Training Wheels

You may be confused at the title but London was our version of training wheels. My crew is full of new travelers. I have come to the realization that when traveling you need to try things out, learn from the mishaps and you'll be better for the next time around. I don't need to go into all of our lessons learned but what I can say is I know our next stop will be that much better... We did lots of learning in London.

The greatest part about London is that it shares many similarities with America while still being a forgeign city. The worst thing about London is the British Pound, as Americans we lose lots of money on every purchase. 

The first day, Jaz and I got their a couple hours before Tara and Jess so we went and acted touristy with Carly who was there visiting Anne (a friend from OC who is studying to get her Masters in London). Anne played as our unofficial tour guide and took us to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Harrods. In a short time she showed us the ease of using the Tube and got me really excited to be back.

*I was in London two years ago for about 24 hours so I was very excited to explore London beyond the tourist spots. 

The first night we took a trip to Covent Garden (thanks Bronte for the recommendation!) and had to pick up a little gadget at the Apple Store. I only mention this because while at the Apple Store, we made friends and got a killer recommendation for dinner. We ended up at this pizza place called Home Slice. Home Slice was this tiny little shop bursting at the seems with lively conversations, liters of Wine and lots and lots of delicious pizza. Unfortunately the wait was around 2 hours so instead of sitting in, we found a curb in the little courtyard and sat and ate our pizza in the street. Sounds silly but it was so perfect after a long travel day!

After dinner we walked around for the rest of the night to try and stay on London time for as long as our bodies would let us. We walked all around Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street before calling it quits. The city was absolutely beautiful at night. 

The next day we began the marathon touring. Our first stop was to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. *first I would like to start a petition to ban selfie sticks. They were OUT OF CONTROL in this crowd.* There were a ton of people around but we ended up picking a spot next to this wonderful couple from Arizona. These are the times when the world feels really small and friendly. The changing was cool to see and we continued on our tour. We went into an art museum to use the restroom and ended up losing Jaz to the art. Those this know her know how typical this is. The rest of us hit the touristy stuff in Westminster before we went to tea. Tea time will get its own post because it was so memorable and unlike anything we do.

After tea we decided to continue the site seeing. Site seeing is a LOT more fun after unlimited champagne at tea... We went by the Thames and walked to the Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Stopping of course for impromptu photo shoots along thre way. 

We had big plans for the night but after the idea of a nap happened, we weren't going anywhere. Jet Lag finally got the best of me and I was up awkwardly from midnight to about 2:30am then forced myself to sleep. That was really the only night I had sleeping issues and it actually worked out fine because I got to chat with my fam bam!

The 4th of July came and went without any actual fireworks but I was a super fun day. We joked all day (with American superiority) that they should be mourning the day but instead they did what we do on Cinco De Mayo, turn it into a drinking holiday. We explored Shoreditch and ended up at markets, outdoor bars and discovered some amazing food! (I will update with more pictures soon!)

The night brought some fun local surprises and earned Jess a gold star (yes we give out gold stars!) One of Jess' cousins hooked us up with one of her guy friends who completely stepped up and gave us a great night. We started the night at this Tapas place in South London and then walked over to this parking garage where they were casually holding a full orchestra concert. The coolest part was that they played Appalacian Spring which I studied endlessly in AA10. (Yes, I studied in that class) The orchestra was short, only 45 min, then we continued up the parking garage to the roof where a lively rooftop bar showed us the whole London skyline. The view completely won over our hearts and the night was made. However, our night wasn't over and we enjoyed the London nightlife scene. 

This was a perfect end to our time in London. The next morning we said goodbye to the hostel and headed to the airport to catch our plane to Barcelona!

Turbulent

Before I get into stories, we made it safely to London and have already started adventuring!

With that being said, the whole process of getting here was just that... Turbulent.

