Hey everyone,
Here is the last Europe email I wrote from home a few weeks back, I totally forgot to post it, but a few people have asked about it so even though it was written awhile back, here ya go. Thanks for reading!
Hello everyone,
We are home!!! We have been home a week or so, I have lost track, sorry it took so long to get this out to you all, but we are alive and well. I have just been so utterly exhausted and catching up with everyone!
I will start from where the last e-mail left off
We left Santorini Island for our boat ride VERY late. The hotel was responsible for transporting us to and from the ferry. We were supposed to leave at 2:00, 2 came around, and the driver was nowhere to be found. The owner of the hotel came and told us he would be there by 3:00ok an hour late but whatever, our boat wasnt scheduled to leave until 4:30. 3:00 came around, and guess what? NO DRIVER! Soon it was 3:10, 3:15 etc we all started to panic because we had to get on that boat to connect to our flights. A driver eventually showed up around 3:30 and drove like an insane MANIAC. Seriously, the most scary car ride I have ever been on in my life. I had to sit in the front seat and I went to buckle my seat belt and realized it didnt work and the driver goes no, no worry! I am like yay, uh huh ok! So I put it around me just not buckled. The towns on Santorini are at the very top of the island and the roads to get down to the water are zig zagged and go on FOREVER. This crazy dude was driving insanely fast down these zig sagging roads, which, might I add, overlooked the water and there were no barriers! I had the joy (while being afraid of heights) of being on the side that was always overlooking the cliffs. It was quite a fall I realized if we happened to go over. I was in front as I said, and could over hear Kristina and Jennifer saying stuff about how fast we were going and how they had to hang on at the turns. The guy was literally racing the boat because he had to get down there before it docked because hundreds of cars are let off when it docks and then he would be stuck on the road and unable to get us to the boat. So, as he drove he peered over the edge WHILE driving taking his eyes OFF the road to see where the boat was, each time increasing his speed. It was a very comforting sight, obviously. Well, we eventually got to our boat, miraculously without going over the edge.
We were on the boat for a joyous 8 hours. The time went by fairly quickly, we packed, and re-packed what we would be taking on the plane deciding what was most important for our carry on baggage. We got to Athens Port around midnight and after a little difficulty walking around Athens, found the bus to the airport.
We got to the airport without a problem but had to wait for a while for the desks to open so we could check in. Kristina and I were flying to London, Jennifer to Milan to start her connecting flights home. Kristina and I had an earlier flight, leaving at 5 am, so were able to check in before Jennifer. Since we had a lot of time to spare, we decided to try to call home. We did that and then walked away. After a few minutes Kristina is like, I dont think I have my money belt!! (Contains, ya know, sorta important stuff, namely her passport). She starts scurrying back to the phones (she has scalding hot tea in her hands haha) so is running all weirdly without picking up her feet. I follow her and she started scurrying faster and faster. She got to the phones and I realized the BOMB SQUAD, no joke, was asking her questions!! They had her money belt between special papers testing it for bomb powder. HAHAHA!!! She eventually got it back after they asked her some questions, thankfully because if someone had stolen it she would have been stuck in Greece for quite awhile longer while a new passport was issued to her. After that mini ordeal, we waited around for awhile, then we all got in line for Jennifers check in, preparing for our next mini ordeal. When Jennifer got up to the counter, she started freaking out and the guy was saying something. I didnt know what so I walked up and realized that she had booked her ticket 7/22 and not 8/22!!!!!! So she had NO ticket to get to Milan and the flight was OVERBOOKED already!!! As you can imagine, she was kinda freaking out, but better then I thought she would have been, better then I would have been! We started going around to airline counters seeing when their next flights were to Milan.all were full ALL DAY. She had 4 lay overs, the first being Milan, and if she didnt get there in the next few hours she would miss all of her flights. A guy for another airline eventually suggested that she just fly to her next layover, which was Amsterdam. We went to the desk that had a flight leaving to Amsterdam and the lady said it was also full, then rechecked and they had ONE seat left!!! So, Jennifer had to spend an extra $300 or so, but thankfully she made all of her flights (with the exception of the stop at Milan) and made it home safely! Meanwhile, the minutes are ticking away to when our flight leaves. We were watching the reader board which said GATE OPEN for one flight at a time. We assumed we couldnt get behind the counter until it said GATE OPEN, we were sorely mistaken!! It still hadnt said gate open for our flight, and it was about 25 min until departure, so we decided since Jennifer had figured out her situation we would head back. Well, gate open only means that the gate to the actual plane is open!! We still had to go through security, get our passports checked and make it to our gate in now less than 25 minutes!!! So we started sprinting through the airport to get to our gate. It was quite the site. Kristina had a giganto bag of glass she bought in Europe, she was hugging it, and I had to run all weird because I have a sprained ankle. At this point, we were cracking up and wondering how we could be so stupid. Now WE might miss our fight!! We eventually made it to our gate; fortunately, security in Europe takes about 30 seconds. We made it with a few minutes to spare. Well, we managed to avert 3 crises and boarded the plane. What are the odds?
