T is for Traveling

Holy moly do I love
Traveling
I've always liked the idea of discovering new places, but have hated the actual means of getting there.  It could have been due to the fact that I had a tendency to get car sick if I wasn't sitting in the front seat.  This was true when I was a child because we ALWAYS drove whenever we went on vacation;  Disneyland...Vegas...Seattle...anyplace within pseudo driving distance.  Once I entered college I decided to branch out in my traveling repertoire.  I had been on a plane once when I was fourteen.  It was a two hour flight to Vegas.  Who goes to Vegas when they're fourteen?!?  For spring break of 2003, my friend Dani and I decided that we were going to go somewhere crazy.  Cue Japan.  That's right...Japan.  Going from a two hour flight to a seventeen hour flight...BIG DIFFERENCE!  It's a long, exhausting flight from Portland, Oregon to Okinawa, Japan, but it was one of the best vacations ever.  Seeing such a different culture was amazing and it only fueled my desire to experience more.
The following year Dani and I decided to keep it a little more local, so we headed south on a road trip to the Redwood National Forest, San Fransisco, San Jose, Monterey, and Carmel, California along the Pacific Coast Highway.  The weather was beautiful and it was great to get out on the road and away from campus for a week.  We took another road trip the following year (our last in college) and headed north.  This time hitting up Seattle, Washington and Victoria, British Colombia.  Yet another great trip.
Once I graduated from college I headed over to Vienna, Austria for a teaching job.  That's when I got a lot of traveling under my belt.  It's so cheap to get around in Europe!  Honestly, I feel like I left a huge portion of my heart in several places there and would move back in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.  Here's a few pictures from those trips.  Enjoy!
Nationalbibliothek...Vienna, Austria.  Oh the books!

Bratislava, Slovakia...town square

Krakow, Poland...town square and Easter Market

Oswiecm, Poland...Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Prague, Czech Republic...Castle on the hill.

Venice, Italy during Carnival

Salzburg, Austria...fortress

London, England...Parliament

Dublin, Ireland...O'Connell Street

Munich, Germany...Hofbrauhaus...delicious liters of beer!
 Thus concludes an extremely brief trip to the major cities I've visited.  Now I can honestly say that I don't get travel sick and I actually love flying on airplanes...despite the cramped space.  Thank goodness I'm short and don't tend to have problems with leg room.  Have a lovely evening fellow A-Zers and everyone else :)

Comments

  1. Nick WilfordApril 24, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    You've been to a fair few places!

    I've visited Prague, Krakow and London (natch) on your list. Brought back some good memories.

    How was it seeing Auschwitz? I'd be interested in going but my wife doesn't fancy it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MelApril 25, 2012 at 3:11 PM

      Honestly, Auschwitz was probably one of my favorite places on the list. It's so overwhelming and heartbreaking at the same time. I would definitely suggest going if you ever get the chance.

      Delete
  2. kristacoleApril 25, 2012 at 5:54 PM

    I love to travel to Mel! Wish I could travel more than I do! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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