Let's start with packing.  I wish I was sitting here outlying the perfect way to pack; finding a perfect balance of bringing the "right" things but still managing to pack in a small enough backpack that you don't topple over. Unfortunately when you wait until the last minute to shop and pack, this process becomes stress inducing and there is no "right" thing to bring. Packing for a trip like this brings out the truest bit of your personality. I learned a lot about myself just in the way I packed for this trip. For me personally, I have a huge need to be prepared so I packed everything from a toothbrush and toothpaste to wrinkle release spray. You may laugh but with no dryer, my clothes will still be looking good! I am the type of person who feels a sense of calm when being prepared so I made the choice to pack more to feel secure in the things I'm bringing. My travel partner Jaz is the complete opposite.

Our Bag Comparrison 

This girl could be thrown in the jungle and be so fine living in the trees. As neurotic as I am, she is a perfect balance and it has proven itself so true in the just 15 hours of travel. Let's just say I have an amazing mother who completely helped me keep my head on straight while still managing to pack everything I need (or so I hope!)

Try and think about what you would pack for two months... Would you rather go with everything you need or as little as possible and buy as you go? I think it's a great personality question to ask people!

So of course I turned into a stress ball and stayed that way until we got on the plane. We arrived at LAX and needed food, so of course Umami burger was the absolute greatest option! Let's just say it was a really good idea with poor execution. We had 20 mins to be at the gate and after 25 min I finally asked what the hold up was and they had completely forgotten my order... Lovely! So I sent Jaz to hold the plane (literally) while I waited,  then after I got my order proceeded to RUN through LAX. Don't worry Coach Linn, still got my killer form.

Another bout of turbulence hit when I couldn't convince anyone to switch seats with Jaz and I so we could sit together. So I tweeted out how unhappy I was that the old lady next to me wouldn't switch. Turns out that that lady was the sweetest thing to ever happen to that flight. I am totally guilty of judging a book by it's cover but I could not have been happier to spend 10 hours next to this wonderful woman. The flight was full of chatting about life, plenty of sleep and I even still had time to watch a movie. ( I highly recommend Into the Woods!) Everything was smooth sailing until the actual turbulence began!

HOLY SICKNESS. When three people in my section are using their vomit bags and I am on the verge of joining, you know it's bad. It wasn't the kind of turbulence that you worry over your life but instead the type that drops your stomach and churns anything inside it. It was miserable and I felt terrible from the point it started for the next couple hours.

Jaz and I made it through customs (woo!), into the tube easily (double woo!) and to the hostel all in the morning to start our journey. We met up with Carly and Anne and started the sightseeing while waiting for Tara and Jess to get here. Good news parents: we are all here, in one piece, and having way too much fun already! I will write all about our trip soon but it's adventure time!

The Blog is Back!

The blog is back and I am ready for my next European Adventure!!

I haven't been on the blog since I left Europe two years ago. I offer it as reference to people traveling to the places I mentioned but other than that, I have kind of forgotten it is here.  With that being said, I had a couple posts from two summers ago that were drafted but never posted, so this morning I pulled the trigger and posted the last couple.  Of course there are some that are half finished that will never see the light of day because my memory doesn't take me back to those minuscule details so the posts will remain as drafts.

For the next two months, I will be taking Europe...again! However this time I am brining along 3 adventurous friends and we are backpacking across the continent. Tune in for stories of our travels, exciting pictures and recommendations of every place we encounter along the way. Hopefully, I can entice each of the group to do a guest blog post so you don't get board of just one voice! I can't wait to share with you all, cheers to many more adventures!

Here is the Europe group, I don't think you will see us this cleaned up for the next two months! 

Last night I reached out to my Facebook friends to hopefully gain some insight and recommendation on the places we are traveling, I was completely blown away by the response. Not only did people share their recommendations on the post but they began messaging me and sending me emails filled with their own experiences.  I am so thankful for all their advice and I cannot wait to see the best of all these cities.  I truly believe recommendations are the way to go when traveling, especially as a jumping off point to create my own adventures.  So thank you to everyone who contributed, you are making our trip so much better!

Where is the Love?

