Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Back in NYC


We are back!

Ben and I returned to NYC late Sunday night from a 26-day European vacation where we looped through five countries (Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland) and toured 14 cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris, Versailles, Venice, Murano, Cortona, Rome, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Barcelona, and Dublin).  We slept in 10 different beds and took at least 11 modes of transportation (cruise ship, airplane, train, subway, boat, city bus, coach bus, car, taxi, bicycle, and foot) through Europe.  We attempted to speak three foreign languages and almost understood one, using extreme and over exaggerated gestures (or a simple “did you get that” smile and shrug with upturned palms) to communicate nonverbally much of the time.
 
Everything was as amazing as it sounds… and we plan to purchase a pied-a-terre in each of our top ten favorite cities as soon as we win the lottery.

We brought back plenty of magnets, the best souvenir when living in a small and space restricted apartment, as well as a few extra pounds around the midsection.  Weight gained on our vacation further proved that we really let go and enjoyed ourselves.  I only said “no” once to a chocolate filled croissant, but regretted it immediately and quickly recanted my initial answer only to again dive into my 50th calorie enriched pastry of the trip.  I feared that one more Nutella filled crepe would lead to a chocolate overdose.  Europeans stay so skinny.  How do they do it?

The next couple of posts will be dedicated to small or memorable moments from our trip.  It’s impossible to encapsulate the awesomeness of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of everything we experienced, but little vignettes and photos will have to suffice.  Until then… 

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