Sunday, April 10

Last full day in Europe.
This morning I went to church here in Madrid. It was all in Spanish, of course, and I only got the general idea of what they were talking about, but it was still awesome! After that we basically just explored Madrid. We spent a lot of time in this huge park called El Parque Retiro, and we also saw several monuments, landmarks, and state buildings. I love Spain, it reminds me a lot of California, oddly enough. Except that everyone speaks Spanish and says "th" instead of "s."
This is probably the last post I'm gonna have on here, cuz tomorrow I'm just getting on the plane alone and flying non-stop to LA (hopefully I sit next to someone nice, and not creepy!). So to those of you who have been following this blog, thank you for your patronage! I'd encourage anyone and everyone to see Europe, because I've had a wonderful adventure! I am pretty darn sure this won't be the last time I visit Europe. The only downside to it all is going to be re-adjusting to my comparably..... stagnant life in Ramona. So I guess I'll just enjoy the little day-to-day excitements that life holds, because whether Europe or you're down (hehe get it?), life is all one epic journey. :)

Saturday, April 9

This morning we checked out of the hotel, and walked to the train station, where we took the train to Barcelona. I sat next to this fellow by the name of Gran, who spoke several languages, but not English. Thanks to Spanish class, I could actually sort of carry on a conversation with him! After we got off the train, we went and saw La Sagrada Familia, which is this church/cathedral. It looks very different from the other church/cathedrals I've seen so far. It's kinda hard to describe, it definitely stands out though. After that we found a cool Columbian restaurant. Then we went to this park near the Castle of Barcelona and just enjoyed the beautiful day. Then we went to a monument to Christopher Columbus and just strolled around there. Then we went back to station and got on a train for Madrid, where we'll be staying with Silvia, a girl who my cousins hosted when she was a foreign exchange student in the US a few years back.
My flight leaves Monday morning from Madrid, and I'll get to LA that afternoon. Everything has gone by SO fast, and I can't believe it's been two weeks already. I've had the best time, and am so grateful to have had this opportunity. The next time I go to Europe, I'll want to take much more time, so it's not so packed full every day. I don't know how I'm going to re-adjust to life back in Ramona, but I miss my friends and family and will be very happy to see them again.

Friday, April 8

Peaceful, chill day. :) We slept in, because of the late late night. Then we strolled on down to the beach around 1. The area of Salou we're in is really trying to steal California's style. The streets are named San Diego and Los Angeles and Del Mar, etc. They put palm trees everywhere, too. Anyways the beach was fun, we just laid out and tanned (with sunscreen on, don't worry, Mom). Then we went back to the hotel and just chilled, really. I ended up borrowing The Great Gatsby from my cousin and reading it. We made spaghetti for dinner, and it was delicious. :)

Thursday, April 7

Fun day! We got on the train for Coilleur, which is a smallish town on the coast just inside France. It's right on the coast, and is super cute!! There was a castle/fort thing right on the shore that we went inside, then we got some pizza and ate it on the beach. Then we took the train back into Spain, and had a few layovers, like in Port Bou and had a picnic in a little park. Eventually we got into Salou, the town we're staying in, around 10:30 PM. We couldn't find a taxi, had to walk to our hotel, got really lost, and other like shennanigans happened. Now it's 1:30 AM and we're sitting outside, waiting for my uncle to get the key, which apparently they keep in another hotel back across the town. Hopefully we can get inside tonight....
The good news- this hotel is right next the beach, and that's all we have planned for tomorrow! So yay! :D

Wednesday, April 6

This morning we went to to the Coliseum (Colosseum). That was so cool! I could just imagine what it was like... What a violent ferocious place that was. Afterwards just kinda strolled around, then we checked out of the hotel, and got onto the train to Pisa, which took about 4-5 hours. Then right after we got there, we got on the plane for Barcelona, which took about an hour and a half. Then we took a taxi to our hotel, where I am right now... Not the most exciting day of all time.

Monday, April 4

My mom flew back to the States this morning, and I'm with my cousins. We strolled around Florence some more, then we got on a train out to a less tourist-y town caled Pistoia. It was beautiful and also had old historical buildings as well, cathedrals and castle-like buildings. We had a picnic in a field full of daisies. :)
Tomorrow, we're leaving for Rome!

Tuesday, April 5

Rome! Once we finally got to it.... at like 3 o clock in the afternoon. But we still had a great time! I saw the Colosseum, and a ton of other cool Roman structures and stuff. We did a lot of just walking around and exploring. The pizza here is DIVINE!! We're going to a few more things, then leaving tomorrow afternoon.

Sunday, April 3

We started out this morning by getting to the Uffizi Gallery. That was so awesome! Like the Louvre, it has many many famous, beautiful masterpieces, from about the 13th-17th centuries. My faves were the Botticelli paintings, like Primavera and The Birth of Venus. After that we went to Santa Croce, the cathedral where Michaelangelo, Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli, etc. are entombed. Then we came out and had lunch out on the piazza. YUM! Then we meandered and strolled around Florence, just enjoying it. I got a few cute scarves- they're pretty fashionable everywhere in Europe, even in places like Italy where it's warm.
I'm not really mentioning in here the numerous times we've stopped and had some gelato. Raspberry, straciatella, limone, fragola, crema, cioccolate, vaniglia, anana.... Good thing we're walking around so much! :)

Saturday, April 2

Got into Florence around 8:30 this morning, and we saw SO much!! I also met the love of my life- raspberry gelato!! We started by getting some breakfast pastries in a little bakery. Nutella is everywhere in Europe! Yum! Then we went to Piazza del Duomo and explored the Cathedral and the Baptistry there. Then we went to Museo de Opera (it has sculptures, not opera) and then to Ponte Veccio, which is a bridge across the river Arno with tons of cool jewelry shops built right into the side of it. Then we walked around to a lot of different piazzas and cool buildings, like the Bargello Museum and Orsanmichele. Next we went back to the Duomo and climbed all the way to the top. The view was spectacular and worth every one of the 462 steps it took. Then we took a bus up to Piazza de Michaelangelo and watched the sun set on beautiful, historic Firenze.
Picture: View from the top of the Duomo.

