Pre trip: Dallas!
May 17–18, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
Headed to The DFW area for the night with Nick. We have a big day tomorrow!
Renaissance Festival
May 18, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F
Today we go up early and went to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie. My favorite part is always the steak on a stick. The weather was pretty decent and we luckily left to go to lunch with Nick’s family right before it started to rain. After the renaissance, nick dropped me off at the airport and I hung out there until we left.Read more
Madrid: Day 1
May 19–20, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Today was our first full day of the trip. We arrived in Madrid at the Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez International Airport at around 2:40pm local time. The flight was… meh. It was 10 hours with what felt like very little ac. My plan had been to sleep, but I found it difficult to. When we arrived, they sent half of us up the wrong jetway (??) so we had to go back into the plane and go out the other door.
We started immediately with our bus tour and walking city tour. It started to rain when we got to the bus tour, but cleared up nicely when it was time for the walking tour. The weather has been beautiful here. We got to see lots of cool spots and learn a few new things about Madrid. Did you know that Madrids water source is underground? Or what about the fact that it is the only European capital founded by Muslims?
We walked for quite a while, and in Plaza Mayor Bex and I decided to try what is known as a tradition: eating a fried calamari sandwich in plaza mayor. Our guide pointed out the place that “invented” them, so we ate there. The price was great: 4,75 euro. There was also this very interesting shop that had these small figurines of a child pooping and I looked it up and apparently it’s a symbol of good luck and fertility. Has anyone else heard of this? The shop was called Caganer.
Next we went to the hotel and got our rooms. Alyssa and I are on the 5th (6th in america) floor. We couldn’t figure out how to work the ac so instead we are going to sleep with the windows open since 1. They open all the way, 2: we’re high up.
We went waking for dinner with a group and ended up at a local mall. Most people ate at a Turkish restaurant, but Bex and I went to this “Italian” place (they were advertising pizza, pasta, and burritos ). We both had a rather large caprese salad and shared a beer. I had seen ads for the beer all over Spain already so I decided that I wanted to try it (Mahou). It was better than the beer I’ve had before, but still kinda gross.
That’s about it, we’re headed to another city in Spain tomorrow for a full day and spending the night there.Read more
Wake up the windows are open!!
May 20, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
Sleeping with the windows open?? Amazing. I hope we get the opportunity to do this again.
Our hotel was super cute.
Toledo: Day 2
May 20–21, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Today we traveled from Madrid to Toledo. Breakfast at our hotel in Madrid was wonderful. I am a sucker for a good European breakfast with meats and pastries and low sugar juice. When we got to Toledo, we started a panoramic bus tour to take in all the beauty of “The City On The Hill”. It is absolutely breathtaking here.
Fun facts of the day:
Toledo was the original capital city of España. It is known as “the city of 3 cultures” because as early as the 8th century Muslim, Jewish, and Christian people lived and practiced in one city. This is evident as there is a strong presence of all 3 different kinds of architecture. I noticed the Arabic arches the most.
It is also known for producing beautiful swords, knives, and jewelry.
After taking photos during the bus ride and taking in the beautiful scenery, we got to go to a sword making demonstration and also watch a master craftsman create an intricate pendant. We all shopped till we dropped. A few people actually bought swords. I bought 2 pairs of earrings, a necklace, and a souvenir for Alex.
Next, we went on a walking tour and got up close and personal with the streets of Toledo. Our guide- Angel- pointed out that the streets are narrow to keep it cool in the hot summers. I can confirm that it was cooler in the streets than in some of the shops and restaurants. We got to see the beautiful cathedral here (Primera del Toledo) which was built in 1227. It was of course gorgeous. There are catholic cardinals buried in tombs throughout the cathedral, marked by an inscribed spot on the floor and their iconic red cardinal hat suspended about the tomb site.
After the cathedral, we walked to the other side of the city and went ZIPLINING!! I was very scared, but it ended up being amazing. We flew over the Rio Tajo @ Puente de San Martin. The river was huge and it felt so cool to see the San Martin bridge from over the river. 10/10 experience.
After the zip lining, we went to lunch at a local restaurant. I got slow roasted beef cheek with potatoes, and a peach juice. The waiter brought us “free” food for the table (I’m pretty sure it was the Tapas since Sam and Bex bought drinks). It was regular potato chips with vinegar anchovies laid on top. It was… interesting. But not too bad.
After lunch Alyssa, Claire, and I split off from the big group and just strolled the streets. We stopped to buy a few souvenirs, and stopped at a little confectionery to try some Marzipan. I got to practice speaking in Spanish with the very nice lady who was working. We wandered and eventually got lost (which was our tour guides advice for visiting Toledo) but we navigated our way back without any map.
