all I get back is “BEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP”    Finally, the father surfaces and asks me to switch to a middle row aisle seat.  Oh Hell no.  Don’t tell me you got on the plane and completely unpacked your kid in my seat, just expecting I would agree to switch because I won’t.  I tell him no, I need the window or else I will vomit.

So the kid is then moved to the available aisle seat next to mine. This is an enormous production since it had so much stuff unpacked and all over the freaking place.   Even though we are at the back of the plane, there are still people trying to get by so now we have a traffic jam.  The kid is still screaming.  Never once did its father try to get it to be quiet.  Not once.  Finally its out of my way and I am free to take my seat so I do.

I get settled.  Get my stuff out. Notebook, pen, gum, MP3 player, headphones.  I now have everything in the back seat pocket, I am ready to go. Now that I am all settled, this guy now goes all over the plane trying to find someone to give up their window seat to me, so that I can move and still have a window seat.  Then this SCREAMING kid can have my seat and the new person can take the middle aisle seat.  He finds someone.  I am tempted to still say no.  I never actually said I would move if he found me a new window seat.  Everything about this is obnoxious.

Continue reading

TODAY I AM GOING TO EUROPE

guide books

Woo hoo I am going to Europe!  Oh I am so excited.  As an extra special send off, I am spending my last day at work during “Bring Your Kids to Work Day”.  No please, never bring your kids to work. Ever.

My finalized itinerary is as follows:

Belgium – Sleeping in Geel for both Groezrock Fest and the pre-show, which is in Ham, Belgium. So excited for this.  I will also have one night in Brussels.  I wanted it to be Ghent but I waited to long to plan this out and I simply didn’t have the time to research it.  Until I quit my job and travel forever, I will keep my Type A personality and never be able to travel freely without over planning.

Paris – I never wanted to go here.  Now I am and oh hey, I’ll be there on a Monday when things are closed and also on May Day when things are closed.  Grade A Type A fail.

Naples – I will be going to Capri, Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii.

Rome – I am excited to cross the line into Vatican City and add it as another country I’ve visited on my list.  It’s not cheating. I swear.

Bosnia – Sarajevo and Mostar.  I may take a train one way between Sarajevo and Mostar as I’ve read it has really beautiful scenery even if it takes a lot longer than the bus.

Serbia – Sigh.  After doing and redoing and doing and redoing and (insert more and more and more doing and redoing) this part of my trip, I am settled.  I am going to Nis.  I want to be in Nis so bad.  It just took a while to get it to fit.  I would like to thank my new laptop and its installation of Free Cell for working my brain to be able to solve the puzzle of how to do this.  I am getting a partial overnight train ride on here.  That’s a cross off on my “List of Things I Want to do So Badly in Life”.

Bulgaria – Oh so excited for this part of my trip.  I knew NOTHING about this country when I started planning this trip.  Now I know everything.  I will be in Sofia, traveling to the Rila Monastery, Veliko Tarnovo and the place I am most excited for on this entire trip – BELOGRADCHIK.   Let me post the picture again!

061_001_Belogradchishkakrepost.jpgI can not wait to have my own picture to post.

Then last stop, Istanbul.  I still have no idea how to get there.  I have so many routes printed out.  Nothing is clear at all except that at one time, there was a train from Veliko Tarnovo to Istanbul.  It may or may not be running due to construction. It may or may not leave at 23:04, 23:28, 00:04.  There is also a bus…maybe.  It may be run by Matpu or Oz Batu or maybe there’s two, one by each company.  What time do these buses leave?  Damned if I know.  Matpu shows schedules from Plovdiv, not Veliko Tarnovo.  Oz Batu doesn’t exist on the internet.

So that’s that.  I can not wait!

One Week Until Europe!

I need this vacation so bad.  I can not wait to be out in the world where my biggest stress is not being able to find iced coffee.

I am STILL not ready to leave.  I am not even sure how this happened.  I am one of those “packs months in advance!” neurotic kinda gals.  My life is just so hectic right now. I can not wait to escape it.  I can not wait to be standing HERE:

061_001_Belogradchishkakrepost.jpg

How do places like that exist on this planet and why the hell have I waited so long to see them?

I am also insanely excited to take my first steps on the continent of Asia.  Sure it’s cheating as I am doing this in Istanbul.  But I’m counting it.

Yesterday, my job asked us to pick which summer Fridays we want.  I love picking summer Fridays.  I love how I was already off for four of them, so I am gaining back more vacation time.  This also means I now have an additional two long weekends that I need to make plans for.

My head is all over the place today.  My job is insane. The people who work here should not be allowed to see daylight.   I can not wait to be far away.  Come on one week from today…..just one more week.  I can do this.

 

 

 

Three Weeks Until Euro Extravaganza!

This morning I got up for work.  My first thought was “THREE WEEKS UNTIL VACATION!!!!”.  While getting my morning iced coffee out of the refrigerator, I noticed a fortune cookie that was leftover from last weekend.  I opened it and got THIS:

goningYes misspelled fortune cookie, yes I am.