Prague was a very eye opening experience for me.  I think it was one of the first places where I didn't really know much about the place before going there and kind of booked the trip on a whim.  Since I didn't know anything about the sites, the culture, or the language, Prague wouldn't have been my first place to travel but it landed in my plate through spontaneous action, and I am so thankful it did.

My original plan was to meet Dana (my roommate from last year), and then spend the rest of the time with Matt (a friend form Florence.)  Well, we all know that plans rarely work like they should and this one didn't either.  Instead, I had Cara (friend from home who I have known since we were 6), meet me in Prague.  We had no plans, and kind of decided to just explore.  I had reached out to some friends to get some brief suggestions but we were kind of on our own. 

I had a hellish experience getting to Prague because I decided to sacrifice reputation for price.  It worked on my trip to Barcelona, but backfired in this case (I am dedicating an entire post to my airport experiences so check back later!) I got on a train at 6am, flew Wizz Air (DONT EVER DO IT) from Milan's Bergamo airport and met Cara at the airport in Prague.  We made a meeting place and our flights were scheduled to land at the same time. Mine got briefly delayed but there Cara was when I arrived (Thank goodness!)  We had directions from our hostel about how to get there from the airport but they weren't terribly clear.  Unlike Florence, the ticket machines use coins only and they are no screens so the language that appears is the only one you get.  We also realized it was a different currency so we needed to solve the money issue before we went anywhere.  The next issue was that the Czech language doesn't resemble anything we recognize  so there was no hope in the deductive reasoning I had used up until this point through my knowledge of Spanish and Romanian (Thank you Georgiana.) When we tried buying tickets from the bus driver her kept repeating things back for a good 2 minutes until she shook his head and grabbed the correct coin from me (Dumb Americans, right?) I looked at Cara and thought we were going to be doomed for the next 3 days.

Only highlight was seeing the sun rise on the train

Luckily, it was uphill from there, minus an expected detour as we figured out the metro system.  All was good and arrived at our hostel.  The last hostel I stayed at wasn't exactly a hostel but this one was more like a hotel.  It was 3 in the afternoon and as we walked in the door, there were college aged kids everywhere hanging out in the bar which took up the entire first floor.  We checked in, got wifi and went downstairs to join the fun. We ate lunch, took a nap and then decided to explore the area.

Once again, I had no prior knowledge of the area, I usually do research (I didn't this time), and all I had was a map that I didn't like to pull out. 

This was necessary. Tim & I on our first night in Florence attempting to find home.

Side Note:  I have a thing about pulling out maps in public.  Yes, sometimes it is absolutely necessary but if it's not, put your map away.  The second you pull your map out you are letting everyone around you know you are a tourist.  I know that it is obvious by the way I dress and speak, but I love experiencing the culture.  I feel like the typical tourist label is a person stuck in their own culture, unaware of those around them and not courteous to the new place you are inhibiting.  I like just wondering and going with the flow and maps most certainly take that away. However, I am a guilty map user when need be. 

We walked right over to the Vltava river and headed straight to the Charles Bridge.  The sun was setting and the scene was just gorgeous.  There is a certain light that I have noticed during sunset in Europe that hits the architecture of these stunning locations and makes it look so romantic (yes, buildings can be romantic too.) 

We then continued toward the old square.  We followed the path of people because I felt they would lead us in the right direction, they did.  The streets that you walk down feel like Disneyland.  Someone had told me this prior to my arrival but I will pass along the message, Prague is literally adult Disneyland. I was wondering what characterized this in my mind and this is what I concluded:

1. Everyone is from somewhere around the world speaking a million languages around you at each second

2. The buildings are colored and remind you of walking down any of the streets in the park with colored buildings.

3. For the amount of people, the city is extremely clean

4. You have to pay to get into everything!

5. But you have fun at each attraction

6. There is a huge castle that you can see anywhere you are

7. Lastly, there is a happiness and joy you can feel in the city similar to the feeling from little children that are at Disneyland.  There is a sense of community, happiness and love in the air (Crazy huh?) I think it is because everyone is surrounded by a city that looks as it did 100 years ago and everyones in awe.



