SPRING BREAK: Part 1

Getting back to the institute was fun, as everyone shared their crazy Spring Break stories and adventures. Though this has been one of the most memorable Spring Breaks for all of us, we have all come to the conclusion that there is a great difference between traveling and vacationing. Though there were moments that definitely felt like vacationing, we were most definitely traveling for Spring Break. Traveling is exhausting, restless, and sometimes stressful. Although I do look forward to being able to vacation without making a single plan, I just experienced one of the most wonderful and memorable weeks ever, and I am so so thankful for it!

Venice

Spring Break official started last Thursday evening (March 1), but I am marking the beginning of Spring Break 2K12 at 2:50 am Saturday morning. This is when my alarm woke me telling saying that it was time to go catch a flight! With less than 2 hours of sleep the night before, Kimberly and I were “ready” to conquer our week free from school, and full of travels. Neither of us has ever traveled like this before, so we knew we were in for a big adventure!

Planning a week of country hopping, hostel booking, and flight arranging was NO easy task. Before this trip, we were naively under the impression that traveling through Europe was “a piece of cake.” Days of planning later, I came to the conclusion that traveling Europe is just different, not necessarily “easy.” In fact, this type of traveling makes driving in the States seem super simple.

While in the airport we made a plan that we a) were going to embrace every aspect of traveling, b) purchase the best postcard available every place we visit, and c) not get pick-pocketed! Our task would not be completed until we touched back down in Prague.

 (This is me, NOT getting pick-pocketed!)

Once in Italy, it was only then getting light outside. We had to take a bus to the city where we then took a boat to our hostel! This was by far my favorite mode of transportation, and was a great way to get a wonderful first glance of VENICE!!

We stayed at Hostel San Maurizio, which was a precious hostel right in the middle of town, and once we found it, we dropped our stuff off and went right back out again!

We spent our first day shopping, walking, soaking up the SUN, and sitting on the dock enjoying the views!

Venice is absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed every second I was there. Every turn lead to somewhere even more beautiful than before. I felt like I was in a picturesque maze, walking through narrow corridors that opened up to a labyrinth of canals and bridges. I was part of a fairy tale by simply strolling the streets!

In the afternoon, we surprisingly ran into five familiar faces from our program and all shared dinner together. It was a great way to start out our trip! With exhausted and sore bodies, we had to say goodnight to our friends. Having only 2 hours of sleep in the past 40, sleep came early for us that first night. We happily welcomed it with heavy eyes and content smiles. As we laid in bed with our window OPEN, live jazz music drifted from the street, making its way up to calmly fill our room with sweet melodies. That first day was one of the best, and I fell asleep that night realizing that I had been incredibly blessed with a flawless start to Spring Break 2K12!

Day two of spring break started just as wonderfully as day one ended. We got to sleep in, and take our time getting ready…which felt like such a luxury!

 

For all you McDonald’s haters, you can skip this paragraph…

So, Kimberly and I have created a new mission for ourselves. So far, in every city we have been in, we have experienced either an exhausting, crazy, or stressful situation that left us hungry and in a tizzy. Wanting nothing more than cheap food and a place to rest, we have somehow found ourselves seeking sanctuary in a McDonald’s. Because we have realized that we will most likely end up at one anyways, why not make it a mission to go to a McDonald’s in every city we go to?! This challenge is actually pretty humorous to me, because I never go to McDonald’s when I am in the US.  It is also pretty funny, because every McDonald’s we have been to so far has been so different from each other, and almost nothing like the ones back home. For instance, the McDonald’s in Vienna was extremely fancy. There was high table seating, and a wait staff to clear the tables. The McCafe contained an incredibly large range of pastries, which would put a Harris Teeter bakery to shame! There was anything ranging from tiramisu to gourmet cupcakes to caramelized croissants. Then,  the Milan McDonald’s had a completely different feel. As we walked into that one, we felt as if we were walking into a corny Fourth of July festival. Red, white and blue streamers were hung from the ceiling, and the staff was adorned in American flag high top hat pared with shirts that read, “The Great Taste of America.” Surprisingly, there is only on McDonald’s in all of Venice. It was very inconspicuous, and unlike most McDonald’s, blended in with all the other shops on the street. The menus are the main thing that vary from restaurant to restaurant, but I think Venice’s was my favorite! There were spicy waffle fries, Mexican burgers, pistachio McFlurrys, and kiwi on a stick! I had to try the kiwi because it was just so random.

 

Seeing as we were in Italy, we figured it would be appropriate to finish off our meal with…you guessed it…GELATO!! Luckily, I’m pretty sure we happened to find the greatest, creamiest, and most wonderful gelato in all of Italy. I ordered dark chocolate and pistachio and golly, it was heaven on my tongue!!

 

After filling ourselves with delicious food, we walked and walked and walked. Sight seeing is never ending here, but we saw as much as we could see!

 

Before we knew it, it was dinnertime and we were once again tired and hungry. We went to a local restaurant by the waterfront that a lady recommended for us. I was finally able to get yummy FRESH seafood! (Seafood is pretty obsolete in the land-locked Czech Republic.) After dinner, Kimberly and I went and sat on a near by dock and chatted away as the sun sunk under the horizon. This was a moment when I actually felt like I was on vacation!

 

Everything about Venice was such a refreshing change from Prague. There was warmth, and sunshine, and everyone we encountered was so friendly and willing to help. I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, and the slower pace of this city!

Day Three was a pretty eventless day, which I now realize is a blessing when it is a travel day! We said our goodbyes to Italy, and then after a long day of travel we arrived in PARIS, France! We ate in the strangest 50s diner/sports bar/Amazon Rainforest French restaurant, and then called it a night.