I took this photo of Claire in Corfu Island, Greece -- she's overlooking the shoreline from the balcony of a great little gem of a restaurant we found whilst ATV-ing through the island. At this point, we were exhausted and starved. This restaurant was hardly busy, very cheap, and offensively delicious. A great find with a great friend.
Prague, Czech Republic: The architecture here speaks for itself. Ascetic and robust. Prague has this sort of "darkness" to it that is very authenticating.
Venice, Italy: Andi, me, and Jill in St. Mark's Square. This is before a man who illegally fed the pigeons in the square (and what a large number of pigeons there were) playfully coerced Jill and Andi (and Claire) into feeding the pigeons, after which about 9 of them landed on each of their shoulders. I will have to say, I'm glad I passed on that once in a lifetime opportunity.
Paris, France: Claire and me, at dusk, on the Seine River during our first night in Paris. Claire and I were roommates throughout the trip, and since Paris was at the tail end of our travels, we had become great friends by this point.
Me and Andi on the Seine.
One of the many metro stations in Europe. This was in Monaco. The trains were on strike during our stay. After rushing through this empty metro station, we attempted to find a bus stop, but the buses weren't running, either. We were in a hurry to get back to Nice from Monaco, so four of us split a 95-euro cab, during which the cab driver averaged about a 100 mile-per-hour speed.
Barcelona -- Gaudi Park.
A woman with her dog in her bicycle basket, overlooking Florence, Italy.
Paris, France: Claire, me, and Jacqui.
Monaco: Me and Amanda. A great night.
Florence, Italy: A candid photo of Andi, Jill, and me after a day well spent at a Tuscan winery. Yes, we were all HAMMERED. And happy. Sooooo happy.
Amsterdam -- Meagan at the tattoo parlor where Spiros got a tattoo (the Chinese symbol for "brave", if you would believe it).
Venice.
Nuremberg, Germany: Claire and the rose (so dramaticccc).
Heidelberg, Germany: Not the greatest photo of me, but its the only photo Claire and I have from our local hotspot in Heidelberg. This was a small pub frequented by elderly locals that coincidentally offered free (and unusually fast) wifi (note the laptop). The waitress loved us and quickly became our best German friend. She might've loved me a little too much, as she kept bringing me free shots and - as you can see - it's broad daylight. Of course, I accepted her offer(s) and live to speak of it today.
Amsterdam -- Meagan.
Venice, Italy.
Rome, Italy: Bryan and me at the Colosseum, before heading to the Vatican. Bryan's camera battery died early on, so we joined photographic forces and took an obscene number of photos together on my camera. After about two hours, my camera died. When in Rome.
Corfu Island, Greece: This is the ATV that Claire and I drove all around the island. Literally, we went nonstop for four hours and actually ended up on a highway on the other side of the island. Those were moments of sheer terror that ultimately bonded us together.
Innsbruck, Austria: This is part of the penthouse suite that 5 of us shared at our hotel. This room was amazing, and through those windows, we had the absolute best view of the town and the scenery. This captures only about a third of the suite. I'm not cool enough for that place.
Claire and me, in Rome, after visiting the Colosseum, and before visiting the Vatican.
Meagan, Jacqui, me, and Claire, at the ancient stadium in Delphi, Greece.
I'm making quite the face in this photo, but it's one of the only clear shots I have of our gondolier. He was a total amateur and almost t-boned every other gondola in the city that day. He flirted with us, though, so all was forgiven.
Meagan and me, in Florence, Italy. The colors in this are so beautiful that the photo looks extremely edited, or at least like Meag and I were photoshopped into it. We will both vouch that this photo is 100% authentic.
A winery in Tuscany, outside of Florence, where we had our wine tasting (one of Claire's photos).
One of Gaudi's ceilings in Gaudi Park, in Barcelona.
A great photo from Regensberg, Germany. We stopped in Regensberg for a couple hours on our way to Prague from Munich. It was quite chilly, hence the fleece blankets. (Spiros, Claire, me, and Meag)
Venice, Italy: During our free day in Venice, I spent about an hour wandering around on my own. Eventually, my exhaustion got the best of me, and I opted to sit on a nearby curb with my water, in the shade. To my left was a spectacular little boy whose fascination with the sites of Venice was inspiring.I managed to sneak this photo of him without anyone noticing (I hope).