Other evening things we did:
-got churros and chocolate
-tried a weird sandwich at McDonald’s (I know, I know. Someone else wanted to go so I went along with it)
-walked uphill… A LOT.
They weren’t lying when they said that this is the city on the hill. It is incredibly hilly here with narrow street passages and steep roads made of cobblestone.Read more
Madrid Half Day: Day 3
May 21, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
This morning we went to Aranjuez and got to visit the Royal Palace garden. It was so pretty. The weather was nice, and it was just the right temperature to be standing in both the shade and the sun and be comfortable. The most important part was that I got to see a peacock! He was so pretty! We learned about who the royals were who lived in the palace, and how they notably had the Habsburg chin from inbreeding through the family line. We got to see a whole bunch of fountains and statues in the garden.
It was very nice, and a good way to end our time in España. Now, we are headed to a new country!Read more
Venice Micro Day: also day 3
May 21–22, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
The second half of today was a travel day. We drove to the airport and got break checked by the bus driver. Sam smashed his face into the bus window😛 I also took a wonderful sleeping pic of sam and quickly uploaded it to the photo circle💝
Then we arrived at the airport and everyone had an issue lol. Some people didn’t have plane tickets for some reason, and my boarding pass would not scan. I sat behind sam on the plane and poked him a few times. Then I slept through the rest of the flight.
When we landed in Venice, we quickly found out that Carter’s bag was left in Spain. (lol)
We sat in the airport for like an hour and a half waiting to get him through the line. Everyone was starting to get hangry and annoyed. We eventually left the airport and rode the bus to Mestre to check into our hotel. This room is teeny tiny with no tub, just a floor with a shower curtain . We ate dinner at a pizza place. I had pizza with egg on it. Then we came back to the hotel changed and went out to go find a bar. We ended up finding a bar by following the music, and it kind of sucked. They had limited things on their menu so I got an aperol spritz even though I know I don’t like aperol spritzes.
That’s pretty much it! Tomorrow we have a day in Venezia, which I am super excited about.Read more
Venezia: Day 4
May 22–23, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Today we woke up in Mestre, which is just a short train ride away from Venice.
We took the tram to the island, and got to run amok in Venice after taking our group picture.
The group of the day was Sam, Bex, Alyssa, and Mia. We quickly tried to get away from the touristy areas, and tried to “get lost“ in Venice. Our first money spending spot was at a fruit stand. I bought these mini strawberry things. They weren’t quite strawberries, but they looked like strawberries. The sales people stressed me out. They didn’t want us to touch any of their fruits (I wanted to choose my own fruit) and they seemed in a rush to get people checked out. I also bought one plum. Gayle bought a container of regular strawberries, and we all got to eat one. They were delicious. After the fruit stand, we wandered towards some of the quieter areas in Venice, and a few of us stopped at a souvenir kiosk to buy postcards and magnets. Eventually, we wondered far enough that we found one of the Canal bridges that had basically no one on it and no one around, And that’s where we stopped to take our canal bridge photos. We wandered for quite a bit longer and eventually ended up in a slightly busier area but not totally touristy, and decided as a group that we wanted to go on a gondola ride. The gondola ride cost €120 so we each paid €24 per person, and it was worth every euro. Our gondolier, Elia was great and told us more about how you become a gondolier. I knew they had to go to special school, but I did not know that they had to be Venetian. We also talked to him about how Venice is sinking, and how it could be underwater within the next 50 to 100 years, which would be a damn shame because I love this city. Our gondola ride took us around some of the quieter canals, and eventually into the grand canal, where we got to see the Academy and The Natural Museum. It was very cool. Venice was a lot busier than it was the first time I came. I imagine it’s because it’s summer now and not winter off-season.
After the gondola ride, we wandered again and ended up lost in a residential area where we came across a dead end. We ended up finding our way back more or less without a map. Eventually, we went on the hunt for food and we ended up down the same path that the hotel I stayed at last time was on , and I found the lips that I posted on my Instagram “Top uposted photos of 2024. Unfortunately it’s just like half a pair of lips. We eventually found food and I got seafood risotto. By this point my feet hurt so bad from all the walking that we were doing.
We stopped in one of the leather purse stores, and I bought a little pink coin pouch for my euro coins. Alyssa bought a purse that’s similar color to the one that I got last time, but with brown accents and Bex bought a brown and cow hide bag.
