Lessons and Conclusions from 3 Weeks in Europe

Now that I have been home for nearly a week I have been able to reflect a little on my trip. Sometimes when I remember it, it seems as if we were there just yesterday. Other times, it seems as if it were all a dream. Anyways, here are a few conclusions I made about traveling.

First of all, it always pays to be nice to people. Even if it is tough, being kind and generous is always the way to go.

Next, don't believe all of the stereotypes you hear about Europe. For example, not everyone wears black clothes 24/7, most French people are quite nice if you are nice to them, and, disappointingly, not every gondola ride in Venice includes an opera performance:)

Thirdly, don't be afraid to 'wing it.' I mean yes you should probably plan out everywhere you are staying ahead of time but you don't have to plan every single activity beforehand. For example, in Italy we really enjoyed taking back roads to some of the major towns just to get a feel for the rural life in Italy. Also, eating at random street-side cafes is sometimes more fun than having a fancy dinner reservation every night.

Here are some general tips for traveling if you ever plan on going to Europe:

• Pack extremely light (we had to haul our luggage quite a long ways in Venice and also there are really no elevators in European hotels or b&bs)
• Keep your money and passport on you always- even though none of us witnessed pickpockets, it is comforting to know where your valuables are at all times
• Allow a few rest days because touring and sight seeing is more tiring than you think
• If you plan on renting a car, know how to drive a manual-automatic cars are not common in Europe
• Try new things- you can't discover something good until you try it

I absolutely loved my vacation and I wouldn't trade it for anything. However, if I had to pick one thing that 3 weeks in Europe taught me it would be that there really is no place like home. Meeting so many different people made me realize how passionate everyone is about their homeland. And, upon arriving back in the U.S. I felt a really strong sense of patriotism that I had never felt before. Although I have a strong passion for traveling, the familiarity of suburban Minnesota is indeed comforting.

Made it to the U.S.A.

After a long morning (5am wake up) we have made it to New York. It is surprisingly refreshing to be back in the country. Everything is more familiar and everyone speaks English!!:) However, it is kind of sad not knowing if and when I will ever be back to Europe. One more conncection flight to make it to Minneapolis. Glad as well as sad to be home.

Florence

This morning we woke up at 8 and got ready fast in order to go to Florence today. The drive took longer than we thought due to morning traffic. When we did get to Firenze (we call it Florence in English) it was really hard to find a place to park. However, we finally were lucky enough to find one eventually. We then walked to the main basilica in Florence. It was really stunning! Even though we didn't go inside the outside stone architecture was amazing. We ate lunch at a cafe right next to the cathedral. I had a salad that was very refreshing. Then, we strolled around the church to look at shops and street entertainment that was going on. Mom was super excited when she found a shop full of leather jackets. The guy that ran the shop tried to sell her a really tight fitting red one but she instead picked a nice brown one. Right outside of the cathedral there were two horses pulling a carriage. We sat and watched the man feed them while Mom picked out her jacket. I really enjoyed hanging out around the square with the basilica. Florence is a larger town than I thought it was and there are so many more things that I would have liked to see in the town-I guess I have to have a reason to come back;) Once we were tired of the heat in Florence we drove back to the town where we are staying. We felt obliged to say goodbye to Angela at the pizzaria since she has helped us out so much. Mom and Dad are still at the pizzaria but the rest of us came back to the villa to pack. Unfortunately we have to leave tomorrow:( I have had a really great last day in Italy and I would definitely come back! 

Basilica in Florence

Last hike up the hill!

Lucca Half Day 7/11

Since we had a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in late today and go to Lucca in the afternoon. I enjoyed hanging out in the morning by the pool. At about 2 we headed towards Lucca. We first stopped at a village called Massarosa because Mom wanted to look at pottery. It turns out that there weren't really any pottery shops there like we had thought. So, we continued on to Lucca through the mountains on a more scenic route. Once we arrived we found the city to be much more lively than it had been on our other visit. I think this was due to the time we went there. All of the shops were open and there were many street performers. There were these funny mimes that looked like they were sitting in thin air! While Mom and Dad looked at pottery Brynn and I found some cute leather keychains to buy. We also had a before dinner gelato:) We then watched some street performer for a while-a violinist, russian musicians, and the mimes. Next we ate dinner at a really nice and quiet cafe. I had some grilled cod and vegetables. It was a little undercooked for my taste but it was okay. When we finished dinner Mom went back to the pottery shop and Grandma and Grandpa bought her some pottery for her birthday in September. It is really pretty! While she was picking out pottery Brynn, Dad, and I found a bakery and tried a hazelnut brownie (did I mention we are eating our way through Europe?!) Anyway, Mom is really happy with her pottery. Then we left Lucca and came back to the villa. We played one more game of Monopoly deal and are going to bed now! Ciao:)

Brynn tried a wild cherry that she found on the path by the villa. Sour!!