One of the first things my mom told me to see in Prague was the astronomical clock, and if I timed it right, to see it on the hour for a little show. She LARGLY overhyped this event.  We walked around and waited for 30 minutes to see the clock on the hour, I was ready with my phone to take video and there was a huge crowd gathered.  I started to get excited, what was going to come out? A trumpeter? Fireworks? A song? 

NONE OF THE ABOVE was the answer. I was deeply disappointed.  The cool thing is that this clock looks amazing from the outside and they constructed it a long time ago so it was very advance for its time.  If this is anyone's favorite thing in Prague, I am sorry but I need realistic expectations next time (wink wink Mom.)    

              We ended up wondering back to the hostel just in time for the crowd to really pick up downstairs.  I invited Dana over here because we were finally both in the same city and I missed her face! We were really tired and wanted to get a jump start on our touring the next day so we said we were going to go be social and meet people and then come back up at a reasonable hour.  Not only did this not happen, we ended up making friends, they took us touring the city, and we didn't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning. Fun, of course, but far from our idea.  Our friends were from Canada and they had been to Prague before.  They took us to the coolest place, it was made out of metal and looked like artwork covering all 4 stories. I attempted to take pictures but it just doesn't do this place justice.  Since it was a Sunday night, none of the places were crowded and we got to explore the whole space which was fun. They also knew how to work the taxi business.  

Apparently in Prague, taxis can be sketchy and you have to agree to an estimate before you get in the cab because they are notorious for driving your money around town. The cab driver attempted this and the guys called him out and he quickly took us to our next destination.  We had a fun night and it was so nice to be taken around since we would not have experienced any of that by ourselves. We even learned that they dream to live in California (who wouldn't?!)

We had a slow start the next day and nothing planned.  We decided to take a tour of the Pilsner brewery in Plzen. Cara is really into brewery's and I am always up for something knew.  I have to admit, I really didn't know the process of making beer so this was also educational.  

We leisurely walked to Wenceslas Square, had lunch and then made our way to the train station. The train station was so old and we found out that it is actually the oldest one in the Czech Republic.  Once we entered we had a hard time finding tickets for the train and not the metro.  Once we got our tickets, we had to figure out how to get to the brewery from the train station.  We desperately searched for Wifi and found it in a Burger King of all places. The train rides was easy and we basically napped the whole hour and a half.  We arrived and tourist information was so helpful and we found out the brewery was right around the corner. We arrived just in time for the last tour of the day.  

The tour was awesome.  The brewery is really large and they took us to the packaging plant, the old brewhouse, the new brewhouse, through an interactive museum about the technique, ingredients and process they use to make Pilsner Urquell and then finally through the cellars for a tasting  The whole day was so fun and unlike anything I've done or probably would do.  They charged for pictures inside the rooms so I don't have any fun ones but here is one from outside the old Brewhouse. 

Once we got back, we were exhausted.  We had to be up, meeting for a tour at 9:30 the next morning for Terezin the Concentration Camp so we decided to have dinner at the hostel and head to bed.  The one downside of having a bar downstairs is that going out doesn't require much effort and our roommates didn't show a ton of courtesy when they came up later from the bar.

We got on a bus in the Republic Square and headed to Terezin on Tuesday morning. It took about an hour to get there and once again, we on and off napped on the way.  I woke up at one point to see that we got pulled over by cops (I am still not sure why.) When we arrived, we went to the Ghetto Museum in the actual city of Terezin. The museum was super interesting because it housed a lot of the pictures that children drew while in Auschwitz.  They had children draw pictures to keep their spirits up and to have them not focus on the life they were leading at the time. After the museum we saw the train tracks that transported the people to other camps.  It just held such an erie feeling in the air.  We then met a tour guide at the actual camp to give us a walking tour and he was able to explain in depth about what actually went on at Terezin.

