"I just need to get some cash and get to a fkn toilet"

Yeah you heard me. Each of us has uttered that at some point this trip I believe. Our friendship has reached new levels of closeness that I never thought could be achieved. Broads abroad, baby. 

Hmm let's see here, what has been going on since my last post?

UHH ERRTHANG.

After Lake Como we journeyed to Milan (which is kind of... not.... great) and took a lovely day trip to Venice!!

^From our restaurant in Milan- note the "ravioli with nuggs sauce" YO GIMME EXTRA NUGGS SAUCE.

^Venice was exquisite and as perfectly preserved as I imagined it!

^ Oh haaaaaiiii

^ Here I am looking more attractive than ever actively whining because I got my new Venetian mask stuck to my head!! 

My goodness this trip has been madness. Anyhow Italy was so lovely and we bid it a fond farewell as we left for Nice, France. Okay, maybe my farewell to the WORTHLESS Italian train system was a little less than fond... 

^ Just look at that view!! 

^A shot from an awesome going out night that turned into chaos but was all resolved in the end. Hint: "Oh my gosh where is my passport?!" All's well that ends well. 

Nice was such a fun beachy town but for really wealthy people so we, being educated travelers of the world now, beat the system by buying food at a local supermarché on the cheap. Carrefour makes awesome knock off Nutella, btw. 

From Nice we took day trips to Monaco which was truly amazing. I love that country so much. 

Also, you're talking to a girl who has now gambled at the Monte Carlo Casino and ONLY LOST €4,50!! 

So yeah, I'm out about $7.00 but I felt like a high roller at my blackjack table wearing my best Armani James Bond suit.

lol no.

I played a Star Wars slot machine alone in my best Aeropostale jeans. 

You can take the girl out of America, but you can never take America out of the girl. 

After Monaco it was a short train ride to Marseille where we took a boat excursion to Chateau D'If where The Count of Monte Cristo was set. Aaand it's Sebastian's favorite book so I felt all happy.

They finally put me behind bars, y'all. 

High time they did. So basically the past week has been lots of sightseeing mixed with copious amounts of napping and bread eating. 

Cool things:

* Secretly lost 5lbs due to lack of money? Score!!

* Everyone we meet is so sweet and helpful 

* Having a sleepover with my best friends every night 

Uncool things:

 

* Applying for jobs and interviewing overseas. DO NOT LIKE. But I'm trying my hardest. 

Alright that's all the blogging strength I have right now. Time to curl up with the girls and watch The Count of Monte Cristo on YouTube on my iPhone because yes, it has come to that.

Smell ya later, I'm COMING FOR YOU, BARCELONA!

Ciao, Bella

Okay so I wrote a blog post a couple of days ago and it got completely erased before I could post it so I had to take a few days off because I was so angry.

#firstworldproblems

So where did I leave off? Hmm heading to Zürich I believe. 

Crucial things:

1. I forgot to mention having wine and cheese with this lovely lady Caroline in Paris!!

I became friends with her over Facebook because we share such similar last names (Bruss and Brusson). Go figure that we would be able to meet in person in fabulous Paris!! Hopefully we will see her again when we return to Paris for a few days before our return flight home. 

2. WORLD CUP FINAL IN ZÜRICH?? Yes  please! What an amazing win for Germany and a freaking awesome experience for us watching it with German friends!

^ Claudia (Philips' girlfriend), Jonas, and Philip Kreishe, the older son of our Nürnberg hosts) 

The energy was so spirited but the beer so, so expensive. Switzerland was so beautiful and really easy to navigate. I've noticed that even bustling cities like Paris are just SO much calmer than cities I'm familiar with back home. We are feeling more and more seasoned with our navigation of cities and trains (somehow have managed 5 countries in 10 days!!) 

So Zürich was a combination of sightseeing and walking around the lake and just straight up napping. Ain't no nap like a Zürich nap, windows open, with Catholic church bells tolling in the distance. 

I've enjoyed the combination of partying, sightseeing, and just straight up relaxing that we've been able to achieve. Traveling can just be SO draining and I find that I'm constantly hungry and ready for bed. In a good way...

A productive way.

^ AUF GEHTS DEUTSCHLAND! 