We planned to eventually go into Saint Mark Cathedral, but didn’t end up going in because the line was very long. Instead, Alyssa and Bex bought scarves in the square. Sam immediately stole one of their scarves and wore it for a little while. The cathedral was absolutely gorgeous from the outside. It was huge and very ornate. I don’t remember seeing it the last time I was in Venice. We of course wandered a little bit longer and came across a bell tower. At this point it started to rain so we just kind of hung out in the square. We got up to go get gelato and got caught by a square salesman. They put birdseed or something in Sam’s hands, so that all the pigeons would come and sit on him, and so a couple of other people did it, and then they tried to charge us, but it was really hilarious. So they said it was worth it. We did go get gelato after that, I had a cup of chocolate gelato. After gelato, we ended up getting kind of lost again. We were in some quiet alleyways, and we came across a few lion statues. We of course took pictures with those. We also saw a really cute dog that almost let us pet it, but then he ran away. We walked to another square, and then laughed our asses off because we were making Sam mad, and we tried to take a picture with the phone on the ground and it did not turn out very good. Next. we were starting to head back towards our meeting spot since we were supposed to meet at eight to get back on the tram to go back to Mestre and on the way, we passed old wild west, which is an American themed restaurant in Italy. I needed to use the bathroom, so I figured if we went inside and I bought a Coke or something I could use their bathroom. I bought a Coke for like four euros and use their bathroom which reminded me of home- it was dirty lol. I remember seeing old wild west near the hotel in Rome, but we didn’t go in. This time we went, and it was like sitting in a revolutionary war themed Cracker Barrel. We sat there for probably about an hour and a half. Sam got an Aperol, and we just kind of hung out and yapped. When we left old Wildwest, we headed back towards our meeting spot and the tram, and by the time we got there, we decided that we were ready to go back to the hotel. So we got on the tram before eight P.M. On the tram, I sat next to a Scottish couple from Glasgow. I asked them if they had a good day, and we talked about what we did. They were very nice, but I couldn’t fully understand the husband. He had a very much Brave type accent. When we got back to the hotel, we changed and then decided to go out and get dinner. Sam chose a restaurant that was only like two minute walk from the hotel, which was nice. I had spaghetti with duck Raghu and it was amazing. I love duck. I also got a Mojito with my dinner, and it was also amazing. My favorite quote from that dinner was Mia saying “we’re gonna get arrested because we are so ugly”. context on that: we went to this kind of fancy restaurant in our pajamas. Overall, I had a great day in Venice and still Venice remains one of my favorite cities in Europe. I really want to go back for the carnival sometime. We still have plenty of cities left to go on this trip, so it could be dethroned. But right now, it is still my favorite.Read more
Pisa: Day 5
May 23–24, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
The first thing I noticed about Pisa when we stepped off the bus was that it smelled like flowers.
Overall, Pisa was meh. It didn’t have much to do, it rained when we were at the leaning tower, and we got tourist trapped for dinner. The highlight was the waiter at lunch who was super funny.
We did also take a Ferris wheel ride and could see the mountains from the top.
We also got really good gelato. I got vanilla and hazelnut and it was TASTY. Best I’ve had so far.
At our tourist trap dinner, Bex ordered a pizza with sausage and got a pizza with hotdog pieces on it. I had a decent Bellini, but nothing to write home about.
We also found a really yummy bottled drink called “breeze”. It was like a seagrams but better. We had ruby grapefruit flavor.
Overall, that was Pisa. Probably not a place I’d go back to unless Nick really wanted to go.Read more
Florence Micro Day: Day 6
May 24, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
WINE WINDOW!! €10 and I hated the wine but at least it was cool.
I also got a tiramisu right before we started to walk back to the bus and it unfortunately melted before I could get on the bus. I was devastated.
We went on a walking tour of Florence and we got to see the pig where you rub your hand on his nose like the Trevi fountain to bring you back to Florence.
I got kind of sad when we got to the Neptune fountain because the last time I was here, I was with Nick in the same spot and there’s a really good picture of him at the fountain. I miss him a lotRead more
Rome Half Day: Day 6
May 24, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Bar. Gelato. That’s it.
