Trippin // Europe
- Carly Morton
- Oct 27, 2017
- 2 min read
There is something majestic about Europe in the winter time. It's not like 'm on the opposite end of the world, but rather in another world itself. I certainly had all these romanticised notions of snowflakes, Christmas carols and hot chocolate that to some extent were not realised, but my European jaunt a couple of years ago was certainly a memorable trip. Corralling my best friend Amy (Harps) into joining me we signed up for a Contiki and packed for our month long whirlwind stint. Having done a Contiki tour previously, I was quite optimistic, however, when you are 25, almost 26 and the majority of the crew is significantly younger than you, and highly annoying, the experience is not the same. Despite the high percentage of bimbo's and douche Lord's we had to spend long stretches of time with, harps and I made a few friends and upheld the YOLO pact to ensure that it was a memorable trip.
Having already been to Italy, I was keen to see some other countries in western Europe. However, I can say this with certainty that Italy is still my favourite country. This time on the agenda was: England, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
We wandered the icy streets of London and took to the bus that snaked around the busy streets. We stopped in at Hyde Park to make friends with the swans, traveled over Tower Bridge and ate Nutella crepes in a cozy cafe. In Paris we were awed by the romance of the city, ordered food in French and strolled down to the Louvre. Spain took us to Barcelona where we gathered a group together for a traditional Spanish feast and were moved by the work of Gaudi. Italy brought me back to Venice, taking the Gondola's through the twisting waterways. In Austria we attended a classical concert and Germany comforted us with giant pretzels and steins of beer. Keeping on the theme of beer we attended a beer hall in the Czech Republic and Amsterdam's beautiful scenery drew us outside in the day time to visit the Heineken Museum as well as various cafe's and cute stores.
This fast paced trip gave me a quick snapshot of Western Europe but it was enough of a taste to know where I would like to return to. London is a definite 'must' on my list. There was so much to do there and literally not enough time to do it all. And honestly, If a person like me hasn't been to the Harry potter world at Universal Studio's, can I really call myself a fan? Paris is certainly calling me back, while the Moulin Rouge experience was awesome, I didn't get a chance to see the Mona Lisa or put a lock on the love lock bridge. While travelling to Europe in the middle of winter was certainly less crowded, I would definitely pack warmer clothes and better shoes if I were to do it again. Better start saving Harps!
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