3. Italian trains are not I REPEAT are NOT the same as German or Swiss trains. My gosh. We were told about 6 ways to get to the same place and at one point we bought a ticket for a train that just never arrived. At least it's cheap though... Like 5 euros to go a really far distance. 

Anyhow we allotted about 5 hours for us to get to Lake Como from Zürich and it wound up taking 11. 

SO WORTH IT:

We are actually near Lecco on the lake, not the city of Como (I had no concept of how freaking HUGE this lake is!!) We are staying at the Hotel Nautilus which I believe is the greatest hotel (or "bed and beautiful" as the owner, Dodi, calls it). We were welcomed by unlimited wine and a full beef brisket meal with homemade BBQ sauce prepared by the pit master. Hoooolyyyy smokes. Amazing night. 

^ With Dodi.

We also met a fantastic family all the way from Cambridge, England that we have been able to celebrate with. 

^ Rebecca and Jim (Jemima) and Rob (not pictured)

They have been so welcoming and kind and are seasoned veterans of Como (they've been coming to this hotel for 12 years!!) 

They own a beautiful speedboat that they were gracious enough to take us on and we all went out to dinner in Lecco. Excellent pizza- I had a killer "pizza con funghi" and the best part is it was only 6 euros. 

The boat ride alone was worth a million bucks. So pleased! 

Today we are being invited out on Dodi's one of a kind speed boat with a custom Masarati engine in it. Valued at roughly €700,000! 

Incredible. 

Overall I've been able to handle the homesickness better, although I do miss my family and Sebastian a LOT. 

10/30 days completed and so many memories to come. 

Tomorrow it's Milan, Italy, and then off to Nice, France!!

Oh I forgot to mention that we ran into CHARLOTTE CASIRAGHI in a farmers market in Montmartre, Paris. Casually saw the Princess of Monaco. Unreal. 

Until next time...

Sincerely, 

Paris and Nürnberg and Bamberg, oh my!

Everything seems like a dream. 

Each day I wake up to phrases like "Okay  let's go catch our train to Frankfurt" or "They serve free croissants here!" Really? Is this happening? I'm not in Virginia debating whether or not I should go to Target?

It's been hard to find time to post between all the travel and even harder to get reliable Wi-Fi (which the French pronounce as "Wee Fee" - HA!) 

^ view from our hotel in Montmartre!

By the way every stereotype about Parisians is correct, except people were REALLY friendly and didn't judge us too much for butchering their fine language. The city moves very slowly compared to NYC, but in a beautiful way. People stop and take time to enjoy things. Coffee isn't served "to go", it's meant to be savored at a café. There are probably 7.6 trillion cafés in Paris (I counted) and all of them are amazing and expensive and full of super gorgeous, thin, thin (did I mention thin?) people with the best fashion sense in the damn WORLD. 

It's hard to even attempt to write a blog post concerning the last 5 days because how could I ever summarize it all?? The important thing to me at least is that I am enjoying it all in the moment. 

I have felt homesick at times, but I think it's only natural. Everything is an adjustment process, but a necessary and invigorating one.

^ Partying with Parisian friends until 5am was CHAOS in the best sense of the word. We just happened upon them and hadn't planned to go out at all, which meant there I was at French nightclub wearing a J.Crew sweater, basic flats, frizzy hair, and no makeup. WHATEVERRRRR

So after 2 nights in Paris it was off to Nürnberg, Germany to stay with my family friends the Kreishes who are just about the most amazing people ever. 

^ Alex, Andrea, and Peter

We got a wonderful tour of the city by Alex who just happens to be a professor (is it just me or is everyone in Germany super brilliant???) and is incredibly knowledgable. He was also able to advise on the most important task, which was where to find traditional Franconian bratwurst: 

So. Freaking. Good. 

Today was a day excursion with Andrea to Bamberg, Germany where Snow White lives (well, in my brain she does...) 

LOOK HOW CUTEEEEEEEEEE! 

Ahhhh it's hard to post everything that's happened, but in summation it's been a wonderful start to the journey. 

So I guess I'm going to turn out the light and get ready to travel to Zurich in the morning to meet up with Philip Kreishe, their other son (it's good to have friends in the right places!)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." 

My dear Ferris, I do not intend to miss a moment. 

Cue Gob Bluth- This is the Final Countdown

Salut!

