I’ve decided to split this up into 2 blogs, this one will be the first two weeks of my trip and the next one the last two. In the first week of my trip I visited 4 countries [5 if you count my starting in England with 2 days in London] and 7 cities. I’m going to try and keep this as short as possible and not waffle on and bore you all with my adventures.
Like I said before I left I was pretty nervous about travelling on my own for a whole month but I am really lad I did it now. I had an amazing time and I guess as a person I have changed a little bit, I have definitely become more confident I know that for sure. It was a brilliant experience and I would definitely go back and do it all again whether it’s travelling around Europe again or travelling anywhere else in the world.
London – 10th and 11th September
I’d never been to London before so I thought it would be the perfect place to start my trip and get used to travelling alone. I really enjoyed London there was so much to see and do. I saw all the sights and found it pretty easy to get around on the Tube, I went to Tate Modern which was really cool, there was so much good art in the there all for free to see as well which is brilliant. I definitely want to go back to London again though as I feel that 2 days was not enough time to see absolutely everything and I obviously need to go back to go shopping.
Barcelona – 12th and 13th September
La Rambla was the main place here and it was really nice to just walk up the long street and wandering off down the side streets seeing what there was to find slightly off the main street. Barcelona is a really nice city and it kind of has everything, beach, harbour, shopping, architecture. I’d never been there before but I would definitely visit again for a weekend.
Madrid – 14th to 16th September
There didn’t seem to be as much to do in Madrid as there was in Barcelona. It was a really nice place and it is small enough to walk around the majority of the city and see all the major sights without having to take the Metro. When I was there I managed to stumble into the middle of a protest march which was definitely an experience. There is a huge park in the Madrid though which is completely beautiful and such a lovely place to go and sit on the hot sunny day that I went there.
Paris – 17th to 19th September
Everyone knows that Paris is amazing whether you have been or not, it has a lot going for it so I knew this was going to be a good few days. The city is so beautiful and there is so much brilliant architecture. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris and I’m glad I spent a few days there so I could really see everything. This probably sounds stupidly obvious but the Eiffel Tower really is huge, I felt sick looking up at it from standing below it. My proudest moment of the trip happened here as well when I ordered my Starbucks in perfect French, it was 7 years since I last spoke French as well. The only downsides are the expense and some of the people are not the nicest but it is an amazing place. Sitting out in the middle of Paris under the stars watching the world go by was one of my favourite things I did too. I do love you Paris.
Milan – 19th to 21st September
Bar the ridiculous expense of absolutely everything in Milan I had a lot of fun there. I didn’t really know much about Milan bar the stunningly beautiful cathedral and that it is one of the fashion capitals and when I went it was fashion, hello hot italian models I did a lot of people watching that day. Milan is the type of place you would only go to for a day or so though I think. 2 days for me there was perfect as I saw everything you need to see and any longer and I probably would have ruined my pretty tight budget by even more than I did. Another city ticked off of ‘cities I must visit in Italy/Europe’ list.
Venice – 21st and 22nd September
Venice was beautiful, we all know that though but to actually see it in person is pretty amazing. On my first night there I watched the sun set over the grand canal which was quite beautiful. Again Venice is expensive and so crowded with tourists that it does get a bit annoying after a while but I had an ace time there. I went on a gondola which is a life goal accomplished. It was one of the two places I went to that reminded me of my grandparents which was a pretty poignant moment for me after the past couple of months. My grandparents went to Venice a few times and everytime they went they brought me back a little leather handbag and I found one exactly like it while I was there which nearly made me cry but I did have an amazing time. Oh and the water in Venice really does smell really bad!
Vienna – 23rd to 25th September
I know I have used the word beautiful a lot but the most beautiful city I went to was Vienna. I only went there because my Grandad always told me that if I got the chance I should go. My grandparents went to Austria all the time and specifically Vienna, they loved it there and I now can see why. Again I had an emotional moment but I knew that would happen. I had no idea what to expect from Vienna when I got there and it really blew me away with how amazing it was, the buildings are architecturally stunning, there is so much culture and everyone there is so nice! I went to the Mozart and Strauss opera and ballet while I was there and that was one of the most amazing experiences. I plan on going back to Vienna again soon and also exploring the rest of Austria because it really is such a lovely place.
So that was the first two weeks, I went to some amazing places and has some brilliant experiences. Sorry for this ridiculously long post expect another one about the last two weeks of my trip at some point this week.
Mixtape Couture 