We’ve been in Europe now for just over a week. So far, mostly good.
I’ve posted a small set of pictures, check them out.
Click below for a quick run-down of our trip.
When we arrived at Paris’ CDG airport we were in fairly good spirits, except for the jet lag, which was kicking Bri’s butt this time around. It didn’t take long for our first snag. Somehow, a bag failed to make the 2nd plane in London and British Airways wanted us to wait an hour and a half for it. No way. We had to get our car and get on the road, and given our state at the time, that was asking too much. The bag was actually just a tent. We brought it along, because we had been thinking about doing some camping while we were here. At first, I tried to convince them to send it to Jen’s grandmother’s house in Portugal, but since we were in France, they refused to send it out of the country. They kept asking me for an address in France, which I did not have. We planned on driving and finding our hotels as we went, which they couldn’t understand. Anyway, in the end, I told them “I’ll be right back” and promptly left. Screw the tent, I’ve got two grumpy girls to worry about.
We drove on and proceeded into Burgundy. We stayed a total of three days, and overall we were a little underwhelmed. Which sucked. (The weather didn’t help: wet, cold and dreary…one morning it was 59 degrees.) After all this anticipation (admittedly, mostly mine, but whatever), it was just a bunch of vineyards. Which might be cool if we were wine connoisseurs, but we’re not. The last day there, we stayed on a farm, which Bri loved, run by a cute little old couple. In that town, Autun, we were able to see some Roman ruins, that was pretty cool. However, we were tired of France and decided to make a bee-line for the border.
On the way to Milan, we stopped in Geneva, Switzerland. A beautiful city, but it was a brief visit. Maybe we’ll go back someday. Then again, maybe not.
At this point, we were sort of thinking “Hopefully, Italy will lift our spirits”. Then we got there. First impression: Holy shit, that’s alot of graffiti. Usually, when I arrive in a strange european city, I follow the signs to the city center on the rationale that it’s usually the touristy area and fairly safe. In my experience, lots of graffiti is usually an indication that you’re not quite there yet, keep going, so I kept driving. I never left it behind. I asked a local to point me toward the center and he said “You’re there, the Duomo is right around that corner”. Not cool. We did see the sights, the Duomo was impressive, but overall we couldn’t get past how dirty the city was.
Wanting to get back to something familiar, from there we drove to Barcelona, Spain. We did stop in San Remo, Italy, but could not get a room because of some mini-basketball tournament. Don’t ask. As soon as we arrived in Barcelona, we relaxed a bit. We saw all the usual sights, including the cathedral by Antoni Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia. But mostly, we just hung out. One blemish: we ate at a cafe and didn’t bother checking the posted prices, we only wanted 1 orange juice, 2 hot chocolates, and 2 orders of churros (a spanish fried-dough sort of thing)…..total price: $33. Bastardos.
Barcelona only made us long for more familiarity, so we took off for Seville. We were here two years ago and fell in love with the city, my favorite in europe. One long drive later, here we are and loving every minute again. We leave tomorrow for Portugal, where we’ll hang for a week or so.
Have fun, see you soon.
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