Last Day in Brussels and a Change of Plans

30 August 2006:

My last day in Belgium, I woke up, got breakfast and read by myself until a guy came over to ask for the butter and jam on my table. We exchanged "hostel pleasantries" (Where are you from? Where have you been? Etc.). He came from Toronto, but is originally from Trinidad. He invited me to sit with him and his wife. Judah is a black guy with dreads (cool ones, not the gross ones), a professional soccer player (looks the part) and married to Janet, a white girl from Toronto. They met at school in Miami. She'll be going to school in Brussels and he's going to try out for the football/soccer team. They were really nice, got jilted in their apartment deal and were trying to figure out their next step. Poor kids!

With my trip winding down (I was supposed to be flying out of London the next day), I wisely spent most of the morning at the internet café down the street from the hostel searching for airfare. I had this crazy idea of extending my trip one more time to go back to Copenhagen and surprise my "friend," Kristian. Was I nuts?? In the end, I accepted my insanity, changed my flight home, and called Mom and Dad to let them know—they were not happy!

With the morning completely gone and the hours in Brussels ticking down, I made a darted to the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts. I flew through the rooms, taking in the fleshy Rubens, the disturbing Bosches as fast as I could; lamenting the time crunch as I sped past the detailed Brueghels (both Elder and Younger) and the masterful Rembrandts. It wasn’t nearly enough time to even remotely enjoy the museum. Afterwards, I dashed to the downtown area to buy some chocolates for Mom and Dad and to enjoy one last waffle with my last two euros fifty cents. I desperately searched for a waffle stand: they’re everywhere when you don’t want one, but no where when you have a train to catch in less than an hour!! I found a stand, finally, and ordered one with drippy chocolate sauce—mmmm! Hot and terribly delicious!

After the chocolate and waffle run, I was in a huge rush. The Eurostar does a TSA-type security check and border patrol. To go through the wanding, frisking, and questioning, you need to be 30 minutes early. I had 55 minutes to get from the waffle stand, back to my hostel for my bag, and downtown once more to the train station just to arrive before the train’s scheduled departure time! Running very much behind, I silently willed the metro car to go faster, mentally exhausting myself with worry of missing another train (Remember Barcelona??).

As though the gods were smiling down on me, the clocks slowed and I made it to my hostel and back to the train station in record time. 25 minutes before departure, I bought a few more chocolate bars, stood in a long security line, and made nice with the border patrol so he’d let me into his country. Getting the A-OK, I walked to the very last car on the platform, and settled into my seat for the speedy ride under the English Channel. My seat mate, a rare coin dealer, was pleasant but not terribly talkative. However, he gave me a big bar of Belgian chocolate and wished me luck in my travels when we departed! Score!! [The photo is when we were IN the Chunnel. I was just glad my seatmates were all busying themselves and not looking at the silly American girl taking a picture of the pitch-black insides of a tunnel!]

Belgian Waffles--a little piece of Heaven!

29 August 2006:

I had the evening on my own in Brussels. I never felt unsafe on my trip, but venturing out for the first time in a city at night is a little scary. I am never quite sure that I'm going the right direction, never quite sure that I am sticking to the "good" neighborhoods, and never quite sure if I'll be able to get back to my hostel! However, I had limited time in Brussels and had heard that the light show at the Grand Palace was incredible. So I headed downtown.

Arriving before the 10:30 show, I went to see the pint-sized and irreverent Mannekin Pis. If you say it phonetically, that's what it basically is: a small statue of a naked, chubby boy, peeing until the end of time. And the Belgians are proud of it! There are all sorts of tacky souvenir shops displaying kitschy plates and key chains with the gleefully impertinent Mannekin Pis forever relieving himself. It's been said that locals will make costumes for the "fountain" to dress him up, but I saw him in all his "nekkid" glory. Right next door, I had the most incredible waffle!!! Fresh, hot, with chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate sauce melting drippily all over my sleeve and my bag...my fingers completely sticky from the sugary mess!!! Heaven!!!

I got a great seat for the light show and was getting ready to write about my day when two guys came and sat a couple of feet from me. I was bugged when one started to smoke, the breeze catching the smoke and sending it directly into my face. The other guy asked me the time and thus began my conversation with Victor and Joseph.