We arrived in London and it was COLD. I know, I just used the word cold in one of these emails. I mean it was freezing, especially coming from 100+!!! I wore pants and a sweatshirt for the first time since I left. It was quite refreshing actually. We went from the airport to Victoria Station in London by bus and prepared to go to Buckingham Palace on less than 3 hours sleep. Always the best conditions for sight seeing. We went to Buckingham Palace, it was pretty cool. The most awesome thing was, as it is the Queens 80th birthday this year, they had 80 of her dresses on display arranged by color. Some were pretty freaking amazing!! It is weird going in all these palaces and castles knowing that people actually STILL live there. I think it would be weird to live in a lavish, gold trimmed palace. After the palace, we got on the Big Red Bus and rode on it for hours. I stopped in at Westminster Abbey; Princess Dianas funeral was here. The place was enormous. We rode the bus around for about 3 or 4 hours total, on the top, outside, in the cold. Afterwards we had hours and hours and hours to kill before our 12 pm departure the next day home. We hung out in Victoria Station for a while and eventually made our way to the airportwe were going home and were SO excited!!
We got to the airport around 11 pm and I did my toe nails. HAHA. We bummed around for a few hours then I made my bed, with a towel and blanket, on the floor and went to sleep. Kristina slept on and off on the chairs.
I woke up and the airport was INSANE!!! Remember, the whole terrorist bomb scare thing out of London. I have officially seen the longest line in the world, yes that is right, the world. We still are not sure what it was for, but it looped around the airport MORE then once. Thankfully, it was not a line which we had to stand in. There were additional security measures in place due to the terror bomb thing, and we obviously couldnt take on any liquids (though I had a chapstick hidden and my Band-Aids full of Vaseline oozing out on my legs) but our carry on baggage had to be much smaller then normal. We had all of our important souvenirs in our carry on bags in case the airlines lost our luggage, we would still have our souvenirs. Well it is a good plan, at least in theory. So I had all of my souvenirs, you know, some jewelry glass items, charms, my memory cards and camera etc I also carried on 9 bras, which I bought in Athens. Kristina and I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of insanely cheap bras, hey they were only like $4 US!!! So anyways, I have my backpack crammed full of stuff, namely my bras, and we get through check in and after we have checked our bags I realize for sure that my bag is DEFINITELY NOT going on the plane, it is much too big. What to do now? My luggage is already checked, and its not like I am throwing my souvenirs away. I do the only sensible thing; put on all 9 bras. Again, this seemed like a great plan, in theory. So after I am wearing NINE bras I go through security. Side story, while waiting in line for security (the humongo line) a group of 3 stupid people decided to cut in front of us. Wrong move. Jennifer and Kristina can tell you that I do NOT like being cut in front of. Especially when I am pissed off because I am in the worlds biggest line, I havent slept in a bed in 2 days and I am wearing 9 bras. So these stupid idiots cut and pretend like they dont realize the line starts way the hell back there. Kristina and two other Canadian women standing behind us are talking about it, I was paying little attention, so I turned to them and asked if those people just cut. They said yes. I was pissed. So, of course, me being me, I yelled The line is back there! You just cut in line! The line is way back there! They pretend to ignore me, so I increased my volume. The husband finally turns around, and like an idiot is like oh is this not the beginning of the line? Uhh, no you idiot. He turns to go back, but his wife grabs him and doesnt let him move and she says shes staying. GRRRR!!! At this point, I was pissed. The audacity some people have, that think they are better then everyone else and can just CUT in front of a whole crap load of people!!! I yelled something else, I dont have any recollection what, but in the process, the two Canadian women go, is she an American? Kristina says yes. They say, you go!!! I would never have the courage to do that!!! I say something about them being rude and yell something or another, they never move. Whatever. Some people are just assholes. But the line split and we got through security way before them, HAHA!!! I did feel bad for their teenage son, he looked very embarrassed that his parents were getting yelled at in public for their asinine behavior. But what can you do, as Jennifer and Kristina decided in Europe, when someone needs to be yelled at, or you need someone to be a bitch to someone, you call me. Anyways, back to the bras. So we get to security (and my chapstick gets through!!! I smuggled it on illegally, yay!). I go through the metal detector and go off. I immediately know that it is the underwire in my nine bras. Underwire in one bra doesnt make the alarm go off, but when you have 9 on, it is a different story. So they get their little wandy thing out and start waving it over me. Nothing is going off except when they go over my chest. Then it is going BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. I also have my cast on, which is entirely plastic, which they thought the culprit. I volunteered to take it off and they said it wouldnt be necessary, patted me down (they had to have felt the bras) and continued scanning me and the metal detector kept going off. They then asked me if I had any metal pins in my body! I could be a freaking terrorist and just said, yep I sure do have metal pins, and not a gun. So I kept beeping, they looked at my cast, couldnt figure out what metal item I had, and let me on my way. Good thing I am not a Talibaner. Kristina was just waiting for me to get strip searched for them to discover all the bras, oh how funny that would have been!
