After my first trip to Europe on an organized tour, I decided that I would rather go on my own so that I could do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it!  I had a few ideas of where I would go... you know, everywhere!!! Well, I ended up inviting a friend, who ended up inviting her boyfriend, and we ended up deciding on a few amazing places.

After a slight flight mix up, our plane was going to run out of fuel or something, we got split up and I went to London alone for a few days.  I actually had to fly from Atlanta to New York, where I landed right around midnight.  The woman behind the desk did not want to help me because she was tired, or something, and she told me I could wait in the airport until 5 when the next person would be there.  I met a nice Irish gent in the airport that was also stuck there overnight, so we made up ridiculous games, had short sprint races, and kept each other entertained for the duration of our night.  It wasn't until 8am that they could get me into a hotel room and I finally got on a plane to London a few hours later.  Needless to say, by the time I got to my hostel, all I wanted to do was nap.  And I did.

The next couple days there were outstanding.  Again, World Cup playoffs were happening so everyone was out watching the games, and it was great! I saw all of the sites- ate all of the food, and best of all I met some other amazing tourists and we had a great time! 

We more or less went to Krakow to go to Auschwitz, and I'm not really sure if there is a way to describe that place.  It's... unbelievable, in many respects.  I have always enjoyed learning about WWII and I'm not so ignorant to think that such atrocities have not happened since... the question is, what do we do about it? 

I will be honest, Prague was not on my list of things that I ever really wanted to do.  I'm glad that I did, it was absolutely beautiful, it just wasn't on my list.  We only spent a day there, and all of the moving around was getting pretty exhausting.  It was beautiful... the architecture, the history of how and why the old city was built the way that it was.  The contrast of the old town to the new one across the river was breathtaking; it was an old gothic realm juxtaposed with a new, light, clean world separated only by a narrow body of water.  

In Berlin, I met up with my best friend who was studying abroad in Germany.  We took a New Europe tour, and it was outstanding! I can't believe how much I learned... and I will definitely be needing to go back.  Actually, I would like to spend some time in southern Germany!

Last, we flew into Ireland. We rented a car and spent a couple days around the Ring of Kerry, which provided the beautiful landscape images that pop into our minds when someone mentions "Ireland".  We went to Dublin, which was a busy metropolitan (compared to Superior) with many tourists and citizens bustling around.  I took another free walking tour and met some fellow backpackers, one from North Carolina and one from Las Vegas, who I actually met up with again later on when I moved to California and she showed me around Hollywood!  

That was just a quick overview of that second trip.  If you have any questions, don't ever hesitate to ask! 

I had a life-long friend (at 19 years) that moved out to Park City, Utah to work after high school.  He convinced me (rather easily) to come hang out for 10 days to do some snowboarding and see some Sundance films; he had a place for me to stay and he could get me lift tickets because he worked at a resort... how could I possibly say no?!  

So I landed in Salt Lake City, send my friend a message that I was ready to be picked up.  45 minutes later, he politely texts me back to let me know he is real sorry, but he's working, so he can't pick me up. It's okay... I'll get a shuttle.  He didn't say where he was working, but he worked two locations in the mall, so I figured as long as I got there I could find him.  After an hour long shuttle ride, I dragged my suitcase, backpack and snowboard bag into the first store... he wasn't working.  So I hauled my load across the parking lot to the second place, low and behold, he doesn't start work until 4 (it was 12:30).  While waiting for him to show up for work, I desperately scramble to figure out what I'm going to do about the newly learned information that 1) He was kicked out of his apartment and doesn't have a place for me to stay and 2) He quit his job at the resort and cannot get me lift tickets...

Long story short, a nice gentleman was renting out rooms on Craigslist for $50/night.  Good thing, because hotels during Sundance are much more costly.  My good old friend ended up not returning any of my calls and I got my ticket back home switched to an earlier flight.  The good news is, it forced me to overcome any fear I may have had of meeting new people.  And I did meet a great Kiwi (Daniel from New Zealand) and a few other people that made my visit extremely worth while.  It is a fantastic melting pot of culture there as young people come from all over the world to work.  The snowboarding wasn't bad, either.  The snow was a bit heavy (relative to Colorado and Montana), but I can't complain... because my usual ski hill is more often covered with ice than any amount of snow, heavy or light.  I didn't see any Sundance screenings because they cost a bit of money, but I did go to a few Slamdance movies!  I do really try to appreciate independent arts and the shows were... unique-ish.  I do think there are plenty more things to see and places to go before I head back there!  

Our senior year of high school, my best friends family was kind enough to invite me on their trip to the all inclusive resort in Cozumel!!! It was quite grand!  I prepared myself by finishing my open water dives to get my scuba diving license in November of 2006 (BRRRR), but what a great opportunity would that have been?  Unfortunately, due to a small snowboarding accident weeks before the trip and a minor bruise in the wrong place, I couldn't go diving because of the change in water pressure!

We still had a splendid time golfing, sipping on Bahama Mamas, swimming with dolphins, laying by the pool, dancing at night, and making it the Spring Break that it was supposed to be! 

My first trip abroad was through school.  It was just a random group of people who got together and took a tour through EF tours from Rome to France.  Now, it's 2013, so I will recall what I can from the trip! 

We flew into Rome the night that Italy beat France for the World Cup.  There were fires and riots and celebrations of all sorts.  It was a huge celebration!!! We spent our first couple of days seeing the sights (the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, etc.), eating some outstanding Italian food, and meeting some less than Minnesota-nice Romans.  I mean that.  I'm not sure if it was because they knew we were tourists or what- but many of them were very rude!  Luckily, I knew enough Spanish at the time to be able to understand what people were saying (often about us, rather than to us) and enough to help us find our way when people were trying to give us directions.  Despite the overall experience, I'm considering a return trip, at least for the food. Maybe in a less touristy season. 
 
Next we went through the Vatican, the tiny little country there.  The Sistine Chapel was absolutely breathtaking! That's about all I remember from that part.  

In Italy, we also went to Assisi, Pisa, Monaco, Florence, We crossed the border over into France and spent a couple days in the French Riviera, where I saw my first topless beach! Awkward! After a few splendid nights in France, we made our way back to the States.  

Currently, I'm teaching myself French- not for the sake of being able to go back to France, but because I have a theory that it is the language of the future with so many of the underdeveloped countries speaking it! Who knows?  Maybe I will find myself back there!