Gotta get down on Friday! April 1

This morning, we first explored Montmartre, which is a cute little neighborhood with an amazing view of Paris!! After that, we went to the Louvre, which as most of you probably know is one of the most famous art museums in the world. It had great stuff, including the Mona Lisa, which really isn't that great at all in comparison to the rest of the masterpieces they had there.
Then we went to the airport and flew out to Pisa, Italy. By then it was about 8:30, and we took a bus to the Tower. It does look pretty trippy! Then we walked to our hostel, which is like a hotel except you share the room with other guests. Tomorrow morning we're getting outta here around 7 then heading for Firenze (Florence)! :)

Thursday, March 31

PARIS!
We got in around noon from Denmark, because the flight was delayed 2 hours, but we've done so much!! First, we went to Versailles Palace, which was huge and beautiful! Good ole' Louis XIV (shoutout to AP Euro!) :) Then we went to Notre Dame, and we actually ended getting there at their evening mass. Next we ate at a cute little cafe right outside of Notre Dame. Then we went to the Panthéon, which is where Voltaire, Zola, Hugo and other legendary historical people are buried. After that we went to Musée-d'Orsay, which has original Impressionist post-Impressionist masterpieces (Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Manet, and Cezanne). Beautiful!! Last but not least- the Eiffel Tower! It was around 10:30 then and the was all lit up and awesome. Tomorrow is half-day in Paris, then going to Italy.

Wednesday, March 30th

Last day in charming little Denmark! We went to a beach and fed some swans in the morning, then I went shopping and got a cute dress in a little outlet-type store for 50 kroner (about $10). The clothes fashions here in Denmark are pretty much the same as in America, except that many many many women wear black tights for pants.
After shopping, we drove out to this castle called Kronberg Castle in Helsinge. It was really awesome, and it turns out that Shakespeare based Hamlet on that place. Afterwards, I got a hotdog, topped with fried onions, fresh onions, relish, mustard, and sweet pickles. Usually I don't like most of that stuff at all but it was delicious!!
One picture is of me and the Little Mermaid statue in Kobenhavn. For those of you who are wondering why they'd have a statue of her way out in Denmark, or why she doesn't look like "Ariel," it's because Hans Christian Anderson wrote the original story in Kobenhavn long ago.
The other picture is of Danish money, kroner, except for one of the coins, which is a British pound.
Tonight we're having a family reunion, or "cousin-party" as they say here. Funn times! :) And tomorrow- Paris! :D

Tuesday, March 29th 6:00 PM

Today we went to a cool Viking museum in Roskilde and also to Kobenhavn (aka Copenhagen, the capital). I love Denmark, so much! Everything is so beautiful! It's really low-key, and peaceful. I seriously wouldn't mind living here.
I tried caviar today! It was... tolerable. I'm really not a fan of sea food, so that's sayin a lot for me! We walked around Kobenhavn for a while today, it's gorgeous! I also met my great aunt Margit, who speaks mostly Danish, but she seems like a nice person :)
The pictures are of a part of Kobenhavn caled Nyhavn (pronounced nee-hown), which is just too cute to be true!! :)

Denmark and London

Lovely, just lovely! The London picture is the Tower of London (it's like a castle) and this building they call The Gherkin (pickle). Courtesy of Judy Done, my Aunt. :)

Monday, March 28th 9:30 PM

Denmark today!! It's SO adorable!! Everything is like a postcard! It's mostly rolling green hills and little farm houses. It's cold, because Denmark is pretty much surrounded by water. I visited Aarhus, where my grandma grew up. Tonight I'm staying with my second cousins Tina and Rune. They have 2 kids, Malte and Hilde, ages 10 and 8. Tina and Rune are fluent in English and the kids know the basic stuff. I wish I could put up all the pictures, but I'm taking most of them with my nice camera and updating this blog with my cell.
The jet lag is starting to catch up with me. I slept a lot in the car today. Another weird thing is that I'm way taller than pretty much everyone here. I'm having the time of my LIFE here and wish everyone could come with me!! Farvel! (that's Danish for goodbye) :)

Sunday, March 27th 11:30 PM

Okay so yesterday was plane day. LAX to Boston, Boston to London. And then I got to London at 6:00 this morning! :) I went to/saw the British Museum, the National Gallery, West Minster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, just to name a few! I loved the cool double-decker bus tours, cuz I got to see so many things we've been learning about in Euro! There's a lot of statues, too. Also I loved taking a stroll in one of the many GORGEOUS gardens they have. It's pretty chilly here though! Tomorrow I'm off to Denmark for a few days.

Hello Out There

This blog was created to record and share the great times and adventures I'm having in Europe. I'm very new to blogging, so bear with me here. Anyways.... to friends and family, hello! I miss you already! Wish you were here! Love, Brie