Our flight was very weird. It was less than half-full, people had obviously cancelled their flights due to the terrorist scare. We also had 15-20 flight people. Entire rows on the plane were emptyweird!!! We also had to go through a second security screening, which my chapstick again made it through. There was also an air marshal on our flight and he got on the intercom and said who he was, that he would be in the cabin and not to worry that we would be safe on the flight. The entire flight went fine, neither of us slept, we watched movies and stuff. That is, everything was fine until we were around Louisiana. The turbulence the entire time had come and go, but all of a sudden, we had massive turbulence. Nothing crazy, but it came out of no where. We were both like, wow turbulence!! All of a sudden though, the plane literally DROPS out of the sky! No joke. People standing fell over and peoples pops went flying up in the air. I have never felt like I might die on a plane, I just remember looking at Kristina and going why isnt it stopping!?!?! It eventually levels out and then we go up really fast to get back to the right altitude. It was really scary. Then they took our pop away because it went everywhere. Sad. We arrived in Houston with relatively no other problems. Kristina was selected for customs and her suitcase was locked but I had the key!! I wasnt in the immediate area because I wasnt selected, so they were going to have to cut it off until Kristina saw me. Everything was fine, but then they forgot to return her ticket to her, which we didnt realize till later, so we had to find someone to help us. The only guy was this really mean guy that was yelling at people, but was really nice to us, but only because we were dawgs. I had my UW sweatshirt on. HAHA. After that we had to go through security again, I of course still had my 9 bras on and again the security went off. They waved their wand over me again and the same thing happened, I was again asked if I had pins on my legs. This time they took a sample from my cast to see if it had bomb powder on it. This time, Kristina was cracking up waiting for me since we were in the US she thought for sure I would be strip searched and they would find all my bras. After about 10 minutes they finally concluded that even though I had metal on me, they couldnt figure out what, and let me go. It was funny but scary at the same time because I just wanted to get home and now I was setting off security in the US. Though, it also infuriated me because the way they dealt with me was very different then they did with anyone. Why? Probably because I was a white, female American. But who cares, I could have a bomb buried in my bra and be married to a Talibaner!!! It angered me to see how lax they were with me when I was BEEPING!!!! After that, we had a 5 hour or so layover in Houston, but got on our plane home and everything went fine, other then leaving a little late. There was a little commotion on the plane because Kristina and I were in the Emergency exit seats and as we were taking off the flight attendants noticed my cast and kind of freaked out saying I couldnt sit there because I wouldnt be able to evacuate the people with my cast. (I was thinking, lady, with or without the cast, I am not staying on the plane to evacuate people, I am getting the hell off if its on fire or something) Anyways, they asked me if I felt I could sit there, because otherwise, they would have to move me, keep in mind this flight was 100% full, so someone would have to be willing to exchange spots with me mid-air, joy. It worked out fine and I assured them I would be able to evacuate.
We landed in Seattle with no problems. We were very happy to be home!!!! One of the first things I said off the plane (no joke) was, Wow, I forgot there are fish on the ground in this airport Haha. Kristinas mom, Jenny, Sister Allison and boyfriend Danny were there waiting for us. We both got flowers and Danny had a sign that said KRISTINA LEACH. It was quite funny. Danny and Kristina had a nice little reunion, almost made me cry!! Danny got me a Diet Pepsi, which was waiting, in the car for me, boy did that taste GOOD!!! We got our luggage and went home.
