La vie en rose

I find that with the cycle of work, sleep, and trying to fit in some fun, I don't have much time to think about adding to a blog. I am pretty good about keeping my actual journal up to date though. In any case, it's been almost a month (!) since I returned from my European adventure with my brother and two of our friends, who also happen to be siblings.

Going to Europe (especially countries that use the Euro) is pretty excruciating for one's dollar-lined wallet these days. I found that it was not difficult to spend close to $100 on food each day to get a decent meal. However, I tried not to let this dissuade me from enjoying my time in a continent I used to regularly spend my summers in.

Taking a vacation to Europe as an adult is entirely different from the trips I had as a child. I especially find salient differences in the places we visited and excursions we set to go on. Going this time definitely required a lot more walking rather than being driven everywhere. In my eyes though, this makes the trip more invigorating as you can take in all the scenery and have strong realization that you are in a different world.

Italia was amazing; from seeing the rustic qualities to Cinque Terra to viewing sculptures, paintings, and artistic beauty in myriad galleries, I was amazed. I couldn't even pinpoint a highlight of this leg of the trip because I enjoyed everything. There were only two low-points in Italia: being extremely scared being on the top of Duomo (and climbing the 463 steps to the top, which amplified my fear with each step) and then being pick-pocketed at the Palatine in Roma. It wasn't exciting to lose any cash I had and my driver's license and credit cards. Thankfully, all of those are replaceable and I still had my passport.

Praha brought back so many memories and sentimentality as my family lived there when I was eight years old. Walking down the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) and through Mala Strana made me feel like a kid again. The entire city is beautiful although it has gotten a bit too touristy in the past decade. Having the Czech food all over again was a pretty nice treat since it's impossibly hard to find authentic Czech cuisine in the U.S.

Lastly, Paris was spectacular, but I don't think anyone would expect anything less. The weather during our stay was on the wet and gloomy side, but that didn't deter us from having a good time. The Louvre was wonderful, but Musee D'orsay was even better. The view from the top of Tour Eiffel was pretty awesome even though my fear of heights was intensely evoked again. Parisian food was delicious and my favorite dish, interestingly enough, was steak frites.

The trip was a quite nice respite from work and was a great time for me to spend time with my brother and kind of rediscover my love of travel all over again. Next trip: Taiwan in July.