Look Up at the Sun ((Spring Break))

“Keep your face to the sun, and you will never see the shadows.” 
-Helen Keller

Hey pals! Did ya miss me? It’s only been a little over two weeks since my last blog, but boy does it feel like longer. In case you haven’t been keeping up, I just got back from spring break in Vienna, Venice, Rome, Pompeii, and Athens! Spring break is a million times better in Europe, and I had the honest to goodness “time of my life”.

Enjoying life in Rome!

This week’s blog is going to be a fun recap of my travels over the past couple weeks sprinkled with some of the real-life lessons I learned, the glamorous (and not-so-glamorous) situations I encountered, and (of course) more words about how much I completely and absolutely love Europe and my life because of it all. I have a hard time writing just to write (as you’ve probably noticed with my previous blogs all having ‘deeper meanings’), but this week I’m going to try to keep it simple (so wish me luck because we all know simple isn’t really my thing). Feel free to skip to the last paragraph for a quick summary if you're not feeling like reading a novel. 

The crew at the Forum in Rome!

My class started off our spring break when we left for Vienna, Austria two Tuesdays ago (on the 10^th of April). We spent three days there, and it was a big city with even bigger character. A lot of walking was involved in these days because everything was so dang far apart (but what else is new?); however, I was very happy to get my museum fix as we visited the Hofburg Imperial Palace (and its treasury), Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the Belvedere Palace. Each featured paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and much more that were both fascinating and insane to see. (If you know me, you know I love museums, so I was very pleased.). My favorite exhibit would easily have been the original painting of “The Kiss” that we quite literally stumbled across. (If you ever go to Austria, you’ll see the painting everywhere, and it’s absolutely beautiful- it’s worth a Google). A close second would have to be the various works of Monet that were on display (I won’t pretend to know anything about art, but holy crap did he create some incredible paintings.) I also got to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city at sunset as well as attend a sort of hybrid opera/ ballet/ orchestra with a few friends that was both impressive and an absolute once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Laughing in Vienna! 

Venice, Italy was the next stop on our "class" part of spring break, and I strongly believe that each and every one of you should visit this adorable, friendly, water-surrounded place. We only got to spend a day and a half there because the bus trip took almost a full day, but that was enough to low-key fall in love with the city and its fairytale existence. We took a gondola (of course), ate cuttlefish ink spaghetti (it was delicious and turned my mouth black), shopped in the little stands and shops, appreciated the famous glass-blowing, and were blown away that Venice is even real place. Seriously guys, it’s better than the movies.

Beautiful Venice. 

The class parted ways that Saturday morning (the 14^th) for the start of our official spring break, and my crew headed for Rome, Italy. We took a train and got to see some of the gorgeous Italian countryside, and then headed out to explore the second we got to the city. We actually ended up running into the Colosseum even though that wasn’t the plan and got to see the ruins at dusk, which was breathtaking. The next day, we met up with more people from our class at Vatican City. We saw the Pope and listened to his address (which was crazy cool, especially because of everything I’ve learned about Catholicism through this trip) and saw Saint Peter’s Basilica. We then spent the rest of the day exploring the Forum and the Colosseum (casual, right?). The next day was spent sightseeing Rome and finding incredible things like the ruins of all sorts of the ancient city, Trevi Fountain, and the Arch of Constantine. Seeing things that I’ve only ever seen in movies or on a computer screen was surreal; however, Rome wasn’t everything that I expected it to be. This lead to an important realization though: nothing is perfect. No matter where you are, there will probably be something that’s annoying or disappointing or frustrating, but you just have to look past it and focus on the good (because that's always there too). Personally, I thought Rome was gross and smelly, and the street vendors haggled you so much that you had to be rude to get them to leave you alone. I was kind of disappointed at the time; however, looking back now while telling all of you about my experiences, I actually don’t find myself remembering the bad as much as I remember the sheer amazement that I felt while witnessing that incredible city. It's good to realize that everything isn't alway glamorous, and that every town, city, and country has its problems. I think it's better for us to be aware rather than ignorant, which is a perspective that I may not have understood entirely two months ago. 

Vatican City!

