France

Paris was a stressful, surreal blur. All right, that's a little dramatic. But from June 28 to June 30, we were in France. It was an overall good experience, but I found it to be rather draining.

The apartment we found on airbnb was amazing. Ludwig was such a cool guy, and he gave us good suggestions. That night, we went to a Basque place in the same neighborhood. It was really neat to try real French food while also avoiding the touristy restaurants.

Probably my least favorite part of our trip was going to Montmartre, where we saw La Basilique du Sacré Coeur. It was really neat, and the inside was cool, but it was not worth it. The climb to the top was a little miserable, and all the way up, we were harassed by guys trying to sell us things. I could have definitely done without that experience.  

On our first full day, we went to all of our favorite American places to get that out of our systems. Early on, we decided that a museum pass was right for us. We had a huge list of places we could go, and we didn't ever have to wait in line. Musee d'Orsay had Van Gogh, Monet, and tons more impressionism pieces. The museum is massive. We went to the Centre Pompidou. Modern art, especially this much of it, can be a lot to handle, but I really enjoyed it. They had Dalí, Picasso, and Warhol. We went to the Louvre to see the highlights (Mona Lisa, Michelangelo). We saw Monet's water lilies at L'Orangerie.

We shopped the Champs-Élysées and ended up at the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed to the top and got the best view of Paris. We found a good spot and waited for sunset, so that we could take pictures with the lit up Eiffel Tower. For our final night in Paris, we went to the Eiffel Tower and watched it sparkle. We just sat on the lawn and drank some champagne. This night was extra cool, because we rang in the second half of 2013 while at the Eiffel Tower.

I also documented the trip through even more photos on Tumblr.

Bryce :)

Belgium

Patrick, Jordan, Shelby, and I spent June 23-26 in Brussels. Speaking for all of us, the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Belgium was the best and most beautiful one of all. Of course, it couldn't be perfect, though. There were a million (75) stairs. We got a full workout in every time we wanted to go up to our amazing penthouse.

At least compared to our other destinations, Brussels doesn't have as many attractions. Because of this, we spent a lot of time in our neighborhood and just hanging out around the house. We saw Grand Place, which is pretty amazing. The details on everything are so perfect. We also found a local chocolate shop, and we spent the rest of our stay in Belgium trying different truffles.

Our day trip to Ghent and Bruges was maybe my favorite one of the trip. In Ghent, we had the quintessential Belgian waffles. They could not have been better. Bruges was breathtaking. We took a boat ride down the canal, and it was amazing. It's just a really beautiful place.

For our final day in Brussels, we went to Atomium. It is basically a huge atom-shaped structure which is a museum. I'm still not sure I really understand it. Things happened in there that can't be shared. It did, however, give us a great view of the city. After, we became tourists and hit the city center. We saw the famous, tiny Mannekin Pis. Also, Brussels is the headquarters for the European Union, so we went to European Parliament.

Bryce :)

Netherlands

We were in Amsterdam June 20-22.

The guesthouse where we stayed was a traditional Dutch house. You basically had to climb the stairs like a ladder. It was a neat place in a good location.

It rained the entire time we were there, so we didn't get as many photos as the other locations. But the rain was nice, and I really liked the city. The buildings look amazing. The canals were really great. I enjoyed the city's relaxed atmosphere.

Really, we didn't do much in Holland, because we needed a break after all of our traveling. We did a lot of relaxing. We did visit museums, though. The Anne Frank House is an experience that I feel like everyone should have. It was very special, very powerful. We also visited the Van Gogh museum. I recognized several of the pieces, so it was really neat to see them for real.

Bryce :)

Ireland

We spent June 16-19 in Ireland. We stayed in a hostel in Dublin. Thinking back, Dublin may have given us the best meals of our trip. Also, Ireland was just a really cool experience.

Our first day in Dublin was a little miserable, because we didn't sleep much and couldn't immediately get into our hostel. But it all turned around once it got dark. We went to a place called Merchant's Arch, which is a pub in the Temple Bar area. Everyone there was so nice and friendly. The band was playing really cool Irish-esque, modern music.

The next day was Jordan's birthday and easily one of the best days of the trip. We toured the Old Jameson Distillery, where we learned all about how to make whisky. Then we went to Guinness, which was truly an experience. The place is very cool, and all of the beer is still made there at the factory. We learned how to pour a Guinness, and we got an awesome view of Dublin. For her birthday dinner, we went to the Chop House, where all of our dreams came true. It was actually perfect.

We took a day trip to the western coast of Ireland. Our guide was very knowledgeable. The cliffs were breathtaking to say the least. Seeing pictures cannot compare to seeing them in real life. When we got back to Dublin, we ate some unreal soy garlic fried chicken.

We spent our final day in Dublin sightseeing and museuming. We hung out in St. Stephen's Green, and we ate at the best pizza and drinks place. It was fun.

Bryce :)

England

For our first international travel experience, we went on a three week adventure in northwestern Europe with Patrick and Jordan. Our first stop was the United Kingdom.

Oxford (June 11-15)

Our travel to England lasted about 24 hours, so we were naturally exhausted by the time we got to Oxford. Jordan showed us where she had been living and learning for the past year. We were introduced to the best cider in the world, a proper pitcher of Pimm's, and plenty of cobblestone streets. We had a difficult time getting on our new schedule, but we managed. We also ate from a nearby food truck called Hassan's that I will never forget, because it opened my eyes to truth, beauty, and garlic mayo.

We took a nice tour of Oxford where we saw the beautiful colleges and went punting, which basically means that Patrick used a long pole to push us down a river while we relaxed and got attacked by ducks. It's a really cool place, and it was neat to see all of the history in the city. Also, the pubs were cool.


London (June 12)

For our first real day in London, we did all the touristy things. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etcetera. We went to Harrod's where my heart stopped a thousand times, because I couldn't understand how a single store could contain so much perfection. We ate at a delicious Belgian place called Belgo. The highlight of this first day in London was the Globe Theatre, where we saw A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Bath (June 14)

Our day trip to Bath was just a relaxing day away from the city. We saw the Roman baths, which are interesting, but that only lasts a couple of hours. We wandered around the shops in the town a little, and we ended up spending the afternoon in a park. There were some great dogs, and it was a nice time to chill.

Leavesden (June 15)

The peak of my life was when I walked on the same hallowed grounds as the cast members from the Harry Potter films. If you are a fan of HP, you'll want to add this Warner Bros. studio tour to your list of life goals immediately. It was actually everything I could have ever wanted. It's full of props, sets, and every other thing glorious in this world. I could talk about Leavesden forever, because it changed my life. I never wanted to leave.


London (July 1-2)

At the end of our travels, we spent a couple of days in London. I was quite sick for the first one, but the second one was awesome. Shelby and I had a great day finding Platform 9¾, finishing up souvenir shopping, and taking pictures of all the things we missed.



Bryce :)