Day 23: Europe Conclusions/Rankings

Europe Conclusions

PSA: We had an amazing time, these are just some observations we made :)

- Everyone smokes

- No ice in drinks at restaurants 

- No free refills ("We'll give you a refill for you have to pay for it.")

- No splitting the bill at restaurants (we got really good at doing this ourselves)

- Every building is older than our country

- We like European food, but only when it's fried 

- Have to pay to go to a public restroom

- To-go boxes are few and far between 

- Almost everyone is at least bilingual 

- No dryers

- "Wifi Zone" signs on restaurant doors does not, in fact, guarantee wifi in the restaurant 

- It is not uncommon to see a couple at the table next to you making out 

- The first level of a hotel is often labeled level "0" or even "-1"

- Construction. Everywhere. Mainly on the most important buildings of every city, though. 

- No, I do not want to buy a selfie stick

- Restaurants bring you bread, but don't tell you until you get the bill that you are paying for it 

- When you get a water, coke, etc. out of a fridge to buy, it's not cold, it's just not warm. 

- No we are not sisters.

Emily's Rankings

1. Salzburg, Austria

2. Mykonos, Greece

3. Grindelwald, Switzerland

4. Prague, Czech Republic

5. County Clare, Ireland

6. Siena, Italy

7. Dublin, Ireland

8. Bern, Switzerland

9. Athens, Greece

10. Rome, Italy (however, I love you, Vatican City)

Mari's Rankings

1. Siena, Italy (a bit biased ;)

2. Grindelwald, Switzerland

3. Mykonos, Greece

4. Salzburg, Austria

5. Prague, Czech Republic

6. County Clare, Ireland

7. Bern, Switzerland

8. Dublin, Ireland

9. Athens, Greece

10. Rome, Italy

Thanks for following our European adventure! We can't wait for the next one :) 

- Em J & Mel

Day 22: Athens, Greece

That's a Wrap!!! 

Can't believe this day is here. We spent our last day today in Athens! We started out the morning by heading to the Acropolis. Here, we saw some amazing views and, of course, construction on the Parthenon. 

After this, we had (our final European) lunch that ended up lasting about two hours. Instead of taking something off our ticket because of such a long wait, we were given two shots (we didn't ask nor were we mad). They were a special Greek liquor...it tasted like a tree. 

Then, we made our way to the Parliament building where we saw the changing of the guards. 

Then, we walked around aimlessly for about an hour before deciding that we needed to do juuuust a little more shopping. After we shopped for about 45 minutes, we headed back to the hostel for a quick break before dinner (you'd think we would be used to these long, hot days by now).

For dinner, we searched for over an hour for a restaurant recommended to us by Taylor. After never finding it, we sat at the closest restaurant and ate our final European meal. 

Check out the blog tomorrow for some European conclusions and rankings. This will be comin' to you live from our 6 hour layover in Philly. 

Until then, we dream of cheeseburgers, Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches, and free ice water during meals. 

- Em J & Mel

Day 21: Mykonos to Athens

The Final Countdown

To update you on our stay in Mykonos, we were in fact beach bums the entire time. 

Other than that, we went to the Old Port each night for dinner. We splurged on gelato every night :) yummy. 

After a really long flight (25 minutes) we made our way to Athens, our FINAL stop! 

Stay tuned for deets on our jam packed last day tomorrow! 

- Em J & Mel 

Day 18-20: Mykonos, Greece

No Wifi, No Blog-i 

Greetings from paradise! We have made it safe and sound to Mykonos, Greece. After we checked in to our beautiful hotel, we learned that the wifi works for everyone except those with Apple products, even more specifically, from the U.S. Of course, we both have iPhones. 

So, we will not be blogging until we get to our final stop on Tuesday. Don't worry, you won't miss anything. We are just going to be beach bums for the next few days. 

- Em J & Mel

Day 17: Rome, Italy

Last Day in the Dome (St Peter's Basilica)

We spent the majority of today in Vatican City. We started off going through the Vatican Museum and making our way to the Sistine Chapel. 

Then, after a quick bite to eat, we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica. 

It was...AMAZING. 

After that, we had an awesome dinner catching up with our friend from high school, Parker, and her fiancé! 

Now, we are packing and ready for our sixth and final country! 

- Em J & Mel

Day 15 & 16: Siena and Rome, Italy

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

First of all, we apologize for all those who were expecting a blog post last night. We've been a little preoccupied; we had a small "bump" in the road. 

The past couple days have been mostly traveling, yet still eventful. 

Yesterday, we traveled from Rome to Siena, where Mari studied abroad. After being in the loud and hectic Rome, we were eager to get to the quiet and quaint Siena. However, we spent most of the evening last night in the laundromat. Two words: Bed. Bugs. 

We spent many hours, euros, and giggles/tears trying to figure this situation out. All of our clothes are now clean and we are in a new hotel, so hopefully we are in the clear, despite the 100 "bumps" that we have on our bodies. 

We debated on whether to post a picture of our bites, but decided it was too much. S/O to whichever hotel, hostel, or Airbnb who gave us this lovely critter. 

Tomorrow, will be a much more exciting day. We will be going to the VATICAN!!!! 

- Em J & Mel

Day 14: Rome, Italy

"Let's walk on that side of the street, it's shaded."

Today we woke up eager to see the sights of Rome! After breakfast, we went straight to the Colosseum. In order to skip a little bit of the line, we bought tickets in front of the Roman Forum and went through there before the Colosseum. 

 

We have never been so sweaty in our entire lives. We decided on our lunch destination based on the plethora of fans they had running. Thank goodness our room has AC!!!

Then we made our way to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi "Fountain."

(Selfie on the Spanish Steps)

You may be wondering why the word "fountain" is in quotation marks. Well, we got to the fountain annnnndddd...

...there was no fountain. It was a major letdown. 

Then we made our way to dinner to celebrate the BIRTHDAY GIRL! Today is Mari's 22nd birthday! Cue '22' by Taylor Swift. The highlight of the dinner was when the servers sang Happy Birthday in Italian and the candle kept blowing out. 

We're off to Siena in the morning! More Rome to come at the end of the week. 

P.S. We walked a total of about 12 miles today...

P.P.S. We were dripping sweat everyone one of those 12 miles. 

- Em J & Mel