My trip is so soon and I am still not ready.  Today I have decided to redo my itinerary again.  This is all because I can not find out if the Nis, Serbia bus station has luggage lockers. I had planned to stop there for a few hours between Sarajevo and Sofia.   If i take a chance and leave my trip the way its been cemented in for weeks now, I may find myself carrying my bag around sightseeing.  The internet tells me nothing.  So here I am right now taking a break from going  nutso and redoing my itinerary to switch out the “stop there for a few hours” part with “spend one night in Nis”.  Then I have to find a night in Bulgaria to give up so that I have a night to spend there.  I really need to consider booking more flexible trips, where I don’t insist upon seeing so much at one shot, so that I do have spare days.  But I don’t want to, because I want to see every inch of planet earth right NOW.

So my updated upcoming travels are now:

April 26 – May 20 – Europe

May 22 – May 27 – Seattle, WA

May 29 – June 3 – Austin, TX

June 6 – June 9 – combo of Chicago and Toronto.

I am the opposite of a fan of my job.  But I will admit that I am in love with both the amount of vacation time I get, as well as the fact that they let me take it all in a row like this.  Most places would not.

 

 

Milan, Italy: Last Stop on First Backpacking Trip

duomo milan italy

After a full day in Florence, it was time to head to Milan, my last stop on this trip.

Upon arriving at Milan Central, I was really surprised to see how elegant this train station is.  I was not expecting that.  You could seriously spend some time here just admiring it.

milan train station, milan italy

milan train station, milan, italy

 

train station, milan, italy

Even though this is my last stop, I am still staying near the train station so that I can take a shuttle to the airport.  I am at Hotel Cristallo, which is a mere two blocks from the train station…if you don’t get lost.  I did, as always.  So it took me about an hour to get to my hotel.  I wish I were kidding or exaggerating.

Continue reading

Pisa, Italy: Leaning Tower of Pisa and Baptistry

The second biggest highlight of my trip to Florence, right behind Ponte Vecchio, was my side trip to Pisa.  Before leaving home, I stopped at Target to buy a diary to bring with me.  I found one with the Leaning Tower of Pisa on it.  I thought how much I would love going through this trip, writing in my diary and then getting to take a picture of it in front of the tower.
diary

Continue reading

Florence, Italy: Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, Boboli Gardens and Piazzale Michelangelo

 

ponte-vecchio-from-piazzale-1024x768I am in love with bridges. I love the way they look, I love walking over them.  I have several bookmarks of bridges I am dying to visit on my computer.

Once I had my airfare figured out for this trip and discovered I would be flying home from Milan, the first thing I did was check and see if a trip to Florence to see if Ponte Vecchio was feasible.  It was!  I am going to see Ponte Vecchio!

The train from Venice to Florence was one of those where you are forced to sit facing someone.  The couple across from me were actually in the wrong car.  They belonged in first class.  When they were told this by the attendant, they opted to stay in their seats, across from me, facing me.  MOVE GOD DAMMIT.  YOU BELONG IN FIRST CLASS.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

I arrive in Florence in the evening.  I am staying at Hotel Bellavista, located right near the train station.  I always prefer being in walking distance of the train station so that I don’t risk being late and missing my train when it’s time to leave.  I of course get lost, because this is what I do.  This time it was because my map showed that if I were to make a right at the McDonalds, the street my hotel was on would be right there.  Turns out it was, but I was making a right at the McDonalds near the train station exit and my map was referencing one right outside the train station.  Who needs all these freaking McDonalds?  We aren’t in America for crissakes.

Continue reading

Venice, Italy: You Are Beautiful But I Still Don’t Like You

rialto bridge, venice, italy

Ahhhh….Venice.  The city once dubbed by The New York Times as “the most beautiful city built by man.”  Who would not love Venice?

Me. That’s who.  Allow me to channel my inner Grumpy Cat for this post.

I could not wait to be in Venice.  I bought not one, not two, but THREE Venice guide books.  I even carried one around with me on this trip so I could gaze lovingly at the colorful pictures in anticipation.

And as it turns out I hated Venice. Hated it.

Continue reading

A Fantastic Afternoon Spent in Ljubljana, Slovenia YAY Funicular

I have absolutely nothing written in my diary from Slovenia.  Luckily, I am armed with pictures to remind me.

I left Croatia very early in the morning.  The views on the train ride from Zagreb were absolutely stunning. I want to live here:

i want to live here slovenia

I got to Ljubljana, put my bag in a storage locker and took off.  This was the first place I found canned iced coffee.  ICED COFFEE.  I had been craving it for so long.  I drank it in like one continuous gulp.

Ljubljana is beautiful.  It also features my three favorite things:  bridges, funiculars and castles!.  I love bridges, I love funiculars and I love castles! Continue reading