Rome: Day 7
May 25–26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Today I woke up nice and hung over from the great night before. We had an eight hour Rome walking tour planned for today. we stayed at an autograph collection hotel called The CARDO. It was very nice. They had a great breakfast spread this morning and I particularly enjoyed getting a whole tea pot for myself to have tea. if I’m being completely honest, my fit was not that great today and I wasn’t really feeling Rome at all. Rome is honestly my least favorite city in Europe so far, so I wasn’t exactly excited to go on an eight hour tour of things I’ve already seen before. We left the hotel, and began our tour. I could write a whole bunch about what we saw and whatever, but realistically, we saw the outside of a whole bunch of stuff just like the last time I was here. We saw the Trevi Fountain, The Colosseum, the Spanish steps, and the Pantheon- all the main tourist spots.I was trying to pay attention to our tour guide with our little tour sound units, but I had a hard time understanding all the things that he was saying because of his accent. The best part of today was the food. I had a good lunch at this little restaurant close to the Trevi fountain. I had rigatoni with spicy marinara sauce. Then I picked up a few little souvenirs, including one for Nicks Dad. After lunch we continued our tour and everyone started to get a little restless and annoyed because they were irritated that they hadn’t been able to go into things and that we probably weren’t gonna get to see The Vatican City today. Meanwhile, I’m still hung over and so I’m highly irritable, but eventually after food it got a lot better. At 3:30 we were loose in the square where the stolen Egyptian obelisk is, and Bex and I got tourist trapped into a gelato place because the guy was like offering samples, and so of course we took advantage of that. K and they had a Viagra flavor, which which we thought was really funny. I ended up getting an Oreo flavored gelato, and it was actually not that great. We ended up getting back on the bus at like five pm or 530 pm. I really wanted to swim. Turns out this hotel is pool closed at six pm. We got to the hotel at 5:50. So I got irritated and ended up going with Sam to the gym. The gym was very nice and it was very quiet. At one point the only people down there were people who are a part of our tour group. I recorded all my sidelines that are due tomorrow since we’re going to be traveling and I won’t be able to record them, and I ran a mile at the beginning of my workout and at the end of my workout and both were sub 10 minutes. I also beat my personal record for a mile time, which was 8:46. After that we went to dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, and I had a pizza that had fennel and this kind of Italian sausage that’s kind of like chorizo. It was another high point of the day. I came back up to the room to repack my suitcase since we’re flying again tomorrow and our bags have to be under 50 pounds. I was really scared that since I bought more stuff that my bag was gonna be over 50 pounds and when we flew from Spain to here the first time It was over 50 pounds, but this time my bag weighed 48.9 pounds. The whole ghost crew hung out in the room with me while I was packing my bag. Overall, Rome still isn’t my favorite city. I can honestly say that unless there’s a really really good reason for me to come back, this will probably be my last time in Rome.Read more
Athens Micro Day: Day 8
May 26, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
The only way to know exactly when you’ll get somewhere is to take the metro.
Today we said ciao to Italy and headed for Greece. We had a pretty early morning to make sure that we all made it on time for our flight to Athens. We made it to Fumicino with plenty of time to spare. Sam and I contemplated buying some big ole Milka bars but decided against it because they were like €15. I did however buy a little hairbrush since I LEFT MINE IN MY CAR IN TEXAS??! I’ve been using my teeny mirror brush and borrowing Alyssa’s brush for the last 7 days.
They moved our gate at some point and everyone panicked and ran to the new gate. I did not. I strolled and when I got there, guess what happened? Flight delayed and no plane in sight.
Eventually we got on the plane and sat on the tarmac for quite a while (like 30 minutes or so) but I slept the whole time. I woke as we were picking up speed and actively taking off. I slept basically the entire flight. I woke up about 20 minutes before we landed and right as we were coming down below the clouds. I was lucky enough to have a window seat, and all I could think when I looked down was “wow. I can’t believe that I’ve been missing this”. The water was very blue and there were small islands and little mountains speckled throughout the sea. I even saw a sailboat out on the water. We landed safely in Athens and had to get off the plane by stairs and take a shuttle to the main terminal. When we got inside, we bought snacks at the airport shop. I got a pomegranate sparkling water and a bag of rice chips that were “Aegean Seasoning” flavored. Both were delicious. We got on our charter and headed to inner city Athens, where we were going to go to the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
Now let me tell you- this was my favorite tour that we’ve been on so far. I’m not sure if it was the tour guide or the fact that I am officially in a country where I know none of the language, customs, etc. I’ve already been to Italy and I knew enough Spanish in Spain to feel comfortable, but I’m totally lost here except for the very small amount of things that I remember about Greek mythology. The Parthenon and slopes were VERY busy. Our tour guide did a great job explaining everything and even asked us if we had any questions.
Did you know that Athens, Greece was founded 4000 B.C? We’re in the 2000’s A.C. We’re only half way through the entire span of Athens B.C.
Did you also know that the “Acropolis” refers to the entire area of monumental buildings, not any one particular building? It is simply a name for the highest building in the area (to be closer to the gods, of course) and many different areas in Greece have one.
The famous Parthenon was a temple to Athena, built somewhere in the 1200’ B.C. It only took them 50 years to build.
