Over the past 8 days, I have been in 3 different countries and 5 different cities. it has been a wild and crazy ride. That is the reason for my absence; please forgive me.
MUNICH:
okay, so to begin, i guess i left off around October 28; Ansley, Kate, and I went to Munich, Germany. If ever given the opportunity, go here! It is such a different city. We arrived Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel. Our hotel was SO nice! we were upgraded to wooden floors and a television. that should tell you the kinds of places we stay in while traveling :) we spent Friday afternoon shopping and walking around the City Center of Munich. We went to the Hafbohnhaus (sp?) and had a traditional German meal: sausage and potatoes. it was alright, not my favorite.
On Saturday, we planned our day around visiting the Dauch Concentration Camp. There are no words to describe this place, so it will be short. it is a very surreal place; its hard to believe that people actually lived in this place. to say the least, it was worse than i expected. We got to see the bunks, bathrooms, crematorium, showers, cafeteria, and more. the camp had a big square in the middle where they would do role call every morning and evening. while the place is empty, i still feel like there are people there. i can picture it all. they had a museum set up and we also saw a documentary. the pictures were graphic, more graphic than anything ive ever seen.
for me, it is hard to believe that man can be so evil to one another. how can humans do that to one another? man is capable of a lot more than i realized. after reading the signs, there were quotes from the camp guards; they said they were just as scared. if the guards did not corporate, they would die as well. however, God was still in that place. there are stories from Holocaust survivors who write about how they would have prayer time in the bunks. These people were still worshipping, even if it meant they would be punished even harder for it. I hope my faith is like that.
on another note, Munich was beautiful. the trees were a bright yellow!! fall is finally here.
Kate and I in Munich
the English Gardens in Munich
these guys would surf in the river! it was freezing cold and they did not even seem to care!
Dauch Concentration camp
the bathrooms
the bunk rooms
entrance to the camp
a church in Munich
our cute hotel room in Munich
VERONA AND MILAN:
Verona might be my favorite place in Italy. This big city has the feeling of a small town. Not to mention, this is the location of the romantic story of Romeo and Juliet. We got to see Juliet's house and balcony; however, the balcony is not real. it was an add on in 1920. That was a bummer. Anyways, we only had a night in Verona so we went to dinner in a quaint street restaurant and i got spaghetti and mussels (YUM). I loved the people of this city; they seemed to have more pep in their step.
Milan, on the other hand, was a little different. the weather was not the best while we were there, which did not help our experience. Don't get me wrong, Milan is GREAT! however, it is a lot like Rome, only not a cool. we got to see some different hotels and a great interior design place. the furniture was so different and unique; a chair would cost like 2000 euros. it was cool though, for sure. When we were there, we had Asian food for basically every meal. you would be shocked at how many oriental restaurants there are. it was a nice change from pasta.
Verona, Italy
Mary Margaret, Cassie, Leah, and I
My new car
its a chair! how cool
The letters to Juliet. they arent actual letters like in the movie; its a graffiti wall
PARIS:
Paris, the city of looveeee. this is the most romantic city i've ever been in. Just the beauty of the building are enough, not to mention the people are beautiful! French people are quite attractive. Katie, Leah, Cassie, Nicole, Sarah, and I arrived in France late on Thursday night (we left from Milan). We checked into our adorable hotel.. this was by far the nicest hotel (mom, i forgot to take a picture of it, don't be mad!). On Saturday, we got up early and got pasteries! French food might have surpassed Italian food this weekend. Not being a fan of pastries, i was not sure how i would have liked them. but the chocolate croissants were my fav, as were everyone else's. Then, we were off to the Eiffel Tower! this thing is HUGE, much bigger than i remember. standing underneath this incredible masterpiece is still surreal. we were able to see the arch of Triumph, The Louvre, the Museum of D'Orsay, Luxembourg Gardens, and the Marsai shopping area. For only being in Paris for two days, we saw a lot! One of my favorite places was the Musem of D'Orsay. Personally, this museum is way better than the Louvre. We were able to see original Van Gough's and Monet's. I have never been a big art enthusiast, but this museum knew what it was doing.
random story: while viewing the beautiful Eiffel tower, i was slapped by a gypsy! okay, i will explain. the gypsies are everywhere in Europe. They beg for money and most of the time, they dont need it. So, a gypsy approached me; she appeared to be deaf. she was asking me to sign a waver and to donate to her organization that helped handicapped people. She wanted 10 euros.. I knew i was not going to give her any money, but she would not get away from me; she kept following me. so i signed only my first name of the form and country only because she wouldnt let me leave. She still was pressing me for money and i was telling her "no money, no no no." I finally stopped talking and just turned around and she slapped me on the arm! it didnt hurt, but it was shocking! Then, she proceeded to "hiss" at Sarah, a girl with me. she hissed at her! needless to say, i was shocked and still am.
While the whole trip was magical, the best thing we did there was climb the Eiffel Tower. This was totally spur of the moment and we are all so glad we did it! We did it at night so the tower was lit up and the whole city looked beautiful. Since i had never climbed it before, it just put the cherry on top of a perfect weekend.
katie and I in Paris
the delicious pastries
Notre Dame
the group: Nicole, Sarah, Katie, Leah, Cassie, and I
The triangle outside the Louvre
Who knows what this is?!
The Eiffel Tower at night! isnt it magical?!
Leah, Cassie, and I at you know what.
I loved Paris too. Can't believe that you are on count down to come home. Though we are all so excited to see you in person, I have loved your pictures and sweet words. What a magical time you have had! Memories!!! YOU did it!!!!!!!
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