When I think back to when the travel bug hit me, it is hard to decide which experience really ignited the fire. So let me start with my first travel experience where I travelled solo and met up with a tour group. My mother set up an amazing experience to travel for three weeks in Europe right after I graduated from college in 2004. This would be my first time travelling abroad to countries where the native language is not English, I would have to use a calling card to call home, I would have to use money other than the US dollar, and sometimes I would have to navigate around the towns by myself. Keep in mind in 2004, we did not have navigation software on our phones or even cell phones that would call from different countries. It was different "back in the day".
I don't remember being scared or anxious about the trip; I just remember running around town trying to buy a new digital camera and lots of film for my panoramic camera. Yep, you heard that right...camera film. The "newest" digital camera at the time was the Coolpix 3200 which was 3 megapixels with 3x zoom and cost about $200. I wanted to make sure that I captured every moment of European adventure. Oh...and I still have that wonderful panoramic camera.
London
Our first stop was London, England. This was an easy transition from the US because they at least spoke English. On our first day, we met our roommates and I was paired with this shy woman named Charlotte. The hotel was tiny and was on a street like the one in the movie 'Love Actually' where the Prime Minister was knocking on doors to find the lady he fell in love with. Our first experience with English food was in a pub where we had some kind of stew and potatoes. It lacked luster. The next day we drove over the London Bridge and toured the Tower of London. Outside the gates was this cute fish and chippery where we gorged ourselves on fried yumminess. Over the next day and a half, we saw the London Eye, watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, got lost trying to find Shakespeare's Globe theatre, walked around Piccadilly Circus, and toured Westminster Abbey.
I quickly realized that most of the individuals on the trip were very big partiers. I'm not a big partier and I love my sleep. So, I befriended two other ladies, Kelly and Audrey. They ended up being high school friends of some of my friends from my college fraternity, AKPsi. I had found some people that enjoyed touring and adventuring during the day and strayed away from staying out all night getting drunk, SCORE!
Paris
Early in the morning, we took the Eurostar train to Paris, France. Paris was one heck of an experience from me not knowing the language in this large city of not super friendly people. We checked into our hotel and to my amazement, the room was even smaller than the one in London. You could barely turn around next to the beds and couldn't bend over in the shower at all. On our first day the entire group went to Sacre-Coeur on top of this large hill. The views were magnificent of the entire city. The one thing that freaked me out though was that one person on the tour had their camera stolen on our way to the church. I held tight to my beloved cameras each time we were out in the city.
The next few days went fast. Paris is a huge city and had some many sites to see. We went to the Louvre and ran though it just to see the Mona Lisa. Instead of going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we decided to go to the top of the Notre Dame. Other places we saw and toured are the Paris catacombs, the Rodin museum to view 'The Thinker', shopped the Champs-Elysees (or at least looked in the windows), and drove around and went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. During our Champs-Elysees wondering, we attempted to eat at a Paris cafe and failed miserably. We also attempted to ride the Metro (Parisian subway) but weren't very successful with that either. One day we took a bus outside of Paris to Chateau de Versailles and toured the palace and gardens.
My favorite thing we did was go to a show at the Moulin Rouge. I didn't realize it was a topless show but once I got over the open air boobage, it was a wonderful piece of entertainment. The streets to get to the Moulin Rouge were a little rough and I had to slap the hand of a pickpocket trying to get into my purse but it was so worth it.
I don't remember much about the French food other than the easiest thing for us to eat was bread and cheese or a croissant. Probably because that was the only words we could remember in French, fromage et pain or crescent. One evening we had a 'fancy' dinner where I tried three different types of pate. I can't say it was my favorite and the texture was a little mushy.
Rome
Our next stop was Rome, Italy. We took a very 'sketchy' train from Paris to Rome. I remember it was an overnight train and we were reminded to lock our cabin doors. People attempted to get into our cabin several times and I barely slept. Also, I'm pretty sure the toilet was a hole in the train where your business dropped down onto the tracks. Not my favorite mode of transportation.
