Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.  ~Mark Twain

The time to enjoy a European trip is about three weeks after unpacking.  ~George Ade, Forty Modern Fables

I’ve been struggling with how to write my first travel related post since returning from our trip, knowing that there are over 1200 photos to sort.   There were so many wonderful experiences.  There were so many bad dinners.  There was the day we walked 1000 miles* in Englischer Garten  and we still managed to miss the Seehaus Bier Garten.  (We did forget the map that day).  There was the 1000 mile* vertical hike/climb to the top of the Alps, which led to another hike/climb for an additional kilometer in below freezing temps into the world’s largest ice cave.  There was the angry French bus driver who threatened to kidnap “le baggage“.  There was the brassarie with Che’ Guevara, Bob Marley and the hippy French owner who served up the best roast beef on the planet.   In Montpellier, there was the giddiness surrounding our friend’s arrival at the cute little hotel, and the little porch party we had in our room for them.  There was the Green Day song I could hear from the college student’s iPod who was sitting next to me on the train to Barcelona.  And there was the time my brave and valiant husband thwarted a pick-pocket on the Barcelona metro, saving an elderly German couple from certain financial peril.  There are so many more of these little and big stories, I couldn’t decide where to start.   So how about a Top Ten Fun Facts?

 

·         Dogs and cats, no matter what language they speak, understand luvs.  They don’t dislike you because you’re American and you’re wearing funny clothes. Scratch their ears and they’re your best bud. 

·         Parisians really do walk around with baguettes… all day, every day.

·         French woman clean their plates.  They eat everything.  They drink wine.  They are THIN.  It must be the cigarettes.

·         We estimate we walked over 120 miles during our trip, most of which was up stairs.

·         Montpellier is facial injury capital of the world.  I must have seen at least 3 people every day with large bandages on their faces.  What is going on there?

·         Barcelona is mullet capital of the world.  I guess not ALL European cities are fashion forward.

·         Never once did we have a bad glass of wine.  Plenty of bad food, but the wine always saved the day.

·         If the menu has English translation, run the other way.  You will NOT get a good meal at that restaurant.  GUARANTEED.

·         When planning your vacation abroad and your husband suggests limiting your luggage to a traveler’s back-pack, ignore him completely.

·         People watching in European train stations is… way better than any romance novel.  In every city, there were so many tearful goodbyes between couples - long kisses, long embraces, teary smiles and declarations of love as the train pulled out.  It was truly romantic. 

* The author’s math in converting kilometers to miles may or may not be accurate. In fact, it may be a complete and utter exaggeration