Cinque Terre 7/10

I have had such a fun day! This morning we woke up a little earlier to get to the Cinque Terre at a good time. The Cinque Terre is a chain of 5 towns along the coast and they are perched on cliffs-some call it the Italian riviera. The lady renting us the house told us to take the train from La Spezia as it was much easier than any other method of trasnport. So we drove to La Spezia and  rode to Corniglia (the third town in the bunch). Brynn, Grandma, and Grandpa decided they didn't want to go on a hike with us so they continued on the train to Vernazza to meet us there. Once in Corniglia Mom, Dad, and I got a sandwich and cold water so we were energized for the walk. Then, we made the hour and a half trek from Corniglia to Vernazza. It was such a beautiful hike despite the heat and steep climb. We loved the view because the trail went up very high. Along the way there were accordian players and people selling their goods (although everyone was too hot and sweaty to think about shopping for souvenirs). I thought the Cinque Terre was one of the best parts of our trip so far. After the long but rewarding hike we met up with the rest of the family in Vernazza. I got some more water and a little gelato to refresh me after the hike. We looked around Vernazza but it wasn't as interesting as I thought it might have been. Then, we took the train to Monterosso, the fifth and furthest village in Cinque Terre. This village is closer to the sea and actually had a good stretch of rocky beach. Brynn and Grandma couldn't resist the cool water-both went and dipped their feet in. After exploring Monterosso and determining that it was a little too touristy we headed back to La Spezia via the train. Then we drove to a grocery store to get dinner. We bought a lot of fruit and stocked up on water and juice. Upon heading back to the villa we stopped at the pizzaria that Angela works at. We had a snack and continued to converse with her. We found out she grew up in Canada and speaks 4 languages. She loves talking to us because she says she never gets to practice her English. After that we headed up the hill with our groceries. Since it wasn't very late we hung out by the pool and played Monopoly Deal. Tomorrow we are going to sleep in. I am really enjoying Italy because it is warm and has a lot to do!

Views from our hike

Rocky beach at Monterosso

Day of Freestyling 7/9

Since we didn't really have a plan today we decided to drive northward to see what ever looked interesting. Brynn and I slept in until about 9:30 then ate some light breakfast. We headed out and were on the road about 11:30. The first town we stopped in was called Pietrasanta- it was small but charming. Dad and Grandma ate lunch there but the rest of ua weren't hungry. We found the town square and explored a little. Unfortunately it was lunch time and most of the businesses were closed. Once we were ready we moved on to a little bit larger town called Massa. Upon driving in we saw a large castle on a hill-it looked cool so we drove up to it. Dissapointingly it was closed for some reason. After that it started to rain lightly. Our next adventure led us to the town of Fort dei Marmi which is on the sea. There was a long pier that we went out on. We watched kids jump off of it and saw quite a few large jellyfish! Then we strolled up and down the town streets. We found some amazing gelato flavored nutella and banana. I was in heaven! I really enjoyed the seaside town because it doesn't have as many tourists as some other places  we have been and it is so pituresque. We continued to drive along the sea until we arrived back where we were at yesterday. There is a long stretch of walkway that extends parallel to the beach that we walked along. I can't get over how far the beach stretches! We found a spot to sit down and have a cold drink and a snack before dinner at 8. Brynn and I continued to stoll the walkway. Then around 7 we headed for the restaurant that we had reserved. It took us a long time to find it because the GPS doesn't work very well in the mountains. It was so worth the frustration though! When we arrived I was awed by the setup of the restaurant. It sits on rocks right above a stream and waterfall! I can't describe it very well but all I can say is it was one of the coolest places I have ever been. I ate a sort of pasta stuffed with beef and cheese. It had a red sauce too. The best part of the meal was the dessert! We had marscapone with strawberries and panacotta with dark chocolate. It was amazing! After dinner we climbed up the hill in the dark then took cold showers because there seems to be no more hot water. It is almost midnight so we will go to bed soon. I had a wonderful day especially exploring the towns by the sea and the dining experience. 

View from Fort dei Marmi pier(rain in the mountains)

Some tropical flair:)

Gorgeous seaside path with various shops

Brynn,me,grandma at the restaurant

Day at the Beach 7/8

After seeing three different bodies of water we finally got to spend a day swimming in one-yay! We got to the beach at about 11 this morning and just as we expected Angela had reserved us a big shade cabana with beach chairs that was really close to the sea. The entire beach is all private so we were glad that we had planned ahead and reserved a spot. It wasn't extremely busy because it is Monday but there were a fair amount of people there. Today was very hot so it felt good to be in the sea. The beach was very shallow even for a long way out. It was also very long and it seemed as if you could walk for miles. We spent all day there until about 5. In between we had lunch at a restaurant very close to the cabana. I had what I thought would be a small sandwich but came out as a huge pizza thing with a crust on top! I was very surprised and felt wasteful- I guess that's what I get for not knowing a word of Italian! After lunch we continued to swim-the waves got larger in the afternoon and we had more fun! After the beach we went back to have a light dinner in the restaurant where we continue to go. Angela was there and we thanked her for her help with the beach cabana. She brought us big antipasta platters of grilled vegetables, ham, and bruscetta. It was very tasty and refreshing after the beach! Now we are trying to plan out our day tomorrow. I am so glad we got to go to the beach today!

Cabanas

Panorama of the beach

Quite a few people!

Beach girls:)

Nice scenery with mountains in the background!