5 Takeaways From Europe (So Far)

K man, so I lied apparently. We're not back to regularly scheduled programming, likely because every time I have a free second to settle down with my computer, the bright glare of it lulls me into deep sleep. Every. Time. Summer woes, eh?
Instead, I thought I'd try my hand at semi-regularly scheduled programming and go with the flow for the next couple of months. To start things slow, I thought I'd share some of the things I'm learning / remembering / noting about Europe travels.
Calories actually don't count. And in particular, Coca Cola is every American's best friend in the summer. You're on your feet all day walking, exploring, and generally not being on your hiney attached to the computer like you'd usually be doing at home. That's my justification for every glorious cheese-oozing, oil-drenched meal. And for the Coca Cola I crave and indulge in four times a day. There's simply nothing more refreshing. I overhear American accents all day long: "I need a (Diet) (Lemon) (Cherry) (Poison of Choice) Coke, and stat."

The summer daylight is beyond amazing. In London, the sun was up and shining until just about 11pm. In Paris? After 9pm, every 15 minutes you could hear us exclaiming in disbelief: can you believe it's 9:15 right now? 9:30? 9:45? Can you believe this is what 11pm looks like? It was so wonderful, having dinner in the dusk, but also messes with your brain a bit. You think you have a good, like, eight hours to derp around before bedtime but no sirreeeee. You don't.

The things you didn't plan for always turn out to be the best stories. That is not to say that they are funny or entertaining at the time. They more or less actually seemed to be like the end of the world, not trying to be dramatic or anything. But looking back, the moments that make me laugh the most or the ones I'm sure to remember for decades are the ones like when I locked us into our AirBnB for the entire morning, when we brought one bag too many to our flight and spent thirty minutes in a flurry trying to make it all work. When we were caught in a rainstorm in Venice and powered through a walking tour in dorky yellow ponchos. None of this was planned, but they will be remembered.

I can pack light, and I can hardly even believe it. A month and a half abroad, with all my stuff in a tiny little carry-on suitcase and a Longchamp purse. I reserve the right to brag, which I am doing right now. The End. (Please send help in the form of an international care package in about... eight days.)

For every Pinterest / Instagram worthy moment, there will be five not-so-great experiences as well. I follow quite a number of travel accounts on both social media channels, and they never fail to have me all wistful and wanting to me on the other side of the world. Floppy hats against the Mediterranean, tapas in Spain, cool huts in Thailand. I'm doing the same, sharing my favorite highlights from my adventures. And that's when I realized that those snapshots are the 1%. The 99% = my roommate falling ill with bronchitis and seeing only the hotel room while we were in London. Mean bus drivers, getting tricked out of 5 euros by a "nice man who was going to show us where our train seats were," ALL THE TIMES WE WERE HANGRY, getting snappish, frustrated, or exhausted. It's all a part of the same game.
Off to eat more pizza! How's your summer goin'? Any traveling for you?