Victor is an Algerian/Italian who had been living in Belgium for a couple of months and has lived all over Europe. He's a henna tattoo artist and offered me a free one. Riiiiiight....Joseph the Smoker is French (should've guessed) and had lived in Spain and Italy for a while. We spoke a conglomerate of French, Italian, Spanish and English. It was a mess.

The light show, however, was spectacular. The main square in Brussels is flanked on four sides by gorgeous buildings. The Town Hall looks like an incredible ornate church! At 10:30, the lights go out in the square and the sounds of someone climbing up creaky steps of a clock tower, unlocking doors, and cranking the clock are heard over the loud speaker. The light show begins by bathing the cathedral in purples implying darkness before dawn. The music and lights continue representing the passing of the day from dawn through the afternoon until dusk and night falls again. The show closes with the sound of someone locking a door and climbing back down the creaky wooden steps. The square is left in darkness for a few moments and then returns to normal activity. It was great! I thanked my companions for the company and left, making sure they weren't planning on following me back to the hostel.

A Bagpiper in Brugges...

August 28-29:

I took the train, first class (!), to Belgium! I lucked out with that youth discount! Thank goodness for being under 26!

At this point in my trip, I am starting to feel like it's about time to get home. Travel really wears on you physically, emotionally, mentally...it's just tiring. "All good things must come to an end..." and it's true. It's exhausting. If anyone tells me TRAVEL is VACATION, I will fervently disagree. The only time I got to "relax," which is what I normally associate with vacation, was when I was too tired to move my legs anymore, too tired to open my guide book and find another site to visit, and too tired to think about what to say to strangers. That is when I didn't mind sprawling out on a lawn or park bench and languidly people watch. Belgium, then London and then home. It will be good to be home.

The hostel in Brussels is nothing exceptional. Just 6 beds crammed into a room. I met Mary, a Canadian girl from Quebec. She seems pretty nice. But she's more of the bars and pubs type...not quite my thing.

The next morning (Aug 29), I was one of the first ones up. It is COLD outside!! I met an Aussie named Tina this morning and ended up sitting with her and her friend, Zoë, and another Aussie, Lizzie, at breakfast. Aside from every other comment being "f---" this and that, they were fun. Lizzie was going to Bruges today, so we decided to go together.

The train arrived around 11 a.m. It was nice to have someone to walk around with...she's an interesting girl. Young (19 years old). We don't share the same views, but she was good company.

The weather in Bruges was perfect!! It threatened rain as we left Brussels, but was sunny with big poofy clouds in Bruges. Our first stop was the Church of Our Lady to see the Michelangelo statue. It's the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy during his lifetime. It was gorgeous. We visited a lot of churches. It was really enjoyable because they play appropriate choral music which creates a peaceful, almost touristy, atmosphere. But, I liked it. There was an incredible pulpit in the church that Lizzie brought to my attention. It was all wood and looked like a floating podium with wings. I liked being with Lizzie because she pointed out things that I would have missed, in spite of my art history background.

After the church, we wandered the streets trying to figure out where we wanted to go. We went to the Groening Museum, full of Flemish and Northern Renaissance work. As we walked around the museum, some interesting topics came up. She said that it wasn't my "fault" for being born in America...as though it were a bad thing! I assured her that, while I love to travel and would even enjoy living in a different country, I was happy to be an American. I kind of get that "pitied" approach from Aussies and Canadians. Strange.

We headed toward the windmills and paid 1 euro to go in one. We were told our ticket was good for the next windmill down (there was a row of 4 or 5)...yet the next one was closed. We didn't realize he'd mean the one AFTER that (ya know, because in Belgium "next one" means the "next to next one." :) We saw some of the big cogs and wheels that run them. And, as you can see, we had a fun time taking windmill pictures.

We wandered toward the Markt and bought frites (glorified French fries that Belgians are supposedly famous for) and sat in the square, eating frites and listening to a bagpipe player. Go figure.

Afterwards, we went to the Basilica of the Holy Blood that, supposedly, houses the blood of Jesus. Riiiiiiight. But it was an incredible church with murals all over the walls. Very ornate and impressive!

After that, we went in search of a "whole in the wall." That's the Australian nickname for an ATM ;) We thought we'd find one at the train station, but no luck. On the way, I had my first Belgian waffle. They are incredible!! Rather than a batter, they are balls of dough with sugar crystals in them that heat on the waffle iron and get all sweet and gooey...it was fabulous! At 7 p.m., we made it to the train station and said our good-byes.

