P.S. really long, I should make a short story out of this, it's that long.
So last week I had a mid-semester break for nine days, which was spent in a few different countries. I had a to leave really early, 4 am, to catch my first flight to Munich: which started my break. I had to fly to Munich first before my connection to Paris. My flight wasn't canceled but delayed because of the weather in Munich. I was getting worried because I wasn't sure if I would still be able to make my connecting flight. The monitor told me I would be fine, because for whatever reason it said it was delayed ten minutes but we would still arrive at the same time; which made no sense.
So whatever, I stopped worrying.
I got the window seat, my favorite because I get to look out the window at everything. Although I had the window I didn't see much because my eyes were closed; I was sleeping. When before we even land the crew is informing us that there are a lot of flight delayed in and out of Munich because of the weather, a lot of fog. I was prepared for the worst, I somewhat already knew that I had missed my connection and thought I would need to buy a new ticket. I was half right, I did miss my flight, but I wouldn't have to buy a new ticket which I found out after waiting in line for hours. Not actually hours, probably not even an hour, but everyone was in this line. So I talk to the lady at the counter and she gives me another boarding pass for a flight that had already started boarding and it was all the way down the corridor. She told me to "please hurry." I almost started to sprint to the gate because I thought I would miss it and have to go back to wait in that line. I was almost running though I told myself I would not be one of those people to run in the airport. I did manage to get there with a while to spare. This time I had the aisle seat which isn't bad either, I'm pretty sure I slept for almost the whole flight, again.
I was going to try to take a bus to the city from the airport because it's so far but I couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket or even which bus I would take, so I took a taxi to my hotel which took up way too much money, and I was thinking I would have to do this again, that sucks. My hotel wasn't what I thought it was going to be, and it was a lot farther from the sites than I thought it said.
So yeah, that really sucked. And I know the title is "Great Week," I'll get to the great parts next. I'm realizing that this is going to be a really long post... oh well, I'm sure you will enjoy reading all this, right, Keera?
Well I get there still in the afternoon so I still have time to walk around a lot, which is good because I would soon find out how far and long it takes to get to the city. I would say that it took about an hour to get to the closest land mark the giant arch in the middle of the traffic circle. That arch was the furthest I made it the first day, I also realized that there were quite a lot of people trying to get money... I hate that, those sleazy bastards. So this one guy tries to trick me to give him money and is very persistent, and later another day, kinda skipping ahead a little, but it goes along with this guy, but some people tried pickpocketing me and such I was so pissed. But whatever. I don't think I ate anything that day except for airline food.
So the next day was a day full of walking. I start out early in the morning and it is so cold and windy, and me being so prepared didn't pack any warm clothes, mainly because I didn't have any to pack in the first place(Still don't, but will soon). I promise the good stuff is coming.
I walk to the arch again, I used that as my center point. I then wanted to go the the Eiffel Tower because it seems close enough, you can see it from the arch. It's still very cold and I have on all the clothes that I brought with me, which isn't much: khakis, undershirt. white dress shirt, black vest, and a very very light jacket. So when I was finally getting close to the tower, I was so cold and getting numb I was so happy when I saw an aquarium in this park I was walking through, what luck. I went down into it and walked around it for hours, so I could warm up and so outside could warm up. I really liked the aquarium, it wasn't that big, but it still had so much to see.
After the aquarium I went to the Eiffel tower, so glad it warmed up a bit, not too much. I really noticed the cold when I was standing in line for an hour to buy a ticket and for the elevator to go to the top, which I found out at the ticket booth, was closed. We couldn't go all the way up but we could go to the second floor which was still really awesome. When up there we find out that you can go up to the top floor, but with the ticket I had bought you're not allowed, so I was cheated out of that experience, that kinda sucks. That was probably the best thing I did in Paris. Not much else too exciting after that, so yeah.
Now I come back to Florence, for a night and leave again in the morning to go to London. The way I planned this was so troublesome and difficult, I was like "shit, I'm an idiot". I start out on the train which wasn't bad. So this train is going to take me to Milan, a three and a half hour ride. I'm pretty sure I slept at least half the time, then when I get to the train station in Milan I have to take a bus for an hour to the airport; slept during that too. Then at the airport, I love all the duty free stores: Armani, liquor, perfumes, it just doesn't seem like an airport as much as a small mall. I have to wait in a hangar for my flight, kinda stupid in my opinion, I think this whole airline is stupid. RyanAir, I'm not planning on taking it again. The seating is first come first serve, you get whatever there is, and if you're last you get whatever is left.
I can never seem to stay awake during travel. At the airport in England, I have to take another hour long bus ride to a train station near my hotel. Then from there a taxi to my hotel and this taxi driver was not smart, he didn't know where he was going, so he cost me another pound extra at least, and pounds are almost twice as much as dollars. So more sucking during this trip. So it's already quite late, so I just go straight to sleep.
The next day I eat some real food for the first time during my trip, best breakfast I've had since I've left America, or pretty close to it. I didn't do a whole lot in London, but I love it so much, and want to go back. I think the only thing I did was ride bus tours around the city, I didn't even ride the London Eye, so that's one thing I need to go back for.
The worst part of this trip was all the traveling, specifically to London and back, on the train ride back I once I was in Italy, the last bit of travel, I was basically kicked of for doing nothing except being there, so you talk about a sucky life, this is it. This family hated me because they come into my cabin to sit, and they are so annoyed that I am there, I can tell, even though I don't understand what they're saying. This is going back to a different station in Florence that I didn't know, and they told me to get of at this one stop, they were all like this is it and yeah, so I get off, and it's not it. The train officials won't let me back on the train so I'm stranded, and the next train isn't until morning, another six hours. I'm so pissed off about that.. still now. So I have to get a taxi, lucky there was this one that pulled up to chill, and I was trying to talk, language barrier, sorta. I don't have enough money to get back to where I need to go, so I tell him to just take me as close as he can with the money I have. I was a few a euro short of the mark, but as we got close to the mark, he just didn't care and took me all the way there even though I couldn't pay but he was ok with that, I was lucky, but I had spent way too much money on something I shouldn't have needed.. still very pissed about that.
Well that's about it. My fall break that is better described in my pictures, or at least the good parts are.