So that is it. Our European adventure is over. Jennifer I know was very happy to return to Mike, and Kristina very much to Danny. I was also very happy to return home, but had some ambivalent feelings on leaving Europe and coming home. I had imagined this trip my entire life, and so much time, energy and of course, money was invested in this trip, and it was now over. All a memory and experience. I can say I am currently very glad to be home and was definitely ready. It seemed like we just adjusted to Europe when it was time to come home. Now, I am adjusting back to day to day life. Everyone keeps asking me, how was it? What did you learn? Did you like it? What was your favorite city/place/memory etc? How was it? Are you glad to be back? The list goes on. I really havent known how to answer and respond to all of the questions. The fact that I have now been to Europe is weird in and of itself and is just sinking in. So here goes, some of my lists.
Top Places:
1. Lake Como, Italy
2. London
3. Rome
4. Paris
5. Santorini Island, Greece
Top Sights/Attractions:
1. Disneyland Paris
2. Windsor Castle
3. The Eiffel Tower
4. Big Ben
5. The Colloseum
Most memorable moments:
1. Disneyland Paris Day
2. Talking to Kristina in the hostel at Lake Como
3. Jennifer, Kristina and Is last night in Athens, talking in bed
4. All three of us singing Christmas songs in bed in Sorrento, Italy
5. The day spent at the beach in Venice
Craziest/Scariest Moments:
1. The night returning from Disneyland Paris
2. The CRAAAZZYY Italians on the train
3. The arrival in Prague
4. Arriving in Munich, pulling my broken luggage with a rope, while having a Lactose attack
5. Waiting for Jennifer in the wrong spot in Italy when she arrived
The most surpising/random moments/what are the odds moments:
1. The German girls calling Seattle Their Love without ever being there, it is their love because of Kurt Cobain-they were 16
2. The guy on the subway in Paris going Super Sonics!!! when we said we were from Seattle, then inviting us back to his big bed
3. People running up to us in London screaming and asking if we go to UW (I was wearing my sweatshirt)
4. Meeting a girl who just graduated from Western (where Kristina goes) on a train
5. An old German man talking to me about the football scandal at the UW when he found out I went there and then proceeding to ask if we would get it together this year.
The Theres no place like home moments:
1. The horrid smell
2. The tiny cars
3. No garbage cans
4. The lack of English
5. The male stares/gawks/verbal harassments
As I sit here writing this, I am eating the best spaghetti in the world (aka my moms, one of the things I missed) I realize why this email has taken me days to complete. I have started and stopped this email countless times, since the day I got back. I thought it was just tiredness. I realize now, that with this email, our trip is over. We are really home and Europe is really over. We will not be getting up tomorrow to go to a museum, beach or see a historical monument. It may sound cheesy, but it is just sinking in that it is over. I just talked to Kristina on the phone and we were both talking about how weird it is adjusting and realizing we arent in Europe and adjusting to the sleep schedule. We felt like we were in another dimension, a time warp or something. It is hard to explain to people who have never been plucked from their lives and put in this other experience only to be put right back. We were sure when we returned it would still be July 10th and none of you would have done anything at all anticipating our return, haha we were wrong.
Everyone is asking what I have learned. What have I learned? Many things. I love Seattle. I love our smell (or lack there of), the green and clean. I love the people, the atmosphere, the culture. I always swore I would move somewhere else (Canada, Europe, California) when I was an adult. People world wide love this place. I mean they love it, they even call it their love. After seeing ugliness in many parts of Europe, I realize that I love our temperate weather which gives us this beautiful scenery. I never want to experience heat like we did, again, ever. Never. I have also realized that I am not only fortunate, but proud to be an American. Some people may think that is weird to say, but if you know me very well, you know I was always the first to speak out against our country, government, society, president (well that wont change) and lifestyles. I can say, I love toilet seats, and toilet paper, and for that matter, toilets that I dont have to pay to use. America has all of the above. But really, I dont just appreciate America for our toilets. Sure, we have bums, problems, whatever. But we do not have beggers on the level which Europe has. I have seen people begging in ways which I never thought I would encounter. We arent the only developed country that has poverty. Europe isnt perfect either, which I had always held it to. Sure, we start wars and screw up the world (I still am not ok with that) but there are things that were extended to me solely because of what country was on my passport. There are numerous times, especially in the airport, that I was passed along when they looked at my passport. If I had been of another nationality, I KNOW I wouldnt have gotten through security as I had because I saw how others (in Europe and the US) were treated. I appreciate what America has to offer. I like ice. Europe doesnt believe in ice. I love that public places here have AC, free bathrooms, garbage cans and people that dont stare. But really, I am just thankful to be in a place that is familiar, I dont have to think about how to get from Point A to Point B and everyone speaks my language. I come away with a renewed sense of Patriotism I guess you could say.