A perfectly Gothic afternoon...

28 August 2006:

From Frankfurt, I planned a route to Belgium through Cologne, Germany. Cologne has the most incredible cathedral I have ever seen. I had heard it was amazing...I couldn't even fathom how imposing, intricate, and immense it is!! The sky was overcast and grey, an ideal backdrop for the dark, imposing gothic cathedral. I only spent 2 1/2 rainy hours in Cologne, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cathedral. You walk out of the train station and BAM! It's right there! I even saw a group of missionaries (awwww...) and talked to them for a little bit.


Just a quick stop...and I was back on the train, on my way to Brussels!

The rest of my trip!

I know, I've been home for over a month now and there's nothing explaining what happened after Frankfurt. So...for the next few days, I am going to do my best to put snippets of my post-Frankfurt days in WITH pictures (yes, they're finally uploaded to the computer and accessible! Yahoo!!).

Enjoy!

The trip of a lifetime...

create your personalized map of europe

Friends, Romans, Countrymen! Lend me your ears (or eyes, whatever)...and let me update this blog and wrap up the BEST trip of my life!!!

Above is the map...the final version (as of September 6, 2006). According to World 66, I have seen 23% of Europe. Not even a QUARTER of Europe?! When I rattle off, "Well, I went to London, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria, France, and Belgium" to everyone who asks where I've been, it feels like a lot more than 23%.

It's incredibly difficult to relate all the stories, verbalize all the emotions, and pay all the bills associated with this trip!! But, I wouldn't change a thing! Not one thing. All right...maybe one. I would have written more in my blog :)

Frankfurts in Frankfurt!

25-27 August 2006:

I cannot believe this is my last weekend in Europe! The trip of a lifetime is winding down. Honestly, I am tired. I am sad to have to get back to the real world and the tedium that it is, but I am welcoming not having to change locations every two days, not having to worry about pickpockets, knowing that I can have clean laundry whenever I need it, and not carrying my passport everywhere. Clean beds, healthy food, normal life...it has its appeal!

I am in Frankfurt, the Manhattan of Germany. It is, actually, a very beautiful city! It does not have the "big city" feel that I thought it would. There is a beautiful old part of town. The sad thing is it was leveled during WWII and everything has been rebuilt. So, while the buildings are beautiful, there isn’t the "old world" feel that there normally is in Europe.

I arrived on Friday after an uneventful train ride from Paris. I met up with my Danish friend, Kristian, at the train station. He’s a good travel companion...does all the leg work like booking hostels, figuring out the in-city transportation, and speaking German...because I sure don’t!

Saturday, we went to Mainz, a small town outside of Frankfurt with the intent of taking a Rhine River cruise...but we didn’t make it in time :( I really had hoped to go on one! But, the weather was questionable...half rainy/half sunny anyway. We just walked around, saw a beautiful church with stained glass done by Chagall, the artist and saw a "Scottish" wedding leaving the church. It was kinda strange...almost like one of those medieval dress-up weddings. There weren’t many guests, but those that were there were dressed up in renaissance dress and the guys were all wearing kilts. Strange. It was a nice, relaxing day, though.

Today, I ate a real Frankfurter in Frankfurt. It’s the little things, like real Danish in Denmark, real Swedish fish in Sweden, real Weiner Schnitzel in Wein (Vienna) and now, a Frankfurter in Frankfurt. Too bad I didn’t eat a hamburger in Hamburg.

Tomorrow I head out. I want to go to Köln and see the cathedral there. It is supposed to be incredible! And then on to Brussels. I will be in Belgium for 2 days, then head to London for an evening and fly out on Thursday.

I cannot believe how fast it goes. If I don’t post until I come home, I apologize. But, I appreciate all you that have followed along on my little journey and I promise to put some good photos with some excellent captions in soon after I get home!!

Perhaps my next post will be from the States!

Crazy French Keyboards!

22-24 August 2006:

Oi! Oi! I left the Eternal City (Rome) and am now in the City of Lights (Paris) enjoying more pastries than a girl of my size should. As far as I am concerned, the French can keep their language, their pride, and their courtesy (or lack thereof) but they gotta share their pastries! For all of you who have ever studied for a graduate school exam, you may recognize one of these: France is to Pastries as Italy is to Gelato.

Enough said.

