My posts are completely out of order at this point. Here are the places I’ve visited in order: Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Interlaken, Bern, Milann, Venice, Florence, Siena, Rome, Privas, Paris, London, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.
I decided to head for Berlin for the weekend. Striking air traffic controllers struck that option for me as I arrived to the airport to find a solid row of cancelled flights. So rather than catch a nine-hour train ride to Berlin, I opted for a two-hour train ride to London showing up unannounced at the doorstep of my gracious college friend, Lauren O’Brien.
England was the first place I ever visited in Europe. My parents took my sister and I when we were in elementary school. Knowing that children our age were unlikely to appreciate the history and culture of Europe, my parents designed a creative way for us to learn about England. For every original fact we could recite at the dinner table, we earned three cents. My parents were thrifty, weren’t they? I racked up about $100 in spending money and was full of English history and useless trivia by the time my feet touched foreign soil.
To this day, I have never met anyone who could travel like my father. If you’ll recall the scene from National Lampoon’s European Vacation in which Clark Griswold gets so upset because the honeymooners in Paris hadn’t seen anything. That scene sums up my father’s philosophy exactly, which is to cram in as much sightseeing into every day as possible. He would tell us, “Kids in six months, we’ll be at Parliament and Big Ben.”
He wasn’t kidding. In six months precisely, we would be at Parliament and Big Ben. Traveling with my parents was exactly like traveling with the Griswolds. Full of lots of sights, crazy moments and good memories. My parents were awesome, weren’t they? In college, I spent another week in London, in which Blonde Jackie,* and we hit the city hard. So by the time I roll up unannounced to Lauren’s doorstep, I just want to see Lauren and vintage shop.
In 2008 Lauren decided she wanted to live in London. So she obtained a Visa, quit her stable job as an accountant in Chicago and moved to London. In the midst of a financial crisis. And she made it work, found a flat, found a job at a bank, got promoted and has carved out a life that I’m rather envious of. It doesn’t mean it was easy, but I’m inspired by the risks she took to achieve her dreams. She didn’t take the easy road but the risks she took made it the more rewarding road. A road that involves forks in the roads that involve weekend trips to Paris.
Burrough Food Market
Similar to Privas, there is a very relaxing element to being with those you know. Even better, one of Lauren’s New Year Resolution’s is to cook more. And who am I to argue with nightly gourmet meals after two months of being on the road? The other culinary highlight is the Burroughs Market that Lauren pointed me in the direction of, which is the best of the food markets I’ve seen so far. It’s always fun to hit up the markets whether in Munich, Barcelona or London and to meet artisinal chefs. I ended up spending more time in Burroughs Market than the Tate Modern. Organic, fresh apple cider is trumping modern art at this point for me.
The other highlight for me besides Lauren was vintage shopping. Currently, the pound is a drop kick in the stomach when it comes to shopping. Even Top Shop was at prices that were unjustifiable. But London has incredible vintage shopping, and I spent a whole day at the Pettycoat market (blah), Spitafelds (amazing) and Absolute Vintage (also amazing). Spitafelds was 2/5 great vintage, 2/5 Etsy and 1/5 Regretsy. If I lived in London, I would go every month.
Excited to be back in early February to spend more time with Lauren and meet more of her friends.
*In college, two of our friends were named Jackie. Rather than clarify which one we are referring to by last name, we refer to them by hair color. Which is easier to explain when referring to Blonde Jackie but a more awkward conversation when mentioning your friend Brown Jackie.