Sunday was the saddest day I had on this trip. It was our last day on this trip. I woke up around 10 because Rob and I still had to work out some of the travel issues for tomorrow/tonight. We went to the train station and see how much it would cost for a train. We had to pay 20 Euro for 20 hours night train or 200 Euro for an 11 hour fast train. We didn’t like those options so we went to the airport to see how it would cost to fly. Flights were originally 240 Euro for 4 and half hours but they charged 200 in fees. We ruled that one out too. So we decided to rent a car for 250 each! We figured this would give a better view of places we would normally never see. Once we had an idea and got a reservation for a car we went back and got some lunch. We just had something really quick because it was already really late and we wanted to have fun our last day here. With that in mind we went back and did homework… After that we had our global marketing meeting to discuss the books. We had to have our meeting while Italy was playing in the world cup. (Europe is awesome like that). There was a crazy Italian screaming his head off, it was hysterical. After that we went to go and have our last dinner together. We decided to walk so we could enjoy the view of the sea. Took us an hour but it was worth the extra time. How do I describe the dinner… Amazing! We had so much food it was so crazy. We ate right on the beach and we had perfect weather and a perfect view. There wasn’t anybody really at the restaurant, it was just us. I got salmon and pasta. It was really good. After dinner we had a little meeting and reflection time about our trip. I didn’t want it to end. We became so close during this trip that I wanted it to keep going. After our meeting we hung out on the beach for a while and then we started the walk back home. We took the bus back and it almost felt unreal about how fast it went and how much we saw on this trip. When we got back to our hotel (which they rent by the hour) we stayed up and did some more homework. Then we said our goodbyes. I already miss everyone!
The next morning was insane! We left for the airport at 8 and got our car around 10 ish. We left pretty much without a plan and a map on our computer (which wasn’t the best way of doing it). It took about 30 hours to travel 889 kilometers (roughly 600 miles or so). We paid so much in tolls it was ridiculous. Not only that but our car broke down because we put gasoline in it instead of diesel. Needless to say we had to tow our car… We were stranded in the middle of nowhere in Germany (11:30 at night). After that we got stayed in a hotel and left for Frankfurt at 9:30 ish. A man named Smaili (“smiley”) helped us get a hotel and everything. He was a big help. We got in Heidelberg around 6 just in time for some great cooking from Herr Luft and Yvonne! I missed Heidelberg a lot. And now we are here in Heidelberg, our journey coming to a close. We did see Germany play in the World Cup over here and the streets were crowded and noisy after Germany won the game and advance to the next round. I love this place!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Nice, France
The next morning we left Rome to go to Nice, France (our last stop). On the way there we stopped in Pisa to see the leaning Tower. Wasn’t that epic and plus it was raining so we had to be quick. After that we jumped on our train and didn’t stop until Nice. When we arrived we went and got dinner. We went around town and saw some of the sights. Most of the day was spent traveling.
The day after we went down and grabbed some lunch. From there we went to the “beach” it was pretty nice except for the rock beach and nudist out there. The water was fairly cold which was nice because it was so hot outside. After hanging on the beach for a while we decided to go to the Chateau and see the view. It was pretty amazing up there and I am glad I went. From there we went and met up with the rest of the group for dinner. After dinner we decided to walk along the beach back to our hotel. Took us about an hour to get back.
The next day we were on our way to Monaco. We stopped at a corporate visit at a perfumery factory. Wasn’t that interesting and it cut into our time in Monaco. We also stopped in to see the Botanical garden overlooking the sea. When we arrived in Monaco we had about 7 minutes to see everything before moving on. Then we had another 10 minutes to see the casino. It was intense how many nice cars there were. I couldn’t believe it. Not to mention the place itself is amazing. To rent a studio it is 1 million Euros!!! Anyways after Monaco we went back to the hotel were we went back into the town for some dinner. We then went to a casino ourselves and won us some money :D. We treated the girls to some crepes for being our good luck charm
The day after we went down and grabbed some lunch. From there we went to the “beach” it was pretty nice except for the rock beach and nudist out there. The water was fairly cold which was nice because it was so hot outside. After hanging on the beach for a while we decided to go to the Chateau and see the view. It was pretty amazing up there and I am glad I went. From there we went and met up with the rest of the group for dinner. After dinner we decided to walk along the beach back to our hotel. Took us about an hour to get back.
