Traveling Twins

A weekend we will never forget: Florence! My friends and I planned back in January to all meet for Katie’s (Kitty’s) 21 st birthday in Florence! And although at the time we thought May seem liked forever away, it came and went in a blink! This weekend was highly anticipated and it did not disappoint! Emily flew in from Paris, Sammy flew in from USA, and all of the Madrid girls and boys flew in! We had quite the crew. Luckily, Kitty’s apartment is really big, so we all had a place to sleep….even if it was on the floor. We landed in Pisa because it was a cheaper flight, so before we trained into Florence of course we stopped by the leaning tower! It was actually leaning. REALLY leaning. After a few pictures we were off to Florence! Our weekend begins. We arrived just before dinner and all rushed to get ready to grab a quick gelato before we walked it to the top of Plaza Michaelangelo…a famous lookout where you can see a breathtaking view of the entire city of Florence...

We arrived in Amsterdam late, checked into our hotel, and went right to sleep! We woke up early Monday morning for a delicious brunch at Bakers and Roasters, a Brazilian-Kiwi twist restaurant, with DIY Mimosas…. Perfect for our Champagne with a dash of orange juice mimosa specialties. We then walked over to the Heineken Brewery for “The Heineken Experience.” We enjoyed comparing it to our Guinness experience in Dublin, and learning about the making and history of a different beer! We then hopped over to the canal for a boat ride, where we got lots of little facts about Amsterdam… one being that they recently put up railings at the edge of the canal in most places to prevent cars from rolling into the river!!! Next, we headed over to the Iamsterdam sign for some pictures and then we decided to search for a place to grab a bite to eat. We ordered the traditional Amsterdam meat and cheese plate… a little different than our delicious, gourmet meat and cheese plates here in Spain… I...

PROSTTTTTT! PROSTTTTTTT! (Cheers in German) We arrived in Munich at 10am and were ready to hit the ground running! We arrived to our hostel where we met up with Lauren and Kelsey! We hit the cold and rainy city of Munich in search of "Drindle's," the traditional German dress! We hopped in and out of stores searching for the perfect one's. Finally we all said "YES to the Drindle" and we grabbed a quick healthy bite at "BiteDelite" in Munich's old town. We got ready and put our jackets on over our Drindle's to hit the town! We walked 10 minutes to the fair grounds and walked into a giant circus like tent, lined with tables and people dressed up with GIANT BEERS. We received our giant beers and sat down at a table. Shortly after, we locked eyes with JAMES VERCH, Madison's fourth grade boyfriend from Mount Pisgah, who we haven't seen in over 5 years. At 5:30 most of the tables we're reserved so we got kicked to the front of the r...

Crazy...we actually were able to spend time in Madrid! We were home for almost 10 days....a new record!  And a lovely relaxing week and a half. Short Story #1: I RAN A RACE! Rock N' Roll Madrid, was quite the experience. THOUSANDS of people lined the streets to run and watch this famous marathon series.  They shut down the entire center of Madrid to block of the streets and the course. It was really amazing to be a part of! Six miles later....we decided it would be a good idea to continue using our legs and to go on a hike! After an hour bus ride, we walked and walked and climbed and climbed until we reached a beautiful sunny spot by the river.  Tay brought a nice picnic with beer and we all enjoyed the meat and cheese!  Harris, Kenley, Maggie and John joined us too! Short Story #2: I believe I have mentioned this before, but there is a school for mentally challenged adults right across the street from our university.  Whenever our school busses...