The Grand Adventure commences this Sunday. That's right- THIS WEEK! Everything has been such a blur recently that we scarcely believe that it's actually happening.

Things that have happened since my last post:

* I went on a crazy James River Batteau Festival with my boyfriend Sebastian, whom I will now refer to as "Huck Finn-land" considering his country of origin and his affinity for 19th century river pants. 

Rollin on a rivah

Smiling even though I'm hungover!

Anyhoot, it was a great time for a first-time camper and I felt a lot more "in touch" with the wilderness. I learned how to cook breakfast on a cast iron skillet over a fire pit, pee in the woods, and drink moonshine without wanting to cry! I consider these all vital skills for a month long journey abroad. 

* I went wedding dress shopping with my delightful big sister, Sarah, at Kleinfeld's in Manhattan. Quite a contrast from four days covered in spiders and Virginia river slime, but a welcome excursion indeed. My big brother got engaged, too, making my family's record of engaged kids 2 outta 3. Not bad.

With my mini Mimi at Bryant Park Grill

Whew! Whirlwind of summer fun with the best yet to come!

So, like I mentioned in my last post, the first stop on our trip is belle Paris! Hopefully I'll be able to find decent internet service over there to I can continue to post from my iPhone (what a little yuppie) and keep the 3 of you who read this blog up-to-date!

There you have it... t-minus 4 days and counting! 

Naturally, I watched Amélie for some French-spiration and I too await the day of life being "simple and clear."

Yep, not yet. Still haven't done my FOURTH OF JULY IN AMERICA CELEBRATION!!!! 


Until next time,

Goon Squad

Hello, anybody.

I've started this blog as a valiant attempt to document my travels to Europe with two of my best friends in the world. Will I try to maintain the upkeep? Do Game of Thrones episodes make people cry and question familial loyalty? Does Obi-Wan Kenobi give good advice? If you think the answer to the latter two of those questions is no, then you might as well hop off this blog right now. Naw just kidding, you can come back.

In fact, join me as I embark on a month-long-fasten-your-seatbelts-holy-crap-are-we-doing-this EUROPEAN VAYYYCAYYYYTION with mah ladies.

Background information needed, you say? Looks like we're incorporating some Yoda in this post, too. 



<------ Cliché, but shawty's got the right idea.







Allow me to introduce you to the Goon Squad from Goonland, VA in the glorious U.S. of A. If you didn't respect how that rhymed you may also want to go ahead and stop reading this now, too. But in case you're my kind of crazy, here we go:

Caroline- Oh hai. Well there's not much to say about this ol' gal. I'm a recent graduate of The University of Virginia with my M.Ed in School Counseling. I received my B.A. in Psychology from UVA as well in 2012. Impressed yet? You shouldn't be, I'm extremely unemployed. That's right, not just regular unemployed. I'm taking this to XTremezzz.  Perfect time to travel to Europe for a month, right? RIGHT GUYS?? Oh well. As we just learned from my favorite little green man, OOYL. Also, I like Star Wars. P.S. I don't understand technology.

Keepin it real real, as always

Julia- Pretty as an Annandale Peach. Julia enjoys teaching her 4th grade students, writing, reading, and frequenting Peruvian Chicken restaurants. (Holla at me, Chicken Pollo). She has her B.A./M.T from Virginia Commonwealth University and has been my best friend since we were wee leprechauns (6th grade). She can out-write, out-read, out-draw, and out-drink the best of ya'll nerds so best behave. She'd also disapprove of how terribly I'm writing this blog, so you know you can trust her.

Dreaming of yuca and aji verde

Candace- Ma petite cheri. Where do I even begin? This little lady just freshly graduated from Mary Washington University with her B.A. in Psychology. Her specialties include being able to identify any quote from any Disney movie ever created, sketching truly amazing portraits, and being an all around glorious friend and person. Also, if you haven't picked up on it yet, my best friends are 2Hawt2Handle. Lucky me.

Any hoot, owl explain to you the point of this blog:

* There is no point.

Well that was quick. Are you still there? Thanks. There you have it, folks. A trio of travelers ready and 'roarin to take Europe by storm.

Where in the world are we going first?

Here's a blatantly obvious hint from one of our most admired idols:

 


I agree, Miss Hepburn.


À bientôt,

 C-Lion