See the random videos from the trip...

Reading a New Chapter: Europe 2011-Part I

Top 10 Things things YOU need to know about the trip!

If you know me, you won't be surprised that I'm making a list. It's what I do. Enjoy my ramblings!

Top 10 Things YOU Need to Know About The Trip:
1. Last year when our entire family went to Japan for three weeks, my Mom instated the best travel rule ever: Everyone is allowed to have one melt down. It's all right to be upset, frustrated, irritated, and downright exasperated. It's all right to express these feelings but once you're finished pitching a tiny fit, pick yourself up and move on. Go eat a Nutella crepe and move on with your life.

2. If you ever go to Europe (or travel anywhere, for that matter), try as many things as you can and eat as much as possible. Especially if you're in Paris. The croissants are heavenly. In my opinion, they're even better than crepes. If you can find the croissants filled with apricots and custard, those are the very best. Although, now that thinking about it, the basic chocolate ones are amazing too.

Macaroons are also incredible. They're expensive for being so small, but if you go to the Louvre, the cafe there has larger ones so you get the divine taste for a better deal. The lemon ones are best. Well, the salted caramel ones are great too. Wait, no, definitely get the pistachio. Or the orange blossom. Okay, just buy a whole box and don't share.

As for other food, Brunost (brown cheese) from Norway is fantastic, Belgian chocolate is deservedly legendary, Belgian waffles are outstanding (especially if you buy them from Wally in Amsterdam), and goat cheese anything is always the absolute perfect thing to order for a main course. As you probably already figured, London is not known for impressive cuisine. But if you're into baby food peas and fried fish, the British metropolis has some pretty good food, too.

I could seriously go on and on for hours about the food. It was so good. For some of it, like the apricot custard croissants, I barely have words. Promise me that if you ever go to Europe, you will embrace and taste anything that comes from a patesserie, brasserie, pub, cafe, bakkerij, chocolate shop, crepe vendor, or waffle stand. You will never ever, in a million years, regret it.

3. Airbnb is fantastic. It's so much better than staying in a hotel. You can get the real feel of a city by staying in an actual person's authentic house/apartment. In Paris, I felt like I was staying in a girl friend's apartment. In Amsterdam, our room was twice as big as a hotel room would have been and the location couldn't have been better. Airbnb is one of the best travel tips I could ever give.

4. It's a huge timesaver if you order tickets ahead of time. We were spared from a two hour wait at the Anne Frank House and zipped ahead of a huge crowd of people at the Van Gogh Museum all because Mom was smart and booked our tickets before the trip.

5. Each major city that I visited can be summed up in one word. Here goes:
Paris-Grand
Amsterdam-Eclectic
London-Regal
Luxembourg City-Cute
Brussels-Delicious
Sogndal-Relaxed

6. If you only have limited time in Europe, definitely visit Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. These cities are fairly close to each other and the combination of all three is perfect. The grandiose, impressive, and stunning architecture and sites of Paris blended with the chocolates, frites, moules, waffles, and beer of Brussels and the laid-back atmosphere of Amsterdam makes for a perfect European vacation.

7. Talk to the person sitting next to you. While traveling, you're inevitably going to be seated next to someone, be it on a plane, train, or double decker bus. Strike up a conversation. Learn something new. Make a friend.

8. Traveling solo is not as glamourous as I thought it would be. I definitely envisioned myself finding a cozy spot next to my gate in the Oslo airport and waking up before the crowds to get coffee and greet the day as a well-rested and well-seasoned traveller. This was not the case. Airports are noisy at all hours of the night and if you ever meet someone who is well-rested after spending the night in an airport, introduce me to them. When traveling solo, there's no one to watch your belongings. There's no one to reassure you that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Or in my case, morning after a night sleeping upright.



9. Pictures and journals are the best souvenirs. Europe is expensive so it's not always possible to buy every single awesome dress, box of chocolates, and set of Luxembourg Royal Family figurines. Take lots of pictures and videos and keep a journal. Keep tickets and brochures, collect flower petals and random things found on the ground (a Heineken bottle cap from outside the brewery in Amsterdam and a pick from the guitarist in Vik). I realize that the dress I bought in Paris probably won't fit years from now and the red pumps I got in Norway will lose their shine, but I will always have the pictures I took and the stories I wrote to remind me of one of the best times in my life.

10. Do one thing every day that scares you. Eleanor Roosevelt was a wise lady...she was right. I can't say that I exactly "scare" myself every day, but I attempt to challenge and test my personal limits. I was nervous as I approached Owen Wilson in Shakespeare and Company and I was apprehensive about making six flights all alone. Riding draft horses along a curvy mountain road with tractors and trucks so close they nearly grazed my leg was scary and exploring an old insane asylum was even more so. Watching my father illegally enter a cemetery in Luxembourg was nerve-wracking. Oh, and keeping up with a bunch of tipsy teenagers was certainly a task. But the truth is, all of these experiences, the good, the bad, and the awkward, have made me a better person and I am thankful. I am immensely thankful.

Home at last

Home at last! I'm back in North Carolina where it's about fifty degrees warmer and darker four hours earlier.
I am so glad to be home!
My trip back home was tiring. Between the four flights, spending the night hiding in the restaurant, multiple customs and immigration checks, and the mother who yelled at her children the whole way to Philadelphia, I could not wait to get home.

In Philadelphia, I sat next to an older woman while waiting for the flight. We started talking and I knew immediately that she was from the South. She talked to me like she'd known me for years, sharing her life story and everything else I never knew I needed to know. I love Southerners.

I couldn't wait to off of the plane in Greensboro, knowing that I'd see one of my favorite people and be back at home so soon. Little did I know, John wasn't the only one waiting at the airport. I got a great surprise as we descended the escalators. My parents and grandparents were waiting in baggage claim! I'm a lucky girl.

At home, I gave out gifts and souvenirs. I really hope Will doesn't hurt himself with the knife I got him in Flam. And I hope Dad decides to share the raspberry juice I brought him from Sogndal.

I am so grateful to be home. It's somewhat unbelievable how life can change in a month but it is remarkably comforting to know that some things stay the same. The weather is warmer, the garden is denser, and my inbox is full with unread messages of summer commitments and plans that lie ahead. Daniel is still questioning and philosophizing, Will's hair is still growing into an afro, my horses still race to me from across the pond, and my parents are just as endearing as ever.

It is so good to be back home. I am loving the warm weather and the fact that I went out to the garden to get my breakfast, lunch, and supper. I love home, but I miss the times I had on the Europe trip. I miss exploring cities and countrysides with my parents, spending time with Jennifer and Nick and doing crafts at 7am with my sweet little cousin, laughing and celebrating with Anne and her friends, and knowing each morning that every day would be an adventure. The trip was more than I could have ever imagined.

If I had to pick one lesson to take away from the experience, it is that time goes by very quickly, therefore, it's important to make each day last. Life is about living with a purpose and making every moment matter. Because of this trip, I am challenging myself to wake up in the morning with a purpose, a goal, and a vision. I may not be traveling the globe all of the time, but I have the capability to create adventures wherever I find myself. Everyone has this choice and this capability.

Thank you for reading and thank you for humoring my late night ramblings, random thoughts, and long-winded narratives.
I appreciate it and I appreciate you!