Western Europe At Last!

The preceeding post is a list of all the sweet things my dad and I saw on your month long trip to Western Europe. Many people have asked me what I’ve seen, and so there is the semi-complete list. It might bore you to death unless you’ve actually been to these countries. Thus, don’t feel like you have to read the list of tourist sites we went to. It’s more just for my record keeping, and just in case there is someone very excited to visit Europe or has already been.

For those of you who could care less or just want the highlights here is my "brief" summary….I flew into Madrid, Spain where I was SO excited to see my dad. He seems to think that I would have been excited to see anyone at this point, but I reassure you that I was excited to see HIM. We spent a few days in Madrid with a local Couch Surfer (for those who are skeptics of Couch Surfing I want you to know it was a delightful experience every time). Dad and I spent HOURS in the Prado museum until our feet hurt so badly we could barely walk. Then to top off the day we went to another museum where we experienced Picasso's Guernica (one of dad’s favorite paintings of the trip). The next few days we did a bunch of stuff, but I really enjoyed just walking through the beautiful park and getting my first taste of Europe outside of the former Soviet.

We decided we needed a beach, so we headed up to Barcelona. This was a short-lived trip. When we got there they told us the train to Rome only left 3 days a week, which meant we would need to leave the following day. Don’t worry, we made the most of it. Sat on the beach and ended up at Hard Rock Café. I ended up taking dad out for a late birthday present. It was probably one of the best suppers of the trip!

Rome. How do I explain Rome? Well I’ll start with the Vatican…LOTS OF PEOPLE. Although I didn’t get to hang out with the Pope, I did get to see some pretty stellar things. My favorite would have to be the Sistine Chapel. After seeing so many pictures of the thing, it’s really much bigger and better in person. The rest of our time in Rome was spent looking at columns and statues and talking about Roman history. Dad just kept telling me things that I had no idea had happened. I obviously need to get on that Western Civ class at NWC. The colosseum was my favorite here.

Florence was short lived, but gorgeous. We only spent a short time here, and actually getting lost most of it. At one point we ended up on a street that we thought would get us to a park, but in fact was probably just the longest driveways we’d ever seen before. We turned around about an hour into the walk, but like I said it was gorgeous.

Paris was just like the movies. I fell in love with the city almost instantaneously. It weather was cooler and the rain seemed to start when we showed up, but it was still wonderful. Before going I thought the Eiffel Tower would be a little cheesy, but end up being a definite highlight. Dad and I got to watch a beautiful sunset at the top, walked down from the 2nd floor, and got to see the light show once we arrived at the bottom. I could have definitely done it again. Norte Dame was probably my favorite church we visited. I honestly couldn’t stop looking at the stain glass windows to save my life. Versailles was something out of this world. Who makes a palace like that anyway?!!?!?!? I thought Americans had big houses…nope. The gardens were beautiful, and I felt like a princess taking a stroll down the elaborate estate. Oh, and I can’t leave out the Louvre. When Dad and I arrived in the Louvre we were in a really crazy mood. Next thing I know I’m skipping down the halls, and Dad is posing for a picture that looks like he’s kissing Mona Lisa, and I was laughing much too loud for all the serious artistic people. AKA, it was really great.

We stopped by Barcelona one more time on our way back to Madrid to fly out. At this stop we did the same thing as last time…laid on the beach. It was very similar except for the minor detail of someone stealing my purse. Bah! Don’t worry; my passport wasn't taken. Dad would probably like to point out here that he thought this was a good “learning lesson” for me to not be so trusting with my stuff. I also would like to point out that this was one of the moments of the trip where his Dad-ness made me want to punch him in the face. (Just kidding, Daddy! Love you.) We then flew back to Kiev, Ukraine were Dad started his first Eastern European experience. I definitely showed him Mother Russia the first day we were there.

Besides all the great things we saw at all these cities, I really enjoyed the people we met and getting to experience everything with my dad. I think this trip will be one of those things we talk about for the rest of our lives….mainly because I didn’t even know two people could get lost so much or that dad could hold a map for so long or that we could consume ice cream about 3 times a day – everyday.

So there is our trip in a few paragraphs….which turned out to be a few more than I intended. Sorry about that. Dad and I are now here in the Ukraine. I started up work again. Dad will be here for about 2 more weeks. I leave to go back to Moldova in less than a month, and I will then arrive back in the States Dec 1st. With that said, I’ll try to get in a few more blog posts before I return. Know that I miss you all, and I will see you soon!

PICTURES OF THE WHOLE TRIP: http://bobbielydick.shutterfly.com/