Summer Skin

It's been a good long while since I wrote anything on here, and on the off chance than anyone is still following, I figured I would finally post some pictures from my travels after Georgia. It's been about 4 months since I last set foot on Georgian soil and I miss it more than I thought possible. Currently I am in the process of applying to the Peace Corps, and if I get accepted I will once again update this blog regularly.

For now, I'll go through my backpacking trip through Europe, then maybe do a brief post summarizing and rehashing my year in Georgia. This one is going to be a pretty image-heavy post, but I'll try to tell a few anecdotes about my trip.

I first flew into London, with the rather inauspicious beginning of forgetting about Wimbledon and being forced to sleep on a bench in the Internationals Terminal at the airport. Luckily my sister was more organized than I was, and when I met her the next morning in the Terminal, I was able to sneak into her hotel room and sleep on the floor.

Our next stop was supposed to be Bruges, but true to form our plans fell apart in Northern France and while I unexpectedly got to see the White Cliffs of Dover and Calais, we also were forced to switch our plans to Brussels.

We weren't able to do our brewery tour in Bruges, but I got to wander the streets of Brussels, accidentally stumbling upon the Red Light District and some seriously cool graffiti. I ate Belgian waffles and wandered cobblestone streets, choosing to use my feet as a means of transport, though I ended up walking an enormous circle of the entire city.

Next stop Amsterdam, where we partook in much cheese, a canal tour and a great tour of the Van Gogh museum. They didn't have Starry Night, but I was contented with three floors of incredible art, as well as a nice picnic of smoked cheese in a random neighborhood. I sadly did not participate in the infamous, legal happens for which Amsterdam has become known.

I left my sister and her friend in Amsterdam, taking the night train to Dresden where I was to meet up with Pauli, a friend from my TLG group in Georgia. I met a few girls on the train from Finland and we shared sparkling wine from mini-cans and pink-frosted cookies.

Next up Dresden, a city with which I fell madly in love. If ever there were a city that spoke to me, it would have to be this absolutely beautiful East German town.

After wandering artistic back alleys, eating fries with mayonnaise and sipping beer on the banks of the Elbe, I went to the first US game in the 2011 Women's World Cup. Not a bad way to continue my trip, especially when we won!

After another day spending time in Dresden, I took the train and Pauli caught a ride share to Potsdam, where we spent a day wandering Potsdam and Berlin and visiting with his dad.

Berlin was incredible, as was everything about Germany so far as I could tell, and after a day of wandering we stopped off at a Georgian restaurant to rehash our time spent together in the lovely Republic of Sakartvelo, eating khinkhali and drinking Georgian sodas.

I left Pauli in Berlin and my two traveling companions, Frannie and Denicia, on a train to Paris to meet up with their men while I hopped a night train from Berlin to Venice. The ride was uneventful until I switched trains in Munich and began winding my way through mountains.

Venice was, as can only be expected, absolutely beautiful. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to visit Venice, to see the canals before the city slowly melted into the salty waters on which it was built.

Despite its beauty and charm, I spent the vast majority of my time in Venice wandering lost through the narrow, winding, abruptly ending streets. More than once I found myself almost falling into a canal due to a pathways abrupt end. Had I not been led back from the bar one night by a lovely Canadian girl, I would probably still be wandering the streets of Venice. Or possibly swimming with the fishies in a deep canal.

From one coast to another, I took the train from Venice to Nice. The intended destination was Malaga in Southern Spain, but due to a very confused train system it took me three days and 5 trains to finally reach my destination. I was frustrated, yes, but I also got to spend an extra day lounging on the beach in Nice. Not something to whine about, surely.

Ah, Spain. Truly another locale after my own heart. There was very little about Spain which I did not like. The incredible scenery on the train ride from Irun to Madrid, the sweet waiters on the train, the incredible food and, of course...

The beach. I can absolutely understand why this is called the Costa del Sol. I can also see myself lounging here for the rest of my life eating fresh seafood and becoming browner than a coconut. A life I dream of leading.