The next day we were on our way to Monaco. We stopped at a corporate visit at a perfumery factory. Wasn’t that interesting and it cut into our time in Monaco. We also stopped in to see the Botanical garden overlooking the sea. When we arrived in Monaco we had about 7 minutes to see everything before moving on. Then we had another 10 minutes to see the casino. It was intense how many nice cars there were. I couldn’t believe it. Not to mention the place itself is amazing. To rent a studio it is 1 million Euros!!! Anyways after Monaco we went back to the hotel were we went back into the town for some dinner. We then went to a casino ourselves and won us some money :D. We treated the girls to some crepes for being our good luck charm
Rome
Rome was absolutely amazing! We arrived in Rome and once we got to our hotel we went on a vespa tour. I never had that much fun before. I scored the only girl vespa driver and she spoke fluent English. It was a 3 hour tour of Rome and it was gorgeous! They took us to the best gelato shop in town (only the locals go there) and they took us to the 2 best views in the city. I loved it! After the vespa tourwe went to get dinner. I had a traditional cusine of Roman style chicken. After we had dinner we went into town and saw part of the nightlife and watched the World Cup.
The next day was pretty crazy. We went out to get some lunch (pizza of course) and the guys started to walk down the street. We didn’t get far because we weren’t going anywhere. The guys wanted to go back and sleep some more but I wanted to go and see things. So the guys went back and I took off to go see the colosseum. I waited in line to go inside the colosseum and I actually ran into the girls inside. They were on their way out and I quickly looked around and saw everything there and met the girls outside. After that a few of us went to the Trevi Fountain. It was pretty awesome to see. They made a wish in the Trevi fountain. Oh and before we stop pretty much at every stop to see the attraction there (there is too much to see here). At one stop Sarah played in the street. After seeing the fountain we went back to the hotel to meet up for dinner. For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Café. I got myself a delicious BBQ-Bacon cheeseburger and it was heavenly! It was my first burger since Paris. After eating we went to see the Spanish steps. It didn’t see that impressive and most of the group too off to see the nightlife. I went with a few others to walk around and see more sights (we ended up going to the Trevi fountain again but that was fine by me). We got in around 1 in the morning and were so sore from walking.
The next day we went to the Vatican City. I went with Professor Sharpe, Justin and the Kipleys to see it. I didn’t wait for the others because they were taking forever. We got to the Vatican City and saw the Pope giving a speech. After that we grab some lunch (pizza again). From lunch we went to see the Sistine Chapel. We had to go through a maze of museums to see it and it was worth it. I don’t have pictures in the Sistine Chapel because it wasn’t allowed. After that we ran into the rest of the group but then we separated later. A few of us went to see a few more sites in that area before taking off for the hotel. The rest went shopping. After going back to hotel I took a short nap before we went to dinner.
The next day was pretty crazy. We went out to get some lunch (pizza of course) and the guys started to walk down the street. We didn’t get far because we weren’t going anywhere. The guys wanted to go back and sleep some more but I wanted to go and see things. So the guys went back and I took off to go see the colosseum. I waited in line to go inside the colosseum and I actually ran into the girls inside. They were on their way out and I quickly looked around and saw everything there and met the girls outside. After that a few of us went to the Trevi Fountain. It was pretty awesome to see. They made a wish in the Trevi fountain. Oh and before we stop pretty much at every stop to see the attraction there (there is too much to see here). At one stop Sarah played in the street. After seeing the fountain we went back to the hotel to meet up for dinner. For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Café. I got myself a delicious BBQ-Bacon cheeseburger and it was heavenly! It was my first burger since Paris. After eating we went to see the Spanish steps. It didn’t see that impressive and most of the group too off to see the nightlife. I went with a few others to walk around and see more sights (we ended up going to the Trevi fountain again but that was fine by me). We got in around 1 in the morning and were so sore from walking.
The next day we went to the Vatican City. I went with Professor Sharpe, Justin and the Kipleys to see it. I didn’t wait for the others because they were taking forever. We got to the Vatican City and saw the Pope giving a speech. After that we grab some lunch (pizza again). From lunch we went to see the Sistine Chapel. We had to go through a maze of museums to see it and it was worth it. I don’t have pictures in the Sistine Chapel because it wasn’t allowed. After that we ran into the rest of the group but then we separated later. A few of us went to see a few more sites in that area before taking off for the hotel. The rest went shopping. After going back to hotel I took a short nap before we went to dinner.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Venice
After Geneva we went to Venice. It was about a 10 hour trip to Venice when it was suppose to be a 5 and half hour trip (not as bad as the one to Geneva which was a 12 hour bus ride). Venice was pretty insane. We had to do one of our homework assignments here. We had to take pictures and make a comic for International business (no idea how this is related). So I took quiet a bit. When we got into Venice we went down to the beach and walked around. After that we decided to look for a discothèque but couldn’t find one. The next day I woke up late and almost missed the bus to go to Venice. Luckily we had a private boat to Venice. So we all managed to make it to Venice and we had a long long walking tour around the city. It was interesting but I couldn’t really pay much attention to what he was saying. After the walking tour we went around and grab some lunch and it was good! It was so much cheaper than eating in Geneva. After lunch we went around and shopped (the girls of course went and bought themselves a purse) I bought myself a Deutschland jersey for the World Cup (yes I know I’m in Italy). After that it, was about 6 in the afternoon, we went to the beach by our hotel. We had some strange weather. It was first really hot and I couldn’t stand it (probably 90 or so). But then at night was it was stormy… Anyways we stayed on the beach for a while until dinner. Dinner was pretty good and our waiter was interesting. For some reason he couldn’t keep his hands off Rob (must have been his very tight “boyfriends” Italy jacket). After dinner we all went to watch the World Cup (Germany and Australia). Germany absolutely destroyed them (it was a good night to be a Germany fan!). Which now leads to this morning, which we are currently in route to Rome!