All right, I will elaborate a bit. In Italy I had the poor habit of eating gelato 2 or 3 times a day (I blame it entirely on my Italian teacher who told us that when she is there, she does not waste her money on pasta and pizza. Rather, she lives on gelato and espresso!). Well, I have tried their ice cream here (even the city's best ice cream) and it doesn't even come close to comparison. My friend, Jen, told me to think of them as two different foods...which is true, cuz they are VERY different (gelato is SO much better). HOWEVER, the pastries are AMAZING! Let's just say I ate a lot of them today...and leave it at that.

Paris is beautiful and not terribly relaxing. It is my own fault, though. I have one short day left here and only allowing for 2.5 days in Paris is my own folly.

My hostel is in the heart of the Parisian red light district...so, if I ever feel the need to step out for a peep show or run down the street to the sex shop, it's nice to know I don't have to go far. Actually, it is quite repulsive. I haven't even *seen* anything, but just knowing what goes on behind those neon-lit exteriors is enough to make my stomach turn. However, my hostel is nice and quiet and clean. I can't ask for much more than that.

The Louvre was overwhelmingly AMAZING!!! I wish I had days to be there...preferably days that are not in the month of August (there are SO many tourists...and yes, I know I am contributing to the chaos). I did a speedy self-tour and saw the biggies. I booked through MANY rooms just looking for things I recognized. It was a pitiful way to see the most amazing art museum in the world. Being somewhat of an art zealot/pilgrim, the pilgrimage I made seems slightly blasphemous...considering how quickly I did it.

I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view was all right...pretty hazy. I can only imagine that after the rain it is incredible. But 11 euros to do it! Ouch!

I was exhausted today, so I rested a little on the lawn under the Tower...dozed a bit and read a book. I REALLY needed that! If I had more time, I would spend days people-watching, lounging, and reading Jane Austen (Mansfield Park) in Paris.

So, Paris has been nice. Nothing too exciting to report. But, I can barely write anymore because this keyboard configuration is so bizarre!

Au revoir!

Back in Rome...

19-21 August 2006:

I am back in Rome. It was not hard to leave Venice, as in love as I am with it. It is a great place to visit, but so small...and today was not the best weather...kinda overcast and rainy. So, riding the train away, I felt satisfied. I could go back, happily, and not feel like I've seen everything.

Last night I met Adam and Ocn. Adam is from the States and Ocn is Australian. She has as much of a gelato obsession as I did. She told me that she found a great gelato place with really exotic flavors and we decided to go for breakfast this morning. So, at 8:30 we headed out, only to be disappointed. It was closed! So, we ate the traditional backpacker breakfast instead: bread and Nutella. It was peaceful, in the little plaza we were sitting in.

I got to the train station and on my train, no problem. I may finally be getting the hang of these trains. Good thing.

Uneventful train ride to Rome. I went to the Galleria Borghese to make reservations. However, I lucked out, and got the last entry of the day! Talk about AMAZING! That visit made coming back to Rome worth it. I loved it! There were amazing statues by Bernini and a fabulous exhibit on Raphael. Talk about awesome!! So, the complete art nerd that I am, I loved it!

I even felt pretty cool when I caught a bus that went directly to my hostel (I remembered it from the last time I was here). Cool!

Ok...gotta jet!

I am in love...

It is true. I have fallen in love. I didn't plan for it to happen (you never do). It just hit me like a ton of bricks. I have fell in love in Europe!! Great!! What to do?? There is no way to deal with these things across an ocean!!

So, yesterday, I stepped off the train and saw my new love: VENICE!!! Talk about THE most beautiful city I have been to. I loved Stockholm and it has its own beauty...but Venice has the romance...the mystery...the secrets. It has a feel to it, so old and so alive! I know, I know...I am starting to sound like a tour guide for Venice (actually, I just copied that all out of my guide book....JUST KIDDING!).

Ok...I called my parents yesterday and my Dad said that Oslo was my last update! Yikes! I am sorry! Here is the brief rundown:

From Oslo I caught a plane to Hamburg, Germany. It was really frustrating not being able to speak the language, read the signs, etc. German sounds so harsh. I was thinking that German should be my next foreign language...very useful, but...I just don't love it like I do Italian!!

In Hamburg I relaxed with my friend, Kristian. It was great to relax. We saw went to the art museum, the Japanese gardens, a church, walked around downtown, ate too much Italian food (in Germany, go figure!), and kebabs (these amazing pita sandwiches with shaved meat in them...they're amazing!! The best fast food I've had! I am definitely going to start a kebab stand when I get home!).

