That said, I want to talk a little about the trips I've been on. I went to Italy at the end of February to visit my friend who is living there. I flew into Torino, and from there we went to Pisa, Florence, and Milan. In 5 days, we saw 4 cities. Florence was my absolute favorite city that I've visited yet. I loved Tuscany so much, it was beautiful! It was honestly straight from the movies...we ended up walking all through the hills and saw farms and fields. Seriously, I was in heaven. It was warm. We were just walking, not having a clue where we were going. I didn't want to leave! Plus, did I mention the food? Italy truly has the best food. I ate pizza every day. I also ate gelato every day. Holy crap, if you've never eaten European ice cream, it's worth it to come here JUST for that. I have to force myself to NOT eat it every single day. My favorite kinds were tiramisu and stracciatella. I'm not sure if that's how you spell them. But really, I highly recommend getting them. Together. In one cone. And eating them. Why is food the only thing I blog about? Haha. Maybe that's just my favorite thing about being in Europe...or anywhere. I love to try not food. I'm all about trying anything once. Even though I generally don't eat red meat, I will try different meats if they are a "staple" of the culture or whatever.
Speaking of which...
This was my first of four pizzas in Italia. It was amazing. I ate the whole thing.
This is me in the very center of Turin!
You can't go to Italia without seeing the leaning tower and taking this stupid pose!
In Florence, we climbed 414 stairs to be able to see the entire city and more. I was obsessed.
This is me with the river behind me. Isn't it gorgeous?
This was the first, and only, pasta I ate in Italy. It was super good, but honestly, I enjoyed the pizza better.
From Florence, we went on a train to Milan and saw the Duomo and went to a football game. We saw Inter-Milan v. Roma. It was super fun...Europeans love their football!
This is me being Mary Poppins in front of the Duomo.
I loved Italy.
The weekend after, I went to Munich with my friend Mary. We stayed with my friend Marion that I know from Capital. She studied at Cap for a year, and I was so excited to get to see her again! I never had a huge interest in Germany. I mean, I have always been super interested in the Holocaust, so I definitely wanted to visit a concentration camp. But, I've never been like, "Oh I've always wanted to visit Germany!" So. My expectations were low. However, I was SO surprised by how much I loved it! It was freezing, but I thought it was fantastic. The language was awesome (Can someone teach me German, please?), the culture was just...so fun. Everyone was so nice and laid-back. And once again, the food was fantastic. Why is the food SO good everywhere I visit?
We got to visit Dachau, which was the main reason I wanted to visit Munich. I was so grateful to be able to see a place that I've always learned about and read about. We stayed there for about 5 hours, and got to see and read so much about it.
This is the main building where the prisoners checked in, showered, id numbers were administered, and they cooked and ate their meals.
These are the toilets in each barrack. They had this many toilets for over 2,000 people.
The "shower" in the gas chamber. Apparently it was never used, but rumor is that it was used once or twice for experimentation.
The ovens in the crematorium. For me, this was the hardest part about the entire experience. I couldn't help but imagine the bodies of so many innocent people burning. 2-3 bodies could fit in each oven, and it was used to get rid of the bodies, in order to not have to justify the deaths of so many.
This is the area where the prisoners stood for roll call each morning and night. They often had to stand for hours and hours just for roll call.
The only entrance/exit to Dachau.
It was an experience I'll never forget. It is such a different thing to be able to see where the history that you've always read about actually took place.
On a happier note, that night we went to Hofbrahaus for beer and dinner. I'm not a beer drinker. I refuse to drink beer, but Marion convinced me that if I got the half-Sprite/half-beer, I wouldn't be able to taste it at all. She was right! I actually really liked it! I never would have thought to mix those two.
Who even knew pretzels were German? Not me. But this pretzel was huge an delicious.
This is my first German meal. It's called Spatzle, and it seriously tasted like straight macaroni and cheese.
Me and Marion in front of the Hofbrahaus! Beerhalls were great.
Alright. This was my second German meal. It looks disgusting, but it was SO GOOD.
The three of us in Marienplatz.
Me chillin in Germany! I lovedddd it. I want to go back and see more!
I have been so blessed to travel so much while I've been here. It's been so much fun and I am so glad I've gotten to see the world! My top three places so far have been:
1. Florence
2. London
3. Munich
However, I am really looking forward to this next month because I will be seeing more Spain! From now on, apart from meeting my dad in London, I will only be traveling in Spain. I am pretty pumped about that.
In general, I like life here. It's so laid-back and chill. I love knowing where I am going and walking everywhere. Lately, it's been really nice out, so I have opted to walk everywhere. I barely took the metro at all this past week. It's so sunny and beautiful! My friend, Sara, and I went shopping for sundresses yesterday. I bought 4. Oops? But I seriously LOVE to wear dresses and skirts when it's warm out. It's so fun and comfortable, plus it makes me feel all girly and cute. Every girl should wear sundresses.
This weekend I stayed in Barcelona for the first time since the beginning of February. Can you believe that? It's been really nice just chillin and not having to worry about getting up and running around forever. Traveling really wears you out. Sara and I wandered through the streets today, and we had no idea where we were or where we were going. We walked for about 4 hours, but it was really fun to see parts of the city we haven't seen before. I am excited for my sister and John to come because we will be seeing all the parts of Barcelona that I have yet to see. I've been saving the tourist things for when they get here.
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