some things I didn't mention before

I've decided that it is not fair to leave all of my faithful blog followers believing that all of my adventures and traveling have gone off without their moments of lost-ness or confusion. My blog thus far reads a lot like a movie, editing out the bloopers... However, trust me. There have been a few.

Let me start by talking about money. One of my biggest questions when I first arrived on this side of the pond was related to how everyone claims that "traveling Europe is SO cheap and easy." Ok, so how do I do it? I suppose I could agree-- but only if you're willing to eat less, sleep less comfortably, and travel at the mercy of the system, sometimes taking a roundabout way or leaving at a less convenient time. Let me explain... traveling Europe is not technically cheap by any means. My bank account can attest to that. It is less expensive to travel around once you're over here relative to if I were to start in the States and come to each place separately. We have found ways to reduce cost, like being willing to stay in less desirable places or take the longer bus or train ride.

Traveling on a budget means cutting corners and being willing to be very flexible. The least expensive train to Wimbledon was at 3:58 AM. Most of Megan and my adventures have begun at some ungodly early time in the morning in order to avoid "peak" travel times. On our particular train to Wimbledon I only vaguely remembering getting on the train, I believe we were the only ones to board in Swansea, and while I recall falling asleep the only one on the train, I woke up with my head on some kind businessman's shoulder on a packed train somewhere just outside of London! Ah!

That same weekend, our night in Brighton was our first experience with a youth hostel. After having stayed at several hostels and budget motels, I can tell you first hand that there are definitely differing degrees of nice-ness when it comes to places to stay. And truthfully, while you can get lucky and find some diamond in the rough, mostly you just get what you pay for. The reviews for the hostel in Brighton had mentioned it being a louder place to stay, but for 15 pounds a night we were willing to give it a try. What we didn't expect was the hostel to be above a pub and the bartender to double as the receptionist. Sketchy doesn't even begin to describe the vibes coming off this place.

Because it was our very first experience with a hostel we agreed we would try to participate and meet people, because we'd heard that was common in that environment to meet up with other travelers and make friends. We'd only been in the pub for a half hour when a crew came in that transformed the place into a full blown music-blasting dance club. People of all shapes, sizes and styles started pouring into the room. While we are not above a good night out, this was not the scene we'd been looking for. Suddenly thankful for the three flights of stairs that separated us from the ground floor and our room, we turned in for the night. After being woke in the night to a false fire alarm (probably set off by the impromtu smoke machines being carried onto the make-shift dance floor) and sleeping with one eye open all night, we packed our stuff up and carried on our way to our next destination early the next morning.

I have discovered since being in Europe that I get motion sick from time to time, particularly on buses. I had my first experience on a day trip to Cardiff with actually being sick on a bus. It was awful. I will spare you all the details, but this truth has since made travelling a little more difficult because buses are usually the cheapest way to go. Sometimes motion sickness can be combated by sleeping, but other times I feel like I'm being tortured slowly.

Ever heard the Scottish song I Would Walk 500 Miles by the Proclaimers? "And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more..."? It might as well be my theme song minus the falling part. Any time the walk won't absolutely kill us, we have. I have walked across the entirety of London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Rome. I have walked under sunshine, in rain (lots of rain), wind, fog, and snow. There are times where we've been tempted to take the bus or a tram-- and times we've given in, but I am sure that we have saved significant amounts of money by using our God-given transportation mechanisms. :)

Have we ever gotten lost? More than we'd like to admit. Luckily, none of our mishaps have been significant enough to leave us sleeping on a bench in an abandoned parking lot or been for any significant period of time. When we were in Irun, Spain we decided we'd explore the area. Being lost wouldn't have really been that big of deal because Irun isn't that big, except it started raining-- complete with gusting wind. We were miserable. Wandering around the streets in a non-English speaking city drenched wasn't my idea of fun. Obviously, we found our way back to our hotel and survived, but I can only imagine what locals who saw us trudging through puddles with my umbrella blown inside out must have thought. I mean, Megan and I are both blonde hair-blue eyed girls. We obviously weren't locals. Haha.

After checking out a few hostels, we decided we prefered the atmosphere of a budget hotel. Budget hotels are a little like pulling a hotel's name out of a hat. Each experience has been different. We stayed in a hotel that was like a house that someone had converted into rooms for rent in Amsterdam. The steps up to our 4th floor room had been steeper than any I'd ever encountered and just wide enough for my shoulders to go through. It was less than clean, and our room had 3 single beds in it (in case we wanted to invite a friend?) and one of those 'wet room' bathrooms where the shower floor is the whole bathroom so water spreads out all around even the toilet. Our hotel in Barcelona had been absolutely lush, one of those diamonds in the rough I'd talked about. It wasn't in the middle of the city but we'd lucked out and it was right next to an underground station that took us straight into downtown Barcelona.

Most memorable award goes to Rome. Hotels in Rome, particularly around Easter, were incredibly expensive. We agreed to book a hotel that was less expensive but on the edge of the city, hoping for another experience like Barcelona. Ha. Not so much. Our first clue was when the transportation desk at the airport described our hotel as "by the sea." (Rome is about 30 miles inland) But the website had said there was "complimentary bus service." While the actual hotel was really nice, and we had plenty of room for the three of us, getting into the city each day was an adventure in itself! Our hotel was out in the middle of the countryside, and the complimentary bus service meant walking a quarter of a mile down the access road and standing on the side of the highway to flag down a bus.

Our first morning in Rome was so frustrating. We went out to the bus stop like the man (who, bless his soul for trying, spoke very poor English) had told us to. Three, obviously not Italian, girls standing on the side of the highway... 5 buses passed without stopping. We had no idea what we were doing wrong when finally a local stepped out. I bet her family had a good laugh over dinner that night as she told them about how silly we looked standing out there. We learned from watching, though. While we'd only just been standing below the bus stop sign, we observed that you have to stand, pretty much in the middle of the road and flag the oncoming bus down. A 20 minute bus ride dropped us off at the outermost underground stop where we transferred onto that and made our way into the city. Every day was an trek flagging the bus down and then on the other end, trying to remember which random spot on the highway to get off at to get back to our hotel. Considering all of the ways in which that situation could have gone poorly, we did quite well.

Traveling has been incredible and exhausting. Looking back, I have to say just how lucky I feel that things went as smoothly as they have. I am aware that at every turn, each train and each hotel or hostel there was potential for disaster. The experiences I have had will be with me forever.