This is what I learned: Terezin was not a death camp.  It was used as a work camp for people (not just jews) who had earned military honors previously or were highly regarded in society and had some sort of pull to not get sent to the death camps.  This was also a site where Red Cross visited.  The camp was able the appearance of the camp look very nice for this visit and all the renovations were used as a propaganda technique to show the world that the Nazi's were not being harsh to the people at the camp.

Even though it wasn't a death camp, many people still died here from extreme conditions. It is really eye opening to see how these German soldiers acted.  You hear stories about SS soldiers that smuggled in goods for the sick but why didn't all of them realize actions against this entire race was wrong?  I realized that I don't know if I could ever visit Auschwitz in my future, I felt such a pain by walking around this area that I can't fathom what that camp must be like.  I think I hold a heavy weight in my heart because half of my family is Jewish and to think that some of my relatives and so many others have gone through this terrible hate and torture, pains me. 

The Entrance to the Camp. 

I am so glad we stayed the extra day to experience all the city had to offer. Prague is truly such a wonderful place and I recommended it to ANY and all travelers. 

Happiness

What truly makes someone happy? How is happiness defined if it varies between people?

In my opinion happiness shifts throughout ones lifetime.  It shifts depending on situation. It shifts depending on age.  It shifts depending on outlook. 

At the place I am at in my life, I still have so much to learn, so much left to see, and so much to accomplish.  However, I have never been so happy. But it is not a straight giddy feeling all the time.  It is being content being alone, being in my own skin, and being ok with the choices that I am making. 

Granted, happiness is objective. Some people are not happy being alone.  I was one of those people until I was forced into a situation here where I had no choice to be alone.  Prior to coming here, I got anxiety by myself in public. I didn't enjoy eating alone, showing up somewhere alone, or even walking alone. Kinda sounds crazy right? Well, I am an extrovert to my core and I get happy by being with people.  I love my alone time in my bed or at home but when I am out, I felt the need to be around people. I used to get upset being alone.  That was just where I was in my life. When I was happy I was with people.

Traveling this far away, alone, was a huge challenge for me. Of course I knew I could do it, but I wasn't sure how easy it would be.  I worried about making friends, enjoying my time, but also doing all the things I wanted to while I was in Italy.

When people are making friends for a short period of time, most of the time it is situational.  You meet someone once, you get along and then they become part of the group you are hanging out with.  Due to my living situation, I got lucky and met a group of people that knew each other.  The only downside was that they all had class in the afternoon and I had class in the mornings.  That meant, every afternoon I had a choice, I could sit in my bed and wait for them to get home OR I could live my life and explore this beautiful city.

Beyond Gorgeous! 

It started on day 1, no one had arrived yet and I was starving.  I had two options, I could suck it up and eat alone (with no Wifi to keep me entertained) or I would starve.  So I went and had my first lunch alone.  I do admit I was not very happy in this moment.  But each day, I continue to branch out a little farther.  I have made a fun little game for myself to discover the best panini in Florence.  So a couple times a week in the afternoon, I look up a new place and go try it. I have had so much fun doing this and I have tried some amazing places (which I will recommend to anyone interested.) I have also met some amazing people by doing so.  Being in a place with no connection through my phone makes me lift my head and have conversations with the people around me. This is one of the biggest lessons I learned here in Florence but also one that will be so important for the rest of my life. 

The Italian Mobleys

As far away as Italy is, it was nice to know I had family close by.  When I left for my trip I got a pep talk from my brother full of advice as well as good tips about Italy. Lane is notorious for his pep talks and this one did not disappoint.

Side Note: When I was in 7th grade he gave me a talking to when I asked to skip a Bruin football game for a birthday party.  He pulled me aside and said, "Look Maddi, we are Mobleys, we don't bleed red, we bleed blue and gold, skippin the game isn't an option, it's in your blood." What can I say, Bruin Born, Bruin Bred.