Now, they try to keep a ratio of 70% original structure and materials and 30% new materials for presentation and preservation purposes. Renovations and preservations are mostly paid for through the European Union and UNESO, as the Acropolis area is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The entire Acropolis area was stunning, and it really is humbling to look down at your own feet and thing about how you’re following in the path of those who came before you 3000+ years before you.
After leaving the Acropolis, we went on a little bus tour of the city of Athens with our tour guide. We got to see the place where the Olympic stadium is and where they light the Olympic torch.
She told us about how the Greek flag is blue for the ocean, white for the sky, and depicts a cross as the majority of the country is orthodox Christian and are baptized by the time they are 1 year old.
I also learned that Greece has their own tomb of the unknown soldier.
We got to explore the Placa (little town square area) for a little while and I bought a magnet, a sticker, and a pretty necklace.
Once our tour was over, we got back on the bus and made our way to the airport to catch another flight to a different area in Greece!
I thoroughly enjoyed Athens and would love to go back and explore for more than just a few hours.Read more
Rhodes: Day 9
May 27–29, 2025 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 68 °F
Pamen: let’s go
We could see the mountains of Turkey from the Mediterranean Sea
We got into Rhodes very late on the 27th (like 12:30 am) and got all settled into our hotel.
This morning I was woken up abruptly by Alyssa who was asking where my laundry bag was. We had our first laundry stop today, and the people who were picking up the laundry were here at 9:00. I handed her my bag that I had prepared the night before ( see the photo of my laundry baby on my previous post) and jumped out of bed as soon as she left to find my shoes and grab my money so I could pay the €9 that it cost. Also- my name was not on the bag yet. I had to quickly track down sam to find the sharpie so I could put my name on it so my clothes wouldn’t disappear like Abbis sweater. Good news: my laundry went to go get washed.
After that, I went back to the room to go get dressed and ready as we had a 10am bus time. When I was ready, I went downstairs to breakfast. I had Greek pancakes which were ok, but since I don’t really care for honey they were not my favorite.
We left at 10am to with our tour guide Costa on a walking tour of Rhodes (Rodos). We got to see a cool light house and walked in a mid evil MOAT. We went to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. I got a GAS chicken parm cold sandwich at the palace cafe.
We went on a bus ride to Lindos, and saw the Acropolis of Lindos which also was built to honor Athena. It was SUPER WINDY at the top. It was really cool to feel the power of the wind and see the view of the sea and mountains in the distance. We had to walk up what felt like a billion stair to get up to the top. I’m gonna go ahead and count this as my workout for today. There were a million cats in Lindos, and some of them let us pet them.
When we got back to Rhodes after our tour of Lindos, we went to the beach. We were super excited to FINALLY get the opportunity to swim. The beach was very rocky and VERY cold. We didn’t spend too much time at the beach tbh.
After the beach, we changed to go to dinner.
THIS WAS THE BEST DINNER IVE HAD THE WHOLE TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!’!!!!!!
I had a dish that was lamb and potatoes and zucchini baked in a pot, cheese croquettes, and a chocolate cake. The lamb was absolutely delicious and tender. Everyone wholly enjoyed their meal, and our server asked where we were from and he said that the best people come from Texas.
For our night activity, we played uno and everyone had some drinks. I decided to just have a pomegranate green tea.
Rhodes was pretty cool. I had a good time and I could see myself coming back here someday.Read more
Rhodes Half Day: Day 10
May 28, 2025 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 72 °F
Today is another travel day!
We got up this morning for our first day of pure free time until the afternoon. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and a latte. Idk what the green stuff was on top of my eggs but I was not a huge fan.
Once we were finished with breakfast, we moved our luggage to the storage area and left for the day to do what we had decided was the most important last night: SHOPPING!!!
We walked to the old town by the mid evil moat and castle that we went to yesterday and got to the shopping area.
I spent some money on some souvenirs for both myself and others. Today’s souvenir recipients are Nick and Maga. I got myself some potholders and some olive oil and spices, as well as a pretty ring.
I also replaced my lost sunglasses so I feel like a real human again.
We shopped for quite a while (like 3 hours) and then had to head back to our hotel to get our things and get on the bus to go to the Rhodes airport. On the way to the hotel, we passed a bodega where we spotted the very first Dr. Pepper of this whole trip. No one bought one, but I didn’t because I still had like 3 drinks to finish before we got to the airport.