From Hamburg, I spent 3 wonderful days in Vienna with my friend, Dan. We saw tons...which I will update on soon. I have to get going.

I went from Vienna to Venice and am now in love. I am going to meet up with two Canadian girls I met on the train...and that is in 30 minutes.

More adventures coming!

Norway in a Nutshell

Hey all! So, it's been a while since I've posted...and once again, I can't upload pictures. No worries, you're all invited to view my slide show when I get home...I only have 2000+ pictures right now...and there are still 3 weeks of vacation left!

So, let me update you a bit on what's been happening the past week. I am feeling much better. The strep throat left the next day, Monday. I feel blessed! I really do. I headed downtown...which had me a little concerned, since I'd never really wandered downtown alone. Oslo is a beautiful city! I was a little sad that i had such a short time to explore it!

I took a busboat to the peninsula Bygdøy. There are a few museums there that I wanted visit. I went to the Norwegian folk museum first. It was very quiet and sleepy...it's like a recreation of old Norwegian life. There are little houses and demonstrations...much like Old Nauvoo if you've ever visited. There are people in costume doing typical tasks of old Norwegian life. I participated in some folk dancing and singing. One guy was being lame about not wanting to participate and used the excuse, "I can't dance in flip flops" and I held out my flip-flopped foot and said, "Now that's a poor excuse, because I am!" Haha...he came and danced!

While I was resting outside one of the buildings, enjoying the summer heat and sunshine (an unusually warm and sunny summer for Norway), a girl came by and asked if she could sit by me. Her name is Femmy and she's from Holland. We walked around together and ended up spending the rest of the day together. She's 26 and just traveling Norway on her own as long as she feels like she wants to. It was great! She was so cool! We were laughing the whole day!!

We visited the Kon-Tiki Museum that documents the journeys of a Norwegian explorer who made several trips across large bodies of water (seas and oceans) on reed rafts. It was pretty awesome...I enjoyed it because there was a whole section dedicated to his exploration in the 1950's to Easter Island. Because of my time in Chile, I have a bit of a love of Easter Island.

We walked around town, toward the less expensive, ethnic area and got chicken tikka masala at an indian restaraunt. We talked about life, boys, jobs, family, everything...she was AWESOME! I really want to keep in touch with her!

I arrived at the apartment and talked with some of the kids hanging out there, packed up and got to bed a little after midnight...only to get up about 4.5 hours later to catch my early morning train from Oslo to Bergen. I got a ticket for one of the most scenic train rides in the world...and promised everyone that I wouldn't sleep on the train :)

Tuesday, I did "Norway in a Nutshell" which is this great train tour. I took the train from Oslo to Myrdal which is absolutely gorgeous! I met a really nice kid named Paul. We talked for 5 hours about life, love, politics, and school. He was only 21, but quite wise for his age. From Myrdal, I got on another train line and went to Flåm...you'll just have to see the photos. It's AMAZING!! I was kinda ticked because of all the tour groups that "reserved" cars even though there was a sign that said no seats were reserved. People kept kicking me out of seats (I should have been a brat and pretended to not understand them and rattle off something in Spanish). Eventually a nice couple from Brazil let me sit by them. We chatted a bit, me in Spanish, them in Portuguese.

From Flåm, we took a boat to Gudvagan (I think that's what it's called) and then a bus to Voss...and a train from Voss to Bergen. I met a really nice American girl from CA named Laura. We talked the entire train ride from Voss to Bergen and then grabbed dinner together. She was hilarious! I think we became fast friends as soon as she told me I looked like a homeless baboushka. Yeah...my style these days is non-existent. :)

While eating dinner, we noticed people across the park dancing and playing country music. So, we walked that way and there was this small group of people with a DJ dancing a funky swing style. I really wanted to dance, so when the guy came around passing out fliers, I asked him about it and then blurted, "Can I dance with you?" He put the fliers down, and there I was, in Bergen, Norway, dancing this funky Norwegian swing with a random Norwegian guy! Cool! Laura got it on video for me, so hopefully I'll have that if I hear from her again!

I went to the apartment of Lisbet and Nina. Camilla, a girl at Anne's apartment in Oslo, is from Bergen and called her friend, Nina, to see if I could sleep on their couch for a day or two. They were so nice! They're sisters...in their 30s. We sat up and talked until late...it was just like being with my sisters! They were great!

