Guten
Tag/ Hello/ Bonjour/ Ciao!
It
is hard to believe I set foot in four different countries over spring break! I can't say it was spring weather though.
I left Italy last Friday, stayed in Germany for 3 days, England for 3 days, and
France for 2 days. I am now on the flight back to Italy. It has been a
whirlwind of a week, but a great one nonetheless. If I were to give you a
play-by-play of the week you'd be reading this for hours. So to preserve your
sanity I will narrow it down to my top five experiences in each country.
Top
5 experiences in Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, and Mainz, Germany:
5)
The language - It is like they transform a whole sentence into one word.
4)
Trying for hours to get into the apartment we were staying in (my friend's
cousin's apartment) just to find out we had the wrong door.
3)
The delicious food - I was missing meat and Germany certainly had a lot of
that.
2)
Thai Massage - Lindsey and I stumbled upon a cheap massage place in Mainz &
decided to check it out. I had never had a Thai massage before so I wasn't
expecting them to climb on top of my back. I have to say it was great
though.
1)
Our accidental trip to Frankfurt - We missed our stop on the train to Mainz, so
we just stayed on until we hit Frankfurt! It is very unlike me to be ok with
something like this, but this experience is certainly teaching me to be
flexible.
Top
5 experiences in London, England:
5)
The Generator - This was my first experience in a hostel and I loved it. It
reminded me of a dorm and it was a great hostel to stay in. It was clean and
the staff was very helpful.
4)
English - I can't lie; being able to speak English and have everyone understand
me was glorious. It had been a month and a half since I had that luxury and I
missed it. The accents are great, too!
3)
Fish and Chips - I was a little apprehensive before trying this specialty, but
knew I had to do it. I'm not a fan of fish, but the cod we had was great. It
wasn't too fishy, so I definitely enjoyed it.
2)
The London Eye - We got to experience London from up in the sky. It was
beautiful at night, but I would love to do it again during the day. What was so
great about this was the group we were in. The people in our pod consisted of
couples trying to have romantic dates & families with hilarious boys
running around ruining the dates. It really made me miss my brothers, but the
boys cheered me up after having to run to The Eye in fear of being late. They
were also the second group of people to mistake me as Canadian while in London.
I am still confused about that.
1)
Warner Brothers Studio Tour - HARRY POTTER! I can't begin to tell you how
excited I was to get to see the real set where Harry Potter was filmed.
Top
5 experiences in Paris, France:
5)
Walking around - It was fun to walk around at night and experience Paris after
dark. We followed a Travelocity App walking tour (download it if you're
traveling - you can use it without wifi) through the highlights of Paris.
4)
Breakfast - I clearly have a problem talking about the food in every country,
but I can't deny my love of food. We had breakfast just across from our hotel
both mornings. It was a delicious, authentic, and huge French breakfast
including a croissant with jam, 2 slices of baguette with butter, fruit, tea,
water, and orange juice. It was great.
3)
Eiffel Tower - I was excited to go up the tower & besides the freezing
weather it was great. We went all the way to the summit and got to see all of
Paris with just a walk around the top of the tower.
2)
The Catacombs - This was beyond creepy, but I enjoyed the odd experience. I can
now say I've seen thousands of skulls in just an hour.
1)
Crepes galore - I had way too many Crepes in 2 days: two chocolate with banana,
one chocolate with strawberry, one just chocolate, and one with strawberry jam.
That's ridiculous, but I have no regrets. I can now say I have found my desert
of choice.
I
can't believe I got all that - and more - done in one week. I am so blessed to
have this experience and it wouldn't have happened without each of you. Please
know you are beyond appreciated.
Baci,
Samantha
P.S.
"Baci" means "kisses" in Italian. Instead of writing
"love" at the end of letters they use "baci".
