TBT: Eurotrip

21:36 Alyson 0 Comments

Traveling with someone can be difficult - differences in attitudes, sleep patterns, diet, or whatever else, can make travel range from awkward to completely unenjoyable.

I've been so lucky to find Paul in so many different ways, but one of those is he is my favorite travel companion. I have loved traveling the world with Paul and lately have been reminiscing back on all our trips together.

Our very first trip together was a big one - a Eurotrip. The summer after Paul's graduation, we took a 3 week trip around Europe, riding the Eurorail through 5 countries.

So, where did our backpacking Eurotrip take us?

First off - Barcelona. What an amazing place, full of architecture and laid-back Spanish (or more appropriately Catalonian) lifestyle. Buildings from Gaudi are dotted around the city, from Casa Batlo to Sangrada Familia to my absolute favorite of Park Guell. That, plus the super late night dinners, beaches and backpacking friends made it the perfect start to our trip.


Park Guell - the beautiful mosaics and
whimsical shapes were all around
Sangrada Familia - I hope we can go back
when it's completed to see it in its glory!





















Next up - Marseille. One perfect day at the beach, one miserable day of windy weather stuck inside. Paul still is not a fan, although I'd be willing to give it a second chance.

Beautiful - the Chateau D'If is in the background





Moving on to Switzerland - Interlaken is something like the extreme sports capital of Europe. Paul wanted to do everything from skydiving to paragliding to canyoning. Instead, I talked him into plain old Jane biking and kayaking. Luckily, the setting was so beautiful that the lack of adrenaline rush wasn't even noticeable.

Biking through the Alps - this made the best scenery


From Switzerland, we trekked to Munich. It was my first time in Germany, and while the main attraction was beer (not my favorite), I still managed to find things to fall in love with in the city.  The English Garden, beer gardens (minus the beer), the history, both good and bad. And Paul even managed to get me to try out a litre of beer.

Too much beer - I still can't live this down

Finally, we ended up in Paris. Perhaps the city of love was a perfect way to end the trip. I had visited before, but Paul hadn't, so I was able to show him all the tourist spots and some of my favorite less known haunts. We visited everything we could while still trying to embrace the slower pace of European lifestyle.

St. Chappelle - my favorite spot in all of Paris
The first of many nights at the Eiffel Tower



















I loved our first trip together - thank goodness we didn't kill each other and made it 3 weeks tramping through hostels with our backpacks. Looking forward to seeing what our next adventures will bring! (and hopefully no more hostels).

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