The main thing this trip has taught me was that life leads you to unexpected places (literally and figuratively). All three of us were sitting in a little restaurant in Santorini on our second to last night talking about life and where it takes you, places you never expected, places you did and everywhere in between. We all whole heartedly agreed that a year ago none of us would have assumed that we would be sitting in a little restaurant on Santorini half way around the world. Small decisions can have major impacts on your life. For example, me calling Kristina up one day in January and telling her how I am going to Europe and she should come. I never expected her to actually say yes, and expected even less for us to actually go. What I expected even less then the two former was when I told my sister she should come and she actually did. What can I say, my gift in life is talking people into leaving their significant others and going on vacations we cant afford for weeks on end. Kristina and I began planning this trip with no jobs. Go figure, right? We came up with creative financing such as a garage sale which we made $2,000 at (yes, that is THREE zeros). I also have realized that you can have anything you want in life, it just depends on how badly you want it. If you want it, you will make it happen. My Dad has always said, you can have anything you want in life, it just depends on what you want to give up to get it. We gave up having money, for anything, at times our dignity (sleeping in crapholes, traveling like we never will again, eating at McDonalds 5 times a week, having garage sales for income etc). I think we all have learned that we are determined to get what we want, when we want it. There were many, many people who flat out said I wasnt going to Europe. After all, I had no job, no money and it was 6 months away. This trip was sudden and unexpected, but it needed to happen.
This trip was an amazing experience. And it wouldnt have happened without many of you. First off, my sister was the one who initially talked me into going. She said once I was a real adult I wouldnt be able to take off for 6 weeks and experience life in Europe and I should go for the opportunity while I had it. Later, she helped in persuading Kristina and then helped enormously in planning our trip for us. Then she joined us half way through also. So thank you for everything Jennifer. To Kristina, thank you for coming with me and agreeing to leave Danny for 6 weeks! I never really expected you to do it, I thought you would just think it was one of my crazy ideas, but you did it. Miraculously, we all three made it home, we dont hate each other, are still friends and we are still talking, j/k well sorta HAHA, oh and we are alive. Thank you to my Mom and Dad, Kristinas parents Jenny and Dave, my sister and Mike and our Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents that contributed items and time to our garage sale (which raised $2k!!!) and money to our trip. We really are more appreciative and thankful of that then you know.
I honestly thought that most people would stop reading these emails after the first few because they would be seen as boring or annoying. I really am surpised at how many of you emailed me on a regular basis asking for more emails and how many of you commented on them while we were in Europe and when we got home. I guess I wasnt spending hours writing for nothing!! It also made us realize how loved and missed we were at home. Obviously, we knew we were, but your kind words through email and phone and relayed messages kept us going, really. All of you who sent messages through email, MySpace or the phone really really helped us. It was like you were all rooting for us at home. There were times when we really felt low; tired and homesick and just wanted to get the hell out of Europe. Then one of us would call home and we would hear what people have said or I would check my email and always have at least one message from you guys saying how you missed us, wished us well, enjoyed the emails, pictures etc. Each time it gave me that little boost I need to reenergize and pull through. I am glad you all enjoyed these emails so much.
I will be FINALLY uploading pictures onto the site either tonight or tomorrow, I am in the middle of getting ready to move (again), catching up with everyone (and on sleep) and I am going to Disneyland in less than a week! But getting the pics up is on my to do list. Jennifer and I have them all developed now as well, so if you want to see actual copies of them now you can! Once I do get them up online though, I will send out an email saying that they are up.
Again, thanks for everyone, for everything. The help before, the encouraging words while we were gone and our welcome back. We have appreciated everything. I am glad you enjoyed reading these, I thought I would make this one extra long for the last time ( :
See you all soon if I havent already,
Love,
Kimberly
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