Bucket List

We all have a bucket list.  Something that we want to do before we kick the bucket.

As crazy as it is, I'm obsessed with lists, but I don't have a written down bucket list.  However, when I was in Europe, I wrote one.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

1.  Ride on the autobahn. 
2. Go to 3 countries in one day.
3. Eat a croissant in Europe.
4. go to a U.S. war memorial in Europe.
5. Visit a castle.
6. Have ice in Europe.

Monday, Jun 24, 2013

1. Go to a WWI trench.
2. Go to church in a different country.

Friday, June 28, 2013

1. See the Mona Lisa 
2. Go to Norte dame.
3. Ride under the English Channel.
4. Climb the Eiffel tower.
5. Try fish and chips in london.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

1. Try a food you never thought you would--ginger beer!
2. Ride a double decker bus.

Tuesday July 2, 2013

1. Stay in a vrwo (vacation rental with owner and his and another guy.)
2. Ride a mini cruise ship.
3. Try Guinness pie.
4. Try bangers and mash.

Thursday, July 4, 2013. 

1. Go to two Primarks and Penny's and buy things in each.
2. Have hot chocolate with a design in it.
3. Jaywalk in Ireland.
4. go hiking in Ireland
5. Eat in an Irish pub. 
6. Wake up at five in the morning without an alarm clock. 

Some are very specific, but hey, others you should definitely put on your bucket list.  Or write it up after you've gone, like I did. 

xo. Elise 

Ok...let's talk dynamics.

Not very many people get to travel the world at all...and I was lucky enough to travel with a pretty fantastic group of people!  But, one person in particular...my cousin Camille!

Oh Camille and I...we go back.  Back for a while.  I remember her coming to my house for a week during the summer and we would play for hours on end.  My Thanksgivings consisted of hanging out with this gorgeous girl (still do) but, now instead of playing trolls and Polly Pockets, we just sit and talk and talk and talk.

We spent four weeks together this summer.  First off, this was a dream come true for me.  Ever since I was little I wanted to spend this long with Camille.  Second, now it's time to spill all of the juicy drama we had over the trip.



0. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. None whatsoever.

Camille and I didn't have one single fight the entire four weeks we spent together.  And no, this isn't me just forgetting the little fights or drama.  It really didn't exist! This means that two teenage girls traveled to 7 countries, numerous apartments, to 3 world renowned cities, and various time zones together and didn't have one fight.  Miracles do happen!

In all seriousness though, I am so lucky to have one of my closest friends be my cousin.  Because she's kind of rad.

She's kind of gorgeous isn't she?

This is basically the girls when were in the car...driving anywhere.  This particular day was Sunday after we toured Wissenburg, or the White City.  In Germany.  I swear, I had the best sleep of my life in that van...

In summation, Camille was so much fun to be with!  I can't think of anyone else I would want to experience the trip with.

xo. Elise

A little country hopping for ya!

I've been all over the U.S.  Crossed so many state borders, I've lost track.  I live half an hour away from a state border for heaven's sake!

So imagine my surprise when crossing country borders....was kind of the same thing.  Except maybe even more anticlimactic because we didn't even cheer as we crossed.

See, over in Europe a lot of the countries are all part of the European Union.  Because of this union, there isn't any border control whatsoever.  Going from Germany to France to Luxembourg to Belgium was very similar to going from Utah to Idaho to Wyoming to Colorado.

Downside?  No passport stamps.

The first day we stop in Trier, the oldest city in Germany.  It's home to a Roman Gate (yes, as in bajillion years old Romans) that is nicknamed 'The Black Gate' because, well, it's black.

There were all of these kids everywhere on a field trip...and I wonder what type of life they live.  I mean, who goes on a school field trip to a Roman gate...in Germany.  Don't mind me, I just went to the Kingman Power House year after year after year.  (Kingmanites, you know what I'm talking about). 

Keep in mind it was 90 degrees over here.  Yes, 90 degrees and so humid it felt like a permanent sauna.  That is why my face felt like it was melting off.  This is when we vowed to never put any effort in our appearance in Europe ever again.  (That lasted until the next day).  We also visited some Roman Baths, a beautiful cathedral, and had the most amazing gelato ever.  I had blood orange and, oh my, it was heavenly.  Helped my craving for something cold.  Fun fact about Germany: they have no ice.  Anywhere.  They probably don't even know what ice is.  And their drinks?  Cool, not cold, at best.  

We then stopped at a U.S. military cemetery in Luxembourg.  This was amazing.  It was sobering to look at all of those white crosses in row after perfect row of people who died so I could live in a free country.  

 Luxembourg was gorgeous.  It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (I guess their big income is banking? Who knew!), and you could tell.  Everything was clean and nice. Seriously, I would probably move there in heartbeat...actually, I would move there in a heartbeat.

Belgium was only about a half an hour away...so why not?  We tried some French fries from a little roadside stand.  Fun fact number 2: French fries are from Belgium. World War II soldiers were given some from soldiers that spoke French so they assumed they were from France, but they were actually from Belgium.  These fries were heavenly...fresh and hot.  We also had an assortment of sauces to taste test.  (Curried ketch-up?  Thumbs down.)

Our last stop was a war memorial, Battle of the Bulge to be exact.  This was an amazing experience for me because I had just learned about this battle, the history behind the name, and the significance of it.  The memorial was huge, and I would highly recommend looking up the story.  Again, it made me so proud to be an American.  It also reminded me of the great world we live in, at risk of sounding corny, it was a great reminder that there are good people out there.

('Scuse the appearance...it was a long day and as mentioned, I basically melted).

Sorry this was so long...when you do three countries in one day, it takes a while.

xo. Elise