the final countdown

I leave for Europe in less than 2 months...finally. All I have left to do is tie up some loose ends on the financial side of things, get extra prescriptions from my doctor and research a few more things to do while I'm over there. I will be in Germany for 5.5 weeks (still debating what to do during my free weekend), and then my sister will meet me in Rome on my last day. My sister and I have finally decided what we are going to do for the two weeks that she's over there. Italy and Ireland are official. She will meet me in Rome (not sure if I will fly or ride, but I'll figure something out), and then we're going to make our way around Italy, hopefully spending plenty of time at the beaches. I'm really excited about seeing the landscape and architecture of Italy, not to mention the food and charming people. Next, a two day stop in Paris is up in the air. I feel like it would be unforgivable to go to Europe and not visit Paris, but we'll see if it fits in. After that, it's Ireland. I'm anxious to see the cliffs and the countryside. I hear it's unlike anything you'll ever see. I wouldn't mind taking a bike ride through the country. It would make sense for us to leave from Ireland back to the states, but things are always more complicated than I would like. I'm probably taking two bags to Europe, and there is no way I'm backpacking with two bags, so I'm leaving one in Germany for the last two weeks. I guess it will be nice to to bid one last farewell before I go home. I wish I was leaving tomorrow!

cash

I'm paying for my whole trip. My plan is to travel cheaply and stay within my budget. I don't want to travel to Europe and feel limited, so I'm not going to be a cheap American tourist, but I definitely won't be going on extravagant shopping sprees. I ran across a blog from the NY Times that lists helpful tips for getting by on a budget. I know the basics of researching the local budget airlines, but what I didn't think about was how much money you could save by refusing taxis. Although taxis may be more convenient at certain times, they're not very cost efficient, and traffic can often be an issue in large cities. Another recommendation is to use the city-wide bike rentals. You walk up to a pay station, pay a deposit of $3.50 and ride off. When you're finished with the bike, you take it to the nearest station to get your change back. Very financially/eco-friendly. One other suggestion was to splurge at lunch, but save at dinner. Most places in Europe with offer cheaper lunch specials allowing you to sample the finer foods at a lower price. Not a bad idea!

foodie

One of my concerns in life is food. Healthy food. It annoys me that you can get a fatty cheeseburger for $.99, but if you want a salad, $6.00. We wonder why we have an obesity epidemic in our midst. When we go to Germany, I don't want to eat crappy food. I hear that everything is a little more expensive over there and food is no exception. I was reading this blog the other day, and it was talking about how different places will try to trick tourists into buying overpriced "meal deals". I don't want to be the uneducated tourist that falls into the trap. I've been hearing about these little stands where you can buy gyros. You walk up, pick your meat (beef, chicken and lamb), and they start slicing it off this rotating stick. I hear it's good, but it sounds questionable in my opinion. I'm very particular about my meat, so eating something that has been sitting out all day makes me nervous. I want cheap, healthy options. I'm not sure if I will find them, but I will definitely be looking into it.

my birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I am now 22 and in a state of mourning. Last year was exciting because I was 21, but this year it's just like, ok...I'm older, my friends are married or graduated or relocated...yay. 21 was memorable. My mom planned a surprise trip to Cancun for my b-day. We stayed at a really nice hotel with a really nice beach, and I got a really nice tan. It was perfect. I wasn't interested in doing the crazy nightlife Cancun scene, but I was down for snorkeling. Every time we plan to go snorkeling, my sister has a mental breakdown the night before. She has to talk herself out of calling the whole trip off. I don't really think it's a fear of sharks, but rather a fear of being out of her element. Your swimming on top of hundreds of creatures with the possibility that at least one of them has a couple rows of sharp teeth. Her fear is reasonable. One time, we were snorkeling in Playa del Carmen, and a storm blew in. The rain felt like needles pouring down, the tide picked up and started taking my mom out to sea. It was frightening to say the least. Although this birthday wasn't as eventful, it still ended up being a pretty good day.