We arrived in Pompeii on the 17^th and spent a glorious day wandering around the ruins of this ancient city (I'll admit that I sang the song “Pompeii” in my head all day). I couldn’t feel my feet by the end of our 15^th mile; however, we ended the day with a homemade dinner of traditional Italian seafood at our adorable countryside Airbnb, and it was probably the best meal I've had in Europe (and I've had some kick-butt food). Also, on a different note, this day was Tyler and my one-year anniversary and the day after my dad’s full knee replacement surgery. I hadn’t had reliable WiFi in about five days and this place was no exception, so I couldn’t talk to my family or to Tyler, and that night was the saddest I have been on the entire trip. Another lesson here though: even if you have to cry in the bathroom with the water running like I did, it’s okay to let yourself feel sad when you miss things. I’ve learned that it doesn't mean I’m not loving my time here or even that I want to go home, it just means that I have people who I love and who I want to be there for at times (and that can't be a bad thing).

The ruins of Pompeii were amazing to see.

Our last stop on the spring break tour was the beautiful Athens, Greece, and I wish I could’ve just stayed there forever. We did things like visit the Acropolis and the Parthenon. We saw the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Athena, tons of other ruins, and visited the Acropolis museum where we saw an unending amount of ancient artifacts. My mind couldn't even comprehend how old the things that I was seeing were, and I loved trying to imagine the place is all its glory all those years ago. It’s so beautiful now, so I can only imagine how incredible it was back then. We spent a day on the coast of Athens where we enjoyed the cool water and the warm sand and sun (and some wind). Our Airbnb was literally on the beach, so we got to go down to the water at night as well. The atmosphere of Athens was so friendly and calm, and the shopping was way too much fun (oops). I honestly wish we could’ve stayed longer, and the end of spring break came way too fast. Our last night in Athens was definitely the most interesting (maybe not in the best way). We realized that our flight back to Prague from Rome had somehow been booked for the wrong date. Cheap airline means no refunds and no changes, so we were kind of screwed. This was one of those “figure it out” situations that probably would’ve been enough to send us into a panic two months ago, but we figured it out. Unfortunately, the solution involved a 19 hour bus ride and a lot more money than I planned on spending, but hey, we made it back to Olomouc safe (and on time!). Another important lesson that spring break taught me was that sometimes stuff gets messed up, and it’s okay. Whether it was you or circumstance or the stupid airline or a little bit of everything, you figure it out, learn from your mistakes and experiences, and try to do better next time (and check the confirmation emails thoroughly). 

Temple of Athena!

Summing up my spring break experience is probably impossible, but a super quick recap would involve words like Carbonara, sunburns, gondola, sand, Airbnb, trains, exploring, wine, walking, ruins, breathtaking, new friends, feta, disbelief, reggae music, wind, toaster strudels, RegioJet, Ouzo, hospital and just plain happy. I know those words might not mean much (or make any sense) to you, but ask me about one of them sometime (if you’re brave enough), and I’ll tell you a story (or twelve) about what it means to me and my adventures in Europe. 

Beach day!

Spring break was a logistical nightmare that involved five major cities, seven different Airbnbs/hostels, four trains, three buses, two boats, two taxis, two plane rides, countless metros, and miles and miles and miles of walking. Despite how crazy this sounds, it was AMAZING. I saw things that I’ve dreamed of seeing and experienced the beautiful cultures of very different places. The food it Italy will change your life. We were never stranded anywhere, and we made it on time to EVERYTHING. Like are you kidding me? We’re amazing. If anyone knows whether it’s “Pompeii” or “Pompei”, please let me know.  I have experienced an unhealthy amount of sunburning  (sorry Grandpa) but got called “tan” twice today, so I’m good with it. Feta cheese may be the best thing that has ever been given to humankind, and we should never forget this. 19-hour bus rides are insane, but you will survive. Mints help motion sickness. Traveling the world with strangers is one of the fastest ways to make friends. Ryanair sucks. Italy has the best gelato. If you visit the Vatican City, make sure you cover your knees and shoulders (They have a dress code, and I had to buy weird leggings off a street vendor because I didn’t know.). Go to Greece, because it's even better than you think it will be. Tea on your balcony overlooking the ocean is the best kind of tea. And finally, we only have five more weeks left of this adventure, and I can’t believe it’s flying by so quickly. I want this to last forever. 

Venice is breathtaking.

If you made it this far, I’m so impressed. Thank you for caring about me and supporting me in this journey. Also please eat some Mac & Cheese and Hershey's dark chocolate for me because I'm CRAVING them. 

You didn't think I'd forget the wine, did you?

x Paige