Throughout this trip, I crossed out so many things on my bucket list.
- Eurotrip
- Visiting Florence
- Visiting Venice
- Visiting Paris
- Visiting Rome
- Having a legit French cuisine in France
- Drink coffee at Champs Elysees
- Drink coffee at Louvre
- Drink coffee in Rome
Well, that's a lot of coffee to drink. This trip really opened my eyes, and now I can also tell people "I've been to Europe." To some, it's not a big accomplishment, but it is to me, who has never been to that continent, ever. Let along that so many memorable things happened.
I do want to rant a little, as I promised. Since I followed a Chinese tour group, sometimes things got too Chinese and I couldn't handle.
- Chinese food: Almost every single arranged meal was Chinese food. Even when the meals were not arranged, the tour guide still took some people to a Chinese restaurant (ex. Lyon). I mean, I understand that some people have Chinese stomach and cannot live without Chinese food. I'm okay with A LITTLE Chinese food (maybe one to two meals throughout this trip.) But the amount we had was just too much. Others seemed to be okay with it. That's the sad part. I talked to this white guy (whose wife is Chinese. That's why he was there.) about it, and he was like "Jonathan, I'm thinking about the SAME GOD DAMN THING!!!" I want some local food. I had to go out to find food sometimes because I couldn't stand Chinese meal after Chinese meal, and I do not want to buy bread from China town and eat it as dinner!
- Tourists' manners: This is not just toward our own group, but tourist population overall. If you want to go to others' houses, don't you need to follow their rule? What's with all the "I'm just trying to have fun" statement prove? Flashes, graffiti, talking loudly, there are so many examples of poor education of tourists. I can't say I'm the leading example of a good tourist, but at least I know to follow the rules when I see a sign.
- People's "I was here" picture: I'm not a big fan of those type of photos. I take these pictures with only scenery, and I have to be there to take these pictures.Why do I have to be in the picture? It's not like me being in the picture will make the picture look better. There's one exception, though. If human interaction makes a different taste of a photo, then I'd do it. When we were at Buckingham, someone touched the butt of a statue and asked me to snap a photo. Without the touch, it's just a statue. But with the touching, the flavor totally changes.
- People's lack of interest in history or knowing where they are: Yes, sometimes it gets dull, but is this part of the trip? I've heard people asking where Eiffel Tower is when we were in Germany. Or after the guide repeatedly saying "We're in Italy," someone asked if we were in Paris. Come on! people! Don't just take meaningless photos when you don't even know where you were! At one breakfast in Italy, someone told me "this is what French coffee should taste like" after drinking an espresso shot. I was like "ugh......we're kinda still in Italy......" Well, you judge.
- Trip was too rushed: I knew this was going to happen when I signed up for this trip, but that doesn't mean I'll like it. It's okay, though. I'll use it as an excuse to go back again :)
Last but not least, a list of cities I want to revisit or visit (since I didn't go this time):
- Paris: not enough time this time. Definitely going back. I think I can stay there for a week easily.
- Rome: same thing. I want to go to see the old Roman remnant.
- Sienna: Didn't go this time
- Milan: didn't go this time
- Berlin: Didn't go this time
- Barcelona: didn't go to Spain for this trip
- Madrid: same thing
And then there's the eastern part of Europe (I heard Ukraine girls are beautiful!) and northern part of Europe (Vikings!!!!! ROAR!!!! okay just kidding) I want to visit as well.
Wow......I'm gonna be broke.
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