Where to begin? Overall our trip to Europe was amazing. Even the mishaps with our airline plans placed us in situations that are unforgettable. We started on March 8 and flew from Phoenix to New York. Once we landed (late) we literally ran with our backpacks and my shoes off through the JFK airport to our next terminal. We realized that we were not going to get on our connecting flight from New York to Madrid and needed to make plans for the night to stay with Maren's brother, Matthew, in Queens. On March 9 we did make our plane from New York to now, Barcelona and we made it first class! That in itself was worth it. Reclining leather seats, personal televisions with just about any movie to select from and flight attendants at your beckoning call – we couldn't ask for more. We landed in Barcelona and truly began our European experience. First stop, the Barcelona train station…we took a train from Barcelona to Pamplona where Maren's cousin, Billy, picked us up. We stayed six nights in Pamplona and explored Pamplona, Olite, Urepel (France) and San Sebastian.
On March 15 we took an overnight train back to Barcelona and spent the day exploring Barcelona. On March 16 we took an overnight train from Barcelona to Genoa, Italy where we would then catch another train to Cinque Terre. We arrived in Monterroso on March 16 in the afternoon and headed to our hotel (Hotel Souvenir, suggested by our friend, Megan). On Saturday, we trekked Cinque Terre and it was absolutely worth the sore legs that I still have! J Everyone who told me about their Cinque Terre trip was right, it is a phenomenal trek with beautiful views and definitely worth the experience. This was one of my most enjoyable moments of the entire trip.
On Sunday, we trained to Milan to make our flight when we were told that 23 flights to the US were cancelled two days prior and they are still filtering through all the passengers. It wasn't looking good for us again. In our state of panic and anxiety, we agreed to go anywhere on our Eurorail pass to another airport that would give us better departure options. We ended up on another train (we've never trained this much) from Milan to Zurich, Switzerland. The train ride was 5 hours on a high speed train with 5 stops along the way. The views from the train were breathtaking. There was snow everywhere once we got into Switzerland. We passed several lakes and villages tucked away along the mountainside. We believe that we also saw the Matterhorn. This was another one of my most enjoyable moments of the entire trip.
On the train to Switzerland from Italy, we drank a bottle and a half of wine and ended up sleeping in a corner of the Zurich airport. It was like we were living the Tom Hanks, Terminal movie. And let me tell you, it is nice to find a free luggage cart and seeing a McDonald's or Starbucks was comforting. In the morning when we woke up, still curled up in the corner of the airport on the floor with our luggage around us and reminisce of the wine we drank, we decided to go outside in the snow. Why not, right….we had to make the most of it and when else would we be in the Swiss Alps?
On March 15 we took an overnight train back to Barcelona and spent the day exploring Barcelona. On March 16 we took an overnight train from Barcelona to Genoa, Italy where we would then catch another train to Cinque Terre. We arrived in Monterroso on March 16 in the afternoon and headed to our hotel (Hotel Souvenir, suggested by our friend, Megan). On Saturday, we trekked Cinque Terre and it was absolutely worth the sore legs that I still have! J Everyone who told me about their Cinque Terre trip was right, it is a phenomenal trek with beautiful views and definitely worth the experience. This was one of my most enjoyable moments of the entire trip.
On Sunday, we trained to Milan to make our flight when we were told that 23 flights to the US were cancelled two days prior and they are still filtering through all the passengers. It wasn't looking good for us again. In our state of panic and anxiety, we agreed to go anywhere on our Eurorail pass to another airport that would give us better departure options. We ended up on another train (we've never trained this much) from Milan to Zurich, Switzerland. The train ride was 5 hours on a high speed train with 5 stops along the way. The views from the train were breathtaking. There was snow everywhere once we got into Switzerland. We passed several lakes and villages tucked away along the mountainside. We believe that we also saw the Matterhorn. This was another one of my most enjoyable moments of the entire trip.
On the train to Switzerland from Italy, we drank a bottle and a half of wine and ended up sleeping in a corner of the Zurich airport. It was like we were living the Tom Hanks, Terminal movie. And let me tell you, it is nice to find a free luggage cart and seeing a McDonald's or Starbucks was comforting. In the morning when we woke up, still curled up in the corner of the airport on the floor with our luggage around us and reminisce of the wine we drank, we decided to go outside in the snow. Why not, right….we had to make the most of it and when else would we be in the Swiss Alps?
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