Today I’m sharing photos and more about my Europe trip! I’ve been officially planning this trip since last May, but I’ve been dreaming about this trip for as long as I could remember. When I was in college I wanted to study abroad so bad, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a program that offered the classes I needed in order to graduate on time. After college all I wanted was to get a job in Los Angeles and start living in the real world. To this day I have no clue why! Finally four years later, I took the plunge and booked my dream holiday.
I traveled through eight countries and 16 cities in 35 days. I saw London, England; Paris, France; Lucerne, Switzerland; Vaduz, Liechtenstein; Munich, Germany; Hopfgarten, Austria; Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Pompeii, Italy; and Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Ios, Greece! Whew. It was a lot of traveling. I had some people ask if I was with a group, and yes I did a tour. I thought about just backpacking and winging it, but in the end the planner in me couldn’t do it. It was also a safety thing. Hey I’ve seen Taken one too many times! I settled on a Contiki tour because it was for young travelers and mostly solo travelers. While there were some ups and downs on my feelings about the company, my overall feeling was I’m glad I went that route! My tour manager, Kate, was amazing! She was so organized and informative. Just having someone there who knew where to get the best gelato or find a pharmacy or buy a dirndl made the trip run smooth.
If you follow me on Instagram, some of these might be repeats but I want to give anyone just tuning in a peak inside my trip! When people ask me how my trip was, I always respond “it was amazing.” As a writer, I cringe a little that all I can come up with is “amazing,” but I am literally at a lost for words to describe the trip. It was cultural experience filled with trying new foods, making new friends, learning the history, getting lost in strange cities, snowball fights in the alps, attempting to speak four different languages, walking lots of walking, bike rides, beer tasting, island hopping, dancing on bars, toga parties, facing my fear of heights, jumping off boats into crystal clear water and witnessing some of the most spectacular sunsets of my life. I would go back in a heartbeat. Europe didn’t suffice my travel bug. It only made me yearn to travel more and travel everywhere. Thailand, Bali, Australia, Canada, Brazil and the rest of Europe are all possibilities!
London, England (from left to right)
top: In front of Buckingham Palace | The London Eye | Meeting up with my friend Sara from LA!
center: Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral | Big Ben | The most amazing Indian food I’ve ever had in Islington
bottom: Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station | Westminister Abbey | Classic red phone booth shot
Paris, France
top: Great Gatsby in French | The Louvre | Lock on the Love Lock Bridge
center: Posing with the Eiffel Tower | Eiffel Tower at night | Throwing my phone away like Anne Hathaway in the same fountain from The Devil Wears Prada
bottom: Ladurée for amazing macarons | Made it to Notre Dames after a 6 mile walk | Artful tree covering the scaffolding on the Arc de Triomphe
Lucerne, Switzerland
top: My hotel was a converted jail which was really cool | Cruise on Lake Lucerne | Loving the unique architecture
center: Swans were all over the lake | Toblerone Fondue | Classic Swiss fondue. One of my favorite meals!
bottom: Jumping at the top of Mount Stanserhorn | Attempting to play an alp horn | White out in the Alps
Munich, Germany
top: Bike ride through Munich in the rain | Germany’s largest Beer Garden | Snack break
center: Amazing pretzel, traditional kase cheese dip and wheat beer | The Glockenspeil | Jumping in front of the “selfie” fountain
bottom: Surfers on the river. One of my favorite parts of Munich! | Cheers with part of the group at a beer hall | Enjoying my stein of beer.
How fun does that all look!? I currently live in southern Belgium {I followed the love of my life :P} so I get what you’re saying about the travel bug pushing you to go further! I’ve been all over Belgium now, and to a few places in Germany – my broke-as-eff status has kept me from doing much more than that, but because of your post, I’m determined to change that starting this summer! 😀
That is too cool! Definitely save up a little and travel Germany. I only got to spend a day there and couple have easily spent a couple days just in Munich. I already have plans to come back for Oktoberfest 2015! Ekk.
Looks like an amazing trip. I see some of your choices were not Paleo (beer & pretzels) so were those just things you chose to enjoy? I’m just curious if you had Paleo or almost-Paleo choices where you went or was that not an option?
I would love a trip like this but going off Paleo is not really an option for me and I’d dislike the thought of living off beef jerky for a month.
I knew going into my trip I would be eating about 80/20, which turned into closer to 50/50. I was on a tour which limited my food options unless I wanted to go out and find food after the included meal. A bunch of paleo bloggers recently went to Europe and ate gluten-free. When traveling on your own, Europe has tons of gluten-free restaurants. I know Primal Palate is putting together a post on eating gluten-free while in Europe. Hope this helps!