For those that don't know, Lane has been stationed in Vicenza, Italy for about 2 years now.  He lives there with his wife, Aarika and their puppy Juno. Vicenza is about 2 hours north of Florence by train so I knew I definitely wanted to make a trip to go see them! Vicenza is also about 30 min to the west of Venice which was super convienient for the visit.

This is Aarika, Lane, and my baby niece in the belly!

Everything happens at the right time for a reason. Sounds super cliche but it is true! LdM (The school I attended in Florence) hosted a weekend in Venice the weekend of a big festival there called the Festival of the Redeemer. Well, instead of going on this trip, I decided to head to Vicenza with two of my friends from the program. The plan was to hang with Lane and Aarika and then head to Venice to see the festival (The festival had fireworks which was my main incentive since I missed the 4th.) It was the perfect timing also because I was at the halfway point of my trip and a little family time always keeps you going. 

I also felt the need to display my new cooking skills so I offered to cook dinner for everyone when we got there.  I got a little ambitious and wanted to make the Spaghetti with Clams that I learned in class, only problem was transporting clams for 2 hours on a train in a country that doesn't believe in coolers or ice. Well I did all the shopping in the mercato in Florence for this meal and ended up using the friendships I made to have the Fish man make me a cooler out of bags! It was impressive and it worked perfectly, the only downside was that I smelled like clams everywhere I went. 

Rae, Chez and I jumped on a train Friday afternoon and headed to Vicenza.  I think these two were more excited than me because there were so eager to see how people live outside the city of Florence.   The train was super easy and they met us at the train station. It was so nice to be so far away from home but to feel like I was in a home again.  It's a weird feeling that I don't know if I will be good at explaining, but just the feeling of safety, comfort and familiarity that lacks in a foreign country.  I was very lucky to have these two so close. 

We got there, took Juno for a walk and then cooked dinner. To my surprise, it went perfectly and my clams even stayed alive to make the journey! Lane is a picky eater so he didn't eat the deliciousness, but the rest of us were able to enjoy!

Juno ready for her walk! 

After dinner we got to explore Vicenza with some of Lane's buddies (makes sense why they all hung out, there were all huge goobers like Lane.) It was fun to be able to hang out with my brother, it had been such a long time where it was just us and friends and I am excited to get him back to the US!

Cheesin' hard. 

On Saturday we woke up to the man army downstairs cooking breakfast which was an excellent surprise. Even though they made a mess, the boys know how to cook a great American breakfast (Breakfast to the Italians is a croissant and an espresso and I needed my bacon.) We were able to explore the base and even get a workout in in their gym.  The one thing you need to know about any military gym is that EVERYONE is ripped and in shape and they are kicking their own butts during the work out, a little different than 24 hour fitness. After a good morning on base, we headed home and got ready for Venice. 

Since it was our first time there, we decided to head in during the early afternoon so we could walk around a little.  The fireworks weren't starting until 11:30 so it gave us plenty of time to explore.  

On the train, we met some break dancers and Rae even shared a mutual friend with them! (Small World) 

They explained how much fun the festival is and they made the train ride go by very quickly.

We explored the beauty of Venice right during sunset and it made for excellent pictures.  Since Chez and Rae are both a part of the Art Department at their film school, they were oogling over the doors, windows and buildings that they wanted to recreate. I followed behind and nodded my head and attempted to appreciate they city like they saw it. 

The beauty that is Venice at sunset

Due to this festival, everyone was celebrating with big dinners outside along the water (the water is everywhere you turn fyi), the restaurants were expensive and the Island was PACKED. We paid way too much for an average dinner but that is what happens during events.  Lane's buddies from the night before were meeting us for the fireworks and thank goodness we had Italian phones and they have good navigation skills because they were able to find us in the sea of people as we waited for the fireworks.  

The Firework show was spectacular and reminded me of my junior year of high school when I watched the Macy's 4th of July firework show overthe Hudson River.  There is just something about fireworks that makes me happy!