Rome was not a city that I knew well but thankfully Kelly and Audrey did their homework and had a list of places they wanted to visit. I tagged along. The sites were beautiful and I was amazed at the amount of ruins and the architecture. We saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum, multiple piazzas, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, St. Peter's Square, and Mouth of Truth. One thing that I wish I did was go see the Sistine Chapel. We opted to not go with the tour group to see the Sistine Chapel but instead go try to find where they were filming Ocean's Twelve movie to get a glimpse at movie stars near the Pantheon. We did see Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones and I can show you which scene in the movie was being filmed ,which is cool, but I still would have liked to have see the Sistine Chapel.
I, of course, did throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain (nope I don't remember my wish) and had gelato just down the street. While I was walking with my gelato, a Lamborghini came down the narrow, cobble stone street. It sounded like a purring kitten and it was event I will not forget. I still tell this story to anyone who will listen when I see a Lamborghini.
Now, the food in Italy, I could get used to. Pizza, pasta, and chicken that melted in your mouth. This is my kind of food. And lets not forget the gelato and chocolate cakes, OH MY! I will make it back to Italy just to have a food, cooking, and tasting experiences.
Sorrento, Pompeii and Amalfi Coast - Italy
On our way traveling to Greece, we stopped through Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast. Pompeii , an Roman ancient city, was buried due to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Many things have been uncovered on the site. Funny thing is all I remember is out tour guides toupee and the erotic art wall paintings. I even have a picture of a dog that lived there; obviously I did not pay that much attention while at the ruins.
I'm not sure how I survived the drive down the Amalfi Coast or Sorrento. The roads were windy and tiny and our bus was huge. We were right on the cliffs. Other than the driving, I remember tasting a drink called limoncello, a refreshing liquor. It was so good and made from huge lemons from the region. Sorrento had unbelievable views and great olive oil.
Poros and Athens - Greece
The scary passenger van that almost went off the cliff in Italy, dropped off of at a cruise port. I thought of the "fancy" cruises in the US and was quite excited. Once we realized it was just a boat people mover, our excitement fizzled. We did have several pictures of us playing with the life preservers since there was not much else to do on the boat.
But, oh man, once we arrived in Athens, it was wonderful. First things first...the food. I had the most tasty food in Greece. When you asked for a Greek salad you got a little bit of lettuce, tomato, and onion with a big hunk of feta cheese on top. The street food was great too; I had spanakopita (spinach pie) and more cheese, lots and lots of cheese. We even stopped at a truck stop, no joke, and got souvlaki...which was some of the best I have ever had. Also, one night at dinner we had dancers entertaining us with local dances. I highly recommend the eating experiences in Greece.
We took a fast boat out to the island of Poros. The Greek islands are so beautiful. We biked the island and even watched an English movie dubbed in Greek at the local outdoor movie theatre. Unfortunately, the kids at the theatre spit on us throughout the movie so it was not the greatest experience. I can't even remember what movie we watched.
Athens was super exciting because it was a few weeks until the summer Olympics were going to be hosted there. We visited the Olympic stadium and I brought home several souvenirs. The Olympic mascots were Athena and Phevos, reference to two gods of Olympus. I still have stuffed mascots and juice glasses with them on them. We also stopped at the Parthenon and Acropolis ruins. I got in trouble for sitting on one of the lion statues; I was such a bad tourist back then.
Overall Experience
Overall, the experience was magnificent. I could not wait to start making "real" money so that I could travel to new places and adventure around the world. Little did I imagine that I would be so caught up in corporate life and that I would miss out on what the world had to offer me throughout my 20s. I was lucky enough to travel with my company and got to see many places in the USA as well as revisit London and visit Ireland. I would go into each city / location early so that I could be a tourist for the weekend. I may not have realized the travel bug was starting to bit me, but I think this trip and my corporate job helped me see that traveling was my "thing" and helped me realize that my way of destressing was to travel and try different foods.
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