As a bit of a treat to ourselves, we took a guided tour to Tangiers, Morocco. I was not expecting to get to knock another continent off my list, but neither was I going to say no to an opportunity to see a country to which I had considered moving.

It was quite a beautiful city, with a bustling marketplace that reminded me keenly of Georgia and architecture that was more akin to Turkey than I had expected. For me, it was nice to once again be in a place where I could hear the calls to prayer, one of my favorite religious practices.

We ended our trip on the Costa del Sol with a big bowl of paella, something I was a tiny bit apprehensive about but which turned out to be pretty much incredible. Had I known paella was so amazing, I probably would have been eating it the entire time we spent at the condo in Malaga.

From Malaga I once again split off from my travel companions. Their flight took them to Rome while I hopped a train to Barcelona, a city I'd heard so much about and to which I had been very eager to visit.

For the daughter and grand-daughter of architects, wandering the streets of Barcelona and finally coming face to face with the work of Gaudi was indescribable. I could have visited more museums, done more actual site-seeing, but instead I spent a very long day walking the streets of Barcelona fitting in every Gaudi site I possibly could.

I spent a good portion of my travels sipping coffee and doodling notes in my little journal, eager to keep up not only with my budget but also with all of the things I was seeing and the people I was meeting. The ride from Barcelona to Paris was particularly fun, as I met a girl with whom I spent a fun evening nibbling on delicious roasted veggies, sipping wine and sneaking on and off the train to smoke at stops.

Of all the cities I visited, I was most nervous about Paris. I had heard, over and over and over again, how mean the people of Paris were, how rude and just so French. I was expecting to hate it, which would have broken my heart, as for the past decade I have been thoroughly in love with French culture. Much to my delight, my experience in Paris was anything but negative. The people were wonderful, the scenery was incredible and when I first walked out of the metro station near the base of the Arc de Triomphe into a crowd of gawking tourists, I thought I was going to burst into tears. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling you get when you see something in person that you've dreamed of seeing since childhood. Not only that, but I immediately went to see the Sacre Coeur in the heart of Montmarte, where one of my favorite romances was filmed.

After everything was said and done, 90% of the reason I was in Paris at that particular time was so that I could see the Bastille Day parade and fireworks. I did not get to see the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower, for which I am heartbroken, but I did get to see some near my hotel the night before the parade and the morning of the parade I got a treat and saw Sarkozy, making it the second time I have seen a current president, neither of whom were the leader of my country of birth.

Not quite the picture on the brochure for the parade, but quite close. Seeing the Arc in person was unbelievable. It's incredible how little a photograph can convey the true majesty of a site.

And of course, the Eiffel Tower. I did not see the fireworks lighting up the sky behind this most famous monument, but I did dine my first night at its base. (A meal of cheese, bread and dark chocolate, followed by a bottle of sparkling wine seemed only fitting for my first night in Paris.)

I finished off my trip at the Berlin Zoo, watching the friendly (and cute) zookeepers feed the animals and play with the sea lions. A strange place to finish off my trip, I'm sure a lot of people think, but I'd wanted to visit a zoo near Amsterdam where the monkeys were free of cages and that didn't work out, so Berlin was the next best thing. It was worth it, too, because during feeding time you can get closer to the animals than I ever thought possible. I saw almost entirely down a lion's throat, without being on my way into its belly. Quite a feat.

And finally I hopped a plane from Berlin to Riga, Riga to Tbilisi where I spent one more day cavorting with my expat friends before flying back to America. A long trip, to be sure, but having been home for four months I can safely say that I would give most anything to be back traveling again.

I hope to soon have a full update about Georgia, a sort of recap of the year so to speak, though considering how dreadfully long it took for me to update this one, I highly doubt I'll be getting around to the Georgian one anytime soon. I hope I can, though, because I'd like to go back through and post a lot of pictures that I didn't post previously. If anyone is still following, I truly apologize for the lack of posts recently. Soon I'll be updating again, when I have found another job that takes me over oceans and continents to places no one thinks they'll ever see.