We ended the night with something that everyone must do in Venice, get lost and explore.  We walked around for a good hour before we finally found our way to the train station. Everything was closed as we walked around because the entire island was enjoying the festival on their boats.

We slept in the next day and then headed home.  I was so happy to get a glimpse into the life that my brother has over here, he is kicking butt in the army and it was amazing to finally meet and cuddle with Juno! 

Excuse the sloppy formatting of the blog and pictures, because I procrastinated for so long, I am working with my iPad and it is not the same. I will fix it when I am home and have my computer. 

Spontaneity

Spontaneity has been the keyword to my trip in Europe.

I came here with nothing planned. The things I knew: 

1. My parents were coming July 29th-Aug 9th

2. My program ended on Aug 2nd

3. I needed to be in London by Aug 14th to meet Lindsay, one of my best friends from Tustin, for a music festival

4. I leave to head home on Aug 20th from London

I had some unanswered questions heading into Florence. Was I going to stay in Florence all month? Who was I going to travel with? How was I going to kill 6 days after my parents left until my next location? 

The Crew in Barcelona's IceBar

Well, if you've been following the blog at all, you know I have barely sat still in Florence. With my travel buddies Sam, Sarah, Alex and Steve (give or take a couple different people at each local) we explored all over Italy and even made it to Barcelona during our weekends. Our Barcelona trip was planned on a Wednesday and we left the next day for our flight. When we got on the plane we had no where to stay... talk about a spontaneous trip! We ended up figuring it out and it all worked out amazingly! 

My parents arrived the day after we got back from Barcelona, also with no plans. We knew we had to stay in Florence for a week so I could finish classes and we needed to spend some family time with Lane and Aarika. We explored Florence for the week, doing all the tourist things I skipped for the month I was there. We then decided to road trip to San Gimignano to Wine Taste, Siena, Modena and then headed to Lane's house in Vicenza. (A whole post will be dedicated to the trips with the parentals)

From Modena, we decided to meet Lane, Aarika and their puppy Juno at Lake Garda because it was so hot outside (by hot I mean 100 degrees every day with at least 50% humidity, this California girl was not ready for that.) From then on it was day trips of our choice. At 10pm on Monday night we decided we wanted to drive somewhere for Tuesday and Wednesday. We basically looked at anything that was a couple hour radius from Vicenza and landed on Innsbruck, Austria. 

Historical Note: Innsbruck is located in the mountains in Austria right past the border of Italy. It is a tiny city that hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics.  It's main tourist attraction is the Golden Roof and it houses the highest elevation Zoo in the world. 

The reason I'm placing such an emphasis on this topic of spontaneity is because it is so unlike my parents. They are very good at planning vacations, but they do it all in advance. The fact that we packed up and headed  to Austria was so spontaneous and fun! 

My next spontaneous choice was choosing how I was going to kill the 6 days until I needed to be in London. My friend Matt, from my program, told me he was going to be in Prague from the 12th-15th of August which was almost perfect.  I ended up finding out that my roommate from this past year Dana would also be in Prague starting the 10th, so to Prague I was going! 

Matt and I in Cinque Terre

I booked my ticket and then found out that one of my teammates in high school Cara, was playing on the Denmark national team while I was here in Europe.  I texted her one day and said, hey meet me in Prague and she booked her ticket that night. Thanks for being spontaneous Cara! I am so excited to see Cara, Dana, and see Matt again all in Prague! All of my trips have just come together, and I am so excited to see how this one turns out.

I really think the spontaneity has added to my experience in Europe.  Never again will I have this freedom to do as I wish, when I please.  I am free to travel, live and learn with each step and each person I meet along the way.  I really think traveling alone to Florence has allowed me this amazing opportunity and I have met some incredible people along the way. 

I promise I will keep updating.  Tim has been on my case about my blog, so if only for Tim, I will get my act together. I am with my brother for the next two days, my parents left today, and I leave for Prague on Sunday so there is time to write. 

Miss you all!