The ABCs of Traveling

Last week, my blogger friend, Jordan, posted a blog entry entitled "The ABCs of Travel."  Jordan and I met up back at the beginning of June when she traveled to London.

Anyways, I absolutely loved the idea of the post,  and I loved reading her responses. I also read the posts that Kaelene and Casey did.  Reading about their various experiences from traveling the world was such a great escape this week. 

As I'm trying to get back into blogging post my three month hiatus, I'm doing my own "ABCs of Travel!"

A.  Age you went on your first international trip: I went to Niagara Falls and Canada when I was four years old. I don't remember a lot of it, but a few memories still stick out. 

B. Best foreign beer you've had and where: Strawberry beer in Brussels. I went to Brussels on a class trip when I studied abroad in 2010. One of the best trips I've ever taken to this day! 

C.  Cuisine (favorite): Italian! Yummy! My trips to Italy left me with tighter jeans due to the gelato, the pasta, the wine, the cannolis...you get the picture. 

D. Destinations- favorite, least favorite, and why? 

Can I answer London for my favorite destination? Does that count? I know I lived there for over two years of my life (in total), but there were still things that I discovered each day. Such a cosmopolitan city that brought new adventures around every corner, buildings that showcased the past, and things you can't see anywhere else in the world. 

Least favorite? Athens. I was entirely disappointed with the majority of the attractions. Perhaps, if I had gotten to explore more outside the city, I would've enjoyed Greece more. Add it back onto the list of countries to travel to!

E. Event you've experienced abroad that made you saw "wow": When I went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean in Wales or the first time I stepped into the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. 

F.  Favorite mode of transportation: I actually don't know about my favorite mode of transportation. What I do know that I love is train stations and airports. I love sitting down with a cup of coffee, my headphones on, and watching the world get from one destination to another. 

G.  Greatest feeling while traveling: The feeling of being unknown in a large city. It must be attributed to the fact that I grew up in a small town, but I love wandering down the street and blending in. The feeling of being unknown couple with endless possibilities is something that I love. 

H. Hottest place you've ever traveled to: In May, I went to the Hoover Dam following my interview for my now-current job. I was unprepared for the heat, and then proceeded to drink tons of water bottles. 

I. Incredible service you've experienced and where? When I stayed at the one Hilton in Las Vegas for my interview in May, I had the best experience I've ever had. From the moment I checked in, they gave me tons of advice on the climate of the town, did directions and booked my taxi ahead of time, asked me how I was feeling before and after the interview, treated me to a few extra treats, and just truly cared. 

J. Journey that took the longest: When I flew back and forth to Las Vegas from London in May, the flights were almost 11 hours each way. That was the longest I've ever been on a plane. But, if we're going for the longest never-ending journey that left me in tears and making expensive phone calls back to the USA, it was in 2010 when I studied abroad. I was on my fall break with SU friends on an overnight train ride from Roma to Vienna. 

K. Keepsake from your travels: I have bought an investment piece from each country/trip I've taken. I've got clothes from decorations to prints. Each day, I get a reminder of my adventures. I also collect postcards. 

L. Let-down sight, where and why? Dracula's Castle in Romania. It was such a let-down, both inside and outside. There was little information about the history of the castle and its' residents. Just felt disappointed  with the whole thing. 

M. Moment where you fell in love with traveling: I think I've always loved traveling and planning. My parents will recall that I loved planning trips even when I was a little girl (e.g. Lake Placid and Disney World). I'm not sure I can pinpoint one moment. There are moments when I remember why I love traveling, but no one specific moment that I fell in love. 

N. Nicest hotel you've stayed in: Either the Hilton in Berlin or Stockholm. The Hilton in Stockholm provided me with a balcony and a view over the Old City.

O. Obsession-what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?  Besides the different spellings of my name that Starbucks can do? I love taking photos of residences. I think part of it comes from my fascination with how people live.

P. Passport stamps: how many and from where? I had to go count! I have 63 from two different passports. While I don't have a lot of stamps from traveling from one country to another in Europe, you do get quite a lot traveling from the UK to another country in the UK. The other ones are usually entrance stamps into the UK or the USA. 

Q. Quirkiest attraction you've visited and where? In 2010, I visited the National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin. 

R. Really Frightening: where's one place you've visited where you felt unsafe or uneasy? I don't have one. There are places in all cities that I'm sure would make me feel unsafe...even in Las Vegas. 

S. Splurge- something you have no problem spending money on while traveling: Food. I love to try the local delicacies! From mussels to polenta to gelato to meatballs...I'm good to go. 

T. Touristy thing you've done: I actually am not a fan of this question. I think that everything is a tourist thing...even when you don't think you are doing something touristy. You're exploring. Do it ay your pace and how you want to do it!

U. Unforgettable travel memory: The trip that I took with my Dad in 2013 all over Europe. Actually, any trip I've taken with my parents is up there...even day trips. 

V.  Visas- how many and for where? I have three. Two for the UK, and one for Turkey. 

W. Wine-best glass while traveling: Probably any glass in Italy. 

X. eXcellent view and from where? I got to see some incredible views as I drove across the USA back in July. I'd also have to say the top of Tower Bridge in London.

