Oregon Coast

When I think of the Oregon Coast I generally think of a rain and wind, sweaters, and game board type of escape.  However, when the ladies and I headed west last weekend, we experienced nothing of the sort.  We arrived and went straight to a local restaurant to enjoy its seafood offerings.  I was able to satisfy my clam chowder craving, as we watched the fog slowly dissipate over the hills. The beach was ready to deliver as we walked along its sands and basked in the sunshine while reading the novels we had on hand.  Later in the afternoon we decided our best option was to stay until sunset.  We traveled to the best onlooking points as we waited for nightfall's countdown before heading back to the city.  This kind of day trip only made us want more, as we left feeling like it was not enough and promised to return soon.

Roma

The thing about Rome is:

- Pizza can be found anywhere.

- The cobblestone streets are to die for. 

- Italian wine can conveniently be paired with any meal.

- Gelato can be had as an afternoon snack after also having it for breakfast.

- Beautiful fountains are placed all over the city adding to it's amazing history.

- The Vatican, Roma Colosseum, and Saint Peter's Basilica are some of the most magical sites I have ever seen as any explanation or photo could never do them justice. 

For these reasons, as soon as I arrived in Rome I knew it had jumped to the top of my list as favorite city visited so far on our trip. 

finding beauty in greece

With as much excitement I had to experience all that is Greece, I really struggled there. Athens was nothing like we expected, as I pictured all of Greece to be coastal hillside towns, with white stone buildings and blue rooftops.  You know, like you see in the movies? Athens is nothing of the sort, as it is overly populated with the coast nowhere in site.  We did find it's beauty as we escaped to the old historical neighborhood known as Plaka, where I indulged in my first euro ever, and roamed old multicolored streets.  However, Plaka wasn't enough as we discovered Aegina Island was only a little over an hour away and we altered our travel plans immediately.  The Port of Aegina offers endless amounts of outdoor patios where you can take in the view. We spent the day walking along the port enjoying frozen yogurt, driving up into the hills, and learning about some of Aegina's history.  I'm truly happy I was able to relax here and experience a brief moment of coastal Greece before realizing my valuables had been stolen.  By the time that occurred, I was ready to head over to Italy. 

the elegance that is paris

I never imagined my arrival into the "city of love" to go as it did.  Once we arrived, we walked out of the train station into the dark soaking streets of Paris.  I was immediately thrown into a terrible mood as I knew we'd have about half a mile to conquer before we reached our hotel.  The rain is not something that usually bothers me and I was well prepared with my umbrella in hand.  However, dragging luggage through endless wet streets with soaking drenched feet is another story.  On the other hand, the elegance of Paris is something to be thankful for, considering I was able to numb the terrible mood and soak in the amazing views on my arrival.  I couldn't help but to fall in love as Paris is absolutely breath taking, even on a dark and rainy day. 

 Those city views.

I tried hot wine, and let's just say there is no wine I could ever discriminate.

Never head to Paris without an umbrella, you'll be sorry.

Paris is very accommodating in terms of satisfying hunger, and it is hard not to want to stop at every outdoor patio considering the majority look like this. 

Merry-Go-Rounds are the thing in Europe, as I saw more on my trip than I have in my entire life.

Those Autumn colors.

I was advised to watch the Eiffel Tower light up after my experience of arriving in the city.  It's amazing how the simplicity of a lit up structure can help to alter moods.  The fact that it twinkles every hour may have something to do with it though.

London

As soon as I arrived in London I immediately acquired an accent, or so I thought.  I couldn't help but walk around and pretend to know what I was doing.  I'm sure I worried my friends as they prepared for me to do this everywhere we went for the entire three weeks.  It did stop in London though, as it became a bit harder to pick up on entirely different languages elsewhere.  London was the first stop on our Euro tour, and an excellent way to ease into the culture shock of all the visited countries involved.  I fell in love with it's history, architecture, and fish and chips. It also reminded me a whole lot of New York, which is something I could never complain about.