Excavations at Pompeii, Italy. A great view of Vesuvius in the background.
Pompeii, Italy. This kind of reminds of the the cover of The Editors' album, The Back Room. Ha.
Pompeii, Italy: Ancient ruins in what once was an economical and political centre of the ancient world.
An area of Greece, in between Athens and Delphi. Much of the Grecian countryside boasted the kind of foliage seen here. This was taken the same day we went to Delphi (similar weather). The Italian countryside was much more apologetic than the Greek scenery seen here.
At a private beach in Greece (Claire's pic). Seeing this photo perfectly imitates the actual moment that it was captured and makes me want to go back to it more than anything.
Delphi, Greece: I was so infatuated with Delphi, perhaps because of the fact that I'm grossly fascinated by ancient history, or because I often find myself prone to flights of spiritualism. Regardless, the "awakeness" of Delphi was undeniable, and all 35 of us wandered its grounds in silent reverence.
Another view of Athens, from the Acropolis. Ancient life still lives on amongst the new.
Paris, France: I snapped this photo from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I absolutely loved Paris. It was both pristine and sophisticated, with all of the aspects of an incredibly busy international city. It was extremely windy this day, and the clouds in the background of this photo precipitated quite the storm later that evening.
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It's July 28. My trip to Europe seems like a dream that I merely just woke up from. Did those five weeks really happen? Did I really just travel through 21 cities with virtual strangers who, at the end of it all, now feel like family? It feels like I've fallen off a cloud. Or like I had been vigorously and beautifully ascending but was then shot mid-air. Or like I have a hangover that I can't sleep off and perhaps never will. I've always been terrible with goodbyes and even worse with letting go.
My time in Europe was impossibly beautiful.
I find myself ruminating incessantly on my time there in an effort to preserve, if not to hopelessly pursue, its actuality. I ramble on about it to strangers, people I've just met. My experiences overseas and the subsequent personal developments that ensued have allowed me to connect with people I otherwise would not. I've grown to crave this. It's become a sort of second language that transcends the usual impersonal gaps in verbal communication. It's sacred. Only a few of us speak it.
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. I now have a greater empathy for why Robert Louis Stevenson said this. The connection between man's psyche and his physical whereabouts is undeniable. Even Thoreau said, "We need only travel enough to give our intellects an airing." But traveling is also more than this to me. Yes, few feelings will ever compare to what it's like to sit alone in Piazza Santa Croce with my thoughts and the Italian spirit. And I may never again achieve the mental clarity I garnered from simply living out of a suitcase for a summer's time. But for me, it is the people, rather than the physical travels themselves, that moved me the most. That I cannot forget. Experiences shared with others always have - and always will - define my time, more so than anything I've done on my own, and much more than anything I've accomplished by myself.
Perhaps I am foolish to have found myself so entranced with the human connection. But I am certain this is not so.
Why is "I miss you" both the most trite and yet the most meaningful thing I can say? I miss everyone from the trip. I miss them just as much as I expected I would. Memories of them hang around my head like ghosts. Even the smallest of nuances of them still seem entirely too tangible for me to stand not being around them. I miss Claire; we always fell asleep laughing. I miss Meagan; how she cleared her throat. I miss Jill; the sound of her voice when she'd phone my hotel room from her own. I miss Andi; her sweet and steadfast personality, whose excitement for life was palpable and I was lucky to share in it.
I still talk with them everyday, but it feels like I'm still with them every second. We spent every waking (and sleeping) moment of five weeks together, exploring some of the most breathtaking sites in the world. We are irrevocably bound together by this. They have seen what I have seen. They grasp this newness in my perspective, for they, too, are embracing it as their own.
Life is short, but more importantly, it is fast. And sometimes you're lucky enough to have people put in your life that remind you you're going in the right direction, and to walk with you for part of it.
Paris -- (whoever held the camera for this photo totally neglected to capture the Mona Lisa, which was right behind us (hence, the smiles)).
