Sunday’s in Klagenfurt are exceptionally boring. There is absolutely nothing open…and I mean NOTHING. Luckily, the weather was great so we made plans to spend the day walking around the lake. My parents came over around noon and I made breakfast (the pancakes they brought from the states!) for us. Then we ventured out to the lake—and I just loved showing that off—it’s just so beautiful! After a while we headed back home and went to the city. I wanted to go to one of my two favorite restaurants, but of course they were both closed. So, instead we tried something new out, and it actually ended up being very, very good!
Worther See--aka My Lake :)On Monday, the rain came….and came, and came. I went to my parent’s hotel around 10:30 in the morning and walked into the room soaking wet. So, before heading too far into the city we went and got umbrellas. Then we went to my favorite kebab stand and ate lunch. I had class from 12-4, so I left my parents alone in the city for the next few hours.
After class my parents met me at the university and I showed them around. …there’s really not much to show so that was probably quite boring for them. For dinner, Natalie and I met them at Salud’s (my fav. restaurant!) and we had a great time there! Afterwards we got gelata, yumm! Then we split up for the night. I went home and packed my bags for the next week and went to bed!
The next morning I met my parents in the city around 9. We went to the train station and headed for the Treviso airport. After a bit of a mix up on the train, and a bit of a wait at the bus stop, we made it! We ordered a pizza, and just sat around for the next several hours.
After landing in ROMA we took a bus to the city, and then walked for which seemed like an hour to our hotel. This hotel looked quite questionable from the outside (graffiti on the door!) but the inside was great! I had my own pullout bed, so I was more than satisfied.
The next morning, we went around to all the sights! First the Sistine Chapel, then The Vatican, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps. I hadn’t seen the Sistine Chapel before, but it was GORGEOUS—and much bigger than I expected. For lunch we ate at some little side street place. And had dinner at the Piazza Navona. I absolutely loved that place. I got Gnocci pasta…for those of you that have never heard of that, it’s like potato stuffed and mine had four-cheese sauce all over it. Gosh, heaven.
Inside part of the Chapel!
Between the Vatican walls.
Me and my mama in Roma. Gosh we are CUTE.Before going back to the hotel we stopped and got a bottle of wine and some chips and salsa. I took the pleasure in opening the wine bottle, but was shocked when the cork popped out and champagne came spilling out all over me, my bed, and the floor. Obviously, I’m quite inexperienced with champagne. Then—lucky me—I poured mine into a plastic cup with a HOLE in the bottom of it. Not long after cleaning up all of that champagne, I dropped the entire salsa bowl onto the floor, managing to get much of the salsa splattered on the wall. Finally, we relaxed and watched some Italian TV before bed.
Impressive huh?
The next day we went to the Colloseum! I’d been there before, but I hadn’t gone inside before. So, we signed up for a guided tour and spent all afternoon looking around the inside of the Colloseum, and the ruins that are outside of the Colloseum. I LOVED IT. Afterwards we headed to the airport and caught our next flight to Paris.
Inside the Colloseum. That newer looking stage is what the floor would have looked like when the colloseum was still in use. Notice how close the crowd is (there is a model of where the bleachers would have been).
Some of the ruins around the Colosseum.Alright, confession time…Paris is my new favorite European city. Anyway, we arrived at the airport, and then took an hour and a half bus into the city. We caught a taxi, and then took another 20 minute drive to our hotel. Now, I know I said Paris is my favorite city, but this hotel…well let’s just say it was absolutely miserable and disgusting. First of all, one bed, and very little floor space. Secondly, there was NO TOILET in the room. We had to use a communal one.
Anyway, for a late, late dinner, we ate at some pizza place. Just a reminder…this was my first time in a french-speaking country, so I’d had no practice whatsoever with the language. When we ordered the pizza, we had no clue what we ordered. But, my mom said it was the best she’d had in Europe!
After a long night in the hotel, we were up bright and early to see Paris! First we went and saw the Notre Dame Cathedral…which was beautiful! And afterwards we went to the Musee du Louvre. That, I must say was pretty boring. The museum was absolutely huge. Apparently you could spend 2 weeks in there before seeing everything. Anyway, we saw the REAL MONA LISA. So, it was worth it!
Me and my pa in Paris. Love the face dad :)
The real life Mona Lisa!Afterwards we took a super long walk towards the Eiffel tower. We stopped to eat dinner, and then waited in line for about half an hour to go up the tower. We only went to the second tier, but that was plenty high. It was getting pretty windy and even started sprinkling, so I don’t think the very top would have been very enjoyable.
The Eiffel Tower!
The view from the tower.
Afterwards, we warmed up with some hot chocolate in a little café, and then went back to the tower where we met up with a Fat Tire tour group. One of the families doing the tour ended up being from Claremont, California (where my Uncle Kris, and Aunt Krista are from) and then new Uncle Kris! So, yeah, small world!
THE TOUR WAS A BLAST! It started at 7, and lasted until midnight. We had an ice cream stop, and even an hour long boat ride. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. We road our bikes through the streets of Paris, and even got to see the Tower when it sparkles. I had sooo much fun. Our tour guide was great too! 
This was during our ice cream break on the tour. We got to wear these shiny cool vests the entire time. ..and btw, thats Notre Dame behind us.
This is part of the bike tour by the Musee du Louvre. Most of the tour wasn't this slow...but this was one of the prettiest parts so we definitely took our time here.
Anyway, we got back to the hotel, went to bed, and in the morning went strait to the train station to buy our tickets to Munich—easier said than done. The 3:00 train was fully booked, and the only one we could get on was at 10:45 at night. We wouldn’t arrive until the next morning at 9 am. So, 330 euros later, we had our tickets for a night train. Good god.
So, now we had time to kill. We got breakfast at some restaurant, stopped at an internet café to book a hotel in Munich, went to the Pantheon, and I don’t even know where else…we just wandered. We stopped at a bar and had a couple drinks, and out of nowhere, this group of guys started singing some song. It was some fun entertainment! We ate dinner at a pizza place by the station, and then at 10:45 boarded our train. We shared a six person room with two other people. Some french guy that spoke no English (yet insisted on speaking to us), and then some other kid that didn’t say two words the entire way.
...the singing guys in the bar
The Pantheon in Paris.
At 2 am in the morning, I ended up sprawling out on the floor and slept until we got off in Munich, 7 hours later. My neck definitely hurt when I woke up, and I will never, ever take a night train again. Haha. Once in Munich, we got my train ticket back to Klagenfurt, and my parents got tickets to see a castle in Munich. We sat in Starbucks for a while and then sadly, at 10:30 I had to say goodbye to my parents and head back to Austria. Four hours later, I arrived at Klagenfurt, caught two different busses, and made it safe and sound to my dorm.
All in all, the trip was fantastic. I LOVED seeing my parents again, and I love that they got to see so much of Europe! Thanks mom and dad for coming over here and going on a eurotrip with me! I loved it, and I love you two so much!! I can’t wait to see you in another four months! …don’t worry though, time will fly by!
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