Wednesday morning I was supposed to meet Laura...but it didn't happen. I hope she's all right. I haven't heard from her at all. So, I spent the day on my own. It was rainy in Bergen (rains 280 days out of the year). I went to the Stave Church, an old church made of wood...it's the type of churches they built in Norway back in medieval times. It was so small and cozy. The ticket man knew so much about it, too, and explained some of the wood carvings and beliefs of the early Christians at that time.

I walked down by the fish market, saw whale meat (didn't get to try it, though!) and other amazing seafood. I walked Brygget (I think that's what it's called). They are these old buildingson the harbor that were built in the 1400's or 1500's and have survived but are getting more and more crooked as their foundations sink. They're pretty and very "Bergen." I hiked Mount Fløyen instead of taking the tram. It took me about an hour...and view was beautiful. The rain had quit, the sun was peaking through...it was nice. It would have been more fun to hang out with Laura, but sometimes things just don't work out.

It started to rain again...I'd bought an umbrella the day before as my souvenir from Bergen. I grabbed a sandwich for dinner and headed back to the apartment. Lisbet and Nina helped me do laundry (yahoo! Clean laundry!) and I talked with them until late that night.

I got up and gathered my clean laundry and headed to town. I had a ticket on a boat to go from Bergen to Stavanger at 10 a.m. It was a highspeed boat...which means you didn't spend much time on the deck. It was very loud and cold and windy! The fjords are beautiful, but 5 hours on the boat, I did eventually get tired of looking out the window and took a nap instead. The route leads to open waters (the ocean) and it got quite choppy. I don't get seasick, but I was close. I headed to the deck and sat there, in the cold and rain, talking to Jack, a 13 year old kid from Denver. He was a really neat kid, travelling with his grandma and sister. We chatted for about an hour and then headed back to our seats. He reminded me a lot of Eric, in a way. :)

I arrived in Stavanger, kinda rainy and overcast. I didn't know where to go, so I wandered a bit until I found the tourist information. I'd gone to Stavanger to do this incredible hike to a place called "Preacher's Stool." My guide book, however, was not very helpful. It said the hike would take 2-3 hours, so I thought I could do it that day and catch the night train to Oslo. Well, what the book didn't say is that it takes about 2 hours just to get to the hike and 2 hours to get back. I had a major scheduling problem, then...because I wouldn't be able to do the hike and catch a train back to Oslo in time to catch my flight out of Norway to Germany. I was bummed. It was quite an expensive detour!! But, Stavanger was a nice town and I had some friends there who met me for dinner. I met up with Bjarte, Moses, and Lathan...we ate kebabs and Moses and Bjarte walked me around the city, down by the harbor, and old Stavanger. It was a nice evening and they were sweet to hang out wiht me until my train left at 10:30.

Remember how much I adore the night train? That's only if you get a bed! It would have cost me over $100 to get a bed on the night train, so I opted, for experience sake, to sit up the whole night. AWFUL! I barely slept...and am paying for it now. The train stops all the time, my seat didn't recline, and every time the person next to you moves, you jolt awake. I'm glad I've experienced it so I never have to again now!

I have been trying to figure out what to do today in Oslo until my plane leaves. It was rainy this morning, but the clouds have cleared and the sun is shining. I am going to head to the art museum and then the airport to arrive in Hamburg, Germany tonight! It's strange to be leaving Scandinavia! I've been here for 3 weeks! And I haven't had to stay in a single hostel!! I've just met awesome people who are willing to help me out! Being in Scandinavia is like being at a supermodel convention, but people are so nice! [The photo REALLY was taken in Oslo. While I was sitting in the main square, I think they were shooting for America's Next Top Model or maybe an European version. Whatever it was, they were hilarious to watch. I was sitting next to two British girls and we mocked and joked about it for a good 20 minutes. It was great fun...and got even better when a MAN came out to show these amateurs how to walk on the catwalk. Wow.]

So, it's back to the continent tonight!

13%

My friend, Jen, had a link on her blog to this map site that let's you track where you've been. I thought, "Great idea! Now that I'm really starting to see Europe, I'll be able to brag, visually, about all I've seen!" Haha...not really. According to the map, I've only visited 13% of Europe...and, for the record, I've only seen 4% of the entire world. 4% by age 25...how am I ever going to see it all before I die?!



create your personalized map of europe