Once we left the hotel, we drove along the coast line of Rhodes…. The water y’all. I’ve been to the Bahamas and beaches in Florida and the Great Lakes… but this water is gorgeous. It is just so crazy that you can look out over the horizon and see the mountains of Turkey and realize that we’re so close to other countries (we are not far from Alexandria, Egypt)
We eventually made it to the airport, and I had my first gyro. IT WAS SO GOOD!!!
We made it to our next city, and here’s a hint: it isn’t said the way it’s spelled.Read more
Chalkadiki: Day 11
May 29–31, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
Today Gayle and I skipped the blue outfits and opted to accidentally twin in green.
This morning we hit the town where we had dinner last night and did some shopping. I only bought a couple more small things- nothing crazy. One of the shops we went to had the dope bird in the pics. I honestly can’t remember the birds name, but he was definitely a chill guy.
After shopping, we went to the hotel pool. It was awesome. The water felt so good and it was very nice to be able to swim in a more or less controlled environment. I enjoyed just floating around. There were lots of old leathery people lounging at the pool. I noticed a few of them watching us young people swim, and they almost looked as if it was a faux pas to actually be IN the pool.
We spent about an hour at the pool, and then met with the rest of our group to have lunch. We had lunch at Gary’s Gyros. There was so much food and all of it was delicious. While at lunch, I decided that I would not compromise with my compatriots and demanded that we spend at least another hour at the pool after lunch but before we go to the beach.
We did in fact go back to the pool for a while, and eventually we made our way out to the beach/aegean sea.
The water was so calm here. It was also very clear. I regret not taking more pictures, but ultimately I was living in the moment.
It was very cold when we first got in, but eventually the temperature of the water was perfect. There were almost no waves. It was like swimming in a lake, except the lake is salty (so…. the exact opposite of the Great Lakes). As always in Greece it seems, there were mountains on the other side of the sea.
Sam and I decided to leave the beach and walk down to a small store to buy some goggles so we could enjoy looking at the small fish in the water.
We ended up seeing small striped fish, sea urchins, and a STARFISH!!! The starfish was so cool. Did you know that starfish leave tracks when they move across the sea floor?
After our time in the sea, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the final event of the night: Karaoke. We were invited by our directors to attend karaoke at this bar called “Nick’s”. Basically everyone from our whole big group went. I sang Dancing Queen with Bex and Alyssa, and Go the Distance from Hercules by myself (by the time we got to my solo I’d had 2 shots of Bacardi on an empty stomach, sooooooo).
The night ended with Mia sleeping in my bed, Sam on my couch, and me waking up the next morning thinking that I was starting to get sick.
Overall, I liked Chalkadiki. I could see myself going back and taking more time to enjoy the whole town.
Side fact: Chalkadiki is pronounced without the “C” on the front (halkadiki). Places spell it either way.
Side fact 2: there is so much honeysuckle in Greece. It’s everywhere and I LOVE IT!!!!Read more
Thessoloniki: Day 12?
May 30–31, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
Today we left Chalkadiki and drove the 1 1/2 ish hours to Thessaloniki. Today was honestly a pretty chill day. I’m definitely starting to feel the effects of traveling and the mental toll of staying in a hotel every night. Don’t get me wrong- I am having a superb time. But we are go go go all day everyday basically, so by day 12 we’re all pretty spent.
We stopped at a winery for a private winery tour and wine tasting. The grounds were gorgeous, so lush and green. They had flowers planted at the end of each row of grape vines, which is a detail that I feel would be overlooked on cost in the US. We got to hear about the kinds of wine that they produce and where their main markets are (EU, Australia, small markets in US, Canada, and Mexico). They showed us their manufacturing process, and I was intrigued by how wine is actually made today. We got to try 3 different wines- a red, a white, and a rose.
I……………….
Just don’t like wine I think.
I disliked them all. I’d have to say that the white was the only sample glass I finished, but it was also the first glass. The red smelled like oakey ash and like…. Rustic?
And I was expecting the Rose to be a lot sweeter.
In the first pic is me with the aging barrels. They keep them sealed off to keep the temperature, humidity, etc consistent. They also only use French oak barrels to age their wine so I suppose my red wine assessment hold some merit.
This winery also has one of the top 10 largest corkscrew collections. There were some really cool ones- some tiny ones, animals, people, cane corkscrews, multitools, etc. my favorite ones were the canes and one that was just a little fish on the top of the corkscrew.
The other part of their museum showed how various parts of the wine process happens/happened historically. They had exhibits for the barrels, wine, and cork stoppers. This particular winery uses only cork from Portugal (who is apparently known for their cork??)
After the winery, we stopped for a big lunch on the way to the hotel. It was arranged by the owner of the tour company (George). They brought us SO MUCH FOOD.