Y.  Years spent traveling: I'm going to go ahead and say 24 years. 

Z. Zealous sports fans and where? I watched several World Cup games with my close guy friends from LSE. As my regular readers know,  I'm more of a college basketball fan. So, that was a real experience especially when I didn't know what was going on. 

One Year Ago...

I can hardly believe that one year ago, today, my Dad landed in London, and we began our two and a half week Eurotrip! 

Crazy how time flies!

Over those two weeks, we traveled to London, Dublin, Berlin, and Paris. At each destination we took in a few day trips as well to see other cities and the countryside.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip!

Father-Daughter Eurotrip: Day 11

To get to Paris, Dad and I had to leave our hotel at 4am to catch a flight at 6am. Please note, this was not the original plan, but the airline changed the flight times. With the change, it did leave us with about another whole day to explore Paris! 

After we checked into our hotel, we decided to get some coffee before starting the tourist activities.  We had just flown too early in the morning, so we needed some fuel for the day! From there, we walked down to the Opera House. Our hotel was in the same area, so it was a quick five- minute walk in one of Paris’ nicest neighborhoods. 

In 2008 when I last visited Paris, I only had a chance to visit the outside of the Opera House. As a huge lover of Phantom of the Opera, I wanted to see the famed chandelier that inspired the story and later the musical.  The inside was absolutely gorgeous- just as I expected it to be. Sadly, the chandelier was not on sale, and the Phantom seemed to not be at home. 

Opera House 

The famous Chandelier 

Dad and I then took off wandering the streets of Paris before making our way to the Louvre. We ran quickly inside just so that Dad could see the iconic pieces. One day I do plan on spending time getting lost in the galleries.   We took a quick Parisian lunch by Notre Dame before Dad took a break for the day. 

The Louvre

Mona Lisa

Adventurous as I am, I decided to see parts of Paris that I had never spent too much time in before. I headed down to Les Invalides to see the tomb of Napoloen.  Although, before I could see the tomb, I ran into two of the women who work for the Syracuse London program. It truly is a small, orange world.  

Ran into SU London Folks

Les Invalides 

Notre Dame 

Checking the tomb off my list of things to see, I indulged at Laduree (flagship store on Les Champs Elysses) for my afternoon snack. I left with eight macaroons including two new flavors. Dad and I had an early evening as we were starting three days of day trips the next day. 

Laduree

Eiffel Tower

Father-Daughter Eurotrip: Day Ten

You must be thinking that my Dad and I were marathoners on our quest to see all of Europe. We were! 

Clowning around with one of Berlin's Bear Statues

On our last day in Berlin, we tried to do the final few things that were the big attractions to the city. We were supposed to have another day almost in the city, but our flight got changed by the airline. Nevertheless, we started off the morning with visiting the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the largest part of the Berlin Wall still in tact. Today, it is also one of the largest street art galleries. A lot of the artwork has recently been preserved. Much of it depicts scenes and images related to the Cold War while some of them depict images that still represent issues related to the world today. 

Equality for All 

1961-1989

After that, we decided to walk around the famous television tower before a quick lunch and nap for Dad. While Dad was napping, I decided to go out and check out the 1936 Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Stadium was the last Olympics before World War II started. It stands as a symbol for that as well as the fact that Jesse Owens was allowed to compete despite his race. The Olympic Stadium and Grounds has been somewhat renovated for the current football team and concerts, but a lot of the history remained. There were plenty of exhibits to check out.

1936 Olympic Stadium 

Owens' Victory Our afternoon treat before an early evening due to an even earlier flight was to check out the cafe at Fassbender and Rausch Chocolatiers. The famous chocolate company is known around the world, and I knew that Dad and I just had to try out the cafe! We both had the hot chocolate with 71% chocolate and a treat! Very-rich and overindulgent but well worth it!

Berlin was over faster than we expected.  Yet, it satisfied our taste for history, culture, and chocolate! I'm so glad that my Dad was able to experience the city! 

Father-Daughter Eurotrip: Day Nine

I'm going to start off this post by saying that I have always wanted to go to Germany for as long as I can remember. I've been a history nerd since I was in elementary school. Those American Girl books, history textbooks, and tons of other book series were constantly being read. It's no surprise that I was a European history major in college concentrating on World War II and the Cold War. So, Berlin was truly a playground for me.

Entering the American Sector  

East v. West  

Our morning started with touring the area around Checkpoint Charlie. There is a new walking exhibit describing the years of the Cold War, construction of the Wall, and those who risked their lives to escape from the East.

Part of the Berlin Wall still standing 

After viewing the outside exhibit, Dad and I checked out the museum. The museum, itself, could require an entire day to do. It's stocked full of artifacts, photos, videos, etc. all devoted to the Cold War. Truly worth a visit!

Potsdamer Platz

From there, we explored Potsdamer Platz before viewing the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe as well as the memorial to homosexuals who were killed in World War II.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe 

We continued our walk around town down to the Bradenburg Gate where we came upon a group of street performers!

The Bradenburg Gate

Since it was starting to get colder and appeared that it might start raining, we toured around in a hop-on-hop-off bus to get to see the rest of the city that we would not have time for.

A little piece of home

TV Tower

For dinner that evening, we tried our hand at some traditional dishes! Complete with beer, I had the goulash and noodles while Dad tried the beef! And, yes...the apple strudel did make the desert order!

Yum!

It was a great first day in Berlin! Stay tuned for the second day re-cap!