As many of you know, He-Man and I have spent the last few weeks traveling. First, we spent a few days in London, backpacking through the city. Then, we traveled through the stunning English countryside. From there we flew to Germany, traveling from the southwestern portion to Berlin. After a few days home from Europe, I traveled to Illinois to run the Chicago Urbanathlon with my brother, The Flash.
In a nutshell, it was overwhelmingly awesome mingled with only a few awkward, less than savory moments. With that in mind, and to save you, my illustrious reader, from ridiculously long details, I've decided to sum up the past few weeks in a format introduced to me by me dear friend, Dedra.
May I introduce you to 'Awkward vs. Awesome'...
AWESOME:
*Hearing the 'clunk' of the stamper on my passport at the Immigration and Customs counter in the Gatwick Airport.
*Kissing in public anywhere in England.
*Double-decker buses, the Underground and train stations...yay for public transit.*Everything in Warwick, England BUT especially the Pot & Fin (gluten free fish and chips) and the castle.
*Everything in Stamford especially the REALLY old churches.
*Hiking to the LDS temple in a suburb of London.
*Hitchhiking back to the train station and living to tell the tale.
*Victoria and Albert Museum in London...they may seem really macabre, but I discovered a love for effigies.
*Finding the perfect pair of Ruby Red ballet flats (for grown-up girls!) at a market in Birmingham. *Sleeping in.
*Romantic, moonlit walk along the Thames.
*He-Man eating Sushi.
*Being called 'Love'...I almost hugged the man!
*The ruins at Baden-Baden Germany
*Anything that ends with the word Wurst.
*Roman Baths and swimming without supervision OR supervising responsibilities.
*Knowing that my parents and in-laws really like each other and enjoy spending time together.
*Eastern Germany...very under-appreciated.
*Berlin
*Mom and Dad's house. It's funny how even if you don't grow up there, it still feels like home.
*Seeing beautiful faces (and a few new ones!) I haven't seen in years!
*Eating like grown-ups with my parents and watching REALLY cheesy-bad movies with them.
*German candy and chocolate. KINDER EGGS!
*Sinking my heavy, jet-lagged head into the fluffiest down pillows ever.
*A cheddar and apple omelet at Lou Mitchell's in Chicago...I would've never put those two things together in eggs beaten into submission, but somehow, it TOTALLY works.
*Ginos East's Gluten Free pizza.
*The entire Chicago Skyline brought to you by Lego.
*My brother placed 2nd in his race division by 12 seconds...WITH A CRACKED RIB! He really IS the rock star!
*2 words: Navy Pier
AWKWARD:
*Stonehenge. Don't get me wrong. It's cool and all, but I kinda think everybody's over-thinking it a bit.
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| Don't worry, peeps. This one is a G-rated phone booth. |
*The lady who ate her apple very loudly, with her mouth open staring at me the whole time she ate...it was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. I think 3 feet of space should include a 3 second staring rule too.
*The London Rubbish. Come on people! You are surrounded by some of the most beautiful and historically significant architecture in the world and yet you insist upon making the greater London area your garbage pail.
*My aversion to public nudity...probably ought to avoid the 'Clothing Optional' areas of Europe.
*The conversation that began with "You're a Yank, aren't ya?" and ended with "Would you please explain to my dear Mum (sitting beside him) what a douchebag is."
*The aforementioned conversationalist admitted he gets most of his information about Americans from watching 'Family Guy'. PEOPLE, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST!
*Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Train Station. It's the English Equivalent of the Great Big Ball of Twine.
*The homeless man who, after I gave him a small donation, totally cussed my brother out for not donating as well. GRRRR...I guess I still can't talk about that one yet. It makes me so MAD!
*My war wounds from the race...okay, they are kinda awesome too...
*The poor, freaked out little mother I tried to help at the airport on my way home from the race. I'm pretty sure she still thinks I was trying to steal her baby. (That's a story for another time because it ended up being a rather humiliating experience.)
And the best part? I'm home again, refreshed, recharged and recommitted to living life in the best way possible!
5 comments:
I am glad you had such an awesome time on your trip!
Hooray! What a great vacation run-down! So glad you're home safe and so glad you had such a fabulous time.
Oh, and go PJ! Wow!
That was an awesome trip alright...thanks for sharing !!!
That looks like an amazing trip and you shared it so creatively! It makes me want to hop on a plane and travel Europe after Drew graduates! Who watched your kids??
What a vacation! How long were you gone? I'm totally totally butt crazy jealous.
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