Plates of Greek salad, giant platters of meat, tzatziki, another dip, and we eventually had cake for dessert. We were rolling out of the restaurant when we were finished. After the big meal, we drove into the city and we checked into our hotel. My group that I usually choose to hang out with decided that we were going to chill. No going out, just a little bit of rest. We chilled for a while, I saw a rainbow, and talked to my mom.
Later, we discovered that there was a 24 hour market by the hotel, so we raided that and we all decided that it was an ice cream night. We got the ice cream (I paid extra for the imported ben and Jerry’s of course) and went back to the hotel.
The plan was to order room service and call it an early night. But the menu was boring. So instead, Bex had the AMAZING idea to find an Asian restaurant. And we did. And it was wonderful. And I regret nothing. You may be thinking- “now why the hell would you get Asian food in Greece?!!” BECAUSE I MISS EVERYTHING PASTA AND PHO!!!!!
After 12 full days in Europe, some of us needed a “normal” meal for us.
After that, we went back to the hotel and hung out, and the plan was to go to bed. I ended up sleeping in Sam & Bexs room.Read more
Thessoloniki: Day 13
May 31–Jun 1, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
This city got its name from love. Named for the wife- Thessaloniki EDIT (as this was a note during the tour) this city was founded by a murderer.
The admin building across from our hotel has EGGS in the foundation: 60 dozens using the strength of the egg whites to make the foundation stronger.
7th cent church miracle- Dimirios patron saint of the city sacrificed his “home” (the church) to save the homes around it. The church burned after lady lost control cooking eggplant that destroyed 40% of the city of Thessaloniki
At least 34 thousand Jews were taken to Auschwitz on the trains. (First direct holocaust mention so far.)
Ok. Thessaloniki was not my favorite. It is a port city, so you can’t really swim in the water. It is quite industrial compared to the other countries that we have been to so far.
Today we went on a walking tour, and learned some pretty neat things about the city (listed above). The highlight was the bike ride down the pier/boardwalk area. It was awesome. We stopped to take some pictures by the water and saw like 40 jellyfish in the water.
The second part of our day includes traveling to the town of Vergina, which was about an hour and a half away. We got lunch when we got there, and it was pretty good. The interesting thing about lunch today was that there was a kids 1st birthday party going on. His name was Achilles. We spent a decent amount of time trying to figure out which kid was the birthday boy as all the guests were arriving.
After lunch we went on a tour centered around Alexander The Great. Well… actually we visited the tomb of AtG and 2 others (his son and one of his wives). I’ll give props to our tour guide- he did an awesome museum/exhibit tour. But the tour itself??
See, we had to descend into a hill/mound to get into the museum and tomb area. From the moment I entered, I was uncomfortable. Now this was not claustrophobic discomfort or a buried alive thing, but the energy in the building was just off. I felt as thought the tomb was buried for a reason, and we should have just left it alone.
Overall, Thessaloniki was not my favorite place, but not the worst city I’ve ever been to.Read more
Berlin: Day 14
Jun 1–2, 2025 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 75 °F
The very first thing I noticed about Berlin as soon as I stepped off the plane was the armed police at the end of the jet bridge. I thought that was odd and a not very friendly welcome.
Walking through the airport, I noticed that the architecture was very brutalist- which was a stark difference from every other country that we’ve been to so far. Most everything is grey and pointy and boxy.
I will also admit that while walking to baggage claim and waiting for my luggage, I was having a bit of an anxiety fit. I was extremely nervous for some reason, but couldn’t really figure out why.
Eventually we all collected our bags and went outside. Here are two things I noticed:
1. More brutalist architecture.
2. Berlin looks the most like American landscape wise.
After about an hour bus ride, we made it to the hotel. Our hotel is the tallest hotel building, and one of the tallest buildings in the city in general.
I was on floor 27 of 37. The view was great of course. Now, here are a few key details about the hotel and my experience:
- the elevator was very fast and I had to pop my ears each time I went up or down.
- the both the shower and toilet were in separate stalls but they only had frosted windows between.
-the TV tower was right outside my window.
Later, we went to go find dinner and went to a German restaurant and I had jägerschnitzel. It was delicious.
We did our usual pre tour, and tonight’s included riding scooters around the city and seeing everything at night. We scooted all the way down to the Brandenburg Gate and paused multiple times to take a few pictures and enjoy the city.
Although I enjoyed my scoot, this is the first city I’ve felt unsafe in on our trip. But not so much like “going to get robbed” unsafe, just like the air was too heavy. The city feels like panem and a dystopian society.Read more
Berlin: Day 15
June 2, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Berlin walking tour today!