One day I get this call from my friend Lindsey, "hey Britt! So, do you want to go to New Orleans this weekend?" Me, "yeah I guess I could skip a day of school"...we were off. She has a friend there (guy in picture) that does relief work around town, so we thought that we could go for a leisurely weekend to visit. Well I'm pretty sure that we were wrong. When we get there everything seems cool. We go to Cafe Du Monde, take a stroll around the french quarter, and then Kevin says "oh hey do yall want to go camping?" I am always down for camping, but my clothing selection wasn't very promising--i agreed anyways. Well he proceeds to tell us that we're going camping in Florida! I left College Station on Friday, we drove to New Orleans and got there late Friday night. We woke up the next morning and hit the road to Florida. When we got to beach we're camping at, we realize that our little friend Kevin brought a two person tent for him and his other friend. Where is the tent for me and Lindsey you ask? WE DON'T HAVE ONE, nor do we have any sleeping bags/blankets/pillows, but hey, we can roll with the punches. So we're all sitting around the fire on the beach, I was a little annoyed that the majority of our weekend was spent on the road, but we were finally here and everything was going to be ok. Wrong. So we decide to go to sleep. Lindsey and I had to sleep in car. I've tried to sleep in the car many times, it's never a good night's sleep, but it works--most of the time. This particular time made me want to pull my hair out. The weather dropped down to the 50s, we didn't have blankets and there were 4 mosquitoes trapped in the car with us. We spent hours trying to catch them, but they would retreat to the back of the suv. We gave up. We ignored the buzzing and instead talked about how we were going to kill Kevin when we woke up. He has good intentions, but he's just a little absent minded. So the next morning we were ready to get the heck out of there, so we get in the car and head back to New Orleans. We stop at Whole Foods to get lunch, and Kevin locks the keys in the car. Are you freakin kidding me?? All I wanted was a shower and a nap, and now we were stuck sitting on the curb waiting for pop-a-lock. Once they popped that lock, we were gone. FINALLY.

Recap: Drove to NOrleans...went to sleep...drove to Florida...fought mosquitoes...drove to NOrleans...help prisoner by locked up keys...dropped off the worst event planner ever...drove home.

my future

I'm one of those people that will visit a place for three days and then say that I want to move there. It's not that I hate Texas, I actually like Texas. People are usually friendly, it's relaxed and 100% of my family members live here. However, I find it a bit ridiculous that I start sweating the minute I step outside. This humidity is unbearable and makes for miserable camping trips. I am not a huge fan of freezing cold weather, but I have decided that I would rather shovel snow than break a sweat while walking from my house to my car. My family has taken many trips to Colorado, and that's where I want to be. My mom maintains the opinion that I will last a year before I decide that it's too cold, but I'm on a mission to prove her wrong. When I go to Colorado, especially in the summer, I am happy. The weather is perfect for the activities I enjoy, and I just feel relaxed. I love skiing in the winter, so it's a win win situation. I believe that my previous complaints towards the bitter cold, are all centered around the fact that I don't know how to dress in cold weather. My winter wardrobe consists of long sleeve t-shirts and thin jackets. Once I pick up a few sets of long-underwear, I'm sure I will be content.

I cannot wait to escape this humidity.

Picture: Durango, Colorado. The ideal location for my future house.

one of my top 5

Chiapas, Mexico--one of my favorite places to go. I've been there twice, both on mission trips. Instead of locals that are of Latin decent, they are Mayan Indians. They have hospitality like you wouldn't believe. Our purpose for traveling to Chiapas was to help build churches for different indigenous groups, but we were able to do a few touristy things while we were down there. Chiapas is a state that is at the southern most tip of Mexico. It shares a border with Guatemala. When a Texan thinks of Mexico, they think of dirt, crime and pesos. Chiapas is different. It's mountainous, few people speak Spanish and each tribe wears a different customary ensemble. One problem that I encountered while I was there was the language barrier. I had to translate my thoughts from English to Spanish, and they had to translate theirs from Quetzal to Spanish. Lost in translation is an understatement. I became very good at charades. They would always ask what my name was and when I would tell them, they looked at me like I had just uttered a series of meaningless sounds...until I made a discovery. Everyone on this stinkin planet knows who Britney Spears is, and they are no exception. So I would ask them if they knew who she was, and when they said yes, I told them it was the same. Success!

Picture- The men wear dresses...all. the. time. Even when they're working, they're wearing a dress, and it's a short dress too. These men in the picture are above average height, so you can imagine what they thought when they saw a girl that measures 5'9. I was a freak show.