Schloss Mittersill, Austria
So today we are on our way to Rome. I have not blogged in such a long time and it has been a crazy two weeks. First off after we left Prague we went to stay at the Schloss Mittersill in Austria. We stayed there for 10 days and I wanted to do a giant overview of that week and now just realized it had been two. To begin with we were placed right in the Alps and there was still plenty of snow left on the ground. It was so much fun. We pretty much stayed around the Schloss (castle) and explored. In the beginning it was too cold to do anything else but try and keep warm. A few times Rob and I would play some ping pong. That quickly became a daily thing. We had some game nights where we played Mafia, King Frog, Scavenger Hunt, and other games. We had a tour of the castle and it was pretty crazy what had happened there. From witches to Nazi it was intense. It was about half way into the week when we discovered that it was about 80 degrees outside. From there the week was so crazy. We went tobogganing in the Alps and it was so sweet. We had about a 10 minute gondola ride up the mountain and about 2 min ride down. It was so much fun. We also had church on a mountain where you could see beyond the Alps. I played a few worship songs and it was absolutely amazing. Words cannot describe it. We went to Salzburg and had a blast. We went to the fortress, well I did, we only had a few minutes to take it all in before we had to be back to the bus. I missed Salzburg so much. We also went to the Hellburn trick fountain palace and saw some of the Sound of Music as well. I remembered this place so well that I was traveling based upon memory. When we got back to the Schloss we met Marcel, he is a music professor from the Netherlands. He was at the Schloss for his Sebatical where he is writing about the music of Bach and how they are connected to the Holy Spirit. He will be examining the cantatas that he composed and looking in Bach’s bible to make the connection to the Holy Spirit. After doing some laundry and saying goodbye to the town, we were off to Geneva.
Geneva was pretty cool. We went and saw the Olympic museum there and I accidently stole some pictures of the 1996 Olympic medals (we were there!). After that we went out to have some dinner. Everything was EXPENSIVE1 I paid 20 CHF (Franks) for a pizza and drink. That is the same as about 19 Euros (21 Dollars). We walked around forever trying to find a reasonable place but couldn’t find anything and decided to live it up a little and get something we would enjoy (McDonalds is about 13 Dollar for a meal). After that we retired early and went back to our hotel to sleep. We were supposed to meet the girls but we ended up losing them on the bus and decided to do our own thing. The next day we went to UN and had a corporate visit but first we had a corporate visit with Sun Power. Sun Power was probably the most interesting. They deal with the process of making solar panels and are the biggest and most efficient in the world. The UN was snot as interesting. It was cool to see but we were just given a guided tour and not really a formal thing that I was expecting. We did see some of the halls in which they held a few of there meetings. That was so cool to see because there was about 50 nations or more in the room! After this we went to have a picnic and then from there back to the hotel were we rested and we out into town. We went around town just walking and taking plenty of pictures. We met up with the rest of the girls back at a restaurant were we were eating at. From there we went out into town and had some fun ☺. We retired around 1 in the morning.
Geneva was pretty cool. We went and saw the Olympic museum there and I accidently stole some pictures of the 1996 Olympic medals (we were there!). After that we went out to have some dinner. Everything was EXPENSIVE1 I paid 20 CHF (Franks) for a pizza and drink. That is the same as about 19 Euros (21 Dollars). We walked around forever trying to find a reasonable place but couldn’t find anything and decided to live it up a little and get something we would enjoy (McDonalds is about 13 Dollar for a meal). After that we retired early and went back to our hotel to sleep. We were supposed to meet the girls but we ended up losing them on the bus and decided to do our own thing. The next day we went to UN and had a corporate visit but first we had a corporate visit with Sun Power. Sun Power was probably the most interesting. They deal with the process of making solar panels and are the biggest and most efficient in the world. The UN was snot as interesting. It was cool to see but we were just given a guided tour and not really a formal thing that I was expecting. We did see some of the halls in which they held a few of there meetings. That was so cool to see because there was about 50 nations or more in the room! After this we went to have a picnic and then from there back to the hotel were we rested and we out into town. We went around town just walking and taking plenty of pictures. We met up with the rest of the girls back at a restaurant were we were eating at. From there we went out into town and had some fun ☺. We retired around 1 in the morning.
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