It was kind of gloomy and rainy today which fit with the overall vibe of the city.
Here are the highlights:
-the entire city is basically unoriginal which is different from the places that we’ve been so far. Berlin got bombed damn near to oblivion during world war ll, and they rebuilt everything the same way it was before. It was really hard to see some buildings that still had bullet holes and damage from grenades and thinking that the place that I was walking through used to be a battle ground and people died.
- I cried as we went through the Holocaust Memorial for Murdered Jews. The memorial is made up of hundreds of concrete blocks ranging in height. The idea was that as you walk through it you get lost, just as millions of Jewish people were during the Holocaust. Our guide informed us that the memorial was supposed to be 4 times larger, but was blocked by the city. Additionally, there was HEAVY pushback about the installation of a memorial at all from the people in the city. And you know what was even more interesting? At certain points in the endless maze you could see the American flag as the American Embassy was right next door to the memorial.
- the Reichstag was cool, but nothing like I expected. I may be over critical, but Germany never lost its knack for herding people around. In no way am I saying that being crammed into an elevator is the same as anything that people went through during the war/Holocaust, but it was a little uncomfortable to draw the parallels.
- we went to see the last remaining portion of the Berlin Wall. It happens to be right in front of an exhibition entitled “topography of terror” which outlined the rise of Nazi germany and key aspects of the war. I wish we had more time so I could have gone down to read everything.
- once we were on our own, we passed the memorial for the Roma & Sinti People who were also victims of the Holocaust. It was lovely, and there were even a few wild rabbits in the grass. It was a beautiful.
Here are 2 fun facts:
Documentation center didn’t open until 2005 about the 3rd reich. Which is crazy- nothing was formally available with information about the holocaust until then in Germany.
So actually hitlers bunker is closed and sealed up and cannot be entered. There is basically nothing left and ground water has started to enter it . I was honestly glad to hear this. There is a parking lot above the current location of the bunker.
Later, we went to go find some pretzels and do some shopping. The pretzels were pretty good, and were served with honey mustard.
We went to a few stores but by far my favorite was the handcrafted wooden store. They had gorgeous little tchotchkes and cookoo clocks and nutcrackers. If I could have afforded to buy one of the clocks, I would have. Bex bought the steins that she was hoping to get while we were in Germany.
The last thing that we did before dinner was go to TK Max. I have no idea why it’s called TK and not TJ Max. But it was the same store. Sam was in need of some new shoes so he acquired those.
We went to dinner at a oompah type restaurant. We had schnitzel and there was live music. Most of us ended up dancing on the little dance floor in front of the band. Dancing to dancing Queen in Germany with my friends was really fun. My favorite part of the night was my cup. They were selling the mugs that we had on our table, and I thought it would be a great souvenir for me. So I asked the hostess if I could purchase one, and they were out of the size that i wanted. They only had the massive XL option. So I asked her if I could buy the one in the case. She said that they couldn’t sell that one. So I asked “well what about the one on the table that I was drinking out of?” And she said “hey. One less mug means one less thing for the waiters have to clean up- just don’t let them see you taking it.”
So….. I took it. It’s mine now. I saved €9.
Then Sam told Gayle and she also took hers.
Ok so at the Reichstag there is one queue for the toilets and when I told the guy that it was just one queue, he exclaimed “ONE QUEUE???” “Surely that can’t be right.”Read more
Prague: Day 16
June 3, 2025 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
WOW!!! I THINK I LOVE PRAGUE!!
Prague is so beautiful. The weather was really nice tonight and a very stark contrast from Berlin yesterday. We arrived later in the evening, and when we got here we set out on adventure. Our hotel was really close to the city center (old town) so it was very walkable. We noticed a mall that was 3 or so doors down from the hotel, so we went in and did a little bit of shopping.
I bought the same shirts as the green one I’m wearing, but in blue and white and black striped. One of them was on sale and was only like $4 after conversion.
We went to dinner and it was pretty good. I got a margharita pizza and the tomatoes were delicious. I also got a raspberry cheesecake jam cake thing that was scrumdiddly.
The city of Prague has street trams and one of them said “Dedina” and I said “hey!! That’s my train!!!”.
After we finished dinner, we started walking back to our hotel but heard wild music. We decided to follow our ears and ran across a small ensamble playing on top of the concert hall. It truly was magical and another one of the totally unexpected moments that have turned out to be the most important memories.
I really didn’t feel well when we got back to the hotel, so I went to bed relatively early and took a whole bunch of medicine in the hopes that it would make me feel better in the morning.
Day one impressions of Prague??? IN LOVE!!Read more
